> Flurry Heart
>  by Buttery Biscuit
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

> Cadence
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

I’m really worried, like really, really, worried. Why am I so worried? Discord and Sombra have saved Equestria from Cozy, Chrysalis, and Tirek. Stopped them right in front of Twilight, they were free for all of five minutes before they were back in stone, again. Why am I worried about that? I’m not actually, it’s very good. They both made significant progress in reformation. So why am I so worried? Well, I’m the Princess of Love, which means I can see love. I can see it, like with my eyes. It surrounds creatures with pink hues.

I can also feel it, and I can tell when a creature needs it. That is why I'm looking at Discord and Sombra, and I feel worried. There is barely any love going in their direction, and very little comes from them. Were they always this way? I don’t spend a lot of time around them, maybe that's why I didn't notice. Maybe it’s because they are surrounded by Twilight and her friends. The love pouring out from them was 100,000x what was coming from Sombra and Discord. I can tell that Twilight and her friends care about Sombra and Discord in some way...

But I can barely feel it; I have to try. Something... something is off. Somehow, someway Discord and Sombra need love. They need help, and while I wouldn’t have offered that before, they've more than proved they could be good. So, it is my duty as the Princess Of Love to help them, just like I normally do.

I just had to talk with my sister-in-law. Maybe, I could glean something out of her. So that's exactly what I do. She is by herself at the punch table. Now was the time to ask, so that's what I'm doing now. “Twilight.” 

“Yes?”

“Twilight, tell me honestly. How do you feel about Discord and Sombra?” I asked, as I watched her sport a confused expression. knew what would come out of her mouth next, she was always a curious one.

“Why?”

“Just tell me Twilight, be honest. I won’t be mad,” I watched as she shifted back and forth, and I could feel my heart in the back of my throat. She was stalling? That couldn’t be good. That was bad, very bad. I didn’t mean to blurt it out, but I had to confirm my suspicion. “You haven’t forgiven them… have you?”

"Uh, well, it’s been hard."

"It's ok Twilight.” I did my best to try to smile genuinely but underneath I felt disgusted. Did anypony forgive them? I know that they both had a hard time adjusting, especially Discord. Twilight always forgave her friends, and her friends forgave her. I can't help wondering if Twilight even viewed Discord and Sombra as her friends or if she just said that she did. I know that what Discord and Sombra did was wrong, but should they continue to be punished for it if they've moved on? Did all of her friends feel this way? I looked away from Twilight and back at Discord and Sombra. She left my presence, I assume to go socialize with her friends.

I couldn't help but wonder how the two of them were treated when I wasn’t looking. Of course, I don’t have any proof, I could be wrong. Just because I had one brief conversation doesn’t mean I had proof. I could be jumping to conclusions, and I didn’t want to cause a scene if I didn’t have to. Maybe they do see them as friends but need extra time to heal. I hope that’s what’s going on. What if Twilight and her friends didn’t heal fast enough? I can see the need for love in Discord and Sombra’s life. They needed it now, not in a few days or weeks from now, NOW. They needed some pony to love them, to forgive them, to care for them. Who? Who could that pony be?

“Cadence.” Ah, I know that voice, it was my husband, Shining Armor. What could my love need? Should I tell him about this? I could see the worry in his eyes, no maybe later though for I know that face. The fact that he was panting and just finished trotting over to me wasnt a good sign either.

“Yes Shining?” He had his worry face on, his nose scrunched with his brows furrowed, it was bad news. I hope that it wasn’t too bad. I still had to see Celestia tonight. The meeting was going to be about connecting both of our empires to the new changeling one, but I felt like I may bring up some other issues with her.

“The babysitter called, she quit.”

I felt my heart sink, oh no, “Again? That is the fifth sitter this week. I thought Sunburst put that spell on her to curb her magic outbursts!”

“They aren’t outbursts, she is controlling them!”

Oh right, Shining was right. I had forgotten her magic outbursts were no longer outbursts. She was doing them on purpose. Even though, Flurry was a baby she had a stronghold on her magic. She needs some-creature very powerful to watch over her, some-creature who could keep up with her. Some-creature who could protect her, teach her, make sure she wouldn’t burn down the castle...again. There’s only so many times I can use the ‘i tripped over a candle’ excuse. I mean, what am I supposed to say, Flurry did it? What if they cut my daughter’s magic back, or restrain it in some way. That wouldn’t be fair, especially since she’s a baby. She doesn’t know any better.

Some-creature….some-creature…..some-creature. Who? Who is that powerful, who could keep up with her? Even Twilight had trouble, and she was considered a progeny child. I caught a glimpse of movement. Who was...Discord and Sombra. I have the craziest idea I have ever had. They needed pure unfiltered love, I needed powerful babysitters. I also knew that the two of them could keep a secret, I could finally confide in some-creature about Flurry’s powers. “Sombra! Discord!”

“Yes?!?”

“Could the both of you come over here please.” I looked at their nervous faces, as they approached me. Maybe it was because we never really interacted all that much. Maybe they were afraid they were in trouble. I brought them into a huddle and whispered. “Can you two do me a favor and keep a secret?” I watched them exchange looks and nod.

“Do you think you can watch Flurry for us? It’s just a couple of hours. Please. The sitter keeps quitting on us. Flurry has such strong magic, so strong she’s burned the castle down five times. I need help but I don’t want to restrain her magic. I know both of you are very strong as well. Please. I need to see Celestia. It would really help Flurry and I. I’m really stuck in a corner.” I thought to myself that they needed the attention, the love, something to love, something to love them back. Flurry needed guidance from powerful beings and I desperately needed help. This would work, this felt right. I watched as they gave a nervous look to one another, come on say yes. Do it. It’ll be good for every-creature, especially you.

“I guess we could are you sure you want us I’m sure-”

I looked at Sombra and I answered him back, “Yes I want you two to go. Twilight can no longer watch Flurry because our secret was almost exposed to the last time she watched Flurry. There’s no other creature I can think to ask who wouldn’t demand her powers be restrained, that includes Twilight. I know you have stronger magic then Flurry does, hopefully, you can keep in check. Just for a few hours. You can meet us in front of Celestia’s castle at eight pm.” I watched them swap some worried glances, come on, come on. Do it. I watched Discord's mouth open and hoped he would say yes.

“Okay, I guess we could do that.”

“Fantastic!” YESSS! YES! Thank Celestia, “you better go now, I would rather not clean up another burned down castle.” I watched as Discord snapped them both away and I knew, I felt, that it was the right thing to do. I felt it in my bones, this would lead to a wonderful place.

“WHAT?!” I heard Twilight scream, oh no, Twilight no. “You can’t have them look after your kid”

Hearing her say that broke my heart. Did she not see that they needed this? That, less importantly, that I needed this? You know what it did not matter. All that mattered is they got the love they needed tonight. “Why not?” From now on I decided I was on their side even if it caused a rift. This was my duty and while I love my family. I couldn’t let two creatures go unloved, no matter how much they messed up in the past. I watched as twilight opened her mouth then closed it. I was glad, I’m sure whatever she thought at that moment would have been upsetting to me. Instead, she told me

“Because they don’t know how to be parents.”

“Well, I think it’ll be fine Twilight. I just needed a couple of hours and I didn't know how to parent when I started. Now if you could excuse me, I'll be off to see Celestia.”


-One incredibly boring meeting later-


I stood outside the castle and I had just gotten out of an extremely boring meeting. Not only that but I volunteered for another one. Why? I had learned that Discord and Sombra go to those. I couldn’t help but feel like I should go. Something told me I had to, I trusted my gut explicitly. Usually, it leads me to problems of love and it was screaming at me to go to these meetings. At least they’d meet me here, although I should have just met them back home.


1hr later

Where are they?


2hrs later

Where could they be?


3hrs later

What the Tartarus, why are they so late?! I guess we had to teleport back home. That wasn't going to be easy and would take all of our power to do. To be honest I was a little miffed, a little worried. Has something gone wrong? What if some pony got hurt? What if the castle had burned down...again. What if they were caught, what if somepony knew what Flurry could do?

I couldn’t stop the negative thoughts. I rushed through my castle. I think if I ran over some servants, I could apologize later. I needed to see my daughter. I needed to make sure she was ok. Woe...what was that? I stopped, the walls they were spinning. I felt sick. It felt different, a different sickness. I felt...overwhelmed.

“Cadence?”

I stepped back to my husband and realized I felt the same feeling something from the throne room, coming from Shining. It came from Shining to me, pink. I looked back and noticed the doorway expelling a pink color and I realized it was love. Love was in that room. LOVE WAS MAKING ME SICK!? I’m the Princess of Love, how could I be nauseous?

“I just need a moment, Shining, I'll tell you later I promise. This is my duty darling. Please leave the questions until later.” I heard no questions exit his mouth, I knew he was confused. This was one of the reasons I had fallen in love with Shining. He gave me the space I needed, he trusted me, and he still wondered why I chose him. Sometimes he could be such a foal, how could he not see why I loved him so much? Remembering my love for him made me feel better and I turned back to the door. Pink light gushed out from where the door met the wall.

There was just that much of it, I had never felt something so strong before. I wondered if it was more powerful then Shining and I. Was that even possible? I felt myself adjusting to it and I couldn't help the smile that stretched across my face. I rushed into the room. Had it worked, did I do it? Of course, if I didn't do it there wouldn’t be so much love in the air.

There, in the middle of my throne room, was Sombra and Discord. Playing pika-boo with Flurry, I just sat back and watched, I stopped my husband with my wing. I smiled at him and lowered my wing back down. I gave him a wink as I pointed my hoof to them. I felt satisfied with the current situation. Although, something about those meetings bugged the back of my mind. I would worry about it later, so I could enjoy this now. It was just so wonderful.


------------------


“pika-BOO!” Sombra said as he covered his green eyes with his hooves. He then put those hooves down, his eyes had changed to red. This made Flurry giggle and Sombra smile.

“pika-BOO!” Discord said as he covered his eyes, they also changed colors as he removed his claw and paw from his face. They went from red and yellow to blue and green.

“pika-BOO!” Sombra said, green eyes, covered face, red eyes. This is what made Flurry laugh so it was he kept doing. He just loved to see her laugh.

“pika-BOO!” Discord said as he changed his eye color as well, this time it was orange and purple. His chaotic powers meant he could change them to any color he wanted to.

“pika-BOO!” Sombra said, changing his eyes once again.

“pika-BOO!” Discord said one more time as he made a silly face this time instead of changing his eye color. Causing Flurry to topple over in laughter. “YOU ARE SO CUTE. HOW CAN SOMETHING BE THIS CUTE!” He cooed. There was just something about her that melted his heart. Maybe it was her chaotic nature.

“I DON’T KNOW!” Sombra said as he picked Flurry up in his magic “you are just so adorable! I think it might be illegal.” At that moment he meant it. Just like Discord, there was just something about her that melted his heart. Maybe it was because she was a mischievous child.

Flurry Heart giggled as she teleported one of her alphabet blocks into existence and threw it at Sombra, but it went straight through him. “You shouldn’t throw things Flurry. It isn’t very nice. Plus you’d have to be a lot faster to hit me.”

Flurry just picked up more blocks and chucked them at Sombra, they once again went straight through him. They hit Discord though. THUNK, the blocks went.

“Hey! I can’t do that!” Discord complained, those blocks were sharp, and they hurt. Well, it didn’t hurt that bad, but still, Discord complained.

Sombra giggled, “how about you only throw things at me from now on, we can make it into a game. I can dodge it. No throwing at any-creature else. Ok?” he said as he tossed Flurry to Discord, who caught her. They tossed her back and forth to one another Flurry laughed with glee the entire time.

“Hello,” Cadence said, not particularly worried about Flurry, “I see all went well.”

“It went more than well!” Sombra said as he watched Discord catch Flurry. He knew that he would not be tossing her back and his heart stung. Flurry had crawled her way into his heart.

“We had so much fun, I didn’t know your daughter was such a bag of chaos.” Discord said as Flurry attempted to teleport away to who knows where but Discord caught her in his magic before she could go anywhere “tsk tsk no teleporting into the either.” She began to cry but Discord soothed her with just a few scratches behind the ear.

Her parents' mouths dropped “how...how did you do that? How did you catch her?” Cadence asked, not even Twilight could do that.

“Well, it’s a special spell that requires a bunch of little ones and chaos magic. I’m not sure you can learn it, since I'm the only one that can do chaos magic. I’m sure we could teach you something close enough buuuuuuttt we want something in return.” He exchanged glances with Sombra, glances that said we have something we desire.

“Pleaseletsusbeflurryssitters!” Sombra spat out. Ahhh that was stupid, he thought that he didn’t mean for it to come out like that. “We promise we won't teach her bad things, you can even have someone to watch us!” Did he just sound desperate? He sure hoped not but he couldn’t shake the feeling that he did. He wasn't one to ask or beg but he wanted this, he needed this.

“Pleassseeeee. We promise to keep Flurry’s powers a secret. You were right she shouldn’t have to be stunted. You know I'm all for freedom.” Discord batted his eyes at her, he did not care if he sounded desperate. He just had to see this little bundle of chaos once more. This meeting was the highlight of his day, week, month. Oh, who was he kidding it was the highlight of the year. It had been so much fun playing with her.

“Deal,” to be honest she was going to ask them to be her babysitters anyway. So it worked out that they wanted to be. She was so happy they would join her fight to protect Flurry, to help her. She sighed contently, knowing she and Shining were no longer without help.

“WOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!” they both shouted. Today was a good day. It started out well enough but the ending was the best part.

“We should probably give this back to you.” Discord said as he looked down at a Flurry Heart, he was disappointed. she was just so very chaotic, he couldn’t help but adore her!

“Five more minutes,” Cadence looked to her confused husband. She would use this time wisely. She would tell him what she had seen, heard, and felt. That way he was in the loop with her new plan. Her plan to provide Discord and Sombra with the love they needed.

“Woohoo!” Discord and Sombra shouted happily, they got to have some extra time with the little bundle of mischief and chaos.
> The Fort
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Oh my Celestia, how do I do this? How do I keep doing this? I run a kingdom, I spread love, I have a family. And Flurry, oh Flurry. She gets crazier every day, some of the things she does. I’ve put out nine fires, fixed three roofs, and ten windows, and that’s just the start of what she does! It’s getting harder and harder to cover her tracks. I’m doing the best I can, but I'm so tired. I’m a pony too, I need rest. Of course, I have the help of Shining, for that I am thankful. He is the best husband, father, and prince... But it’s all just so much. I can feel the exhaustion in my bones. It’s been a couple of weeks since Shining and I got a break. I looked over to my husband, there was no arguing with this. This is what I was doing.

“I'm calling them.” 

I picked up the chalk Sombra gave me from my bedside and lifted two summoning signs out of my nightstand. I was going to call Discord and Sombra. Why could they be summoned? Well, I'm not sure. Three circles, shapes I didn’t recognize, and a couple of symbols. Those I didn’t recognize either. I’m too afraid to show Twilight. I’ve never been afraid to share anything with her. Except for my relationship with her brother, but that was understandable. I didn’t really want to, she was his sister. This though, this was different. I felt like this was private information. 

I even made Shining Pinkie Promise he wouldn’t show Twilight, something I never did, I just had to be sure she wouldn’t see them. But why, why did I feel that way? I would just have to do my own research. I could start it soon, go with Shining to the library. Maybe that’s why they gave it to me? Is that a crazy tired depraved thought? They gave it to me because my husband and I didn’t know what it was? I snapped myself out of my thoughts and finished drawing the circles on the floor, they weren’t the best but the instructions didn’t say it had to be perfect. I could think on it more later, I felt like I would pass out at any point. I needed them here, passing out was no longer an option, it’s fated to happen. I watched the signs glow an array of colors and suddenly Discord and Sombra were in my room. 

“Wow, you two look like shit.”

“Thank you Sombra,” I had forgotten that Sombra had been taking extra honesty sessions with Applejack. The results were mixed since now he was too honest, something that I never thought would be a problem. Let's just say it’s a work in progress and leave it at that. I could rant all day about the things he now says. 

“Just sayin'.’”

I didn’t even bother to respond to Sombra's statement, he’ll get the hang of it eventually. “Can you watch Flurry? We need a nap.” I could feel my eyelids falling. It was coming, the world it was ...blurry? What? What was I thinking of?

“YES! Oh before we do” 

Oh Celestia, did I have to focus on what Discord was saying? I pulled all the energy I could to focus. Focus. A whistle? 

“I made this, it’ll get us here quicker and it’s less effort for you two then drawing those signs” 

“Yes...” when did the world get so blurry? Discord’s voice faded into watery nothing. Was he tearing up the sign instructions? No, I don’t think I can remember them. No...no.


----------


Discord looked down at a passed out Cadence and Shining. She lasted longer than her husband but that didn’t matter. He wished they called him and Sombra sooner. They really did look like shit. Guess that means they weren’t being moderated. That was a fact that made Discord uneasy. Why not? They were still villains, why not send a nanny to monitor them and Flurry? Did Cadence...trust him? No that couldn't be right.

“I guess we’ll just take our leave,” Sombra said as he stepped over passed out parents. He was just as worried about them as Discord was. They looked so exhausted. He looked back to make sure Discord followed him. They made extra sure to step on the floorboards as quietly as they could. Although a sonic boom wouldn’t have woken them up. It would take the end of Equestria to wake them up, or the crying of their daughter. 

Once they exited the royal chambers they oh so quietly shut the door. They then walked one door down. Now this hallway was long and there were many rooms but Flurry's was right next to her parents, so it was a quick trip to go get her. Discord and Sombra opened the door to Flurry’s room. Flurry smiled and bounced in excitement at their presence. “Dwaaaa,” They said as she reached out to them, her tiny arms through the bars on the baby crib. Just wide enough so she could do that but not wide enough where she could fall out. 

 “Hello there little Heart Crusher,” a name Sombra had come up with after learning what Flurry had done to the Crystal Heart. Something he tried to do and failed at. This tiny baby did it no problem. It was a crazy thought, somepony so young could do such damage. It only made him love her more. He levitated Flurry out of her crib and onto his back. “Now what do we do?” He asked Discord, as they had come over with no plan of what to do with Flurry.

Discord opened his mouth then closed it. What were they supposed to do? What did kids like to do? “We build a fort!” Discord grabbed the pillows out of Flurry’s crib. “It’ll be the best Celestia-damn fort to have ever existed. Let's get more! You go down that way.” He said as he pointed one claw to the left. “I will go that way!” He said as he switched the claw from pointing left to pointing right. 

“Couldn’t you just snap up pillows and blankets?” Sombra suggested, and he was right, Discord could certainly do that.

“But what fun is there in that?” He could just snap it up, but that takes away some of the fun. The fun of gathering and looking for all the supplies, he was sure Sombra would see that. “Meet me back here for the ultimate fort.” Discord turned and went right leaving Sombra in the dust.

“Ok Flurry, I guess that just leaves us,” Sombra said to Flurry.

“Plllss fleiwoef.” 

“That’s right Flurry, you and I are on an adventure to find pillows,” Sombra told Flurry as he turned left and went down the hallway. Pillows and blankets, that’s what he needed. He ducked his head into the first guest room and grabbed four pillows and two blankets. A good start but he would need more than just that. 

He turned to another guest room and grabbed four more pillows and two more blankets. This was a really slow way to gather supplies and he would have to make beds after he was done using the pillows and blankets. He used his magic to teleport the blankets and pillows back on the bed. “Well, Flurry I don’t think that’s the best way to do this.”

“Eioppldplds.” 

“You agree? Well thank you. I know there’s a better way to do this.” He hummed as he thought to himself. Out of the corner of his eye, he spied a maid cart. Sombra walked over it “excuse me?” He watched the maid jump. “Oh, sorry, I didn’t mean to scare you.”

The maid’s heart jumped into her throat. It was former King Sombra. Cadence had told all the staff to treat him well, but that doesn't mean she wasn’t still scared. Wait did he just say sorry? “Uh, oh. It’s ok.” 

“I was wondering where you keep the pillows and blankets. Discord and I would like to build Flurry a fort. Also Cadence and Shining have passed out and I don’t want them to catch anything. Could you show me where you keep them?” 

The maid stuttered in her movements for just a second, “O-of course, right this way.” She said as she ushered Sombra to the closet he needed. She led him down another hallway. As she did she wondered to herself. Had Sombra changed that much? He even apologized to her, something he would have never done before. She wasn’t sure why Cadence was doing what she was doing, nor why she needed the staff's help. 

Something told her it was important, very important. She couldn’t help but feel determined to help out more. Maybe she’ll have a talk to the staff about what she saw, what Sombra had said to her. Her decision was made, she would help them, just like Cadence. To be honest she should have sided with her from the start. Cadence knows what she’s doing. “Here you go Sombra, that’s what you like to be called right?”

Sombra went wide-eyed, the maid had surprised him with her kindness. “Oh yes right. Sombra is just fine.” 

“Just trying to make sure you didn’t change your name to Wannabe-Ruler Slave-Driver Mc-Dispear-An-Entire-Kingdom-Son.” She snorted, she hoped that Sombra didn’t take her joke the wrong way, she was just trying to befriend him. Wow, what a thought, befriend Sombra.

Sombra saw the soft expression in her eyes and knew she wasn’t trying to be mean but funny. He snorted, it was pretty funny. “Wannabe-Ruler Slave-Driver Mc-Dispear-An-Entire-Kingdom-Son? Really rolls off the tongue, doesn’t it? No, I did not change my name to that, but maybe I will.” 

“Please do not, it’s a terrible name.” The maid chuckled. 

“You are a funny one ms…?” Sombra realized he did not know this maid's name and he couldn’t keep calling his friend, “the maid”. That wouldn’t be right, it would also be very awkward. 

“Ivy Light, it’s very nice to meet you.” 

“Sombra,” he immediately slammed his hoof into his face. “Why did I introduce myself, you already knew who I was. It’s nice to meet you too.” He gave out a sigh. “Sombra King of Friendship.” 

Ivy giggled, “It’s ok, don’t worry about it. King of friendship ay? Maybe you can teach Twilight a thing or two, she’s only a princess.”

Sombra gave a hearty laugh, “Oh yeah. I should definitely tutor her, she would love that.”

Ivy froze, something in his joking voice had changed. She wondered if she went too far, they had just met. Or maybe she accidentally stumbled across a sensitive subject. She changed it quickly, she did not wish to upset her new friend. “Well, I'd love to call you my friend. Please feel free to call me whenever you need help. Maid's office is just past the throne room, two doors to the right, can’t miss it.” She opened the closet door. “Here you go, just what you need. I’ll see you around.” 

“See you around.” Sombra watched Ivy leave and he smiled, he had a new friend. Who would have thought, here in the crystal empire? He made a friend. He felt pride rise within him. He turned to look at the closet and his eyes grew wide. Sombra looked upon the holy grail of pillows and blankets. “Look Flurry.” 

“Wheiwueriofuwo.” 

“Yes, pillows and blankets. Look how many, Discord is gonna lose his shit. OOPS! Don’t tell your mom I said that.” 

“Erwpirprwpeur.”

“Thanks,” Sombra said as he levitated an entire city's worth of pillows and blankets out of the closet. Three hundred pillows and blankets in total, Sombra counted. He has always been very good at math. He would have to thank his new friend Ivy later for her help. He shut the door behind him and levitated all of the pillows and blankets with him. He trotted back over to where Discord said to meet. “Come on Flurry, we have to rub our treasure in Discord's face.” 

Discord was waiting for Sombra at the meetup point, he had been waiting forever. Foreveeeerrrrr, well it felt like that, at least to Discord. It was all of three minutes. “Where have-” He started only to see the mass amount of pillows and blankets Sombra had. “Wowie how did you get that many?!” He said as he briefly glanced down at his armful of treasure needed for the fort. It seemed like so little compared to Sombra's stash.

“I ran into a nice maid. Her name is Ivy. I’ll have to thank her later for her help.” Sombra said as he realized he had no idea how to do that. “As soon as I think of a way to thank her.”

“I will help! I’m sure we can think of something, but later. Now it is fort time!”

“Before we go,” Sombra said, levitating off a single blanket off of his pile to Discord. “Could you put this on Shining and Cadence?” 

“That’s a great idea! So they-”

“Don’t get sick!!” They said together. 

Discord took a blanket out of Sombra's magic and slowly opened the door. Sombra rocked Flurry back and forth to make sure she stayed quiet. Slowly, very slowly, Discord walked into the room and draped the blanket onto the sleeping couple. He made sure they were nice and snug before he ever so carefully left the room and closed the door.

“Why didn’t you snap it on them?”

Discord slapped his face with his claw “Uhg, I could have done it out here. That was stupid.”

“Oh well, the most important part is they don't catch anything,” Sombra said quickly, as he noticed Discord looked a little miffed at the fact he didn’t do it exactly right. “Let’s go build that fort.”

Discord ears perked up and he went from agitated to excited in one second flat. “Yes!”

The two of them ran off together with Flurry to the throne room, it was the biggest room in this castle. So they would build it there. Plus whenever Cadence and Shining took a break they asked their advisors to not use it. Instead, all business was conducted in meeting rooms all run by advisers Cadence and Shining appointed themselves. The parents of Flurry Heart fainted quite a lot, so this system was put in for when they passed out. Their people could leave them alone, in order to let them catch up on their sleep. It was the perfect place to go. 

‘Ok Flurry time to build one Tartarus of a fort.” Discord said as he picked her up off of Sombras back and onto the floor. She just toppled over onto it as she babbled utter nonsense. 

“Dwaaaa,” the both of them said as they took a moment to just watch her babble at them. They watched as her tiny hooves reached out to them.

“I think I will hold onto her,” Sombra said as he put her onto his back once more. “The floor is cold and dirty. No place for Flurry.” He said as he put the pillows and blankets on the floor.

“You are right!” Discord said as he scanned the room. He suddenly remembered that this room was empty except for the thrones. He needed something to attach the blankets too. He snapped up some chairs and clips “can’t forget these.” You’d think he’d snap the chairs into existence, wouldn’t you? Well, you’d be wrong, as he teleported Cadence's entire dining hall of chairs into the throne room. Why? Well, why not? The clips he did snap up into existence, he shaped them into different animals. “This one is a cow!” He said as he waved the clip in front of her face. “This one is an ass!” He said waving a clip of Celestia in front of her face. Flurry giggled.

“DISCORD! You can’t say that.”

She’s a baby Sombra she won’t tell on us, or remember. She’s too young.” Discord turned around, just fast enough to miss Sombra's confused face. 

Sombra stared daggers at his friend; he couldn’t tell if Discord was kidding or not. An “Ehhhhh” interrupted those thoughts, Flurry was upset. He’ll worry about it later. He rocked her back and forth in his magic. “Ahhhh” she cooed and it brought a smile to Sombra’s face. 

Discord stepped away from a babbling Flurry, as much as he didn’t want to. Some-creature had to build that fort. He lined the chairs up against the wall, one aside another, the backs of the chairs faced Discord. He then grabbed the blankets off the floor and hovered the clips behind him. He lay the blankets one at a time over the chairs and clipped them onto the chairs. “Part one done!” He said as he snapped another pile of blankets to himself. He covered the end closest to him in blankets before making sure all holes, except one for the entrance, were covered. “Perfect!”

“It’s not very chaotic.” 

“The inside will be!” He said as he snapped an array of patterns onto the pillows and crawled inside the fort. 

“What are you doing?”

“Lining the floor with pillows! Chaos pillows!’ Discord said as he did just that. The floor soon looked like random patterns were thrown up onto it. “DONE!” He held his hands out but Flurry started to cry.

“Waaaaaa!”

“Oh no, what's wrong?” Sombra asked Flurry, she was crying he didn’t know why. He held her tight in his hooves. “It’s ok Flurry.” He said as he rocked her in his arms. She eventually calmed down, but only after Sombras arms started to feel like noodles. Who knew it would be such a workout to rock a baby?

Discord looked back at the fort, what did she not like about it? He looked closely and noticed that it was very dark inside. “I think it’s too dark.” He snapped and suddenly fireflies appeared inside the fort. “Flurry look over here, look at Discord. Look! Look!” He cooed at her to get her attention “It’s ok Flurry. I promise. Hey, hey.” After a bit of cooing, he got Flurry to take another look at the fort. He saw her eyes go wide and knew it would be ok to bring her inside. He took her out of Sombra's arms and brought her into his. He crawled inside with a giggling Flurry. 

Sombra looked down at the fort,  he was at an odd angle and couldn’t see inside. He got down on his hooves and his eyes went wide too. The place was like a wonderland. The floor was chaotic patterns that would have made Rarity faint. Sombra thought they were beautiful, the way the fireflies flickered adding even more chaos as shadows of all shapes danced along the floor. 

“Look at what Discord did Flurry. See? It’s safe in here.” Discord told Flurry as he turned her around. She just giggled “You like my chaos? Hmm? I knew you were gonna be my favorite princes the minute I laid eyes on you!” Discord chuckled. 

“I…it’s beautiful in here,” Sombra said, mesmerized by the shapes and colors that danced around him. It really was something else. 

“Oh? Uh….thanks.” Discord said awkwardly, he didn’t really receive compliments on his chaos all that much. He really wasn’t sure what to say to Sombra other than what he already did. So he quickly switched topics as soon as Flurry started to fuss. 

“It’s nice and cozy in here, how about we read to her? I heard that it’s good to read to babies.” Discord didn’t wait for an answer; he snapped his fingers once again. Inside the kitchen fridge, a bottle of milk teleported away and into the hands of Discord. “Eat up, you need to grow big and strong. Then you can help us take over Equestria.” He laughed and attempted to give the bottle to Flurry. She teleported it out of his hand and held it in her own magic as she brought it to her mouth and sucked on the top. “Wow, Cadence really wasn’t kidding. You are one strong magic horse baby.” 

Flurry Heart burped in response.

“Apparently a hungry one,” Discord snorted as he snapped up Flurry's favorite book. Cadence had mentioned it to him once; Poohpony: Pegasus has breakfast. He gave the book to Sombra, so he could hold Flurry. 

“Hello said Poohpony,” Sombra started as he levitated one of the pillows up and cast a shadow onto it. A pegasus showed upon the pillow, Sombras eyes turned a greenish-red as he made the pegasus fly around. Flurry giggled with gleeful abandon; it made both of them smile. 

“Give me the book, I’ll read. You keep doing that, she loves it.” Discord smiled as he picked up the book. He put Flurry on the ground in between him and Sombra as he started to read. “My name is Poohpony what is your name?” Discord said his voice low, before he switched it to a higher one as he spoke the next line. “My name is Pegasus, I am a Pegasus. What are you?” 

He switched back over to a lower voice once more as he said, “I am an earth pony. What does a Pegasus eat? You don’t eat me right?!” He said as he tried to sound scared, but not too scared as to frighten Flurry. He delved deeper into character as he switched his voice once more. “Me?! Oh no?!” Why would you think that?” Discord said, surprised, just like the character. 

Sombra made the shadows dance as Discord read, making sure that they acted out everything Discord was saying. He was glad Discord took over reading. He wasn’t sure he could focus on both reading and the shadows. This was taking more effort then he would like to admit, but it made Flurry happy. It took so much effort he hadn't noticed Cadence behind him.

She sat there in awe. She had no idea Sombra's magic could do something so...innocent. And Discord, he always kept Flurry’s attention, she had no idea they would both be so good at this. She couldn't help but watch Sombra’s dancing shadows, she would hate to interrupt such a nice moment, plus his shadows were so enthralling. Discord’s voices only made it more interesting as he was deep into acting the characters of Flurry’s book. Soon she forgot they were reading a kid’s book and she just enjoyed the show.


----


Shining armor looked down at three adults and one baby inside a pillow fort. They were all snoozing, he rolled his eyes and smiled. His wife told him about the situation with Discord and Sombra, how much they needed this. He trusted her very much. If that’s what she said they needed he believed it. Though what was unbelievable is that it was Discord and Sombra. If a few years ago you’d tell him that in the future a reformed King Sombra and Discord were helping his family, and his family were helping them, he’d call you crazy and run away. 

But here he was in the future, with them, on his floor, with his daughter, and it was cute. Call him crazy, but he sided with his wife, he could see at this moment that they did need this. Of course, he couldn’t wrap his head around why they needed specifically this, but the peacefulness on their faces spoke volumes in how happy it was making them. He hated that he was going to have to wake them up, it was time to go back to work. He poked his wife in the side only to feel her hooves around his neck as she dragged him into the fort.

“Shhhh.”

He smiled at his wife, wrapped his hooves around her and joined the cuddle puddle. A cuddle puddle with his family, old and new. The kingdom would be just fine without them for a single day. And it was.
> Inferno
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Wow, this place is so great! The field is so bright and green. I leaned my head down to smell one of the millions of lavender plants that surrounded me. It smelled so great, so calming. I looked up and in the distance, I saw Shining. I waved to him and he waved back. I ran straight to him and smiled, we pranced together among the lavender plants. They kicked up behind our hooves as we moved.

Shining is so handsome, I love him so much. How lucky could one mare get? A stallion like him. What...What is that smell? It smells like...smoke. Why does the field smell like smoke? Suddenly flames surrounded me, the field of green turned into a raging fire. FLAMES! I awoke with a start and I still smelled smoke. I knew what the dream meant, fire. I grabbed the whistle that Discord gave me with shaking hooves. I took a moment to calm myself and I blew into the whistle. It felt like forever before they got here.

When they did show up, I didn’t even have to say anything; they seemed to smell it too. I could see it by the looks on their faces. The ‘is that smoke’ face. Yes, there is a face for that, I know it all too well. I wish I didn’t have to. I watched as they made a mad dash out of the room. I quickly got up and ran after them, not stopping to get ready for company. Now was not the time to look the pretty princess part.

I ran straight into the room and, to my relief, Sombra had put out the fire, and Discord was calming Flurry. I watched as he snapped his fingers and the room was back to normal. It was so easy for them, they did it so quickly. Just like that the fire was gone, proof of the fire was gone. All that time, all that hard work, all the cover-up I ever did. Just a snap, a single snap, and everything was fine. Everything was fine, everything was fine, everything was fine, everything was-


 -------


"Cadence...don't cry. What;s wrong? Cadence please stop crying, we...we...we’ll do anything! Please stop. We don’t know how to handle crying mares." Sombra said as he started to panic.

Discord looked down at a crying Cadence. He lay Flurry back in her crib and, in a panic, put up two sound shields, grabbed Cadence, and pulled her into a hug. Sombra soon joined them as he wrapped his hooves around Cadence's back.

“It’ll be ok Cadence,” Sombra said, “just please...how do we help you?” He wasn’t met with any words as he just felt Cadence shake beneath him. “Should I get Shining?” He went to get up but felt Cadence just bring him back into the hug with her magic. “Ok.” So, he couldn't leave, that he knew. What he didn't know was what to do next, but he did his best to push his panic down. To remain focused on her.

Discord rubbed the part of Cadence’s back that Sombra wasn't hugging with his paw and scratched Cadence behind her ears with his claw. He didn’t know what else to do. He wasn’t all that great at this, neither was Sombra. Since his hands were busy, his eyes glowed with magic. He focused hard on what he wanted to do and pushed Shining out of his bed. He needed to be here, to help. While Discord and Sombra were doing their best, Shining was Cadence's husband, she needed him right now. Discord could hear his hoof-steps running, he probably should have called him sooner. If Discord hadn’t put up the shield he would have heard Cadence right away, but he didn’t want any other pony or creature hearing this. He had a feeling that this needed to be kept secret.

“WHAT!” At first, Shining was angry, “what” then he was confused as he ran into something odd. There was a shield and behind it were two creatures comforting, or at least trying their best to comfort, his wife. Who was currently sobbing her eyes out. He knew why he’d been flown out of bed. “Cadence.” He said as Discord waved him in. He easily walked through the sound shield.

“Shining,” She said, she had heard him in the single moment Discord let go of the shield, so Shining could get inside. She used her magic to pull him into the hug and turned his way, sobbing into his chest instead of Discord’s.

“We uh...don’t know what we're doing.” Discord said honestly, as he turned to Shining, “sorry for kicking you out of bed.” As soon as Shining had entered the room, Discord used his magic to put the sound shield back into place.

“No, I'm glad you did. Cadence, my love, are you ok?” Shining asked, but he got no answer; he only felt the shaking of his wife. He lifted his wife's head and kissed her lips lightly; and she calmed down, her shaking reduced, and her crying lessened.

Discord didn’t know what to do, so he panicked. “Should I do that too? Would it make you feel better if I kissed Shining too?” He joked, it was the only thing he knew how to do. It was what he knew best, it was familiar ground.

Cadence snickered lightly.

“oH, sHiNiNG i WuV yOu” Discord made kissy faces at Shining. Joking is what he was good at. Joking and lightening up a situation is what he knew best, and he got a laugh out of Cadence. So he continued.

“Don’t make me do it. I’ll do it. I will! Here I go, I'm gonna do it. Pucker up, lover boy.” Discord said to a worried-looking Shining. But he hadn’t made a single move toward him. Cadence was hiding behind her hair and Discord was sure she couldn’t see him. “Are you gonna make me do this?” He briefly wondered if he would end up kissing Shining, well it would be worth it. Not just because it would cause chaos, though that was part of the reason. It would make Cadence happy, and get her to stop crying. A triple win in his book.

“No,” Cadence answered; she had stopped crying and shaking completely. She briefly shot Discord a small smile as she shook her head. “You are ridiculous.”

“Thank you!” Discord said as he bowed, “you honor me with your praises.”

Cadence snorted again as she looked to Shining, she rested her head against his chest. “Sorry, I would let you but I'm not good at sharing.” She smiled further, her panic coming to a complete halt. She felt better, not good, but better.

Discord gave his own snort as he found her answer quite amusing. “I understand.”

Sombra couldn’t help it, he needed to know. He just had to know. “Cadence are you….are you upset at us?” He asked as he pointed a hoof at himself then at Discord. "Did we do something wrong?" The thought had bothered him since he witnessed Cadence's breakdown.

"NO!!” Cadence said quickly, “No it wasn’t….it wasn’t your fault. It wasn’t either of your faults.” Why would they think that? She was flummoxed. “Of course it wasn’t,” She reassured them.

“Then please tell us, why are you upset? Maybe we can help?” Sombra suggested, still worried, but he felt slightly better knowing that he was not the issue. At least not this time.

“Its….it’s just all so much.” Cadence started to say but then she stopped.

“What is?” Discord asked as he tried his best to encourage Cadence to tell them what was wrong. He tried his best to focus on Cadence and not causing more chaos. It was harder than he thought it would be.

“Everything! It’s- it’s- it’s so much! I am a ruler, I am a mother, I am a wife and I AM OVERWHELMED!” Cadence said. She sniffled but no creature interrupted her. “Shining does what he can to help me, but he is a ruler, a father, leader of the guard, and a husband. We do what we can together but there’s so much! THERE IS JUST SO MUCH. And now that both of us have Flurry’s….outbursts we’re just so tired all the time. It’s getting harder and harder to cover her tracks.”

She let go of Shining, turning to Discord and burying herself into him, “Discord...what if they take my baby’s magic? What if they clip her horn or her wings, or they put a dampener on her? It could be a permanent one too, what if that makes her lose her destiny, her cutie mark? What if she never gets one?”

She turned to Sombra, hugging him next, “not that there's anything wrong with having no cutie mark, I meant no offense.”

“None taken, please continue,” Sombra said, he knew she wasn't trying to be offensive, and he wanted her to continue.

“Sombra what if she has to live without magic just because she was a powerful baby? What if they drain her of all her magic?”

She turned back to her husband and stayed there as she collapsed into his arms. "She’s just a baby Shining, she’s our baby. What if they hurt her?"

A silence came over the room as Cadence quietly started crying over her husband again. Discord thought through this, what was he to do. What could he do? What could be done? Is there something that he could….HE COULD! He smiled as he turned to Flurry's crib, and he picked her up. His eyes glowed and things floated around him, He drew a circle around her horn; it glowed a bright yellow. Then he was done, his eyes stopped glowing and things dropped.

“What... What did you do?” Cadence asked confused as to what happened. Because of that confusion, her crying lessened as her attention was drawn once again to Discord.

“There, all done. If one hair on her head is so much as touched in a harmful way, I will be summoned to the spot. Don’t worry, it won't let me know of good intentions like kisses from her parents... But let's say some pony tried to clip her wings. I will be there.” Discord said, as he put Flurry back down in her crib. He had put a shield around her, so she wouldn’t hear her mother cry. Of course, he had to release it to put the spell on her, but he was careful not to disturb her. He put the sound shield back on as soon as he was done. “Will that be-” He felt a sudden hug around his waist. “I’ll take that as a good thing?”

“Thank you, Discord.” Cadence smiled up at him. "That’s very sweet of you. I feel better knowing you're there to protect her, too." She felt a tap of a hoof on her back, and she turned to see Sombra.

“I can’t do that….but maybe I can have a word with your advisor? I think you might need a better one.” Sombra said.

“We uh… don’t have one. We don’t have anyone keeping the books either; Shining and I do that too. I try to keep the staff down to a minimum, because of Flurry Heart. The only ponies left are a few guards and maids.” Cadence added.

“You do all that by yourselves?" Sombra asked, more shocked than anything else. "Maybe I can have a go at it. I'm good at organizing. I mass organized all my slaves, from most complain-ey to least complain-ey." Sombra said as he attempted to joke with Cadence. He saw DIscord do it, so he assumed he could do it too.

Cadence smiled at both of them, no longer did she feel hopeless. Here were two creatures who backed Flurry wholeheartedly, and that made her happy. “That means a lot, thank you, both of you, but I think I could use more of the two of you. I need help. Please….come live with us. I’m so overwhelmed, it doesn’t have to be forever... maybe just a couple of weeks?”

Discord and Sombra looked at one another then back at Cadence. They took a moment to look over at Flurry. Looking at her smiling face tugged on their heartstrings even more. She was so young, so defenseless, so chaotic, so mischievous. They just had to help. It would be a friendly thing to do, isn't that what Twilight was always preaching? Do kind things, help ponies, yadda-yadda-yadda. This was a time to be a friend and to help make up for the past, especially Sombra. He did enslave these ponies, which he felt bad about mind you. Discord personally felt he messed up too much in Ponyville. He’s glad they gave him another chance, but he felt off there. Something he couldn’t put his claw on, but he knew it was amiss. Maybe a vacation away would help that situation.

“Ok. I’ll stay and help you keep this tiny, cute bundle of secrets.” Discord smiled; he couldn’t just leave this tiny bundle of chaos to fend for herself! Discord was one for freedom and choice. He could never let something so amazing be kept in a cage. It just wouldn't be right, or chaotic.

“I will also stay and help. We shall get our things and meet you back here tomorrow. Keep that whistle close by. Call us as soon as anything is an issue.” Sombra added. He too, couldn't leave the bundle of mischief alone, doomed to fend for herself. She reminded him of himself when he was young. Fending for himself and....all those memories. If he stayed he could help prevent a similar fate from befalling Flurry. He felt more determined than ever as Discord snapped the two of them away.

Cadenced buried her face into Shining. “I’m sorry we need the help, and I know they need this. I hope Flurry’s phases don’t last long.” She truly hoped that would be the case, and in a few weeks, everything would be fine… But when would everything be fine?

Shining just nodded. He wasn’t sure what to say, so he just held his wife close and hoped that Sombra and Discord could help them. What Cadence said about Flurry hit him hard. What if they did hurt her, took her magic? At that moment, in his head he fully accepted Discord and Sombra into their little family, it was the least he could do. He felt in his bones Cadence and him were going to owe them big time after all this.
> Help me, help you
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Discord awoke from his bed and remembered the previous night with Cadence. He sighed, he had offered to help but he couldn’t see a way he could actually help. He would figure out something though, he always did. He grumbled as he got up from the bed, which was on his roof, and went to his couch, which was on the wall. “Sombra, Sombra wake up.”

“Mmmm what?” Sombra grumbled he had stayed the night in the chaos realm. You could summon silently but you couldn’t teleport without making some noise. He did not want to wake Twilight and be bombarded with thousands of questions.

“It’s noon we have to get your stuff and meet Cadence back at her castle. Remember?” Discord asked although who could forget a night like that.

Sombra grumbled he was still quite tired but he did remember. How could he not? “Let's go.”

Discord snapped his fingers and appeared in front of Twilight's castle. Unlike Discord, who could bring his chaos realm and all of his stuff wherever he pleased. Sombra had a few things he had to pick up. Mostly his red shirts which he traded his cape for. He had gotten them as a gift from Rarity when he refused to take his cape off. Sombra knocked on the door, what was he to say. This needed to stay secret that means he’d have to lie, to the Princess Of Frienship….or did he? “Hello, Twilight.”

“Hello, Sombra? I thought you were upstairs.” Twilight said, confusion in her voice. Sombra was living in one of the empty guest bedrooms in the Castle of Friendship. He had nowhere else to go, so they set him up there. Though she really wouldn't call it living since more often then not she would find him sleeping outside the castle or sneaking out of chaos realm portals. She had no idea why though, she had never bothered to ask. She just assumed it was what he liked.

‘Yeah about that...look Twilight. I’m leaving.” Sombra was not good at beating around the bush he never was, he lied or told the truth. No in-between. Now with the extra honesty lessons, he found himself telling the truth more often than lying. It was Discord that was good with manipulation and lying.

“Leaving?” Twilight asked, “to where exactly?”

Discord swooped in to save the day, he knew Sombra had zero tack. “We're going to help Cadence with Flurry. She needs a sitter, hers keep quitting. We'll be gone for a couple of weeks at most.”

“Oh….she could just call me,” Twilight said concerned about why she was left in the dark. Why didn't she know that? She knew everything.

“She doesn’t want to bother you, you're busy being the Princess of Friendship. Sombra and I have nothing else to do.” Discord said in a huff, it was true. He didn't have anything else to do but that fact annoyed him more then he was willing to admit. The fact that that fact annoyed him made him even more annoyed.

“Oh, I guess that makes sense….so you’ll be living. With my family? For a few weeks?” Twilight still decided it would be best to call her sister-in-law at some point. She had more than a few questions.

“Yes don’t worry we will be back, try not to miss us too much.” Discord said sarcastically though somewhere deep inside of him. He hoped they would miss him. His friends meant more to him then he let on.

“I’ll try my best,” Twilight rolled her eyes in annoyance. Twilight found Sombra pleasant company, more then Discord. Sombra was stoic and smart, a good research buddy. Though she wouldn't call him any more than that.

“So I just need to pick up my stuff then Discord and I will be on our way,” Sombra said as he and Discord stepped inside Twilight's castle. They didn’t know if Twilight knew about the secret but she did know about the nanny’s that was for sure. Just how much she knew beyond that was just a guess. So they both elected to tell her nothing, just in case.

“I'm sure she will find a replacement for us soon, Twilight. So I wouldn’t worry about it too much” Discord added. He knew that would most likely happen. That they wouldn't be needed for that long, that they were only temporary.

“Yeah,” Twilight said as her anxiety grew in her chest, she wasn’t sure how comfortable she was with two former villains being around her niece. She couldn't help but feel like she was missing something. If it was a real problem Cadence would have said something to her. Right? She stepped aside so they could go get Sombra's things, she had a million questions running through her head. Why them? Why now? Why? She knew they would not answer her. She watched as they came back down the stairs carrying no luggage. “I thought-”

“I snapped it all to Cadence. There’s one more place I want to go before we go back.” Discord said as he grabbed his tail. He fiddled with it to calm his nerves.

“Fluttershy?” Twilight asked, though she already knew the answer to that question.

“Yup.” Discord said as he snapped his fingers leaving a frustrated Twilight behind. So frustrated and anxious that she was giving Cadence a call right now. She was only thinking about it before-hoof but now she had to know. There was no way she would be lied to or left out of the loop, right? She got up and went to her crystal ball “call Cadence." She told it, bring, bring, bring, it went. Bring, bring, bring, it went again.

“Hello? Twilight is that you? Hello. How are you?” A shaky voice asked.

"Cadence why on Celestia's green Equestria are you having Discord and Sombra look after Flurry. It was supposed to be just once. I could just do it.” Twilight said with a huff.

“Twilight you're busy, you must prepare to become ruler of Equestria. Something that will take time and energy. I know you like seeing Flurry. Don’t worry we will still have playdates but Shining and I need help. Discord and Sombra had nothing else to do, it’s just until we can find another nanny.”

Was….her voice shaking? Twilight had just noticed it...it sounded like she had just been crying. Twilight wasn’t sure what to think. Was Cadence lying to her? Could she lie to her? Or was Twilight worrying about nothing again? She couldn’t be sure but she could find out. For now, she would put the issue to rest, later she would talk to her pony to pony.

Discord snapped his fingers and he was outside Fluttershy's place, he gave the door a knock. He could feel his heartbeat in his throat. Honk, honk, honk, it was a squeaky toy. Yes, his heart was a squeaky toy don’t think about it too hard. You’ll just hurt your head.

“Hello?” Fluttershy answered the door, to her surprise on the other side was Discord. He usually teleported in, always big and showy.

“Hi, Fluttershy it's me Discord."

"And Sombra," Sombra yelled, he wanted to say hello to Fluttershy as well. He liked her a lot, not as much as Pinkie pie, but a lot. Fluttershy was always so kind to him. That he found it impossible to not love her company.

"And Sombra, may we have a quick chat there's something I have to tell you." Discord said as he fiddled with his tail some more. Man, he sure was nervous.

"Oh? Is it serious?" Fluttershy already knew that answer. She knew Discord fairly well by now and she knew he played with his tail when he was nervous.

"Afraid so," Discord said as he looked away from Fluttershy. Would she take it the wrong way? Would she know he was going to lie to her? He really didn't want to lie to her. He really, really, really didn't want to lie to her.

"Oh my well I'll put the kettle on-" Fluttershy was about to suggest. She knew tea calmed him when he was stressed.

"I’m sorry Fluttershy. I'd love to stay but I can’t I have to go back to Cadence." Discord said, maybe he could tell most of the truth. If he told 90% of the truth, that means he wasn't lying, right? No, he was lying to her. He had to, maybe she would understand. Maybe if he asked forgiveness she would be ok with it.

"Cadence?" Now Fluttershy was very confused, how was this serious?

"Fluttershy. Sombra and I will be living with Cadence for the next few weeks. Their sitter keeps quitting and since Sombra and I don't have anything else to do. We have decided to help until she can find a replacement.” By this time Discord wasn’t sure they ever would find a replacement. He could feel his anxiety start to boil but he made sure to keep calm. He promised to keep this secret so he would.

"Oh...that's very sweet of you to offer your help to Cadence.” Fluttershy wasn't expecting the conversation to take this turn. It was serious to Discord but she couldn't understand why. This was great news, he was being so helpful.

"Fluttershy I didn’t just come to tell you that...I'll have to postpone our Tuesday teas’ for the foreseeable future but if you miss me. Just so happen to, at any point...well...here” He said as he gave Fluttershy a whistle “just….blow into it and I'll come. I am just not sure how much of a schedule I'll have. It would be rude to not show up.”

“Oh...I understand taking care of living things can be hard. Thank you for the whistle, I won't forget to call you.” Fluttershy smiled, now she understood why he was so nervous. He thought he would hurt her feelings but she was fine. She understood. She took the whistle from Discord and hung it around her neck. She was proud of the progress he made, offering to help. Although she was rather sad about their tea parties.

Discord smiled down at Fluttershy she was one of the things he hated to leave behind in Ponyville, her and Pinkie but. But he felt Pinkie would be very irresponsible with the whistle, which normally he was all for, but that spell he used seemed to switch a flip inside of him. He felt...differnt still chaos but like not? Did that make any sense? Well, it didn’t matter. “Thank you, Fluttershy. See you later, darling.”

“See you later Discord.”

The two of them snapped back into the castle with Cadence, Sombra's luggage was in the throne room and so were Discord and Sombra.

“Soooo now what?” Sombra asked, he wasn't sure where to go, what to do.

“I’m not sure.” Discord said as he soon realized he also had no idea what he was doing.

"Hello!" Cadence said coming out smiling. Although on the inside she was not, she just got off the crystal ball with Twilight. She hated that she had to lie to her but it was for the best. Well, it was somewhat true.

"Hi Cadence you're looking better," Discord said.

"That implies that I didn't before," Cadence said with a giggle.

"Well, I uh well I didn't say-" Discord said as he panicked, trying to cover his tracks. He had said something a pony didn't like...again.

"I'm teasing Discord. I feel much better, thank you, both of you. I will show you to your rooms." Cadence said she had more than enough time to make them up. A whole day.

"Our rooms?" Sombra and Discord asked more focused on what that meant rather then Cadence's attitude.

"Yes, you both get your own room,” Cadence said as she led them down the hallway, to the right, to the left, and down another hallway until they were at Cadence's bedroom.

Discord and Sombra were beyond confused, they knew where they were but this is where Flurry, Shining, and Cadence slept.

“These are your rooms right across from our's and Flurry's, you should probably be nearby. You know, just in case. Sombra this is your room.” She said pointing to the first door, she opened it with her magic and it was pitch black. “I put blackout curtains on all the windows, painted all the walls and ceilings black. I couldn’t find a black rug so its a deep purple. I hope that’s ok. I did add a little light” She said as she put her hoof to the right of the door frame, just inside Sombra's room. With a click, a very dim lamp just barely lit the room. “I know how you feel about light, you grumble about it a lot. So I hope this makes you more comfortable.” Cadence said as she looked back at Sombra, she hoped he liked it.

Sombra took one look at the room and felt at home, he loved the shadows. He dashed into the room with all the excitement of a young colt. He raced around it checking out all the nook and crannies, “it’s wonderful Cadence. Thank you so much. I love it.”

“Feel free to decorate it as you see fit, you're living here so live here.” She smiled at Sombra, “change anything you like.” She left him to explore his new room. She brought Discord to his room, right next to Sombra's “I felt like you’d want your own room. Now I don’t have chaos powers but I tried my best.”

She said as she opened the door to his room. His walls were painted in clash colors and patterns. Purple and yellow checkers on one, red, pink, and orange triangles on another and different sized dots that were blue, green, and lime. The floor was painted a soft pink and the rug was on the ceiling. It was a mess of a rug, the pattern was just all over the place and never lined up with itself. “I know how you like your chaos.”

Discord went to go duck down to enter, to realize he didn't have to, the door frame was his hight.

“We also expanded the hight of your room, so you don’t have to crouch in it all the time. I hope you like it.” She felt warm fuzz as Discord hugged her.

“Thank you this is the best thing any pony has done for me.” Discord said without thinking about it.

"Oh? It is?" Cadence said with surprise, he was best friends with the element of kindness. This was the best thing to happen to him? All she did was think of him, it wasn't that hard. It gave her a sinking feeling.

"Yes, this is so sweet of you I...can't believe you did this all for Sombra and I. So we would be comfortable.” Discord was utterly stunned at all the work Cadence put into his room. So much consideration had never been taken for him. Of course, he had Fluttershy, who showed him many considerations but nothing quite like this.

"Well will be together a lot now...its the right thing to do” Cadence decided she just had to go to one of those meetings, she needed to see how they were being treated. Whatever she must do to get into one, she would do. Hooves sounded off behind her and she tore from her thoughts to see Sombra. He rushed to her and hugged her.

“Thank you Cadence," he said he gave Cadence a hug, something he was more used to because of Pinkie Pie.

"You're welcome Sombra. Now, are you still willing to look at all that paperwork for us?" Cadence asked hoping Sombra was still willing to take some work off their hooves.

"Of course," while Sombra wasn't stoked about being away from Flurry he knew he had to help Shining and Cadence. Plus it couldn't take that long, also he said he would.

"I'll take you to it," Cadence said as she trotted ahead of Sombra. Discord followed them as well, waiting to see what Cadence would ask him to do for her.

"That be great," Sombra said.

She led them down a hallway, just one right, she opened the door. Paper was everywhere, boxes of papers overfilled with more papers. “That section is the Kingdom's books.” She said as she pointed to a corner considerably more organized than the other one but if you had seen Twilight’s organization it would be considered a disaster. “Over there are our schedules,” she said as she pointed to a mess of a calendar with sticky notes lining all over it boxes of invites and birthday cards lay on the ground. Meeting dates, and invites were in another box. It was an utter nightmare.

"Wow, this is just…..terrible," Sombra said stunned by the sheer disorganization. He had gotten very good at organizing because of Twilight. She liked her things a specific way and if it wasn't that way. Well, you would have Tartarus to pay. She would have fainted on the spot if she was here.

"I know we just don’t have the time, see that button over there” she pointed a hoof to the red button on the wall. “It calls the maids if you need anything please ring them. I’ll be in meetings for the rest of the day. Discord if you could look after Flurry so Shining could come with me to the meetings.”

"Eye-eye captain,” he said as he saluted Cadence.

Cadence snorted “ok Discord. Thank you.” She said as she teleported away.

Discord waited, and waited, and waited but he was never yelled at. He usually was, he expected the classic ‘Discord it’s Princes ____ not' whatever he had called them. He was more than confused but he put his questions aside for the moment and snapped to Flurry, who was in Shining's arms. “Your wife wants to see you.” He said as he grabbed Flurry out of Shining's arms, “while you're in your meetings try and push my chaos agenda. Discords law: the sun must always be a marshmallow.”

“Ha! I’ll try but I very much doubt that will happen.” Shining said as he teleported to his wife in their meeting room. He turned to her and said, “sweetheart Discord wants us to try and turn the sun into a marshmallow.”

Cadence just snorted, “why the Tartarus not? We are supposed to meet with 'Tia again today. Let's do it, her reaction could be funny.”

Discord looked at the empty spot that used to contain Shining Armor, confused. He hadn’t been yelled at again. He was sure he would be, no pony found his chaos funny except maybe Flurry, Pinkie, and sometimes Fluttershy. But the two of them? Flurry fussed and he stopped thinking about it “ok let's get you fed.” He said as he teleported to the kitchen to feed her.


------


Sombra looked at the hot mess that was supposed to be the schedule of Cadence and Shining. “Oh my Celestia,” he said out loud to no pony in particular. He levitated all the sticky notes off of the calendar and just took a look at that. It was jam-packed with all kinds of things. Like if he picked a day at random, let's say Wednesday. On that day Cadence was in meetings from morning to noon, any break she got was spent with Flurry. So she really never got a break, her lunch was all of ten minutes. Then she spent the rest of the day tending to her subjects alternating between a matter of love and kingdom, while also taking care of the books if she could get around to it. Then it was bedtime.

Shining wasn’t any better he spent most of his day splitting his attention between the guard and meetings with Cadence. It looked like he mostly ran between both. He was in charge of everything training them, recruiting more, and the version for young kids that was more of an energy burn than the guard. When he had breaks he also spent them with Flurry. So he got no breaks then he’d help Cadence with matters of the kingdom while also taking care of the schedule if he could. No wonder they were both so tired all the time. They never rested until they collapsed into there beds at the end of the day.

Sombra trotted over to the red button and pressed it, he wasn’t sure what would happen if he did but he waited until a familiar voice said “Hello?”

“Ivy?!”

"Hey Sombra how are you? I haven’t seen you since the night you ‘thanked’ me.” She giggled it was a memory she was very fond of. Discord and Sombra had shown up at her room, with the most burnt cupcakes she had ever seen. They apologized for being such terrible bakers and instead made her flowers out of their magic. Half black crystal, half red, and yellow checkers, she loved them. They still sat on her dresser, she was glad to have befriended these two odd creatures. That’s right she decided to be Discord's friend too.

"I need a drink” he looked back at all the paperwork “a heavy one, doesn't have to be expensive or fancy. I think I will need it. I'm helping Cadence with her schedules and the books.”

“You’re taking on that?" Ivy's voice cracked with surprise, that poor pony. Going through that mess was a fate worse than Tartarus itself.

"Yeahhhh," Sombra drawled out. He sighed, guess he was really doing this. It was much too late to turn back now.

"Wow, I'll go get you something," Ivy said impressed by his noble attempt.

"Thank you, Ivy," Sombra said, he meant it too. He was glad they were friends. That there was another pony on Cadence's side.

"Any time Sombra," Ivy meant that too, she would be more than happy to help him once again.

Sombra let go of the red button, he looked back at the wall. Ok, so a planner for each pony would be a good place to start. He rummaged around until he found some empty books. This would be good enough for now. He grabbed the calendar off the wall and started on a planner for Cadence he drew her cutie mark on the front of it. “Alright, lets plan day to day in this and keep the calendar for monthly events.” He said as he dived into the mass amount of information that surrounded him he was halfway through the first month when he heard a knock on the door. That must be Ivy with his drink, it was going to be a very long day.


7am the next day

Shining and Cadence are in the kitchen, up at seven just like every day but today was different. She and Shining were so well rested, Flurry had slept the entire night. Cadence was about to take a bite of pancake when Discord appeared in front of her with a fussy Flurry. She watched as he grabbed a bottle out of the fridge. Flurry grabbed it out of his claw and hovered it into her face, he shut the door and slid down the fridge. "Discord? You ok?" Cadence asked.

"Uh I'm sooo tired," The world was blurry and Discord was way too tired to think about a single thing.

"Why?" Cadence asked confused, he looked exhausted.

"I was taking care of Flurry all night, why does she wake up so much? Maybe you should talk to Lu-Lu about that. I mean seriously." Discord said as bitterness seeped into his voice "that can't be good."

"But she was asleep?" Cadence asked, maybe he was right, maybe she should talk to Luna about Flurry's sleep. It might be a health problem.

"No, I cast a sound shield on your room, you needed your sleep." Discord said it was true. Cadence and Shining were so sleep deprived they would fall asleep standing up in random places. Which he found very funny, at least until he found Cadence asleep at the top of a set of stairs. Then it was no longer funny, she could have fallen straight down them and gotten hurt.

"Discord-" Cadence started when she was interrupted.

"Sup?” Sombra slurred as he ran into the kitchen door frame. "Ow."

"Sombra are you ok?" Cadence asked as she watched him struggle to enter the kitchen doorway.

"I have much to tell you. So sit down and shut up.” He completely ignored Cadence's question, he was fine just very tired and maybe a bit hungover. He climbed onto the table in front of Cadence and Shining, “ok this is your new daily planner. This shit plans your days. The cutie mark pictures let you know who is whose…. who is whose… whom? Whatever.” He gave Cadence her planner, shining his and he hovered over a calendar, “this shit tracks years. Anything yearly is on it, birthdays, celebrations, that type of garbage.”

Cadence and Shining were blown away by the sheer neatness of their new schedule but something was wrong, just one thing, “Sombra there isn’t anything scheduled on Sunday or Saturday."

"Your new days....dayeses? You're off on those, I had to make a few calls, no worries I wasn’t drunk on them. Those creatures on the phone, they weren’t always happy but screw 'em.” Sombra said with a giggle, he didn't do that often but he was just exhausted enough to do it now.

"Oh." Cadence said, she wondered if she should be more thankful then worried but she could not help it. She was a bit worried he might have made the wrong creatures angry.

"And that's not all, I did the books too,” he said as he hovered over three boxes. “This box is filled with ponies that owe you taxes. I would send those ponies some mail. This box is filled with ponies you owe tax money too. This box is the ponies who are just fine.” Next, he hovered receipts over, “this was the fun part, I did the kingdoms books too. Did you know you bought wood for 500 bits but you have a deal with another kingdom and could have got it for 300? So I made this” he pulled out a paper packet.

“Approach it with the thing you desire most. For example, that wood you bought just approach this paper, think of it, and it'll flip right to it. It'll tell you the kingdom, what you want and how much it'll cost. That way you know you are getting the best deal." Sombra yawned the longest yawn he ever yawned “I also took the opportunity to calculate how much you spent where and why, and made this.” He hovered over a notebook “it list such things. Any questions, that was rhetorical screw you.” He said as he collapsed onto the table and fell into a deep sleep.

“We forgot one thing, we do have to find our replacements at some point.” Discord pointed out, couldn’t forget that Cadence and Shining needed professionals and not a ragtag team of ex-villains.

“No." Cadence stated as she looked down upon the two kindest things done for her in recent years. A full night's sleep and organized life.

"No?" Discord asked, confused as to why she said that.

"I think you both did a fantastic job, better then I thought. Discord you may have the position of Flurry's full-time nanny and track cover-er. Even though Sombra is asleep I will offer him the position of royal adviser-.”

“Uuhhh Cadence. We uh we're villains darling while that is sweet we really shouldn’t be here. We could corrupt your daughter. Do you want another villain? Because this is how you get another villain.” Discord interrupted.

"DISCORD! You will not corrupt our daughter how could you think that? You are really good at taking care of her. You helped me hide this secret, even though that’s probably not the best thing for you to do. And you aren't villains anymore, are you guys going to overthrow Shining and me?" Cadence said as sadness hung in her heart. How could they think such a thing?

"No," Discord said and he meant it, he had put his villainess ways behind him. That didn't mean he should be around an impressionable child.

"Then why are you worried? I trust you, I have to. I want you to trust me too, trust I know what I am doing. I’m not doing this without any thought you know. You're both good at doing what you do. I would love help from both of you.” Cadence said her smile warm and inviting.

"She’s right Discord, she usually is, I trust my wife and if this is what she says needs to happen then it will,” Shining said. He took one look at his wife. He saw the confidence shine in her eyes and he smiled.

Discord stared at Shining and Cadence, were they crazy? I guess they didn't have a choice he had powers they didn't. They needed him to keep Flurry's powers a secret. “Okay,” he said as he finally understood, they were putting up with him and Sombra just until Flurry knew better. As soon as they didn't have to hide Flurry's powers, they would no longer need him. Now that made sense.
> Twilight
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

I’m sitting in front of my sister-in-law right now. She had called me last night in a hissy because Discord and Sombra are going to be Flurry’s nannies. Permanently, which I will tell Twilight about when the time is right. I did my best to calm her at the moment telling her it wasn’t a big deal, but she demanded to see me, face me. It is in her nature to want to know, it always was. Also, her anxiety had always plagued her, always jumping to the worst conclusion. This time she happened to be right but I’m not going to tell her that. I’m going to lie, lie to my one and only sister-in-law. Of course, I know that it is worse for Shining. He has to lie to her too, which I know he does not want to do but it has to be done. There are many reasons that I refuse to tell her.

I am sorry. 


"So why are Discord and Sombra looking after my niece?!"

I could see the anger and betrayal on her face if only she knew. It was time for at least some truth, "Twilight I told you over the crystal ball you are busy. Celestia and Luna are training you for royal duties, you have to take care of the School of Friendship, you have to find something to do with your castle, and that’s just the start of it. You also have to do your duty as a princess and spread friendship, plus whatever your researching right now."

I am sorry.


Even if I felt like I could ask her to help me. I knew that she just wouldn't have the time to. I knew she would freak out if I added more stress onto her. Like a powerful baby's worth of stress. It wouldn't be healthy for her. I knew that she was already barely holding on as it was. This would just be too much for her, push her over the edge. Not only that, I knew that she would obsess over this. There would be so many experiments that she would wish to start. Thus, only adding more onto her plate, in the end, I am trying to do what is best for her.

I am sorry.


"Yes but why them and not any other unicorn?"

Then there was that, that feeling again, the sinking one. I felt it whenever she talked about Discord and Sombra. I knew she still had not forgiven them and it was a shame. They were good creatures, rough around the edges but good creatures. I really wanted to confront her, I did, but I couldn't. I felt there was a chance that she would make me stop. Force them to go home. That isn't what they needed, they needed love, to be surrounded by it. Not here, where they get none from you. That was another reason why I had to lie, this wasn't just about Flurry and I. It's about them too, something is missing in their life, I know I can provide that, love.

I am sorry.


"Not all unicorns know how to grab Flurry out of thin air Twilight. I know it’s hard to believe but Shining and I are worried that she will hurt herself. Teleport to somewhere unsafe like the bottom of the Ghastly Gorge." That was also not a total lie. I really was worried she would end up accidentally hurting herself.

I am sorry.


"Yes, ok, that may be true but Sunburst put that spell on her, to curb her outburst."

This was going to be the tricky part I would have to convince Twilight that Flurry was powerful but not powerful enough to cause concern. "We think she may be doing it on purpose Twilight, don’t worry we will teach her not to. We just need Discord and Sombra to cover us for a couple of weeks. Just until we teach Flurry that this is a no-no. It really is only for my state of mind that they are there, it makes me feel better." I really needed this.

I am sorry.


"And is there anything else you’d like to tell me?!"

Flurry is more powerful than you can imagine, I am supplying Discord and Sombra with love, you still hold an unjust grudge, you are busy. That isn't although I...am afraid. I fear she will hurt Flurry, Discord, and Sombra. All three of them? I feel all three of them are in danger when I talk to her. I do not know why but I know my feelings are valid. I will never forget the times your friends told me about. How you act when you get too stressed out. I fear not just for them but for you too. I will never forget the time I watched you bite off their heads or the time you hurt Rainbow. Do you even know that I know that? I know it wasn't on purpose but what if this time you go too far? Not only that but my guts say not to, the same guts that show me how to solve problems of love. And my heart, it breaks because I love you. I care about you. I hate that I have to do this. 
I am sorry.


I looked over to Shining Armor, I could see his face, he looked concerned. I hoped that he would say nothing. Trust me, my love, we need to keep this a secret for now. We will tell her eventually, maybe. That thought had actually never occurred to me. Here I was keeping this secret but one day Flurry was going to grow up. She shouldn’t have to hide who she is. But maybe it would be best to let others know when she could defend herself properly. If I could prove Flurry was no harm to any creature maybe they would look past this. It was too late now, I had lied out the wazoo, they wouldn’t believe me if they learned the truth. This was just the way it had to be for now. It was too late. I was too late.

I am sorry.


"Well if you say so, I believe you. Just be careful of them, don’t let her spend so much time with them."

I wanted to ask why, but I already knew the answer. I knew for a fact Discord and Sombra were making efforts to make up for their past. That they never stopped doing that. I could feel rage in my heart once more but I squeezed it down for the time being. Anger wasn’t needed here patience was. Twilight would come around eventually, so would her friends. Right? Once they forgive them, I would drop the ball about Flurry. How they were helping her. Once Twilight was more stable, once I felt it was safe. That was a promise.

I am sorry


"Alright, Twilight we will be careful,” I said as I blew the whistle Discord gave me. It took him just a few seconds to get there but in those few seconds. I could feel Twilight's eyes burning on me. Once he got there he teleported away taking us with him. "Thanks Discord if you could give us a second." I watched him look at me with concern and I smiled at him. I was lying to him too, about why he was here. The real reason why. He teleported away without saying a thing which left us in our bedroom. Alone. “Shining I’m sorry about this."


I am sorry.



"It's ok maybe you can tell me why we just lied to Twilight."

"We can't tell her, we just can’t there is a missing piece here. Something I’m missing, I just feel like telling her now is a bad idea, do you feel it too?" I really hoped that he did, even just a little. That foreboding sense of dread.

I am sorry.


"Yes, I do I just hate that we had to do that. I know Twilight has a hard time handling stress. It's just, I have no desire to lie to her."

"I hate it too but this is just the way it has to be for now. I’m sure this will all boil over soon. Who knows maybe my bad feeling is just because Flurry is in a phase, and she’ll wear herself out. Then it would have been pointless to involve her since it would solve itself.” I was lying to myself and I knew it but the lie made me feel better. So that’s what I chose to believe. I chose to believe that this was just a phase. That she won't grow more powerful, that everything will be alright. Please let everything be alright.

Am I sorry?

> Staff
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Ivy sat in front of the staff with her pot of flowers. She tapped the podium that was in the center of their borrowed meeting room. An empty one in Cadence's castle. "Attention, Attention, every creature stop talking please." She said as she addressed the guards and maids of the castle. Now she had to convince them that Discord and Sombra were safe as Cadence dropped a bomb on them all. They were staying, permanently, in positions of power. She knew that her friendship with them was enough to quell their fears for maybe a couple of weeks at best but she was going to need more than that now. She was going to have to convince them that everything was going to be ok.

"I know that Cadence has ordered us to be nice to Sombra and Discord. I know that we all feel a little nervous about it. I know we feel nervous now more than ever as they are both in positions of power. Cadence has entrusted us to keep it on the down-low but I know we all think about it. Think about Sombra as royal adviser and Discord as Flurry's nanny.

I do not blame you even though Sombra has been working very hard on his reformation. I was a little jumpy around him. How could I not be, he enslaved me, he enslaved you. I still remember the effect of the curse, sometimes it still haunts me and my dreams. Many of you can not forget how it felt to be forced to do something that you did not want to do. I still remembered when it was suggested that Sombra be reformed. I remember how hard we fought for him to remain in ice. I still remember when he came back here during his reformation for the first time. I remember being so afraid of him that I couldn't even look at him. Here we are now, where he casually lives among us.

The same goes for Discord. I know we were not there for Discord's take over but we have heard the stories. We can assume those pony's positions, their feelings. We can assume it was close to ours and feel a similar fear. I was afraid too, he is very different. Very scary and very powerful. They both are. 

I know how easy it would be to remain angry at them forever. I know that we have every reason to be, or should I say we had every reason to be. I come with proof that they are no longer those same creatures." Ivy said ending her speech only to bring out flowers. Flowers that Discord and Sombra gave her, made out of their magic. She placed them onto her podium and she saw her friend's faces. They looked confused and concerned. 

"I want you all to listen to my story. I had just finished cleaning out a guest room a dignitary had used when I heard a voice. A voice that asked, "excuse me?" I jumped I hadn't expected any pony to be around let alone see Sombra so soon. Do you want to know what happened next? He said he was sorry. Sombra King of Shadows, enslaver of our empire, of our people. Apologized, to me, for scaring me. I was so surprised, then he asked where to find blankets and pillows. Sombra and Discord were building a fort for Flurry. I showed him to the closet, talked to him like how I would talk to my friends. I found myself relaxing around him, slowly. He was nice, more than nice he cared. 

I watched as he and Discord made sure our monarch would not get sick. Covering them with a blanket. I watched them read to Flurry Heart in that fort, it was the cutest thing I ever saw. They didn't know I was watching but I was. I can assure you that they are no longer the same. Of course, I am not sure I can forget what happened but I can find room in my heart to forgive them fully. To place my trust in them. I got these flowers from both of them as a thank you. I will leave them in our staff room, for now. I want you to see that they are good, more than that we can trust them. I want you to give them another chance." Ivy would miss those flowers, they gave her happiness but they represented something. They represented the change that Discord and Sombra went through. "Thank you all for coming and giving me a chance to speak to you, I hope you all end up seeing what I see." 

Unfortunately not every creature was convinced that they had changed. Though a few of them went to bed thinking Ivy was right. They had faith in her, enough so to put faith into Discord and Sombra.


The Next Day

Spear Roaster, Ivy's brother, woke up the next day completely unconvinced. He loved his sister, he really did, but sometimes she saw the good in creatures to easily. Spear held the belief that Discord and Sombra were reformed, but they should not be trusted. Especially in positions with any power whats so ever. He gathered his gear and dressed himself while going over what he had to do. Today he was going to help Shining do the books. Spear was one of the top guards among Shining's rank, therefore he was the most trusted. His captain briefed him on the situation, somewhat. He knew the staff had to be lessened. He did not know why but he knew it had to be important. He trusted his captain with his life, he knew that Shining would never harm his people. 

Spear made his way to the room he dreaded the most, the royal adviser's room. He was told two nights ago that Sombra was the new royal adviser but he wasn't expecting much. Spear had seen the way he ruled 'his' kingdom. Harshly, there was absolutely no way that Sombra was anything but corrupt. Tartarus, as soon as he opened the door he expected Shining to be under some kind of mind spell. So when he opened the door to a completely dark room, he was confused. He moved his hoof to the switch and jumped. There at the desk sat Sombra with reading glasses on. He looked to be going over a schedule of some sort. 

"OWCH!" Sombra said as he covered his eyes with some heavy-duty sunglasses. Something he used very often as he hated the light, it was much easier to live with them on. He turned around to notice some random guard staring at him with surprise. He assumed the staff had been briefed on their current jobs and living situation. He reminded himself to be nice, he did hurt these ponies at one point. "Sorry about that. Hello, how may I help you?" Sombra asked as he laid Cadence and Shining's schedules down on the table. He was about to meet with them for their briefing when he was interrupted.

"Uh sorry about that I didn't know you were in here." Spear started before he realized he wasn't sure why he was apologizing. "I came to see if the Kingdom's orders are being fulfilled."

Sombra thought about it, of course, the crystal ponies would still be cautious of him. He was in a position of power now, if he were them. He would be suspicious too. "Well, you can do that if you wish. I'm about to go speak to your captain if you'd like to talk to him first." Sombra got up hoping he didn't just piss off second in command to an entire army. He picked up the schedules trotting out the door and down the hall, he looked back only once. Spear was indeed following him and Sombra felt very uncomfortable. Sombra gave a knock to Cadence and Shining's bedroom. 

"Morning Sombra," Shining said as he looked at Sombra's face. It looked like his friend was uncomfortable, one glance to the side told him why. Spear was here, saluting him and he had no idea why. Until he remembered that Cadence told the staff about Sombra and Discord's new positions. "Spear?" 

"Hello sir, just checking on the Kingdom. I was hoping you could dismiss me from morning practice. To make sure the Kingdom's affairs are in order, sir." Spear said in his salute stance. 

"Am I supposed to salute you too?" Sombra asked, was that a normal pony thing? Or just a guard thing, he was not sure. 

"No, please don't," Shining said as he felt himself cringe. It just felt, weird, weird and gross. It was like asking Twilight to salute him. 

"Okay. Well here is your schedule. Take a look, ask questions if you need to." Sombra stated as he shifted back and forth. He really hoped Shining had no questions. He could feel the gaze of Spear digging a hole in the back of his head.

Of course, Shining missed none of this he didn't even bother to read it, he was sure he would be fine. "Thank you Sombra, Spear you are dismissed from morning practice but I better see you for the afternoon drills," Shining stated as he grabbed his armor and headed to the kitchen to grab a bite, then out to morning practice. Shining felt bad he had to leave Spear with Sombra like that but he knew if he dragged Spear with him. The issue would never be solved, Spear would only follow him around at another time. It was best to get this over with. 

"Thank you, sir." Spear stated as he sat directly behind Sombra.

Sombra handed Cadence her schedule, he wasn't sure why Shining had left him with Spear. Maybe he hadn't noticed how uncomfortable Sombra was. Though it was more likely that Shining wanted Sombra to face his problems. Sombra had notice that was his approach with his guards, friends, even family. Though he really rather not.

"Thank you, Sombra." She took one look over it and gasped. "Pharynx and Thorax are coming today. I forgot. I don't have a translator!" The Changelings spoke what ponies were calling Changeish, their accents were still pretty thick. 

"Oh, I uh. I could do it." Sombra stated, he wasn't sure if he should go. It was an official royal meeting, with royals, and he had some apprehension about that. But he did not want Cadence to get in trouble or miss something important. 

"Sombra! You're a lifesaver, how do you know Changeish?" Cadence asked. She would love to know. 

"I used to run into Chrysalis a lot, not as much as Discord, but I did. I either learned the language or had no idea what she was saying. So I learned it, in fact, I was the one who taught her old Ponish." Sombra stated to a surprise Cadence "that was when she had just started the hive network. The one that changes around. She hadn't done anything too evil, yet. Or at least I didn't know about it." Sombra explained. He told her as much as he was willing to, and he rather say no more on the subject so he changed it. "When and where?"

Cadence was about to answer when she heard a mumble, "of course you knew her." She looked over to see Spear, she had completely forgotten about him "Excuse me?" She asked him only to get a spooked stare "that's what I thought. Meeting room eight. Three o'clock. Thanks, Sombra I owe you." Cadence said as she went to the kitchen to grab a bite to eat then start her day thinking she had solved the issue.

That left Sombra and Spear, alone. "Well, just follow me then," Sombra said as he led Spear back to the Royal Advisor's office. He opened the door and put his sunglasses back in his pocket, his eyes having adjusted to the light. "Alright I'll give you the tour then you can double-check my work." He coughed as he led Spear to the first file cabinet, "right so in here are all the files on the restaurants in the Crystal Empire. Alphabetical order. Everything having to do with them is here. If they own the building, if they are paying it off, a summary of their taxes, if they offered to help with festivals and menus." Sombra then moved down one filing cabinet "here we have the Kingdoms books according to year. What was spent, why, where, and if it applied on who. I have organized it pre and post my....leadership I guess you could say. Anything pre-King-Sombra I put downstairs for storage anything post-King-Sombra is in this cabinet.  The same goes for taxes, of creatures that is." Sombra stated as he pointed to the third file cabinet. 

Sombra then moved on to the center of the room where a calendar hung on it, "here you will find yearly things. Festivals, birthdays, parties. In that cabinet over there I kept every invitation to every party, our RSVPs, and whether or not we said we were bringing anything." Sombra said as he pointed over to another cabinet.  Sombra then led him to a shelf with only two books. "I made these overall planners but that didn't end up working short time. Especially with last-minute things. Plus Shining and Cadence seem to prefer if I brief them on what they are doing for the week. Though they don't always remember. I tried my best to make sure they stay on top of everything although something usually ends up forgotten."

Sombra then moved on to a paper set next to the books "this is something very special. You just come to it with your wish. Let's say you need new armor." The paper rose up in purplish magic and started flipping until it landed. "We have a deal with both the Griffins and the Dragons. If we want royal guard armor the Dragons sell it 100 bits cheaper then the Griffins do. So we would buy it from them. That is about it, if you have any questions feel free to come and ask. I'll be in the kitchen." Sombra said as he started to walk out of the office. "oh and one more thing," his eyes glowed a familiar purple and green and the room shined with magic. He looked over to see Spear with a cautious look on his face. "I uh translated all the documents to my native language. It was easier for me that way. I changed it back to New Ponish." 

"You aren't going to stay?" Spear asked.

"If you're going to wreck the place for revenge, then that's what you're going to do. Just get it over with. If you really did just want to check, well there is a baby I would rather see. I already went over this I don't need to again, you wanted to do it. So you do it." Sombra said as he left for the kitchen. If it was going to happen he couldn't stop it. Well, he could but he wasn't going to, he was a different colt now. On his way to the kitchen, he passed a maid. "Hello." He waved to her and she waved back. Happy with that interaction he went off to get some much-needed Flurry time. 

Spear sat there, alone in the organized room. Spear ran his hoof over the file cabinet and flashbacked to all the times he stayed here with Shining. To help him. It usually ended up with a lot of sobbing. Neither of them good at math, and it was a lot of work. He really didn't want to do it alone and it did look like Sombra was doing just fine. It gave him a lot to think about. 


---Earlier That day--

Moon Petal woke up with doubt in her heart, she didn't know Ivy at all. Therefore she had no valid reason to trust her. So Moon went about her day as normal. She was on her way to help Cadence with Flurry. She wasn't required to but she insisted. Sometimes that mare was so exhausted she had a hard time getting through the beginning of her day. From then on the maid would stop on by and make sure Cadence did not need help with the baby. She didn't know why she insisted on taking care of her, she had staff to do it for her. 

So Moon went on her way to do her job, off to Flurry's crib. So when she opened the door to find Flurry's crib empty, she rightfully panicked. Usually, she would carry her to her sleep-deprived mother. Maybe Cadence had grabbed her and that's when she remembered. That Discord was supposed to be taking care of her but it wasn't like he was actually doing that. So Moon ran off to the kitchen where she found Discord with Flurry in his arms. He looked to be feeding her. "Hello."

"Hello there." Discord said as he looked over the maid. He had been told that Cadence let the staff know of their positions and living arrangements. He hoped that this wouldn't interrupt his time with Flurry too much. 

"My name is Moon. I came to change and feed Flurry." She stated as she looked over Discord. He was off-putting but she needed to think about the baby first. 

"Alright. You can but I already did it. It's your time your wasting, not mine" Discord said flippantly as he rocked Flurry in his arms. She was so cute, as soon as she finished her bottle she burped. "Aww."

Moon just scoffed, she was not going to let Flurry be in Discord's presence. She didn't need an excuse to take her away. She was going to take her. Moon activated her horn as she picked up Flurry from Discord's arms and to her own, but she didn't hold onto her for long.

Flurry immediately cried, she wasn't looking at the face she was used to looking at. This wasn't mom, dad, dad, or dad. She was much too young to understand who was who. You were either mom, dad, or a stranger. Even though Moon helped, Moon wasn't a pony she saw 24/7. Flurry teleported back to dad number three, his red and yellow eyes calmed her enough to stop her from panicking but not from crying. "Waaaa, waaaa, waaaa." Flurry cried out to those eyes, hooves flailing until she was back in the warm fuzz that she knew and loved. 

"There there Flurry. It's ok please do not cry." Discord said as he rocked Flurry in his arms, scratching his eagle claw behind her ears until she stopped crying and started cooing. "It's ok." He said as his heart melted, she tapped his face lightly with her tiny hooves and spat raspberries into his face. 

Moon was stunned, Flurry hadn't reacted so poorly before, and so fondly to any creature like that. At least, besides her parents. She watched him coddle over her and she couldn't help but feel very conflicted. 

"Morning Discord. Hello Moon, shouldn't you be helping the other maids?" Cadence asked she knew Moon held some old fashion beliefs about royalty raising their children. Believing it was the staff's job but Flurry was Cadence's daughter and not hers. 

"I just came to check on you and Flurry," Moon said, just as she always did. Wait, was Cadence functional? Moon took a closer look and realise she wasn't sleep deprived or stressed. She looked good. 

"Well, I assure you she is in good limbs. Now hand me my baby Discord." Cadence demanded she had missed Flurry Heart so much. It had been an hour since she had seen her but an hour was a very long time. The best thing about having Discord watch her is that while he gave her trouble about letting go of Flurry Heart. It wasn't because of her title or her duties, it was because he loved her. 

Discord gave Cadence her daughter. He rather not but he knew he had to. He placed Flurry in Cadence's hooves as he stood up and grabbed a box of pancake mix. "Would you like to stay? Sombra and I made these ourselves. You can eat the shadows of the pancakes if you want to. They are the opposite flavor of the pancake you are currently eating. So if it is raspberry the shadow is banana."

"I think I am good for now. I guess if you need anything I'll be around. Princess." She bowed to Cadence and then got up to leave She wasn't sure what to think as she passed a dark pony. "Hello." He said. Moon just waved to Sombra. She was too focused to really do much else. She turned back to watch him run into the kitchen.

"Where is my favorite menace to society?" 

Moon heard Sombra coo. Her head was a mess, she wasn't sure what to think or feel about the situation. Soon enough Spear was sitting beside her.

"I'm not sure what to think either. I do know that I want to figure it out, would you like to company me to the garden." Spear offered the maid. He had seen her confused face and he knew that she was confused for the same reason he was. Discord and Sombra.

Moon just nodded as she followed Spear out to the garden. Together they would figure out how they felt. And what to do with those feelings.
> Pranks with Discord
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Discord stood behind a wall with Flurry in his arms. It had only been a few days since he started this job but watching this kid was pretty boring so far. All she ever tried to do was teleport away and burn down her mother's castle. Which Discord thought was hilarious. It wasn't all that hard to put the fires out, or grab her out of the ether, just a snap of the fingers. Then they were gone. So that left him a lot of time with a baby, a very boring baby.

"Hwkwksjr."

"Yeah, Flurry we're going prankin'," Discord cooed at her. At least she was cute, a tad boring but cute. He was the Lord Of Chaos a small bundle of it wasn't going to get away from him. It was going to join him in pranks. Discord snapped his fingers and pies appeared in front of him. All of them were spiked with spices, spicy apple pies, and a note. He walked down the hall to the maid's office. "Pranking 101 Flurry, food is always funny. Well if you make it funny." He said as he put down the pies in front of the door to the office.

He couldn't believe he was teaching a baby to prank, such an unexpected turn in his life. He knocked on the door and ran away with a giggling Flurry Heart. “Shhhh.” He said as he quieted her the best he could. Rocking her back and forth in his arms, she stopped immediately. His heart surged with love and protectiveness. For some reason, she seemed to really like that. That and ear scratches, she loved those too. Her noises always made it a lot harder to prank then it needed to be, as she could cry or fuss at any time, but that added a sort of fun. It added some extra thrill to the situation as he felt risky. He might actually get caught mid-prank. He could hear the door open and shut, he giggled.

“Awhuwfewfohw.”

“That’s right Flurry there gonna eat those pies!” He said as he ran away from the scene of the crime. In the next hallway, he found two guards sitting still as a statue. With a snap of his fingers, their boots had springs on the bottom of them, and they wobbled back and forth, soon they were bouncing about. Discord snapped his fingers again and added springs to all the guard's boots as well as a note. He chuckled as he watched them bounce around the hallway. With a snap of his fingers, he was in the kitchen. Sitting and feeding Flurry, it was time for the chaos. He watched as Cadence approached the kitchen.

“Hot, hot, hot,” several mares rushed past her, and to the fridge, they grabbed a carton of milk and shared it among themselves. One of them, one that Discord knew, Ivy, she turned to Cadence. “Why did you give us hot apple pies?” Ivy yelled.

Cadence looked at her confused and was about to ask what she meant. Before she could, she heard...bouncing? She looked behind her to notice the guards bouncing to her. One of them yelled, “why did you add bouncy springs to our armor?”

Cadence had no idea what he was talking about, but she glanced over to Discord who was covering his face and shaking. Oh? OH! It was him, of course. “I have no idea what any of you mean,” She said as she played along with the chaos. She found that she was excellent at adapting, which made it easy for her to roll with her a situation. Personal training from her baby. Plus there wasn't anything Discord could do that would be worse than the situations Flurry would put her in.

“You left us a note saying these pies were for us," Ivy exclaimed. She was more than confused, why did Cadence think hot apple pies were a good idea?

"And you left a note saying you improved the armor." A random guard said. He, too, was confused. How were bouncy springs an improvement to guard armor?

Discord's chuckling had gotten louder and all the creatures in the room looked at him. Cadence rolled her eyes and giggled “I wonder how that could have happened,” she asked sarcastically “who oh who could have the power to do that. It’s not like we have any creature here that could. I guess we have a mysterious mastermind on our hooves. Whatever will we do?” She asked as sarcasm dripped from her very being.

Ivy smiled as she turned to Cadence, of course, how did she not see it sooner, “oh NO a mysterious prankster who could that be. I have no idea, you know what we should go hunt them down.”

Discord snorted, he knew that they were just pretending but that only made the situation more interesting. “Sombra, I watched him do it. Being the good creature I am I tried to stop him but alas Flurry was hungry. I just had to feed her. Looks like I was too late.” He said as he smiled at Cadence. He knew he was gonna be in trouble but that didn’t stop him.

Cadence just smiled, and she blew into her whistle, Sombra appeared in front of her, “you stand accused of the worst crime ever. Pranks.” He said as she pointed her hoof at him. “Discord told us you did it.”

Sombra was at first worried as he thought he was actually in trouble, but then he was being accused of pranks by Discord. He realized she was joking pretty quickly, “oh no, how did you find out. I have never truly reformed I have been planning this for months!” He said dramatically “my plan is ruined, how dare you betray me like this Discord. I thought we were friends.”

Now, this was a direction he didn’t expect, he thought Sombra wouldn’t play along, Tartarus, he never expected any creature to play along. He expected immediate reprimanding, maybe even some kind of punishment. He expected to be yelled at but this was way better. He was sure he would be, eventually, but now wasn’t that time. So he no longer thought about it. “I have, you shouldn’t have trusted me!” Discord said dramatically.

“Sombra for your charges I sentence you to….execution,” Cadence said as she teleported a pillow to herself. “Say your last words. Do you regret what you did?”

Sombra chuckled, what a sentence, “I regret nothing, I will be back, enslave you once more. Fear me, King Sombra!” He said as he felt a pillow smack gently into his face. He disappeared into smoke which surprised Cadence, but he wasn’t gone for long. He brought back some more pillows and tossed them to the guards and maids. “I have returned from the dead. Enslaved your people. I will take over your empire!” He said as he waved a dramatic hoof through the air. He turned to Cadence “Give me your empire!” He said as he threw his pillow into Cadence.

“Never.” She said as she smacked him back with the pillow.

Discord snapped away and lay Flurry down for her nap. Hopefully, she would stay asleep, so he could go play, she usually did. He knew it would be fine, she never caused trouble around nap time, oddly enough her trouble had a schedule. He snapped back on Sombra's side. “Give us the empire.” He said as he joined Sombra's team.

“Oh suddenly back on his side, even though you betrayed him?” Cadence asked smugly.

"Oh yes, don’t worry he has forgiven me since we're friends and all, right Sombra?" Discord suggested. He hoped Sombra wouldn't kick him off his team.

"Yes, of course, I have. Take over will be much easier with you on my side.” There really wasn't anything for Sombra to forgive, this was just a game. A game he was aiming to win.

“Don't forget about us, King Sombra,” Ivy said “as your slave, I have to do whatever you say,” she said as she threw her pillow into Cadence. “Give us your empire.” With her lead, the rest of the maids and guards followed as they repeated her sentence “give us your empire” they said as they threw their pillows at Cadence.

“Oh no you have enslaved my people, I must get reinforcements.” She said as she activated her horn and sent a letter to Celestia who appeared in their castle just a few moments later. “Yes?”

Cadence teleported a pillow to her. “Discord and Sombra have enslaved those people and are taking over the empire we must defeat them!” She said, “but not in the kitchen there are sharp objects and a table. Let's go to the throne room. There is more space there.”

“You are right. See you there.” Sombra said as he teleported away taking his ‘slaves’ and Discord into the throne room.

Cadence turned to Celestia “wanna play with us?” She knew that Celestia did not get out much, and like her had lots to do She could use as much fun time as Cadence could. Now was the time for fun.

“Yes,” Celestia said, she really could use this, her life wasn’t all that exciting and anytime Cadence called her it was worth staying for. There was no way she was going to miss such fun, she couldn’t help but feel a little jealous. She wished she had the idea to ask for help from Discord and Sombra. If she had known it would be so much fun she would have done it. She followed Cadence closely as she turned away from her thoughts and to the moment. She entered the throne room to find Discord and Sombra sitting on Cadence and Shining's throne. There were ‘slaves' in front of them led by none other than Shining.

“Hello Cadence," Shining said in a voice he thought sounded slave-ish.

"Shining NO! Not you!" Cadence said dramatically although she really did wonder why he was over there and not with her.

"Yes, I have been enslaved by Sombra, it's truly a tragedy. I did not just side with him because you keep hogging all the covers at night. I'm not bitter about that at all." Shining growled at his wife, he lied he was bitter about it. She just kept taking them from him and sometimes he found himself falling face-first onto the floor. They had one of the largest beds in Equestria, why was he falling on the floor? What pony needs all that space?

Cadence rolled her eyes, it was something he had been complaining about for a while. She snorted, how she loved her husband. She would have to try her best to stop doing that, “do not worry I will save you” Cadence said as she raised her pillow over her head.

Celestia walked in behind her surprising the few creatures who hadn't been in the kitchen, “this is unfortunate I would have thought you took your reformation seriously.” She levitated her pillow over her head “I guess I was wrong for assuming that, accept your punishment which is-”

“Beheadings," Cadence said casually, as casually as one could say such a thing.

"Beheadings?" Celestia asked.

"Yes! Only the worst punishment for the worst crime in the history of ever, of all time, of all existence. This. THIS is the worst thing to happen." She noted her own dramatization of the situation. She could see why Discord liked to do it. It was so much fun.

"With these?" Celestia knew that they were not going to behead them, that wasn't really something that was done. Maybe that's why Cadence chose it, it was random, also how would you behead a pony with a pillow.

"Yes, that’s how it normally goes no?" Cadence suggested, of course, that isn't how they went but who cares. As Discord would say 'where is the fun in making sense.'

"Of course, how could I forget, its….tradition” Celestia said attempting to play along the best she could "so let us remove their heads."

Discord and Sombra smiled, they and their small army readied their pillows. “Attack!” Sombra yelled as he dived at Celestia and smacked a pillow into her.

Celestia just smiled and smacked her pillow into Sombra “you will never rain over this empire again!” She snorted as she hit him a few times with her pillow.

Discord went after a few of his own army members, because why not. Throwing pillows at them here and there but never getting hit himself. Although, a few ponies got dangerously close to hitting him.

Sombra could feel a few wops of a pillow when he disappeared into smoke forming behind Celestia. He brought his pillow down upon her back. “Yes, I will!” He said as he wopped her several times. Any time Celestia so much attempted to hit him, he dissolved into smoke. Those first few shots being the only ones that she landed. He landed plenty on Celestia though.

Cadence wasn’t far behind as she tried her best to hit Sombra but just like Celestia, her first few shots were the only ones to land. Their ‘slaves' stopped bombarding each other and their monarchies, they too joined in on trying to hit Sombra. Shining even joined after getting a few wops at Cadence. He made sure to be gentle he wasn’t all that angry, and he would hate to hurt his wife.

Discord's eyes lit up as he dove for Sombra catching him in his hands. He was about to bring some real betrayal into this, if he was going to be hit so was Sombra. Sombra stopped being smoke and formed into a solid mass in Discord's hands. Nothing protected them as they both received a bombardment of pillows.

“Surrender now!” Celestia said, “or fear my wrath!” She giggled, and she brought the pillow down on Discord, her attention focused solely there. A little revenge for all the pranks he ever pulled on her.

Discord just snorted as the pillows hit him, they didn’t hurt. They were pillows, and he just loved the look of betrayal on Sombra's face as he too was hit with pillows.

“Discord! Why?” He yelled, “how could you?” Sombra asked he wanted to win the pillow fight not experience this mess.

Discord just smiled at Sombra, “why not?” He asked as he laughed. It had been a while since he had this much fun. Eventually, the pillows stopped coming as the creatures using them ran out of breath.

“You...give...in?” Cadence asked breathing deeply, this had been more of a workout then she had expected.

“Yes.” They both said as they laughed up a storm. Sombra wasn’t all that angry, just annoyed, he had so much fun, it was hard not to with Discord around. He always knew how to keep it interesting.

“Thank you for including me Cadence but I really should get back," Celestia said not wanting to leave, she had so much fun. She would have to tell her sister and Twilight about her victory.

"Of course, thank you for helping me defend my kingdom," Cadence said as she laughed.

Celestia just snorted, "your welcome. Call me when they try again."

"Of course. I'm sure they will try once more." Cadence said face red from the exertion of energy. Her smile wide from all the joy she was feeling.

Celestia teleported away feeling good, she had such a good time today. She hoped that Cadence would continue to involve her in future endeavors.

Discord turned to Cadence, and he waited for his reprimanding, he waited but it never came as she just smiled down at him. So he decided to help her along “so what’s the deal?”

"The deal?' Cadence asked confused, was there one she didn't know about?

"Yeah kay-kay the deal." Discord said giving her a nickname on a whim. He was ready, he was prepared. He wondered how angry Cadence would be at him. Hopefully not enough to kick him out.

"Is that my new nickname? Oh yay, I was hoping I would get one. You nicknamed all the other princesses I thought I'd never get one" Cadence smiled at Discord.

"You want a nickname?" Now Discord was confused it was a tradition that the princess he gave the nickname to hated it. So he expected Cadence to hate it too. Not be happy about it.

"Of course! I just have to say Discord today was so much fun! Oh also Shining and I tried to get Celestia to agree to turn the sun into a marshmallow, but she said and I quote “no.” She is no fun sometimes." Cadence added, she did actually try, she wasn't just saying it. They drafted the law up right before the meeting it said 'sun = marshmallow because Discord said so' and that was it. It was a ton of fun trying to get Celestia to say yes and Cadence was bummed that she ended up saying no.

"You're not mad?" Discord asked confusion rocked his brain.

"Why would I be mad?" Cadence asked as she became just as confused as Discord.

"I caused chaos." Discord said bluntly. Did she not know she was supposed to be mad?

"Yeah but it was fun, no pony got hurt and I got a nickname. A little chaos is good for the soul if it’s meant well." Cadence said as she slowly realized that DIscord thought he was going to be in trouble. Of course, he messed with everyone's day a little but they had fun doing it. There really wasn't a reason to be mad.

Discord was stunned, eventually, a smile stretched across his face. She enjoyed his chaos. Maybe even the same amount as Pinkie Pie did, maybe even more. He relaxed a bit as he looked upon his new ally. His tail wagged back and forth as he planned new chaotic things to do for Cadence. Maybe they could even do them together.
> Food
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

My name is Sombra and I'm sitting in the kitchen in Cadence's home facing my biggest problem ever. No, I did not enslave any creature. Though I do not blame you for assuming that happened. No, my biggest problem is this little ball of mischief in front of me. Her name is Flurry Heart, and she is Cadence and Shining's daughter. I’m currently helping them raise her, oddly enough, I have been for the past couple of weeks.

Discord and I were only supposed to stay for a small amount of time but Cadence insisted that we stay, permanently. She really, desperately, needs help. She lessened her staff to not expose her secrets but that meant she had to do more. I take whatever I can off her hooves, so does Discord. We are in on that secret, see it’s Flurry heart, my biggest problem. She is very, very powerful and Cadence is worried about what will happen if some-creature found out. That’s not why she is my problem, no. Discord and I are also very powerful we have a good hold on the situation, most of the time. We put out one hundred thousand and twenty fires in total since we began working here, which is very good. Or at least I think it is.

Flurry Heart is my biggest problem because she won’t eat this cupcake I brought her. I teleported all the way to Ponyville to get it. Straight from Pinkie Pie, who makes the best cupcakes. I sat it down in front of Flurry, but she just keeps gargling at me. I do not understand why.

“Hello Sombra”

“Oh hello Cadence,” I turned to face her, she just got out of one of her meetings and now she had an hour break. Those were something I squeezed into her schedule. You should have seen it before, that mare had no time for anything.

“What are you doing?”

“I’m feeding Flurry a cupcake,” obviously, I mean what did you think I was doing? Taking over the empire? Ha, I'm so funny.

“You can’t do that!”

I watched as she ran over and levitated it away from Flurry Heart, “well why not?’ I asked Cadence, Flurry was right there. She could have a cupcake if she wanted to.

“What do you mean why not?”

Was she tricking me somehow? “I mean why not, Cadence she has every right to eat that cupcake,” I yelled. Was she forbidding Flurry from eating a cupcake? How could she? Cupcake-less for her whole life that was incredibly mean of Cadence. Is this one of those mother things? Or maybe Cadence has gone insane?

“She can’t Sombra...she isn’t old enough.”

“Wait what? What is that supposed to mean, is there some weird law somewhere stating you can’t have a cupcake before a certain amount of time? That’s a really terrible law, you should change it.” I'll have to talk to 'Tia later. Her idiocy knows no bounds. Forbidding cupcake consumption like that. Surely there is a way I can convince 'Tia to look the other way. This is her adopted niece after all. I'm sure she could be easily bribed.


----


“Sombra….are you kidding me? This is a joke right?” Cadence asked, her heartbeat had quickened, and she held her breath as she waited for an answer. He had to be kidding, there was no way he wasn’t kidding.

“No, I'm being serious,” Sombra said, why wouldn’t he be serious about this?

“Oh my….just one moment,” She said as she summoned Discord into the room with the whistle she kept around her neck. It could call just one of them if she chose so, or both. He had to be here.

“Yes, Cadence?” Discord said, wondering as to why he was called here.

“Get 'Tia,” Cadence demanded. Celestia had to be here, she just had to be. She had to witness this, whatever this was going to end up being. Because it was definitely going to be interesting.

Discord snapped and Celestia was in the room. “Uhhh why am I here?” She asked she was about to take her lunch break when she found herself in Cadence’s kitchen.

“Sombra is trying to feed Flurry a cupcake.” Cadence started to explain but Celestia interrupted her with the question of the day.

“Why?” Celestia had been called here, for this. A cupcake? If this didn’t get interesting soon she was going to be very angry. This was her break, she wouldn’t get another until dinner time. Although anytime Cadence called her, it was usually worth her time. Last time was a pillow fight so this time had to be interesting too, right?

“Because she has a right to eat cupcakes, Why can’t she just eat it Cadence? Is she allergic?” Sombra said, was she? He had no idea, if she was he would be more careful from now on but that was an unfortunate allergy.

Discord and Celestia’s eyes went wide. They looked at one another then back at Sombra. It took everything Discord had to not interrupt, but he just had to see where this was going. For now. He could join in a little later.

“Sombra she is too young,” Celestia said, her head swam with questions. Was she being pranked? She had seen the look on Discord's face if she was being pranked he was not in on it. Which lessened the chance she was being pranked. He was always involved.

“So there is a law forbidding cupcake consumption before a certain age? Why would you do that Celestia?” Sombra asked as he struggled to understand what was happening around him. What was wrong? Why?

“Sombra you must be joking,” Celestia said as she settled on that idea. He just had to be, there was no way he was being serious.

“I am NOT joking,” Sombra angrily said. He was starting to get fed up with the situation. Was he being made fun of? Was he being pranked?

“Sombra….you do know what a baby is...and how to get it….right?” Cadence dared to ask, may as well start there.

“PUMPKIN PATCH! Yes I know, Cadence and Shining have sex, Cadence gives birth. Now you got a tiny version of the two of them running around.” It was obvious to Sombra that this was the answer. How could he be wrong? Did they not know what a baby was? That would be impossible Cadence had one.

“Maybe in your own words, you could tell us what a baby is,” Celestia said as the fact that this situation was real, it was happening, it wasn’t a joke, dawned on her. She tried to hold back the laughter building inside of her at the sheer ridiculousness of the situation.

“A baby is just a smaller version of you,” Sombra stated in a manner of fact way.

“Maybe...you could explain it further because I think there is something we are missing,” Celestia added, she certainly was missing something.

“FINE I'll just show you,” he said as he levitated Cadence over to himself. “See this alicorn?”

“Yes,” Cadence, Celestia, and even Discord answered though it took him all he had not to add anything else. He just needed to see where this was going, he felt whatever would be said was going to be insane.

“This alicorn,” he said, pointing to Cadence. “And this tinier version," he said pointing to Flurry. "Are pretty much the same thing. This one is just smaller so that birth is easier. When I have a conversation with Cadence she knows, and responds and is aware of what I am saying. So is Flurry Heart. She is just the same thing Cadence is just smaller, meaning she can eat this cupcake. She can eat whatever she wants, Cadence can eat whatever she wants.”

“Oooooo I see,” Celestia said as she poorly tried to cover her laughter but Discord saved her the effort of trying too hard.

“HAHAHAHAH, NO SOMBRA NO, THAT’S NOT HOW BABIES WORK,” Discord said as he finally cracked. He had been holding his breath by the sideline. The situation was so uniquely chaotic that he was afraid to interrupt it. Though he could no longer hold back, it was just too funny. He had to be involved.

Celestia cracked after Discord, and she lay her head on the table, quaking in laughter. "Hahahahaha!"

Sombra put Cadence down, slightly hurt he didn’t understand what was funny. He was so confused. “I don’t understand,” he sadly said. It was clear now that he was being made fun of.

Cadence took a deep breath she had been laughing too. It was funny but Sombra didn’t understand why. “Sombra, she doesn't know what is happening.”

“She….isn’t sentient? Well, why are you taking care of her if she isn’t sentient?” Sombra went from sad to angry. All this work for something that won't have a single thought ever? "Why not just throw her in a closet and forget about her?" He really should have asked more questions at the start of this.

Celestia just laughed harder “HAHAHA! Oh my...well. me. I have to tell Luna.” She said as she teleported away to go tell her sister what just happened. It was oh so funny, and she knew her sister would get a laugh out of it. Then she would tell Twilight after that. Something else burned at her mind. Flurry, and Discord, he was oddly...responsible. In her head, Sombra and Discord were just getting in the way, not helping but it looked to be the opposite. She wasn't sure what to do with that information.

Discord snapped and a portal opened, which he soon stepped through. He would teleport all the way to Ponyville, but he was worried it would hurt Flurry. This would be just fine though, he had somewhere to go, a pony to see. IS SHE SENTIENT? He went straight to Fluttershy. He just HAD to tell her all about this. It was the funniest thing to have ever happened, ever. He never stopped laughing.

“First of all, her body has to grow, she is still feeding on milk, it has to be a slow transition to food. She doesn't even have her teeth yet. Secondly, she isn’t conscious. You have to grow into it, you grow into consciousness. Flurry Heart will grow up, learn from her mistakes, and have her own family. Her brain is still growing, learning she isn’t just born knowing everything. Were you born with all of that?” Cadence asked she was glad Discord and Celestia were gone. They had been laughing up a storm and while this was funny. She could tell Sombra found it frustrating. It was funny but not for him.

Sombra looked back over to make sure Celestia was no longer there he was about to spill….sensitive information. “Yes.”

“Well- wait, what?” Cadence was going to explain to him how it wasn’t much different from how he was made.

“Yes,” Sombra repeated, he wasn’t lying either.

“WAIT WHAT?” Cadence yelled, surprised by the sudden information. He was what now?

“I was made with magic.” Sombra said in the same way one may say ‘i had toast for breakfast.’

“How did you find out about...you know what I don’t want to know. I didn’t know that was possible who-” Cadence had a million questions, a million and one, no, more than that. Her head swam with assumptions. She needed clarification.

“Well, it is. Consider this one of those friend things where you tell ponies stuff about yourself when it is brought up. That’s what you do right. Did I do this right? I thought you wanted to know more about Discord and I. You always say you do...were you kidding?” Sombra asked.

“Yes, Sombra you did just fine. No, I wasn’t kidding, I do want to know more about you both. I just have a thousand questions. Could you maybe tell me more? Who are your parents? Do you even have parents?” It was a question that itched at Cadence’s mind since she first met them but the question that truly burned her was. Where were they? If you had them, where were they? Where did they go? Why didn’t they help you during your overtake? Or help us?

“This...was a mistake, I shouldn't have said anything,” Sombra said as he ran out of the kitchen and to his room. He hadn't expected so many questions. He hadn't expected to wrong about Flurry, to make that kind of mistake. It was quite overwhelming. He felt so stupid. Would she keep that information to herself? He hoped so.

“Sombra wait!” Cadence yelled but it was too late he was already gone. She sat in her kitchen, her head still swimming with unanswered questions. How was she supposed to get either of them to open up? They were like stone walls, both of them. When she did get a bit of information either by accident or in passing. They would completely shut her out, ignore her, pretend she didn’t know. Especially Discord, he was very stubborn. While she had an easier time with Sombra, he still gave her quite the runaround. What could she do? How could she help them more? How will she connect to them?
> Curse of the Childhood Song
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Cadence sat still, stiller than a pond on a windless day. She took shaking breaths, hidden behind her throne. Tears filled her eyes, no, she thought to herself. Just go away. Hoofsteps could be heard, echoing off the walls of her throne room. Hoofsteps of a beast. A beast that did not know it was a beast. Cadence knew it was just an innocent creature. She tried to convince herself, that it would do her no harm to look at it. She tried but she failed.

She did not move, she could not move. No matter how much she wished to help the beast, she could not turn to face it. It would be too horrifying, One look at it and she knew she would be doomed. It was her, or the beast. Her heart broke as she refused to help it, a single tear dripped down her face as she heard the beast stop walking. 

She would make it up to It. She breathed slow breaths, trying to keep her thoughts on anything else besides the creature in the room. She thought of Shining, her one true love. He was currently training guards he would not be able to save her. She didn't want him to, he was busy and she didn't want to bother him. Cadence's heart dropped as she heard the hoof-steps approach closer to the throne. She tried to look straight ahead but the shadow caught her eye, the shadow of the beast. A Pegasus, an innocent pony but not to the parent or caretakers of a powerful being. It was a nightmare a walking nightmare. 

Oh, Celestia, she had seen it. It was too late for her. Too late for her doo, doo, doo, doo, doo, doo. NOPE NOPE NOPE. Don’t think about it don’t you dare think about it, Cadence thought to herself. Eventually, the pegasus left the throne room. Cadence wasn't too far away, she could still save herself. Maybe there was away. Just try not to think about it doo, doo, doo, doo, doo, doo. Not think about it doo, doo, doo, doo, doo, doo. OH NO! Cadence ran into the kitchen trying to fill her mind with anything. Anything but that stupid cursed song. She ran into Discord and Sombra hiding in the kitchen with Flurry Heart. Maybe with their help, she would have a chance, a saving chance. 

“Hey did you see…..It.” It was the code word they established for any pegasus. Cadence felt sort of bad that she kept avoiding them, but what else was she supposed to do? Just one look that's all it would take. Then there was no going back, she would be forever doomed. 

“Yes, we are hiding before it is too late.” Discord said trying his best to list all the chaotic things he could think of. All the chaotic things he could think of doo, doo, doo, doo, doo, doo. OH CELESTIA NO PLEASE NO. CHAOS, CHAOS, CHAOS, THINK ABOUT CHAOS. It isn't too late, just don't think about it. 

“I hate that song DoO, dOo, dOO, Doo, DOo, doO,” Sombra said mockingly before realizing he just sang the lyrics out loud. “Oh fuck me.”

“DOO, DOO, DOO, DOO, DOO, DOO,” Screeched Cadence at the top of her lungs, no, no. “Why me, doo, doo, doo, doo, doo, doo? Why me, doo, doo, doo, doo, doo, doo? Why me, doo, doo, doo, doo, doo, doo?” Flurry Heart just giggled because she did not understand what she was doing to her caretakers and her parents. 


“BABY PEGASUS DOO, DOO, DOO, DOO, DOO, DOO!
BABY PEGASUS DOO, DOO, DOO, DOO, DOO, DOO!
BABY PEGASUS DOO, DOO, DOO, DOO, DOO, DOO!”


The three of them screeched at the top of their lungs. Flurry just giggled some more, it could be considered an evil laugh if she knew what she was doing to her poor guardians. She did not know but that didn’t make it any less painful.

“I WISH I WAS BACK IN STONE DOO, DOO, DOO, DOO, DOO, DOO.” Discord yelled in the air, nothing. Nothing was worse than this damn song.

“I WISH I WAS BACK IN ICE DOO, DOO, DOO, DOO, DOO, DOO.” Sombra screamed, when did he lose his sanity? He felt like he was sane before this. This felt like a fever dream, he was in the Princess of Love's kitchen, living in her home, helping take care of her child, screaming this infernal song. 

“I’LL TAKE LUNA'S OLD PLACE ON THE MOON, DOO, DOO, DOO, DOO, DOO, DOO.” Cadence meant it too, anything to get away from this damn song. She never wanted to see another pegasus for as long as she lived. 

“Hey guys, we uh….we doing okay?” Shining Armor heard the screaming from down the hall. Every pony in the castle could probably hear the screaming. 

“DOO, DOO, DOO, DOO, DOO, DOO.” Is the response he got from the three of them, in unison.

He knew of the song but he had been off patrolling and training the guards enough to avoid the mental breakdown that was happening in his kitchen, but just barely. He hovered Flurry out of the hands of Discord and to his hooves. Since he had been busy he felt he was low on his Flurry time and it was his daughter. “I uh think I will just take this and uh. I’ll just leave you be.” 

“DOO, DOO, DOO, DOO, DOO, DOO” 

He heard them yelling as he left with Flurry Heart, what could be so bad about that song? “Want daddy to play you that song?” He got a coo from his daughter and it melted his heart and he went off to play his daughter her favorite song. What a fool, he knows not what he does to himself.

In a kitchen sat three adults just having finished belting Baby Pegasus angrily at the top of their lungs. “There has to be something we can do.” Said Discord he felt so defeated, and he had been actually defeated before. “Is it too late to take over Equestria again? I can NOT hear that blasted song.” 

“I am on the same page, this is a fate worse than death and I have actually died,” Sombra said with a long exasperated sigh. 

Cadence wanted to ask Sombra questions about that but it was better not to, he always avoided questions about his life much like Discord, but if you let the two of them talk. You could pick up tidbits of information, Cadence wondered if they knew they were doing that. Or if they just did it without thinking. Whatever the answer was this is how she would have to learn about them until they trusted her enough to tell her everything. “We have to change the song she likes. We just have to.” 

“To what? We already tried feeding her every childhood song that we could find!” Sombra shouted into the air. They had sung through five children's songbooks to Flurry. She didn’t like any other song but that one. 

“We make one, step aside my improv skills are about to be out the roof!” Discord stood up. He picked Sombra and Cadence up in his arms as he ran out of the kitchen and to Shining, he didn’t bother waiting for an answer. He was going to change the song Flurry like, even if it was the death of him. He burst through the throne room doors to find a crazed looking Shining.

“Doo, doo, doo, doo,” Shining sang to the song, he had caved, this was it. This was Tartarus, no it was worse. This was worse than Tartarus. He groaned as the song started once more. If he turned it off Flurry would cry and demand it back on. So he, of course, played it, again, and again, and again. 

Discord snapped it off much to Flurry’s dismay “Flurry, Flurry look at Discord. Look at me, I have a new song for you!” He booped Flurry’s nose with his claw and she giggled. She attempted to eat his go-tee, which had grown much bigger, it could be considered to be more of a beard. Taking care of it just slipped his mind which wasn’t something that normally happened. He just had kept so much of his attention on Flurry. Of course, Sombra, Cadence, and Shining spent a load of time with her. He didn’t have to hang around when Sombra looked after Flurry but he did have to hang around when she was with Cadence and Shining, just in case. That didn't leave him a lot of time to himself, though he didn't mind.

Sombra did his best to cover Discord as much as possible but he also did two jobs, advisor and bookkeeper. The official one too, which was a crazy thought. Discord still couldn’t believe Sombra was helping run the Crystal Empire. What a crazy world they lived in. Covering flurry’s tracks was Discord's only job as well as keeping a general eye on her. It was the hardest thing he had ever done as it was incredibly boring. He took her pranking, or to go cause light chaos to keep it interesting. Flurry giggled once again and Discord was pulled away from his thoughts. Ok time to make a children's song it couldn’t be that hard.

“Princess Celestia, raises the sun,” he said snapping up a figure of Celestia, that figure activated her horn and she raised a tiny sun. “Makes time tick by, makes the crops grow, She makes sure the day runs.” He said as he puppeted the figure of Celestia to move the sun in an arch-like it did in real life. “Princess Luna raises the moon” He sang as he changed the figure from 'Tia to Lu-Lu. “Makes sure you dream, no nightmares for you, she makes sure of that real soon.” He snapped his fingers and Lu-Lu changed into Sparkles. “Princess Twilight, she spreads friendship. She's your aunt, her friends, always attached to her at the hip.” Her friends appeared by her side smiling and laughing with one another. 

It wasn’t his best line but how do you rhyme friendship? “Mama Cadence,” he said as he snapped up a copy of Cadence. Flurry exploded with giggles and Discord broke from the song “yes it's your Mama. This one is.” He said as he made the figure dance about which only made Flurry giggle more. “Mom spreads love.” He said he snapped the figure of Cadence lit her horn and a heart appeared. “Makes sure all creatures have it, even if it takes a shove.” The heart went from Cadence to Flurry and she giggled with glee in Discord's arms. 

“You like that huh?" Discord then proceeded to summon a bunch of randomly chaotic things, checkered potatoes, spotted lambs, lamas with hats, a unicorn named Charlie, and finally an octopus that blew bubbles when you squeezed it. That last one made Flurry explode with excitement as she grabbed and bit into it. Squeezing it with pure delight, much more interested in the octopus than in any of the songs. "I'll create it anytime you like. I'll create whatever you want. You gonna stop needing….that.” He said daring not to speak its name and Flurry just giggled, octopus in mouth, and Discord sighed with relief. He'd rather do that a million times than hear the cursed song. 

"Couldn't you have just brainwashed her?" Sombra asked as soon as he realized that was an option. 

"Can you brainwash me? Oh please, Discord I can't bear to look at…..you know what….without thinking the song. Oh please do it.” Cadence hoped he would, she went through her days in fear. Fear of that cursed song.

“Me too!” Shining said quickly afraid that Discord would not offer to do it. He needed the song gone from his head. What was he thinking, playing this song?

“I can erase all our minds of the lyrics but I will keep the rest of the memories. We just won’t know how the song goes but we will know that it was painful. That way we never want to find out. But I can't do that for Flurry she is too young. A brainwash could hurt her you know since she still growing up. I don’t want to hurt her.”  Discord said as he tried to explain brainwashing 101 to ponies who knew nothing of it. 

“I supposed that makes sense,” Sombra said.

“I don’t care if it does just erase my brain Discord. ERASE IT.” Cadence felt that at this moment she would turn evil. Evil and take over the empire. Then she would interrogate her people until she found the writer of that song. Then she would hang him from the tallest building she could. Where would the elements send her after that? As long as it did not contain that cursed song she did not care where she went. 

Discord did not argue with Cadence he learned a frazzled mother was not a force to be messed with. He’d rather kneel before the Tree of Harmony and tell it that it’s the best force in the universe. Which was not true he’d cross his fingers while doing it, he was the best force of course, but he’d at least fake it. Do that, rather than mess with Cadence. She….her motherly stare….was way worse then Fluttershy's ever was. You did not tell her no, not when she was like this. Sometimes it made him wonder what Fluttershy's stare would become if she became a mother. His theory was that she could stare into the face of creatures of unspeakable horrors and those creatures of unspeakable horrors would bend to her will. Tartarus, maybe she could make Grogar himself scared. “Ok.”

So Discord did, he erased the lyrics from every creature's head except for Flurry. While still keeping the general memories of the song. The painful, painful, lovely memories. As much as Discord complained about the song he couldn’t help but smile at all the chaos she caused them. How could he not love it? The memory was worth keeping even if the song wasn’t.
> Windows
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

It was just a normal average day, those are the days that it gets you. The unexpected. That is just what happened. Discord was doing his brand new job, well it wasn’t all that new, he had been doing it for a couple of months now. He won't lie at first it was terribly boring but now he was loving it. Flurry was chaos, just unfiltered utter chaos. Oh, the shenanigans they caused together when they went pranking. 

She even loved his magic, which only melted Discord’s heart more, not that many creatures enjoyed his magic so purely. She would often demand it, that or his attention. It was great, how could he not love her? It wasn’t all that hard to take care of her. She set fires from time to time but it wasn’t all that bad. He put them out pretty quickly, no creature ever noticed. 

The memories of those fires were starting to fade, becoming merely funny stories to the staff of Cadence’s temporary clumsiness. That’s what she told them, that she kept knocking and tripping over candles. Discord couldn’t believe that her citizens believed that, it was so blatantly a lie. Maybe more ponies were on her side then she thought and every creature was pretending it was her. 

He could not be sure but as he looked down at the bundle of chaos. He couldn’t help but feel a surge of protectiveness and love, he hadn't really planned for this. He really didn’t plan much, it wasn’t very chaotic. Using spells you don’t fully understand, that’s chaotic and also irresponsible. Something he had a better grasp on, was that a good thing? He did not know. He was sure that it had to do with the spell he put on Flurry, he put a tracker on her to let him know if she was ever in trouble. He did it on a whim so Cadence would feel better and stop crying. Now he wasn’t totally sure that’s all it was, his new theory is that he accidentally marked her as his own. Maybe? 

“Aruoueoiur.”

Discord sighed as Flurry made noises at him. It didn’t matter much now, it was too late to go back, he was already deep into the lie Cadence was selling to the creatures around her. He already promised, he was already helping. He still hated having to lie to Fluttershy, but he had to now.

Poof

Discord looked down at his empty arms, Flurry was gone again. His eyes lit up as he focused on getting her out of the ether. A yellow ball formed in his claw and paw, he looked down to see nothing. Nothing was there, he had done the spell correctly. Flurry should be in the middle of the ball. He...hadn’t pulled her out of the ether. Discord started to panic that spell always worked. His eyes glowed green.

“Yes, Discord?” Sombra said, why had he been summoned here? He was busy helping Cadence and Shining. Running a few errands that they didn’t have time to run themselves. 

“It’s Flurry. I tried to pull her back from the ether with the spell but she didn’t come back.” He said showing Sombra the empty yellow ball of magic that was supposed to contain Flurry. 

“Oh shit” Sombra said realizing what this meant, Flurry was somewhere, doing something. What, and where they did not know. “We have to find her.”

SMASH

“I don’t think we do,” Discord said as he heard the smashing of windows. It was coming from the throne room. He took off, Sombra not far behind him. They teleported straight into the throne room to see Flurry hovering herself above some broken glass.

“Flurry no!” Sombra said as he trotted over to her, activating the same spell Discord used. His eyes glowed red as he focused on what he wanted to happen. Flurry to end up in his magic, he cast it and Flurry teleported away. She wasn’t in his magic but across the room.

SMASH SMASH SMASH

Three more windows broke, glass flew everywhere but Discord and Sombra shielded Flurry. They stood in front of her, blocking her from potential danger. The explosions she was causing were huge, so huge that she almost burned herself with the first one she made. So the dived in front of every explosion they could after that. Their thoughts on her and her alone, they had to make sure that she wasn't hurt. That she wouldn't be caught.

SMASH SMASH

Flurry had once again teleported away at least it was the last of the windows. Although they were glad that was the case she was currently hovering over more broken glass. Which caused them to go back to being anxious. 

“AH!” Sombra yelled, in a panic he threw twice the magic he normally would into his spell. The spell that brought Flurry to them and out of the ether. There she was in his magic, he took one look at Discord. “I….had to double the amount of magic to get her in there. She’s...she’s getting stronger.” He turned and stared at the glass on the floor. “We have to cover for her!”

“I’ll rebuild one half, you rebuild the other half.” Discord suggested, well he meant to, but really it was the only option. He used his magic and whatever glass he could find to replace the windows. The once broken glass was now solid chaotic patterns of colors and shapes that resembled a kaleidoscope. 

“Ok,” Sombra focused his magic on the other windows. He had no better ideas so he just followed Discord’s lead. His magic formed windows that resembled billowing smoke. He also used whatever glass he could find to help form the windows. 

That left just the two of them and some missing glass. They knew some glass was missing because they had to use their magic to form the windows to completion. If they could just find those pieces they could possibly change the windows back to what they originally were. Oh and Cadence. She would have to be-

“I heard the sound of-” Cadence gasped at the sight, you think she would notice the windows first but she didn’t. She noticed Discord and Sombra covered in glass, bleeding,. “Discord! Sombra! Are you ok?!” She ran to them and looked them over. There was glass in their limbs, back, even some in their face and hair. 

“Yes? Why would we not be?” Sombra asked, was something wrong? 

"You don’t feel that?" Cadence asked with concern, it looked like it had hurt and badly. How could they not notice? 

"Feel what?" They both asked confused as to what they were missing. 

"You guys are covered in glass! We have to get it out. What happened?" Wow, was it because they were powerful that they didn't feel it? Or maybe it was adrenaline? Cadence thought to herself that it was most likely adrenaline. 

"It was Flurry she broke all the windows, don’t worry-" Discord started to explain before he was interrupted by Cadence. 

"Were you protecting her? Is that why you are hurt?" Cadence said, oh no. She hadn't wanted this to happen. She wanted them to be filled with love, not glass. 

"She was exploding them and she got really close to the explosions." Sombra explained, "we just...we didn't want her to get hurt."  

"Flurry Heart no that’s bad. Look at what you did to Sombra and Discord!” Cadence scolded Flurry. 

Discord and Sombra hated when she had to do that, they knew why Cadence scolded her daughter. She had told them before if you weren’t firm with Flurry she wouldn’t know it was wrong but that didn’t mean they liked it. They hated it because she would always-

"Waaaaa."

Cry, their ears flattened and Cadence noticed immediately and teleported Flurry away. “Shining will take care of it. I need to take care of you. Let's get that out of you.” She said as she levitated a first aid kit from the wall in the throne room. She always kept one handy and it reminded Discord of Fluttershy and her first aid kit for her furry friends. 

“Now let's get that glass out.” She said as she took out a pair of tweezers and looked closely at Discord’s tail. It had three pieces in it. She quickly removed them as she did for his arms, back, hair and there was one even in his ear. She made sure to disinfect every spot she removed the glass from. He hadn't moved an inch, not even so much as a flinch. He should have felt something, but he didn't. Cadence was no longer sure it was adrenalin, maybe it was power.

“You know I could just snap it out.” Discord suggested Flurry's alphabet blocks hurt more than this did. 

“No, I want to be extra sure you are ok.”  Cadence insisted as she took one last glance over him to make sure he wasn't hurt anywhere else. 

"I assure you I will be fine if I do that. " Discord sighed, he wasn't sure what the problem was. He thought she trusted him, maybe she trusted him but didn't trust his magic? That didn't really make a lot of sense, he was his magic. While he was all for not making sense normally. He was more frustrated by the confusion her statement brought. Why was she doing this?

"I know you will be but what if you miss a piece or worse! You could get an infection!" Cadence said as she fretted over him just like she would Flurry. What if something happened, and when he cast the spell it didn't work? Cadence wanted to be sure he would be ok, no taking risks. 

"Cadence I'm 100 percent sure I will not get an infection. Do you think my powers can't do it right because they are chaotic? I do know basic healing magic." Discord rolled his eyes, only getting more agitated.

"No Discord, I know you can do it. As a mother, I just worry about these things. I like to take the extra step to make sure you will be ok. I care.” She said as she removed the last of the glass from Discord's arms. She approached Sombra next only for him to turn away from her. 

Discord was going to protest, maybe ask some more questions when Sombra took all of his attention. "Ohhhh shit Sombra there's glass in your back. It's....really in there."

"Oh no no nonononononono you are not touching me!" Sombra said as he backed away from Cadence and toward Discord. 

"Sombra I have to get the glass out,"  Cadence protested, why was he so sensitive about this? Just another question that had no answer. She had a lot of those these days. It really made her angry, was it because he didn't trust her?

Sombra figitated back and forth "Fine!" He had given in and let her take care of him, it kinda surprised him that she wanted to.  He turned around, causing Cadence to gasp in surprise. Discord was right, it was really in there. 

Cadence picked up her tweezers "Breathe slowly Sombra, try to focus on Discord. This will most likely hurt." 

Discord waved to Sombra, all of his focus shifted to his best friend. Poor stallion. 

Sombra looked at Discord and tried his best to ignore Cadence. “so uh how was your DAY” he said as his eyes rolled back into his head and tears fell down his face. “Ow.” 

Discord frowned, “sorry Sombra that would have hurt even if I snapped it out.”

“I know.” Sombra breathed heavily as he wiped the tears from his eyes. “That super hurt.”

Cadence just stared at both of them. While she wasn't happy with the situation Flurry caused. She was happy that she made some progress with them. They had let her take care of them in the end, and while it was a small step it was a step in the right direction. They had been living with her for a couple of months now and she wanted them to feel that they belonged here. Welcomed and comfortable around her, her husband, and their subjects. She could not escape the feeling that they were not that. Well, Sombra was, Discord seemed like he was more relaxed around her and Flurry. She also couldn't escape the thought that she was still missing something from the equation. Something that she was missing in her mission to bring them love. For the first time she looked over to the windows and her jaw dropped an all thoughts left her head. The windows were so beautiful, she felt grander somehow. "How?" She said pointing at the windows with her hoof. 

"Oh yeah, we put them back together with our magic and the glass we could find. We could probably reverse it now that we have all the pieces back," Sombra offered.

"No." Cadence said with a smile. 

"No?" Discord asked back to being confused instead of concerned. He was going through a lot of emotions today it seemed. That fact aggravated him and the fact that fact aggravated him just aggravated him more. He tried not to think about it too hard and just focused on the windows "well what do you want us to do with them?" He couldn't help the angry tone of his voice.

Cadence noticed he was angry but could not discern why. "I love them. do you think we can show Celestia? I wanna show off my new windows."

"You want to keep them?" Discord asked even more confused than before, "why?" No creature wanted his magic to stick around, while fun at the moment. Eventually, creatures would want Discord's chaos to go away. 

"I just said that they were beautiful, they are grand, they are amazing. I love them very much, I think I'll keep them like this." Cadence said with a smile. "I truly love them."

"No one...has ever like my magic," Sombra said as he looked to Cadence, to Discord then at the windows. Eventually, he looked back to Cadence "you really like them?" It was a first for him, to have someone like what he did with his magic. It made his heart swell with happiness. 

"Of course I do, they are amazing. I just have to show them off. Could you bring Celestia, Luna, Twilight and her friends here Discord? Also, could you put up curtains? I want it to be a surprise, reveal it to them."

"Okay." Discord said not really sure of how he felt. Cadence liked his magic, thought it was beautiful, wanted to keep it around. Something he also never heard before. His head swam with thoughts but mostly he was just unsure. Unsure what to do or say, he knew they were allies. He knew that she tolerated him, but did she actually appreciate his presence? Or was she just tolerating him again? He was so lost, he couldn't tell if she was being genuine or not. In a snap, every pony Cadence asked to be there was there and curtains were lined up in from of her windows. 

"This brings back memories," Celestia said as the last time she had been randomly teleported to Cadence's castle it was to explain to Sombra what a baby was. Something she was glad she saw, she still giggled about it. So did every pony she told.

"Indeed it does but this time I bring you here to brag!" Cadence said as she jumped excitedly. Even though Flurry caused all this to happen she really did like the windows. "I redecorated! Actually, I asked Discord and Sombra to redecorate. Discord!" She said as nothing happened. "Discord?" She looked at him.

Discord was currently scanning the room, his eyes lit up and he flew through the air and he grabbed Flurry right out of it. "Gocha!" He said as his eyes dimmed down. This was it, it was too much, "I'm too old to be doing this!" He yelled as he slammed his face into the ground, arms above his head. He held Flurry in his magic. He was aggravated, tired, confused. 

Cadence could hear Shining's hoovesteps outside the throne room "Flurry-" he started as he noticed her in Discard's claw and paw. "oh thank Celestia."

"Your welcome but I had nothing to do with it." Celestia joked if she was going to be a phrase, she withheld the right to joke about it when a creature used it in her presence. 

Shining blushed as he went over to Discord and took his daughter out of his hands. "Sorry about that, she got away from me before I could react."

Nothing was said as Cadence and Shining lied to every pony in that room, saying Discord and Sombra were only here because Flurry teleported into the ether often and they could bring her out of it. That was all they knew, that she could do that and while scary and slightly powerful. It was assumed to be normal for a baby alicorn, beyond that no creature knew anything.

Cadence turned her head to Discord who was groaning into the ground. She could see the desperation, the parenthood desperation. She could feel the frustration radiating off of him. "Discord are you ok?"

"nooooooooooooooooooo my boooooonessssss huuuuuuuuuuuuurt" Discord whined, it was true that he never felt his age but he did right now "is that normal?" He said as he teleported Fluttershy over to him, he hugged her and she didn't refuse. He needed her comfort, his body and mind ached.  

Cadence laughed "welcome to parenthood Discord. Just in case we should take you to see a doctor we can go tomorrow."

"uhhhhhhhggggggggggg" Discord whined, "I rather go to the spa."

"Okay, if that's what will help you," Cadence said. 

"Really?" His ears perked up but he did not let go of Fluttershy. He kept her in his arms, scratching behind her ears. It made him feel better, calmed him down. Maybe Cadence did generally like Sombra and him, at least more than just tolerating them. Maybe she was doing this because she felt she had to. Because of their help? Maybe it was a 'in your debt' thing. That had to be it, that was the idea he settled on. 

At that moment, Sombra settled on a similar thought to that as well as he watched from the sidelines. There was no way Cadence would actually care for them. No creature did.

"Of course!" Cadence said, did he think she was kidding? Well, she wasn't, they could go.

"YES! You have no idea how sore I am. I cast that damn spell a whole bunch of times today. I have never felt so old before today." He said as he hugged Fluttershy closer "Hi Fluttershy."

"Hi Discord," this was pretty par for the course for him. He always liked her attention, although she was concerned about his bones hurting. Discord never felt pain, or old. That worried her.

"Children will make you feel that way. Now I'd like to show off my awesome new art if you wouldn't mind." Cadence said as she brought the conversation back around to what was happening. She was becoming very skilled at that, it was all thanks to Discord and Sombra. They could derail a conversation into anything.

Discord didn't move as he snapped his fingers and the curtains fell. Gasps and mutters could be heard as the ponies stared at the windows. 

"You did this?" Twilight asked she had never seen anything like it. She didn't even know their magic could be constructive like that. It really took her by surprise. Just like Cadence asking them to redecorate, something bit at the back of her mind. Like she was missing something, she looked at Cadence. There was definitely something fishy going on. 

"Oh, they create stuff all the time, mostly for their rooms. I think this is my favorite one." Cadence said with sincerity. "Gaze in awe of it. Be jealous." She giggled, maybe just maybe Sombra and Discord rubbed off on her a little bit. Well, maybe more than just a little bit.
> Freeze Tag
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

They say things get worse before they get better, they were right. While Flurry didn't seem to put herself in danger again, she was still casting spells. Mostly fire and teleporting, she teleported into the ether all the time. Requiring Cadence, Shining, Discord, and Sombra to keep a stronger eye on her, not that they didn’t previously. Previously Flurry was fine, she just created small fires here and there. While she teleported into the ether, she usually did around the same time every day. Something they handled just fine, so fine that it was easy. Now Discord and Sombra had to tighten their security around Flurry ever since she exploded all the windows in the throne room. For the first time ever he and Sombra had gotten a taste of the kind of power Flurry could display. Real and raw. 

A constant and vigilant watch was required, 24/7, leaving Discord and Sombra more than sore from casting all those spells, they were exhausted. At every turn Cadence, and Shining reprimanded their daughter. Doing their best to try and get her to stop. Eventually, Discord and Sombra joined them after learning the best technique from Cadence. They just couldn’t keep doing this forever, even they had their limits. While they disliked scolding Flurry, they wanted, no they needed this to stop. While Discord and Sombra still cared for Flurry, they could not help but feel some doubt. What if she got so powerful that not even Discord and Sombra could help? They would not, no, they could not have a repeat of the window incident. Together they sat at the kitchen table, staring at Flurry who sat in the middle of it, no creature moved. So far everything was fine, that is until Shining randomly froze in place. Literally.

“Uhhhh hmmm.” Sombra looked over to Discord he really hoped this was part of a bad joke with a bad punchline. He had seen the glow of Flurry’s horn, but he didn't want to believe it. He wanted it to be a joke, that didn't mean it was. 

“She….didn’t teleport!” Discord picked up Flurry in his hands "who is the best monster baby, you. It's you, your a good magic baby. Who is a good magic baby? YOU!" Discord smiled, he was so thankful, she needed a reward for not teleporting. Little did he know he was encouraging something else. "Here have this." He said as he conjured up Flurry's favorite toy. An octopus that blew bubbles when you squeezed it. She giggled with glee and activated her horn again, sending off the spell once more. Discord looked at her, then at the group, and realized. He messed up. No creature there was frozen. "Oh no!"

"Discord!' Cadence reprimanded, though she couldn't fault him entirely. She didn't really stop him. She didn't think she had to. She thought the same, just glad that Flurry did not teleport, she was going to praise Flurry next while scolding her for freezing her father. She still planned to do that, though she had to be careful to not encourage teleporting, again. 

Discord got up and focused, he closed his eyes, used his senses to try and feel out where the spell went. Eventually, he had found the spot. "Ok, I'll get this." He said as he teleported away to the spot the spell landed, there on the floor of the entrance of the castle lay a single guard frozen. All the other guards gathered around him. He even saw a few maids peek around the corner. He could erase their minds, manipulate them to remember whatever he wanted them to remember. But that was something the old Discord did. This Discord promised Fluttershy he wouldn't use those powers without permission. Like the time he erased that song, whatever that song was. "Hello!"

"Hiya Discord. What is going on?" Ivy asked, not even phased by the frozen guard on the ground. Crazy but fun things always happened around Discord. It was no cause for alarm. 

"Do not worry my friend, I am starting a game of freeze tag!" He said as he touched the guard on the ground. Unfreezing him. "Literally, any creature who wants to play gets freezing powers! Sombra and I are playing. Go gather any creature who desires to play and meet me back here!" He snapped his fingers and teleported away to the kitchen. He saw the faces of his friends, waiting on bated breath to see what the verdict was.

“So?” Shining asked nervously, Sombra having freed him from the ice that once held him captive. 

“So, we are playing freeze tag now. With actual Freezing. Who wants to join me? She froze a random guard, tons of creatures were around. So I said I did it, and that it was a game. At least she didn’t disappear." Discord added, maybe it would be permanent, maybe she would stop teleporting. He sure hoped so. "Oh and Sombra I may have said you were playing."

"I guess I will then. Sounds like it would be fun anyway." He said as he just shrugged his shoulders. One of the first things he learned from Discord was to go with the flow. Especially when Discord was involved. 

"So either I watch Flurry or Cadence does," Shining said as he sighed, he always missed out on the fun. "Maybe I could join this time?" 

"Maybe...maybe we leave her be. This could be good, she didn’t teleport. We could use this as a sort of test. See what happens. Hope for the best, cast something to watch her for us." Cadence suggested but all she got was wide-eyed stairs as if she was crazy. 

"I guess we could do that, I could cast something that lets me know if she produces magic. But if I get distracted it could break. Which is why Discord and I didn't do that from the start." Sombra suggested, "I don't think I can stay focused for that long. Especially if I'm supposed to play tag." 

"Hmm, I guess I will watch her. I should make sure she doesn't keep freezing ponies. I'll blow the whistle if she casts anything." Cadence said as she carried away Flurry Heart. Shining should get to go this time, she usually went and she could tell he wanted to stay and have fun. She did too, but it was her turn to take responsibility for Flurry.

In a snap, Discord took himself, a newly freed Shining, and Sombra to the meetup point. He was slightly surprised at the sheer amount of creatures before him. "Hello, every-creature." He started looking over the vast amount of them. "I have surprised you all with a game of freeze tag." He snapped his fingers and every-creature glowed a soft blue "I have given you temporary powers. The power to freeze a creature. Then we shall verse each other, the last group standing wins." Discord said as he stood three feet from Sombra "pick a side, fellow creatures." 

"Actually I think I know more creatures who would like to join us." Spear piped up. After spending a ton of time discussing whether or not to trust them with the staff. He decided to give them a shot to at least prove themselves. "I was thinking we could make this one big game." He had some buddies outside the castle that he knew would find this fun.

That random guard gave Discord an idea "more than that. Today is a royal day off. The whole Kingdome can play!" 

"Can you do that?" Ivy asked Discord, he wasn't really in charge. So it left her concerned. What if he got in trouble?

"Eh, why not." Shining stated as he trotted out to the Courtyard "I think it'll be fun." He was going to go announce to the whole Kingdom that they were taking a day off.
> Day In, Day Out
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

It had been a few weeks since the freezing incident. While Flurry cast many problematic spells such as fire...again, water, levitation, and freezing. She never once teleported. Something that made her caretakers incredibly happy. Finally, their constant watch over Flurry could be reduced, if it was even needed. Though that wasn't the focus right now, it wasn't supposed to be at least. This meeting was supposed to be about the Changeling Kingdom, their new allies. It was supposed to be happy but Cadence was nothing but dreary. She couldn't help but sigh.

"Cadence what is wrong my love?" Shining asked his wife's frown was so distracting that he could no longer focus on the meeting.

"What is wrong is I never go out, I’m cooped up here all day unless I go out for matters of love. It’s so stuffy in here. I'm getting a bit stir crazy." Cadence explained while Discord's shenanigans were fun and sometimes relaxing. She craved a real day off, no track covering required. No taking care of a baby, or her kingdom, which is what she actually did during her 'days off.' She was becoming cranky from being under so much pressure all of the time.

"I think every creature could use a vacation," Shining suggested, he too was finding himself on the crankier side. He also used his days off for things he considered productive. Instead of a real day off.

"Wasn’t this meeting supposed to be for the Changeling Empire?" Sombra asked as he pointed his hoof to the whiteboard, which contained complex notes for supplying troupes to the Changeling Kingdom. To help with creatures that were occasionally attacking their hive.

"Sombra don't be such a slave driver. It wouldn’t kill you to have a little fun. Come on, you have to admit it, you could use a change of pace. A day off." Cadence sassed, her face scrunched up.

"Well some-pony is cranky," Sombra said as he smiled at his monarch. Did she forget? He was an ex-slave driver.

"Oh...right. Sorry, I forget sometimes. I didn't mean to be so mean." Cadence said quickly regretting snapping at him.

"Don't worry Cadence, I used to be one anyway. I think I could use a break too. Why don't we call Discord? I do believe you promised him a spa trip that you never went on." Sombra said as he put down the marker he was holding up in his magic, he wouldn't be needing that today. Nothing was going to get done today. "I'll stay with Shining, I'm sure we can find something fun to do."

Shining just shrugged. "He is right, I'm sure the two of us will have just as much fun as you two do."

Cadence blew her whistle with excitement, forgetting one crucial part of the plan. Discord was in the meeting within an instant. "Yes?" He asked before Cadence realized what she forgot. A baby sitter. "Discord I want us to go on that spa trip. Flurry has stopped teleporting and I think it's safe to go out. Sombra and Shining also need a break, but who will watch Flurry?"

This was Discord's time to shine, he knew who he wanted to suggest. "Fluttershy. She is good with kids, and she can keep a secret. Trust me, I know. I really want to tell Fluttershy anyway." His heart squeaked hard, he really, really, hoped Cadence would let Fluttershy in on the secret.

Cadence smiled nervously, she didn't want any other pony besides Twilight in on the secret. She made a promise to herself that Twilight would know next. Though, she couldn't see that happening. On a day trip to see Twilight, of course with Discord and Flurry. Cadence took a peek at her schedule and stack of work. She knew that a responsibility like this would still be too much. She didn't really have another option. Plus something about Discord's actions begged her to pick Fluttershy. "Okay."

"YES!" Discord yelled into the air, he was victorious. This had been stressing him out since the beginning. Fluttershy's friendship meant the world to him. He hated having to put that through a test. He snapped her right to the castle without even thinking about it. "Hi Shy!" He squeaked at her, he was so happy to see her.

"Hello Discord, It is nice to see you, but maybe you could give me a warning before you teleport me all the way to the Crystal Empire," Fluttershy said calmly, she smiled up at him. She knew he was just excited about something. He didn't mean to do it, so Fluttershy made sure to kindly suggest not doing that next time.

"Fluttershy I have so many things to tell you but you have to Pinkie Pie promise not to tell Twilight." Discord started, he felt like any second he'd spill all the information. He was trying his best to hold it in, but he wasn't sure he could.

"Uh...why? What is wrong?" Fluttershy asked hiding things from your friends wasn't something you were supposed to do. Maybe it was important, or a surprise?

"Twilight is just very busy, I don't want her to get stressed. You know what she is like when she is stressed." Cadence said as she faintly frowned down at Fluttershy.

Of course, she knew, Fluttershy would never forget some of the harsher things said to her during one of Twilight's Twilightings. She would rip her personality to pieces, causing her heart to break. In addition, she could never forget the time when Rainbow backed her instead of Twilight. Twilight shot her magic at Rainbow, she didn't mean it, she was very stressed out. Rainbow had gotten in her face and Twilight summoned a shield so hard and fast it caused Rainbow to fly across the room and hit the wall. Of course, she regretted it later but Fluttershy knew. She sighed, it was probably for the best "okay. Cross my heart, hope to fly, stick a cupcake in my eye." She said as she did the motions.

As soon as Discord saw her do it he told her everything. "fluttershyflurryispowerfulandlikeacrazyamount. Socrazysheteleportsintothinair, lightsthingsonfire, andfreezesponiesinplace. Thatisjustafewofthethingsshecando. Thencadencecriedandifeltbadsoiputthisspellonflurry. Ithinkthespellmessedwithmybrain, madememoreresponsible, ithinkiaccidentallymarkedherasmykid. Isthatbad? Ithinkthatmightbebad." Discord panted so hard it bordered on hyperventilating which Fluttershy immediately picked up on.

"Oh, Discord. Breathe, breathe. It's ok" she said as she hugged him tightly. "Did you promise not to tell me?" She asked but all she got was a nod in response. "You kept your promise very well, I'm very proud of you. You have done such a good job here. Of course, I'm upset you lied but I can see why you did. Thank you for including me now." She could feel his breathing ease up. "Why are you telling me now?"

"Well uh, we need you to watch Flurry. We could use a day off. She stopped teleporting also...I hated keeping this from you." He said as he hugged Fluttershy harder. His relationship with Fluttershy was the most important one Discord had. She was the only reason he wasn't back in stone, for she was preventing the rest of the elements from doing exactly that. So he made sure to keep it that way, it was a place he never wanted to go back to. His relationship with her had to stay perfect, stay nice, stay calm. He could not mess up...again.

Cadence sat there astonished at what she saw, she had no idea this was effecting Discord in such a way. "Discord I wish you told me sooner, I would have included her earlier. I'm sorry I put that kind of pressure on you." Cadence hated letting ponies in on her secret. It was an important one, but she hated the stress she put onto her friends even more. Could she be sure this was the right thing to do? No. She did know that it was what Discord needed, and possibly what Sombra needed too. She couldn't deny what they needed, she couldn't let herself be the reason they were uncomfortable. If Sombra asked she would let him choose a pony to tell too.

Discord was silent, why didn't he think of that in the first place? That was stupid, he just sighed "I guess I didn't think of it." That was a partial lie he did think of it, but he didn't think Cadence would let him. He felt once he asked he wouldn't be able to hold in the secret anymore.

Sombra stayed silent, while his relationship to Pinkie was just important as Discord's relationship to Fluttershy. He wasn't upset at the choice of Fluttershy, she had always been kind to him. As long as he kept in the good graces of at least one element, he would be fine. It did not matter which one it was, though he wished it was Pinkie. As long as one relationship was kept spotless, he would be fine.

Fluttershy just smiled as she was finally let go from Discord's grasp. "Alright, I'm sure I will be just fine. How hard could it be?" She asked as she was given Flurry Heart from Cadence. Who teleported to her room and back in order to get her child.

"Alright, bottles are in the fridge. Blow the whistle if there are issues at all. Please be very careful." Cadence said as she started to stress out. This was the first time she would be far away from her baby. If Flurry was not in the room she was usually close and Cadence spent only 1 to 2 hours per meeting. If they were longer there would be a break midway through, so she could see her baby. The idea of leaving seemed worse the longer she thought about it.

"Cadence stop fretting. Come on let's go relax I know just the place. I heard all the maids talking about it, supposed to do wonders for the soul. So let's go alreadaaayyy!" Discord said as he picked up the fretting mother, "Relaxation station here we come." He said as he snapped them away. Leaving Shining, Sombra, and Fluttershy behind.

"So what do you do for fun?" Sombra asked Shining, he realized he knew almost nothing of his hobbies beside the guard. He liked doing that.

"I think you’d love Ogres and Ooblets although it's more interesting with Discord." He said as he realized that he too did not know much of Sombra's hobbies either. Aside from that he was good at math and running a Kingdom. Which was both surprising and ironic.

"Everything is more interesting with Discord. Should we be worried the two of them are out by themselves?" Sombra asked as he realized that everything was more interesting with Discord. That meant things would definitely get crazy.

"I’m sure it’ll be fine how much trouble could they possibly get up to?" Shining said as he shrugged his shoulders, it was just the two of them. It would be just fine.





Cadence and Discord teleported straight to the spa Discord was talking about, it was beautiful. A Glistening marble structure surrounded them, and the floor was glass. Underneath that glass swam koi fish of different soothing colors. Like blue, yellow, green, and grey. Trees lined the sides of the building, underneath them glowed a cool blue. The space was so open, so free, that one could feel calm just looking at it.

"Wow," Cadence said as she soaked in more of the calming surrounding, the gentle sound of the wind through the trees, the gentle fall of the waterfall falling into the koi pond that led underneath the floor. She didn't get to enjoy it for very long though.

"Princess Cadence I need help and your advice." A mare said sadness echoed in her voice. It was a matter of love, and Cadence was the best.

"Of course," Cadence said as she smiled at her subject but on the inside, she was crying. Why? She just wanted to relax she needed to relax.

"My husband and I, we keep getting into arguments. I really love him, but he doesn't understand me." The mare said, not even bothering to introduce herself to the princess. She didn't need to, Cadence would be able to help her anyway.

Cadence activated her horn and closed her eyes and waited, she felt a strong love. A love that struggled against itself. "My magic says you are not listening to each other, your talking, but not listening. Go to him and listen, ask him to listen back."

"Thank you, princess, I'll go do that now." The mare said as she ran off to go see her husband.

"Well that was annoying," Discord huffed. He did not appreciate the interruption. "Let's get back to relaxing." He said as he picked up Cadence. This time he would carry her. Ponies usually did not approach him. He walked up the stone stairs and to the big oak doors of the spa. Ornate carvings of ponies with harps danced on the wood.

"NO MEN!"

The sudden shout spooked Discord, he jumped at the sight of an angry mare "I'm sorry, I didn't know!!" His heart was currently squeaking in his throat. He usually didn't get scared, not really, but she came out of nowhere. No men, he looked at the sign that confirmed the mares statement. A circle crossing out a stallion on the sign.

"That's ok, just don't do it again. Please leave." The mare said as she back down. Discord looked legitimately surprised by her presence. She had even scared him, which made her feel a little guilty. He had become a favorite in the Kingdom as he was always doing fun things. Like freeze tag, where you could actually get frozen. "Sorry, no exceptions."

Discord snapped them both away, "hmmm." He said as he was approached by another random mare "hey Discord, can I borrow Cadence? I need her wisdom." He was surprised, this mare just came up to him. Just like that, they usually never did. Usually, creatures were too afraid. Though he was holding the Princess of Love, so I guess that made him less terrifying.

"Sure. Go at it. But I still get to hold her." He said as he refused to put her down. His heart was still squeaking from the scare, and he didn't want to put her down for his own comfort. Not that he would admit that out loud. The two of them started conversing but Discord did not listen. He did not care, he wanted in that spa. He did not want to be interrupted, and he could tell Cadence wanted the same thing. He waited until that mare left before he snapped his fingers. "Cadence, we are getting into that spa." He said, his voice high and feminine because you know, he was a she now.

Cadence's jaw dropped Discord was in front of her, but he wasn't Discord. He was a pegasus mare, she looked down at herself, she was also just a pegasus. No more was she an alicorn. She smiled, "let us go!" She said as she and Discord ran off to the spa once more. Not a single time were they interrupted, Cadence was a nobody now. It felt so great. "I’m…." Cadence started looking at the mare who previously yelled at Discord. When she realized that she couldn't introduce herself normally. What was she going to do now?

"I’m Peace and this is my best friend Poetic Metre we have come to relax at your spa. We heard all about it from some other mares." Discord offered, he had this covered.

"Come on in." The mare at the door said.

The two of them entered the spa and their jaws dropped, the inside was much bigger. It was adorned with statues carved by hoof of mares half-naked and covered in silk. Pictures of nude mares covered the walls in positions that were both artistic and suggestive. Mares walked around however they wished. Cadence had never seen so many mares in one place. It was a paradise. A beautiful earth pony offered them a tray of fruit drinks, "we hope you enjoy your stay." Both Discord and Cadence picked up their drinks with their hooves.

"I think we will." Discord stated this place took his breath away, so much so, he wasn't sure how to put his thoughts together. So he just drank more of his cocktail.





"And that is the basics of Ogres and Ooblets. Any questions?" Shining asked Sombra, they both sat at a tree stump in the garden. Neither of them desired to be inside the castle.

"Nope, it's pretty straight forward," Sombra said, and it was true the game was going to be easy. So easy he wondered if it would be at all interesting.

"Fantastic we will play then, you can have the first roll. We will keep it easy and you don't have to find the monster. It is just there ready to attack." Shining offered, he did not care to get stuck rolling just to find the monster. So he skipped that part, he wanted to dive straight into the fun. Fighting.

"Alright then," Sombra said as he rolled "I attack with my shadow magic." He said but unfortunately, he rolled a three.

"Sorry, but it missed." Shining said, "you'll have to try on your next turn."

"I missed? I never miss, I know that spell like the back of my hoof." Sombra grumbled, the math made this game so interesting, but he hated everything else. He wanted to act like how he would act.

"Well, this is just a pretend fight Sombra," Shining said but before he could say anything more Sombra shot him a smile that sent shivers through his soal.

"It doesn't have to be. Spar with me Shining, come on. You know you want to. We never did get to fight, I took your magic from you before we could. Don't you want to test your skills? Come on, you know you want to." Sombra said as his fangs glinted slightly in the light making him look a tiny bit menacing, but he didn't mean to. He wanted to have fun. "It'll be fine what is the worst that could happen?"

"Ok, you're right. I do want to test my skill. I do like sparring. I never did get the chance to fight you. Let's do it!" Shining said Sombra was right what was the worst that could happen. Shining got up, "follow me to the sparring room." He said as Sombra followed him down some corridors. He wasn't the only one, some of the staff had overheard them. Half went with them, half went to tell as many creatures as they possibly could. They would definitely have a crowd.

"Ok loverboy here are the rules I won't use dark magic, you don't use harmony magic. I will be using shadow magic and you can use unicorn magic. That sound fair to you?" Sombra asked as he entered the sparing room.

"Sounds good to me first one to land a hit wins." Shining offered, he was feeling very confident. He was captain of the guard for a reason.

"Then lets fight!" Sombra yelled.

The air was deathly still as they circled around each other. Sombra was first to attack as he stomped his hoof into the ground. Causing a shadow tendril to appear next to Shining, it attempted to grab his hoof in order to trip him. Shining dodged it pretty easily so Sombra picked up his pace. He was still careful though. He didn't want to go too far, he didn't want to end up hurting Shining. This was for fun after all. Several shadow coils then sprung from the ground all going after Shining's hoof. He blasted through them all with one shot from his horn.

Then Shining made his move running straight to Sombra. Sombra did not move, not a single flinch. He showed absolutely no fear. Shining dove straight for Sombra, head-on, only for him to drop straight to the ground. Shining flew right over him perfectly aligned for a hit. Sombra took that opportunity to shoot a hoof up at his chest and Shining teleported away just in time. He landed right next to Sombra. Shining then attempted to land his back hoof on Sombra's side, but he dodged it, rolling away. Sombra turned into a shadow and sprung up right behind Shining.

Sombra attempted to land a hoof on Shining who backed out of the way last second. He noticed that move left Sombra's head wide open. Shining dove straight for it only to watch Sombra drop to the ground once more. His head on the ground, back right hoof squarely planted on Shining's chest. Sombra had ducked and taken advantage of the forward movement Shining had to take to throw that punch. He had landed straight into Sombra's hoof.

"It was a valiant effort Shining." Sombra said, "but I'm pretty hard to land a hit on unless I let you." Sombra said smugly.

"I demand a rematch," Shining shouted, he had trained for years, surely he would win next time.

"It would be my pleasure," Sombra said with a smile, he was having fun.





Fluttershy stood watch over Flurry, she was currently napping. She thought about when she first entered this room. The first thing Fluttershy noticed was the fireflies that flew around the room. Fluttershy assumed they were real and tried to talk to them, but they did not answer. It had left her confused before she realized that they were most likely from Discord. She had seen him create animals, those animals she could never talk to. Unless he did the talking. She was pretty sure that was it, that is until they spelled out a message. It read 'thank you shy,' then she knew, for sure, that it was from Discord. She smiled.

Then the message was gone, and she went to go pick up a toy when she noticed that all of Flurry's stuffed animals were odd. They were normal animals but in crazy patterns, or shades of purple, black and red. She assumed that they were from both Discord and Sombra. Then they had played together, building a tower out of alphabet blocks. It went well, Flurry hadn't cast a single spell. Her adorableness made Fluttershy's heart swoon but now that she had a quiet moment to herself all she felt was anxiety as she went back to thinking about her situation.

She really did not want to lie to her friend, but she pretty much had to now. Cadence made a very compelling argument to not tell Twilight, but there was something else. This room told Fluttershy that there was more to this story, something she wasn't being told. She would have to talk to Cadence when she got back.





A giggling Discord and Cadence sat in a hot tub, in the bathhouse. They ordered more drinks which only made them gigglier. They were partaking in another one as Discord ordered them hooficures which they were currently being given. Though the art of the bathhouse kept grabbing Discord's attention, there was something off about all the art. He looked over to the mare currently giving him the hooficure he ordered, and he decided to ask her. "Hey all this art, it's all one pony, isn't it? Just one pony posed for all of it?" He asked.

The mare looked at the mare in front of her surprised "you have a good eye, very few have noticed that it is all the same mare. You are very much right."

"That's what was bugging me. I knew something was up with it. So what's her story? She had to have one since she is the subject of that statue." Discord said, he was very much curious about this mare. There was just something about her that resonated with him. He assumed it was her ego. She definitely had one, and then some. With all that confidence she probably did the craziest things

Cadence knew which statue he spoke of. It was not hard to miss, it was of a mare with her hooves behind her head. Her legs spread open. A fountain of water sprayed from behind her, she too was curious about its origins.

"Of course there is, legend has it that she was the one that built this place. She posed for all the other art too. Went straight up to the best artist in town. Where she shamelessly posed for him, sometimes in public. She apparently just did whatever she wished with her body and the art of it. It all resides here."

"She had guts, I like her. I think we would have been friends." Discord took another look at that statue of the mare. She just did whatever she pleased. That made him happy. Discord was one for freedom and self-expression, so he was glad this mare did as she wished. He looked at Cadence, and he thought up some chaotic fun. "Wanna create ridiculous rumors about 'Tia?" He watched her just nod. He looked over to the mare giving him a hooficure. She looked to be almost done, "would the both of you like to stay a little longer. We have drama we wish to dish!"

The maid finished up the hooficure and put her supplies down, the other one followed right behind her "dish, dish!" They said. Their attention turning to the two mares in the hot tub.

Cadence looked among them all. It was always Discord that started the trouble, for once she would do it. "I heard princess Celestia is pregnant." She said as she picked up another cocktail for the tray. She slowly sipped on it happy with herself.

"With twins!" Discord added he wasn't expecting Cadence to go first, but who cared. He picked up the last cocktail. They would need to order some more. Then Cadence really, truly, surprised him.

"I heard that the father is Sombra," Cadence smile grew, "but who knows for sure? I also heard from a guard who apparently saw a Griffin and a Dragon enter her bedroom." A tray with some more drinks was delivered to her and Discord. Cadence picked up another cocktail. "I wonder if it'll be a colt or a filly."





Sombra staired Shining down, a confident smirk on his face. It was three nothing. Shining had nothing, how was Sombra this good? Shining had trained for most of his life and then trained others. "What the heck?" He yelled at Sombra as he felt anger course through his veins. It did not help that their audience cheered for Sombra and not him.

"You're too ridged Shining you have plenty of opportunities to strike but you keep to your formation too much. Which is fine for war, large scale but has issues pony to pony. Nature fights dirty, it fights to survive. You should too. The more unpredictable you are the better." Sombra shouted at him, and it was true Shining was too respectful to rigid tactics. "You need to hit me when you can hit me."

"But my honor as a soldier-" Shining started before he was interrupted.

"It doesn't matter if you are dead Shining. I could have killed you three separate times, maybe even more than that. If I was still evil that is." Sombra stated in a manner of fact way. "So how about a rematch, use your instincts this time."

Shining charged at Sombra only for him to move away and spin around. Sombra then ran at Shining, a coil rose out of the ground and Shining rolled away from the both of them. Blasting the coil away and shooting one at Sombra for good measure. He just dissolved into smoke though, briefly, before Sombra turned back into a pony. Shining rose off the ground and shot everything he had at Sombra once more, but he simply dodged them. Running back and forth between the bursts of energy.

Sombra was having a great time, so great that he didn't notice Shining's attitude change. He thought they were both having a good time. This was just a friendly match of course. Though Shining did up his game, Sombra was not worried. He turned into a shadow and slid across the ground, lifted himself out of the ground, and right in front of Shining's face. Still half shadow and half smoke Sombra looked terrifying. The anger and fear mixed and in Shining. He did the unthinkable he pulled out his sword and stuck it into Sombra. Which would have done nothing to Sombra, but what Shining didn't know is he used harmony magic when he thrust his sword. So Sombra was no longer shadows.

"Ack!" He said as he felt a sharp pain in his abdomen. He coughed and some blood-spattered to the ground. "I said no harmony magic Shining," Sombra said crossing his hooves above the sword.

Shining's mouth dropped, he, he didn't mean to. "Sombra I'm so sorry I didn't mean to. It just happened and I ... I can't believe it."

Gasps and murmurs overcame the crowd and Sombra just rolled his eyes. "It's fine Shining. It was an accident, I understand. don't worry about it. I did encourage you." He said as he pulled the sword out of himself and stuck it in the ground. He activated his own magic and healed himself. "Nice one, you are now one of the few creatures to ever land a hit on me. I am starving. Want to go get some grub?" All Sombra saw on Shining's face was guilt and sadness, "I said I was fine, and I am. I just healed myself. So don't worry about it. ok?"

Shining felt nothing but guilt but he didn't push it any further electing to follow Sombra to the kitchen. Sombra did encourage Shining to use his instincts. Sombra felt that he had this coming plus he was fine, just super hungry. He needed one of those special popsicles he and Discord kept in the freezer. They told Shining and Cadence and all the staff not to eat them, and for a good reason.

Though that mission was interrupted as they stumbled upon an interesting scene. Two mares that Shining did not recognize, dancing in the middle of the kitchen table. Sombra did recognize one of them, it was Discord so that meant the other one was Cadence. They yelled the lyrics to a popular song playing on the radio.

"Oh man they are so drunk," he said as he noticed Shining's confused face. Followed soon by Fluttershy who showed up due to the noise. She was worried it would wake up Flurry. "It's Discord and Cadence guys." He watched as their faces screamed surprise and Sombra just smiled.

"What should we do?" Fluttershy asked as she watched the two mares dance on top of the table. She wondered which one was Discord until she saw a mare with yellow and orange irises. That one, it had to be that one. She was so pretty. Fluttershy didn't know Discord had a pony disguise. She also decided to stay the night and talk to Cadence tomorrow since asking to be teleported back seemed like a bad idea.

"Take photos. Lots and lots of embarrassing photos." Sombra said he teleported a camera to himself, "Smile girls." Too which Discord and Cadence proceeded to pose for every single one, they ranged from sultry to completely embarrassing. then he sealed them in an envelope and sent them off to Celestia. Though there was a problem, his stomach rumbled. He approached the fridge. He was starving and wanted one of those pops.

"Oh my gosh, your so close now," Discord in disguise hiccupped, "are you getting a pop can you get me one too?"

"Only if you promise you won't be a pervert while you eat it," Sombra said sternly, he did not want to watch that again. Once was more than enough to scar him for life.

"Aww, you fun killer fine. Gimmie, gimmie." Discord said as he reached his hooves out for the treat and stuck it in his mouth in the least suggestive way he could think of. How boring.





Celestia sat in her room, it was pretty late, but she was up reading a trashy romance. That trashy romance kept her attention well. That is until a mysterious white envelope ended up on her bed. She tore away from her book to take a look at the envelope. She didn't really receive mail so late, and usually, she would ignore it, but she just so happened to catch a glimpse at the message on the front.


'Tia,
You are going to want to see these.
Sombra


Sombra usually didn't send mail to her, so she decided to take a look. Using her magic she pulled out a dozen photos. The first one was covered over by a sticky note.


Orange eyed one is Discord, the other is Cadence 


She didn't know what Sombra meant until she saw the photo of two mares on a table in a very interesting position. She was familiar with that position it was the same one that a statue stood in. A statue in a certain spa. It drove Celestia to sort through the other photos, laughing at everyone she saw. She would have to show her friends as soon as she could. Soon meant now, she didn't care if she disturbed her sister and woke up her friends. They just had to see this.
> Kingdom
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Sombra and Discord had a list and no Flurry. A list of things they were going to go do instead of Cadence and Shining. They often took the little things off of their hooves. Now that Flurry had stopped teleporting, they could once again go out into the Kingdom. Which was pretty exciting for them since they always had to hang around the castle. It was nice to go out and about. Sombra lifted the list in his magic, their first stop was Foals We B. A huge store meant for anything you could need for your baby.

Then to Papers a supply store for all your castle needs. That one they were not excited for.

The other place called Clawsco , Sombra remembered his first time there. He had grown up during a food shortage, and the amount of food in the place broke his mind. You could get anything you wanted and Sombra had his eyes set on a box. 2000 packs of candy for 15 bits, it was a steal. He had the cash, so he bought it and ate it all. Of course, he ate it all that very night and got gravely ill. It was worth it though. 

Soon enough they were there, Foals We B, the doors opening by themselves. He remembered when he first encountered them, he was actually pretty scared of them. He thought it might be some kind of witchcraft or dark spell he didn't know. Turns out it was just pre-powered crystals. Sombra and Discord stood in front of the doors "ding dong" the doors went as they entered. It wasn't their first time in this store; they often came here as it was a one-stop shopping.

"Hello Sombra, Hello Discord!' An earth stallion said, he sat at the counter waving his hoof at them. "Been a while since I have seen you here.

"Hello, Silver Bairn," Sombra said, he liked this earth pony. He was always nice to them, and he was an interesting stallion. "How are you and your wife?"

Discord went off to the toy section, sometimes he would buy some, sometimes he would get ideas for new crazy toys for Flurry. He wasn't used to making chaos for children. This store always gave him the inspiration he needed and helped him prevent himself from going too far. Like accidentally making food that she couldn't eat. He would hate to give her an upset stomach.

"Good, we were going to bungee jump off the Crystal Damn and you'll never guess what happened. Go on, guess." Silver said.

"You fought another bear?" Sombra watched as his shop ally shook his head. "Then I have no idea."

"Fire Rush threw up," he stated as he looked at Sombra's confused face. "I know right, she never gets nervous. Just as adventurous as I am. We thought it was a one-time thing, then she wouldn't stop. Concerned we went to the hospital. I got the best news I have ever heard. SHE'S PREGNANT!"

Sombra gasped "A baby! Congratulations!"

That caught Discord's attention, claws around some rubber ducks. Those ducks were disguised as other things, things like a skeleton, a pony, a cat, a dragon, and a sheep. He found them hilarious. Hopefully, they would make Flurry happy, bathtime always stressed her out. Maybe something fun would help that. "Can we see them?" He said excitedly, he loved children. Always so chaotic.

"Still cookin' but when my wife gives birth you can see the baby." He stated as he watched Sombra elevate everything they needed to the counter.

"You'll be a good father Silver," Sombra stated as he watched Silver ring him up.

"You think so?" Silver asked he was still nervous about the whole thing.

"Of course, you are a good stallion. Protective, open-minded, I am sure you'll make an excellent father." Sombra said reassuringly. "Plus I'm helping with Flurry, if I can take care of a baby. I'm sure you can too."

"I guess that is true, total comes to 300 bits." Silver stated.

Sombra's eyes widened with surprise and his heart jumped "but that's the exact amount. That can't be right." He said, he was now worried. Was something wrong?

"Yeah?" Silver questioned, not quite putting the pieces together.

"The businesses never charge us the real amount, its 10% increase because, you know, we're evil. Did prices drop?" Sombra clarified, if this was what he thought it was. He would have to have a meeting with Cadence. This could be very bad.

"No, well, I don't think you are. Sorry about doing it before, but you're my friends now. I don't feel comfortable overcharging you. The past is the past." Silver blushed, he forgot he had been a part of that decision. It was considered to be a small amount of revenge.

"Oh, ok. I thought it might be an economic problem. Good, one less thing for Cadence to worry about." Sombra said before he realized what Silver had said. "Oh uhhh, I'm not sure what to say. Thank you....friend? Sorry, still rusty at making new friends but not at making slaves heheheheheheh." He slowly sunk behind the counter. Usually, the elements brought him friends. That or they were dragged in by Discord.

"Oh man you are so bad this, you scared Ivy, and now this." Discord just chuckled as he stared at Sombra who was attempting to hide behind the store counter, and not very well.

Silver just chuckled, "you don't have to say anything, I won't be doing that anymore. I regret even participating."

"Well thank you," Sombra said as he grabbed the bag off the counter. "I guess we'll see you later," Sombra said as he just walked out of the store. He wasn't sure what else to do.

Discord just followed his friend out, he was going to get such a mocking.





As soon as they left Silver went over to his Crystal Ball, "Leary, Call Gold." He told it

"Calling Gold." It repeated, it went, "bring, bring, bring."

"Hello?" A crusty old voice answered, "This is Gold Rumple speaking."

"Gold it is Silver. Sombra and Discord both know we have been charging them extra. And they only said something to make sure prices weren't plummeting for Cadence. They didn't even complain when they found out." Silver stated as his heart pounded. He was nervous about what he was going to do.

"Wait what?" Gold always assumed that he was slick, sneaky, and cunning. They had known the whole time. "How?"

"Does it matter? I refuse to be a part of this. I will no longer be contributing and if you think you can do whatever you want. Remember Discord and Sombra are my friends. I will tell them what you have been up to. Since the Anti-Villain Agenda was your idea. I'm sure they would love to know about that. I'm calling my friends after this, expect them to come with me." Silver tapped the crystal ball and hung up. Not even giving Gold a chance to answer. He levitated his contact book. He was going to call every business friend in there. Even if it took all night.





"Make new slaves huh?" Discord snickered as he and Sombra approached. Papers, a castle supplies store.

"Shut up, I panicked." Sombra huffed, he greatly regretted doing that. Though it could have gone worse, and SIlver was an ally that Sombra made by himself. Twilight would be proud of him, or at least satisfied that he didn't completely botch it. He grumbled as he entered Papers.

Discord just smiled as he leaned against the wall outside. He wondered whether Celestia would notice is he made all her cheese taste like pineapples. He then wondered if Cadence would like to cause some chaos. They could rotate the throne three inches to the left just to see if she would notice, then change all her cheese. Because why not both?

"Hello," Sombra took a breath while Discord waited outside, he needed to calm down. Discord was already not allowed in Papers. If he was kicked out too, they would have to teleport across Equestria in order to get what they needed. Which they could do, but they promised Cadence they would interact with their Kingdom, and it was helping them. So both of them felt like they had to come here.

See, Discord had accidentally scraped the roof while ducking into the shop. He fixed it of course, but he was no longer allowed in. They swore to themselves since Cadence had been nothing but amazing to them. They shouldn't cause any trouble, and also for Flurry.

Sombra made quick work of gathering everything he needed. Piling it neatly on the desk, he smiled at Sandy Dream. "Ma'am, how are you?" Silence, just like always he watched her quickly ring up and charge him. "Have a good day." He said as he dropped the bits and lifted the bag and carefully left the store. This place always wracked his nerves. He gave the bag to Discord who teleported it to the chaos realm for safekeeping. "Onto Clawsco."





The ringing of a crystal ball could be heard, Sandy went over to it and tapped it. "This is Sandy owner of Papers."

"Sandy it is me, Silver."

"Hello Silver, how may I help you," Sandy asked.

"I'm starting a new alliance, Friendly Foes. I left the ATA. What their encouraging isn't fair anymore. Discord and Sombra are good, we shouldn't be doing this. Join me."

"What are you crazy?" Sandy screamed into the ball.

"Is it a yes or a no?" Silver asked, a list of ATA members by his side. Names having been crossed out. Many joined his side, very few believed in ATA and their agenda. They were more scared of Gold and what he could do to them, and their businesses. Silver was going to take care of that. "Don't worry about Gold I've got that covered."

"No," Sandy said hanging up on Silver. She glanced at the roof where there used to be scratches. Just because they were considerate didn't mean they were good now. Just nice, being nice and being good wasn't the same thing. Her stomach twisted and the thought that she was wrong flickered into her mind, but she ignored it.





Discord and Sombra had just entered Clawsco. "Alright we just need to pick up food, and we are done for the day," Sombra stated as he looked over the store. He remembered when it used to give him anxiety. The place still sometimes felt like it was endless. Like a forest.

"I think we all need some ice cream!" Discord stated as he licked his lips.

"That isn't on the list," Sombra said as he rolled his eyes.

"It is now." Discord said with a snap of his fingers and on the list appeared. 'Ice cream unless Sombra is super lame and doesn't get it'.

"Uhg fine." Sombra just rolled his eyes more. They were going to get stuck like that one day. He smiled, Discord could fix it for him.

The two of them went down the fruits and veggies aisle first. Picking up berries, cucumbers, lettuce, and the likes. They piled them into their basket. Discord, of course, reached for anything on the top shelf while Sombra picked things off the bottom shelf. They could do either but this was more convenient.

Then a wurring sound could be heard. Sombra knew this sound it was Barty, the shop robotic cleaner. At first, Barty freaked Sombra out, with his googly eyes and nameplate. It took a while to understand that it wasn't real, and even longer for Sombra to stop being anxious in its presence, but now Barty was one of Sombra's favorite friends. "Hello, Barty." He greeted the robot, he didn't need to, he knew that. He did it anyway.

Barty just stared at Sombra "vrrrrrrr." It went as it cleaned up a puddle on the floor. Then it went off to isle 4 to stock some boxes. If it had any opinion at all, it would favor Sombra.

Discord scoffed, he loved that Sombra made friends with an inanimate object, it was hilarious and chaotic. "Bye Barty." He said as he followed Sombra into the next aisle. Thinking to himself, that giving sentience to Barty may be a fun chaotic thing to do.

The next aisle they went down was snacks, Sombra lifted what was needed off the shelf and into the basket. Behind him, Discord snuck in whatever he wished for, making sure that Sombra did not catch him. Sombra paused as he picked up a large bag of chips. He stared at it for a few seconds before saying "I can't believe it, so easy to get food now. I can't stop thinking about how hard it used to be. How many nights we went without food."

"I can't ether sugar." An old voice croaked and it made Sombra jump. "Sorry about that sweetheart. I didn't mean to scare you."

"Oh hello," Sombra said to the older unicorn mare.

"I grew up in a very small town, no markets, picking our own food as we needed it so i can understand. There is just so much everywhere, hard to know what to get. Gives me anxiety."

"Thank you, finally somepony gets it. I'll never understand how they even make all this stuff, and so fast two." Sombra said as he smiled at the older women. "It freaked my friend and I out too when we first arrived." He pointed back at Discord who waved.

"Well, I very much understand. I also understand Barty. See I know he isn't real but I started a fan group." She said as she pulled two pins out of her purse. On them read 'I <3 Barty' and she levitated them over to Sombra. "For you and your friend, It was nice meeting you sweetheart." She said as she wobbled off.

"Nice meeting you too." Sombra smiled, something about her attitude just made him feel better. With smiles on their faces, they then picked up hay in isle 5, drinks in isle 3, wine in isle 2, and finally the isle they had been avoiding. 9, the very back isle. The deli section. This section was meant for meat-eating creatures.

Sombra strolled up to the butcher, a Griffin named Cloudclaw. "8 pounds of chicken, please. Thank you Cloudclaw."

"No problem Sombra," Cloudclaw said as he handed Sombra the chicken. He noticed his regular had a slight frown on today.

"Hey, can I ask you a strange, possibly out of date, question?" Sombra said as he levitated the chicken into the basket. Discord was far away from Sombra checking out what Barty was up to.

"Shoot," Cloudclaw said nervously. He hoped it wasn't anything serious. He liked these guys, but he hated dealing with any drama.

"Do you ever miss, you know, hunting for your food?" Sombra asked as he glanced at the pre-packaged chicken. It just wasn't as fun picking it up and putting it into a basket. Convenient, but not fun.

Cloudclaw brightened "yeah all the time. I actually started a hunting party. We go out and camp survival too. Would you like to join?"

Sombra smiled, "I would love to." Sombra yelled "DISCORD!" He called and his friend came to him. "Cloudclaw has started a hunting party. They even go survival style camping."

"OOOO, sounds like fun." Discord said, he didn't care for the hunting, he cared for the chaos that came with it. He also cared about Sombra, so he would go with. To keep watch.

"You want to come?" Cloudclaw asked, he hadn't expected Discord to have interest in something like this.

"Never go hunting without him. I can't even count the number of times I have seen Discord out terf a Timberwolf, or any other crazy creature that may be about. Trust me, we want him there." Sombra stated excitedly, he couldn't wait to go.

"Well, we meet on the first Sunday of every month at 9 am at the community board in the center of the Kingdom. Feel free to join us." Cloudclaw said, "if you can't make it don't worry about it. It's a very casual thing."

"Thank you," Sombra said as he and Discord sauntered off happier then they were before. Sombra was practically skipping to the check out lane. He levitated the items out of the cart and onto the counter. He was so happy he didn't notice it was over budget till the mare checking them out said.

"That'll be 2000 bits." The mare said, she loved checking out Discord and Sombra. They did all the work for her, it was great.

The price made Sombra's blood run cold. "What?" He softly said.

Discord plopped down 2000 bits 1000 for groceries Cadence wanted, and he paid 1000 bits for his own groceries. "Don't have a conniption Sombra." He said as snapped the items scanned into reusable bags. Plastic was bad for the environment. He then snapped them into his dimension and picked up his friend. "Have a good day." He said as he left with Sombra under his arms. He looked a bit pale in the muzzle.

"That's a lot of bits," Sombra muttered as his friend carried him off to the castle.





It was the dead of night. Silver had called every business partner and ATA member he knew of. His crew, now vast, stood beside him as the Friendly Foes. Silver had more than notice Discord and Sombra's reluctance to fight creatures for their rights. He did not care why. If they didn't want to fight, he would fight for them. He and his friends picked up paint brushes and cans of glue. Among those things they held, they held paper.

On that paper was every ATA member, contributor, and their business. As well as the ATA meeting dates, their agenda and the name of their leader. "Cover the town. Leave no spot untouched." Silver smiled, he felt good. He felt like what he was doing would help.
> Monopony part 1
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Cadence, Shining, Discord, and Sombra were all just staring at each other, why? Well, there wasn’t anything else to do. Flurry was down for her nap. It was also Cadence and Shining's day off, a day they finally started taking off. For real off, no working on anything they thought was productive. They had learned that lesson after working themselves so hard they needed a vacation. Now their only responsibility was Flurry, and they finally stuck to that. It was hard at first, trying to ignore the world. But in the end, it made them more productive when they were working.

“So….now what?” Cadence asked she was quite bored. She needed something to do.

“I have no idea” Sombra stated, the last break was a vacation that lasted all day and was quite fun.

“We started playing games recently, we could do that,” Cadence answered, she really had no other ideas. It was the first thing to come to her mind. Every creature at this table loved games so why not.

“I think we should play this.” Discord said as a mischievous smile drew upon his face. He snapped up a box of Monopony.

"Let me go get some more players,” Cadence said as she teleported away and back. She came back with Ivy and a guard. “This is Spear Roaster.”

"Epic name,” Discord added. "I’m Sombra and that’s Discord,” Discord said as he called himself Sombra and Sombra Discord. He looked over the guard once more to realize that he knew his face, but not his name.

"Stop messing with him, he obviously knows which one of us is Sombra," Sombra said, Spear most likely already knew who was who. They did live in the Crystal Empire. Then he turned to look, and look again as he recognized the stallion in front of him. It was that one guard. The one who wanted to check on the KIngdom and suggested that the game of freeze tag be played with the whole Kingdom. "Hello again." He said as he wondered if Discord recognized him too.

"I am not messing with him!" Discord claimed in a shocked voice though he wasn't all that shocked.

"Are too," Sombra said in an accusing tone.

"Am not," Discord insisted. Trying his best to act as innocently as possible.

"Are too," Sombra exclaimed, now frustrated more than anything else.

"Guys!" Cadence yelled and they both froze, stopping immediately. "No fighting."

"Sorry." They said in-sink. Though they continued to glare at one another.

"Well, it's nice to meet you both. I'm glad you think my name is epic Sombra" he said as he approached Discord and shook his claw.

Discord scoffed and Sombra rolled his eyes, staring at spear Sombra said "really?"

Spear just snorted "I'm teasing I know your Sombra. We did meet beforehoof." He said as he approached Sombra, this time it was actually Sombra. He shook his hoof anyway and loudly said "I call the cloud!"

"I’ll take the bow-tie," Shining said, adding his piece to go.

"I call the Discord piece!" Discord exclaimed.

"But Discord their isnt-" Cadence began to say before she was rudely interrupted with a snap. She stared down at the Monopony piece that Discord created." Well, I guess there is now."

"I’ll take the dog," the group stared at Sombra in surprise. They had all expected him to take the crystal piece. "What, the dog is cute." He said as he picked it up and placed it on go.

"I will take the crystal," Ivy said as she collected her piece and placed it on go.

"Can you make me a cupcake piece Discord?" Cadence asked. She wanted a customized piece too.

"Yes I can," Discord snapped and a cupcake piece appeared onto go.

"Thank you!” Cadence rolled the die, “three...Crystal Caves. I’ll buy it!” Cadence said as she gave Sombra the bits.

Sombra smiled "guess I'll be the bank then." He said as he grabbed the bits from Cadence. He didn't mind all that much though, as lame as it was he found math fun.

He gave her the card, and he rolled, “eight, ooo doubles. Cutie Mark Crusaders Clubhouse, I’ll buy it.” Sombra said as he rolled again, this time it was a four. “Las Pegasus,” he said, “I’ll take that too."

Shining rolled next “Four…. Auction House, pay 200 bits.” Shining rolled his eyes as he gave Sombra the bits. "Uhg." He said with frustration, which only grew as he heard giggles surround him.

Spear Roaster picked up the dice and tossed them, “sweet doubles!” He said as he moved his piece eight spaces, “chaos.” He picked up a card from the chaos pile, “your hooves are now cupcakes. Pay 20 bits for the cure.” He gave Sombra his bits and rolled again. “Four...another double. Oh, no one more and I go to Tartarus.” He joked, “Doctor Hoove's lab 150, I’ll take it.” Spear shook his head and rolled again but instantly regretted joking about Tartarus. “Eight...doubles again” he sighed as he moved his piece to Tartarus.

"Weeewooo weeewoo,” Discord sang.

“Hey join the club” Sombra joked. "Cell 237-A113-42, we could be neighbors."

Cadence stared wide-eyed at Sombra, "was..was that your actual cell number?"

"Yup, the higher the number the better the cell was supposed to be but Tartarus is very dark. It was fairly easy to get out of my cell using my shadow magic. Not that they particularly cared." Sombra added casually, of course, he remembered his cell number. Why wouldn't he?

"Why not?" Ivy asked she was just as curious as Cadence was. She knew next to nothing about Sombra and Discord. This was a chance to learn more about Sombra.

"Well when I was in Tartarus, it was survival of the fittest. If you stayed in your cage you'd die, if you left you'd die. It was creature against creature. No creature came and visited, no creature brought any supplies. Cockatrices are very delicious, more delicious than they seem. Do not tell Fluttershy that, she thinks I raised them for fun. I wanted to compare and contrast the difference between raising chickens and raising Cockatrices. She was so excited, I did not have the heart to tell her I was eating them." Sombra said a little less casually. He shifted in his seat slightly as he started to feel uncomfortable. He didn't talk about his time in Tartarus that much for a slew of reasons. That being one of them.

Ivy picked up the die and rolled though she was more interested in Sombra than in the game right now. "Sounds awful."

"Well, that was the point, if you did get out they didn't want you to cause further issues. Call it motivation if you wish. The place is like a spa now, food, water, your own quarters. The motivation has changed instead of throwing you in there and hoping you die, they try to reform you." Sombra said with a frown as he shifted in his seat some more, he was starting to regret bringing this up.

"What makes you say that?" Cadence asked as Ivy moved her piece forward.

"The stallion that created Tartarus was a hateful, vengeful cult and it was supposed to house only one creature, but he ceased to exist, so they repurposed it. Celestia is much more forgiving, kinder, friendlier." Sombra said as he shifted back and forth more often. He really shouldn't have brought this up. How was he supposed to leave this conversation without it becoming awkward?

"So how did you get out?" Ivy asked as she gave Sombra the bits needed to buy Ponyville station.

Sombra gave her the card. "Discord." He felt bad for throwing all the attention to Discord, but he didn't know what else to do. He wanted out of that conversation, and he knew Discord could help him get out, so he threw him right into the center of attention. Plus it was true.

Discord smiled sheepishly and shrugged, "that was before I was reformed." His eyes went wide and his smile turned more genuine. "Finally my turn!” Discord impatiently rolled the die, “five..aw man.” Discord huffed as he handed 10 bits to Ivy.

"Thannnnnkkkkk you!” Ivy snickered at him.

"So you knew each other back then? I guess it makes sense then, why you two became friends so quickly." Cadence said as she rolled the die. “Ooo doubles!!” She said as she moved her piece eight. “Fillydelphia..I’ll buy it.” She said as she rolled once more “six...Friendship Test.” Cadence said as she drew a friendship card from the pile. “You helped your friend with her homework. Collect a hundred bits. Yay!”

Sombra rolled his dice, “yes we did. Six...Ever Free Forest I'll take it.” He said as he levitated the dice over to Shining.

Shining rolled next, “huh I didn't know that. How long have you known each other? Three…. Chaos. Proceed to the next train station. Canterlot, I’ll take it.” He said as he hoofed over the bits to Sombra.

"A long time," Sombra said as he felt his regret rise once more. He should have just ignored Cadence when he had the chance. He tried his best to change the conversation. "Spear I believe it is your turn."

Spear Roaster rolled next and sighed, he hoped for doubles, but he ended up with none which meant he was in jail. "Well shit."

“I’ll pay for you if you promise the next spot you land on, you let me buy it.” Sombra offered, as a plan formed in his mind. His attention was now on the game.

"Ok!” Spear roaster said it was a pretty sweet deal in his eyes. He watched as Sombra put the bits needed in the bank.

"Fantastic. Just go the spaces you rolled." Sombra smiled, he was glad Spear did not realize what he was planing. For Spear would have said no, but it wasn't Sombra's fault Spear wasn't paying attention.

“Appleloosa." Spear said with a sigh. Sombra planned this didn't he, he should have seen it coming. Spear was too excited to get out of Tartarus.

“I’ll take it,” Sombra said as he deposited the bits needed into the bank.

Ivy picked up the die next and rolled, “five, just visiting Tartarus.” She elected to say nothing about that, she refused to make her friends uncomfortable, and it was clear that Sombra was. Even if it meant she didn't learn more about them.

Discord picked up the die so fast he could be considered a blur, even though he suggested this game. He was starting to get a bit bored with it, “yay, it's my turn again, doubles!” He said as he moved 12, “friendship test...you passed your friendship test collect 20 bits. Woohoo!” He cheered as he rolled again. “Three...Random Cloud, aw how boring.”

Cadence giggled and rolled next, she wished she could ask more questions about Sombra's past, but she felt that the conversation had turned. She didn't know how to bring it up again without it being awkward, especially after Sombra changed the conversation back to the game. Her time would have been at the previous turn, not now, but she had been distracted. “Eight...Crystal Empire Station, well, I will buy it. All-though I do already own it.”

Discord snorted, "no if we played by real-life Sombra and I would lose quite a few turns.” He joked.

Cadence couldn't let this moment slip by. It was her opportunity to ask something she had always wondered "and how was that, compared to Tartarus?" That was a question she regretted asking as silence hung in the air. She saw the surprised look on both of Sombra's and Discord's faces.

"Well, would you look at that its Shining’s turn." Discord said as he grabbed the dice off the table and gave them to Shining. Sombra just sat there and silently stared into the table, he did not seem to mind that they skipped his turn.

Shining knew that they were uncomfortable by the looks on their faces. He knew Sombra had been for a while because of his constant shifting but that question went too far. He wondered why his wife kept pushing them for information, he assumed it was important. While he would normally side with her, even join her. Sombra and Discord had become his friends. He hated to see them so uncomfortable, so he elected to move on with the situation. He cast the die, “eight...Crystal Castle. Ha! Look honey I guess we can rule together!” he said as he tried his best to change the subject.

Cadence smiled but on the inside, she felt guilty. She had pressed too hard and too much but at least she learned something. She felt like their past would give her a glimpse into why she still felt so off. Why she felt like she didn't complete her mission of love. “We’ll pay half-and-half on the other one! Then we can rule the Crystal Empire spaces together.”

"Is that allowed?" Ivy asked as she helped move the game along.

"Eh, why not." Discord said, more than glad that the attention was back onto the game. He had wanted it to get interesting, but not like this.

Spear took the die next, he followed the others hoofsteps and decided not to push the topic any further. “Three...Froggy Bottom Bogg I’ll take it.”

Ivy cast her die, “six..Ghastly Gorge I’ll take it.” She smiled, she found this game pretty fun.

Discord took the die and gave it a shake “Three...Crystal Libary...I'll take it!” He said as he gave the cash to Sombra and took his property.

Cadence cast the die next, “seven….Library of Magic. I’ll take it!” She had no reason not to buy it up.

Sombra rolled next, "ten...school of friendship. I’ll pass."

Shining’s eyebrow rose in confusion as he rolled “but you have the bits for it.”

“The space just isn’t worth the bits spent on it,” Sombra answered in the hopes to clear Shining's confusion.

“I guess so, Ten...Friendship Test. You go to a party. Pay every player 10 bits. Shit!” he heard giggles from all of his friends around the table. Most of them attempted to stifle their giggles except for Spear and Discord who freely laughed it up.

Spear rolled and tried to speak his best between his hearty bout of giggles, “six…..doubles! Cloudsdale….I'll….I'll take it.” He rolled again as he breathed slow breaths to try and calm himself down, “School for Gifted Unicorns.” He noticed his bits starting to dwindle, “I’ll have to pass.”

“Har har you all won’t be laughing when I win!” Shining exclaimed, more determined than ever to beat everyone’s flanks.

“Oh please everyone knows it's me that really runs this empire,” Cadence said with an evil smirk on her face.

“OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO ouch.” Discord added as he decided not to help the situation. This was the type of interesting he desired.

Shining just glared at them all, he will win! He will show them, he will show them all!

Ivy tried her best to stifle her laughter, she decided to take a shot at her brother just like Cadence took one at her husband. “And you do actually have to pass Spear. You're going to go broke if you're not careful brother. She smirked as giggles filled the air and confidence filled her soal. "10….Cloudsdale. Dammit.”

The laughter multiplied as Spear pointed out the obvious, "You jinxed yourself, Ivy, maybe you should be more careful. Fork it over."

"Screw you," Ivy exclaimed as she paid ironic justice. She was not too happy about that. She felt motivated. She would win, she would show them all. Ivy the great and terrible, her new name after she destroyed them all, at Monopony.

Discord giggled heavily during his roll, this was fun. He breathed slowly, so he would calm down just enough to announce his roll, “Restaurant Row, I’ll take it.” His face started to hurt from all the smiling, he was glad he suggested this game.

Cadence snorted as she found Discord’s struggle to stop laughing just as funny as the situation itself. It took her a second before she realized it was her turn. She gave the die a roll, “four Chaos…..your heart is now a squeaky toy, collect 15 bits.”

Discord smiled as he increased his heartbeat loud enough so the sound filled the room, "hey now we are twinsies!"

Candace just smiled, she didn't realize he was being serious and that his heart really was a squeaky toy. "You are a silly creature. I like you!" She exclaimed and she wasn’t lying. Discord made her days so interesting and in a good way, compared to surprises she was accustomed to. Like burned down castles or frozen ponies for example.

Discord stalled for a few seconds; he wasn't sure how to respond to that. Eventually, he went with, "Thanks. I am pretty great." He was still getting used to all the kindness he received, and sometimes he didn’t know what to do or how to respond, but he was getting better at it.

Sombra rolled his eyes and then his die, “four….Badlands. I’ll take it.” He had plans, plans to show them all. He would win, he was sure of it. His plan was full proof, he knew it would be him.

"Hey!" Cadence yelled as her attention drifted from Discord’s oddness to Sombra. He took the space she needed for a Monopony. How dare he, she’ll show him.

"And I’ll offer it to you, for that pink piece. That pink piece and 100 bits," Sombra added. It wasn't a bad deal for her and an even better one for him. For he two would have a Monopony.

"DEAL!" Cadence said excitedly, she was going to run this board. She will win, she will show them all.

"Fantastic that means you and I are the only ones with Monoponies.” Sombra bragged freely, he was starting to feel pretty confident about his situation. Maybe he would actually win!!

"I guess it is, must mean we are just too good at this game." Cadence giggled as she too joined Sombra in town de-la-brag.

Sombra just smiled, "I guess we are, my time as a king has taught me much."

Ivy made a noise that sounded close to "PFFFT." The table just stared at her in response "oh yeah like what?"

Sombra put a hoof to his mouth as he tried to think of a silly answer, "ponies complain a lot. Oh nooo don't make me a slave. Try it I say, you might like it."

Discord smiled mischievously, oh he could not let such an opportunity go, "kinky."

Sombra didn't breathe, it was more like he choked on air, and Shining didn't roll it, was more like he dropped his die in shock. Every pony else's jaws just dropped as the conversation took an unexpected turn.

"Discord!" Sombra said, as soon as he could breathe normally. "You perverted creature!" He pointed a hoof at Discord accusingly.

"Hey I didn't say anything, I implied it! You took it out of context." Discord suggested as his smile grew bigger and more mischievous.

"How on Celestia's green earth did I take that out of context?" Sombra asked he would like to hear Discord worm his way out of this one. Maybe this time he could get Discord to admit to his shenanigans.

"I meant my tail." Discord said as he lifted his tail to show that it had a kink in it. "I have no idea what you were thinking."

"You did too, I could see the chaos written all over your face," Sombra said as the tone of his voice rose, not quite yelling but it was stern and frustrated.

"It isn't but I could write it on my face if it makes you feel better, pervert." Discord smiled at Sombra, he loved messing with him. He always had, it was just too easy. Plus he knew Sombra was trying to get him to admit to his shenanigans, he didn’t know why, but he knew he was trying.

"I am not a pervert!" Sombra said as he glared Discord down. He knew he was being messed with, and he would most likely not get Discord to admit to is chaos now, but he was too irritated to let it go.

"Are too, "Discord said as he shapeshifted into Sombra. "Look I'm a pervert now too, to make you feel better." Discord chuckled.

"Boys!" Cadence yelled, she had just gotten out of her state of shock. Really it was the faces of her friends that drove her out of it. She realized they had no idea what to do, but she did, "no fighting now Sombra apologize to Sombra," she joked.

"Sorry.” They said together as they just glared each other down, eventually, the room erupted in laughter once more.

After every creature had calmed down the game had started up again with Shining’s turn, “seven...i landed on go.” He was smiling like a fiend, he was more determined than ever to win.

Spear went next, he cast his die onto the table, “four...Canterlot Station. I’ll take it.” He could afford this spot, and he needed as many as he could get. That way he would win.

Ivy rolled next, and she hoped for the best, “five...School for Gifted Unicorns. I’ll take it.” It wasn’t what she was hoping for, but she took it anyway. Just to be sure.

Discord rolled next, content with the chaos that just happened. Though that didn’t mean he wasn’t plotting for more. One could never have too much chaos, “six! Wonderbolts i’ll take it."

Cadence rolled next “five that's my spot and I passed go! I think I'll buy two houses!” She said as she forked over the cash to Sombra. This caused an unspoken tension as the motivation to win the game was increased tenfold.

Shining rolled next, “five…” He sighed with disappointment.

Spear smiled at his monarch, he considered this a little revenge. Revenge for all those drills on hot days. “Pay up.” He snorted, while he knew what he signed up for when he entered the guard he couldn’t help but feel some satisfaction at Shining’s unfortunate situation. He took the die next, casting it across the table, “five, I also landed on go.” While he didn’t get any properties he was glad to have a good amount of cash back.

Ivy rolled and her heartbeat quickened as she saw the number “six...School of Friendship!” She said excitedly, then she took one look at her bits. She went from excited to disappointed “oh but I can't afford it.”

Sombra cracked a smile as he saw an opportunity for the taking, “I’ll pay half for a favor. The next three areas you land that aren't already owned on I have the option of buying it.”

Ivy’s stomach turned, was this a good idea? It could be, it also could be detrimental. She decided to weigh the pros and cons. Pros: she would own one of the best spots on the board, she would own it at half the price, she would have a great advantage if she could get that Monopony. Cons: Sombra was clearly planning or at least hoping for something. “Okay,” she really hoped that this would pay off. She hoofed over the bits to the bank then watched as Sombra paid the rest of it. Tension rose even further as every-creature became very cautious of Sombra.

Discord rolled next and saw his own opportunity, it was for chaos. “Five...Castle of Friendship, I'll take it,” he laughed. He took the spot Ivy needed for her Monopony.

“You did that on purpose, trade me!!” Ivy yelled at Discord,

“We’ll see.” Discord teased, though it would take a lot to get that space from him. It was more interesting if he held it rather than Ivy.

Cadence took the die from the table and rolled. She smiled, Discord’s shenanigans could end up benefiting her in the long run. So she let him do his thing, chaos. “Just visiting Tartarus.”

“Don't you do that anyway?” Sombra asked, she had asked him questions. It made sense in his head that he should ask her some too. Get to know her better, he was also curious.

“Yes, actually it’s part of being a Princess,” Cadence answered she asked no questions back for she felt guilty.

Sombra cocked his eyebrow as he asked “princess of love right? You know I have done your schedule for that but I have never seen you work. How do you determine matters of love?” He asked as he landed on his own spot Fillydelphia. He then paid the bank what was needed to lay three houses down on his monopoly.

It was Cadence's turn to feel uncomfortable as she felt her heart sink. She didn’t want to lie to them, but she didn’t want to tell them the truth. They might figure out why they were here. “It just sort of calls me, like a feeling. From there I just follow my magic, it leads me to where I need to be. Tells me what I need to know, sort of. It surprisingly takes a lot more guesswork than you would think.”

“Huh, that’s actually very interesting. Is it the same for all the other Princesses?” Sombra asked.

Spear took his roll during the conversation, “six...Sugar Cube Corner. Damn.” He said as his eyes dashed over to Sombra.

Cadence's eyes went wide as she realized something sort of ridiculous, “you know what I have never asked, or bothered to compare.” Maybe that’s something she should do, she wondered how different her magic was from all the other Princesses.

“Oh. Well if you find out let me know, I’m very curious about the answer.” Sombra said as he wondered why Cadence had never thought to do that. He would have done it if he were a princess. “Cough it up, Spear.”

Spear sighed as he handed over the money to Sombra, he was not happy about the situation. While he wanted to win, badly. He didn’t think it was possible anymore.

Ivy snickered at her brother's demise as her roll hit the table, “Friendship Test….i helped my friend during a hard time. Receive 100. Sweet!” That only made Ivy smile.

Discord rolled “Chaos...oooo yay. You made it rain chocolate milk collect 50$” He smiled as he took the money from Sombra.

Ivy looked up at Discord with all the hope of a small filly “you can actually do that right?” She asked.

“Yes, I can!” Discord exclaimed proudly.

Ivy’s eyes went wide “can...can I have some?”

Discord smiled, his chaos was something that was wanted around here. Ever since his first pranking spree ponies have been asking him to do crazy things. They even join in from time to time although his number one partner in crime was Flurry Heart. It was weird at first, to be so popular but now he loved it. “SURE!” He said as he snapped up a glass and a cloud “poke it to turn it on and off. Also, I made it so you won’t get sick, have as much as you so desire.”

Ivy smiled so wide she almost beat the average Pinkie Pie smile. She put the glass under the cloud and tapped onto it, it rained chocolate milk right into her glass, and she gasped with delight. “I LOVE THIS! You are THE BEST!” She said as she chugged down a glass only to refill it and chug it down once more.

“I want some!’ The rest of the table yelled in-sink, causing Discord to smile even more. “Sure!” He said as he did the same for them. He always assumed Pinkie Pie would be the one and only exception, the only one to ask for chaos. It seemed like he was wrong, which made him happy. He was glad he was wrong. The game was once again interrupted as a chocolate milk break was taken.
> Monopony part2
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Sombra rolled next, and he grumbled with disappointment, ‘nine...Random Cloud. Guess I do nothing.” He said bitterly, there were spaces that he desired and that was not one of them.

Shining rolled next, he couldn’t help the smile on his face. Sombra didn't get any advantage this round, good, “six ooh doubles… awww Fillydelphia.” He just had to jinx himself, at least it was in his head. He handed the cash to Sombra and rolled once more, “11 Crystal Castle.”

“Wahoo!” Cadence bragged as her husband handed her bits, he had landed on her spot after all. She was going to make him pay, pay bits that is.

Spear rolled the die, “eight...Appleloosa.” Spear sighed again, he really regretted that deal with Sombra. He forked over his bits.

Ivy giggled and rolled a 10 “Doc's lab.” She sighed again, maybe she should start complimenting her brother because teasing him only brought her trouble.

Spear snorted as he watched his sister jinx herself once more “Woo! Cough it up, sis.”

“Screw you!” She exclaimed again.

Discord paused, he thought about what could potentially be more chaotic. He didn’t care if he won or not, he cared if it was fun. He smiled “Cadence I'll give you the Crystal Library for the Library of Magic. You do want to rule with Shining, do you not?” He smirked, he noticed the times that Cadence made her husband pay when he landed on her spots. He wondered if this would cause more tension between them or if it would solve it. He was hoping for more tension, more tension meant more chaos. Sometimes, chaos was chaotic after all, so he couldn’t predict what would happen next.

Cadence suddenly felt very awkward as she realized she had been plotting against her husband in order to win the game. “Yes...of...of course!” She quickly said though she was no longer sure that would be the case. She nervously looked at her husband, she needed that property.

Shining smiled, he saw his opportunity. “It sounds good to me as long as that is your actual plan.”

Cadence heart quickened, “of course, what uh what else would I be planning?” Her lips pursed and panic filled her.

“Monopony domination?” Shining said, smiling. He smiled at his wife. He loved her very much, and he knew exactly what she was doing. He held no ill will to this, he knew how competitive she could get. It was a quality that he loved just as much as he disliked.

“I will win! I will dominate all of Monopony.” Cadence yelled defiantly “give me the piece Discord!”

Discord smiled, oh how he loved what was happening “of course Cadence.” He said as he handed her the piece. She in turn gave him the piece he was looking for, but he did not stop there. Why would he? There was more chaos to be had “Ivy I'll give you the Castle of Friendship for the School for Gifted Unicorns and 100 bits.”

Ivy’s eyes went wide, and she smiled, “deal!”

Cadence rolled next, completely skipping over Discord’s turn. “Five...Ponyville station.”

“Ha!” Ivy said as she received money from Cadence. She heard her monarch huff at her and Ivy just smiled more.

While Discord would normally object to his turn being skipped he was more interested in the chaos he was currently causing than winning.

Sombra rolled the die and smiled, he couldn't help it. “Four,” a mischievous glint in his eyes formed as he landed his piece on the best spot on the board. At least the best spot for him. “Crystal Empire, I think I’ll buy that one. Look at me, I own the Crystal empire, Again.”

“Hey! You can't do that!” Cadence exclaimed, she needed that piece for another Monopony.

“All is fair in Monopoly. What are you gonna do now, call the elements?” he scoffed. “Look at me I’m enslaving your empire again, ooo woooo ooo wooo.” Sombra laughed at Cadence's frustrated face.

Ivy looked at Sombra “ooo woooo ooo wooo? What is that supposed to be?”

“The sounds of enslavement of course. What else?” Sombra joked, he felt like he was getting better at this whole joking thing. Though he had a feeling that it would take a while to be just as good, if not better, than discord. If that was even possible.

“HA! The sounds of enslavement? Sure, I totally believe that.” Ivy said as she giggled some more.

“I’ll prove it!” Sombra said as he climbed onto the table, careful not to knock over any pieces. He waved his hooves in front of Ivy’s face “ooo woooo ooo wooo, you have been enslaved.”

Ivy just scoffed “beep boop oh no I am slave beep boop.” She freely laughed it up as did every other creature around the table.

“I said slave, not robot,” Sombra said as he smiled down at his friend. “I’d rank your performance an 8/10. Fewer beeps and boops and you sound just like a slave.” The laughter continued, and he climbed down off the table and back to his seat.

Shining rolled the die and among the laughter, he announced his roll “four….Canterlot. I’ll buy it.” He continued to giggle as he handed the money to Sombra.

Spear calmed himself once more, he was having a grand old time. He was very glad that he agreed to go with Cadence when she asked him to play a game. “six, Crystal Library” he paid Cadence.

Discord rolled next as he giggled, his stomach was starting to hurt from all the laughing. He couldn’t help but have a great time. How could he not, “11 Froggy Bottom Bog” Discord said as he paid Spear.

Ivy rolled next, she was having a similar problem that Discord was having. Her stomach hurt and it wasn’t from all the chocolate milk she was downing. Though the amount she was downing would have made Pinkie jealous and all physics break it was just that much. “8...random cloud.”

Discord rolled and his laughter started up again “no way!! 11 I got Ponyville. I have to buy it, look at us Sombra take over part three. One by force, two by pillow, three by a board game.” He laughed at the irony of the situation he wasn’t even trying for that spot.

“We are just killing it aren't we!” Sombra added, he to saw the irony in it. For he wasn’t aiming for the Crystal Empire spot he just ended up there.

Discord panicked as he realized that he forgot to do something, something important, “oh and I’d like two houses.” He said handing the bits to Sombra and laying down his houses onto the board.

Cadence rolled next and just when every-creature thought irony couldn’t get more ironic. It did. “6 chaos, go directly to Tartarus do not pass go. Shit!” Cadence grumbled as she put her piece on Tartarus.

Sombra and Discord could not help but laugh further as they said what every-creature was thinking. “Ironic.” Discord continued to giggle as Sombra turned to Cadence “come on, tell us what you did to end up in there.”

Cadence thought and thought hard, why was she in there. “I did something terrible.”

“Huh-uh” Sombra said as he egged her on.

“Something against the laws of physics, time, space, existence. A sin so great I made the universe weep.” Cadence went on as she dragged out the explanation, why was she in there. Why, why?

“Go on,” Sombra said as he leaned on his hoof. He had all day to wait, and he would love to hear the oh so terrible reason Cadence was in Tartarus.

“I double dip my chips!” Cadence yelled, she was more than content with her reason for being there. “Forgive my sins! I'm the Princess of GERMS!” She fake cried but it wasn’t all that convincing as she laughed in between what were supposed to be sobs.

Sombra rolled the die as he said “Wow, did Pinkie Pie send you there? I’m pretty sure that's a cardinal sin of parties.” He moved his piece 12 spaces and landed on the chaos space. “Turn the street to soap and pay 50 bits.”

Cadence smiled “how did you know? Yes she did she was all like ‘noooo how could you’ and I was all like ‘i’m sooo evil mwahaha.’ True story, I swear.”

“It is, I was there. I had never expected my wife to turn out evil. She’s been reformed though, but we all keep an eye out for doubled dipped chips.” Shining added, he desired to play into the situation.

“Scandalis” Sombra said as he rolled again, he had gotten doubles his last turn. He moved 9 and landed on Hive Station. He handed over the bits to Ivy. “How do your subjects even trust their chips and their dips around you?” He said as he further exaggerated the situation.

“They don’t for good reason, I plan on dipping the biggest chip into the biggest dip and then dipping it again. I will once again commit the greatest of sins” Cadence claimed.

“As is expected.” Shining gave a pretend exasperated sigh “that’s what you sign up for, when you marry the princess of germs.” He said it so flatly and so plainly that it made laughter erupt once more. He moved 7 landing on Wonderbolts, he then paid Discord what was needed.

Spear rolled next “that goes for serving under her. We all know it was going to happen eventually.” He moved 5 and landed on Cloudsdale, his own property.

Ivy tried to look as downcast as possible but it was very hard as she really didn’t feel that way. “It’s true we all know.” She moved three, Canterlot castle she laughed as she paid Shining.

Discord snickered as he rolled, and then he moved 8 spaces only to land on the School of Friendship. It was owned by Ivy.

“Ha! Give me your money,” Ivy said, as she received the bits from Discord. Who proceeded to blow raspberries at her and snapped his fingers. Suddenly she was made out of strawberries. “You are just mad you owe me money!” She exclaimed she knew she had gotten under his hide, skin...whatever it was. She was under it.

“Am not!” Discord exclaimed, he had not expected her to hit the nail on the head so accurately. So he did what he did best, chaos.

“Hey!’ Cadence yelled at the two of them “no fighting.” She was glad to see it though, friends got into tiffs from time to time. Usually harmless but just in case she stopped it before either one of them went too far. “Now turn her back Discord,”

“Do you think if I ate myself it be kinky or cannibalism?” Ivy asked with full sincerity and it made Discord stop what he was doing completely. Leaving Ivy as she was, strawberries.

Discord laughed and laughed and laughed, and he only laughed harder when the faces of his friends screamed shock. He hadn’t expected such a question but that's what he loved so much about chaos. “I don’t know, find out.” He said as he snapped his fingers as he bent reality to his will. That will was to allow Ivy to eat herself.

Ivy stared at her hoof, it did look tasty. All those fresh strawberries, she took a hearty bite of her hoof. She chewed and watched her hoof reform itself. “You know what I taste pretty good. Want some?” She asked as she held her hoof out to Discord. “Not every day I can go around saying I ate myself and then Discord ate me. And to mean it literally.”

Discord didn’t think it was possible to laugh this hard, but he currently was, eventually, he managed to choke out, “yes.” As he chewed off Ivy’s entire arm, which reappeared shortly after he bit it off. “You know I think it’s both, we can call it Cannibalinky.”

“I am so uncomfortable,” Spear announced honestly all this talk about eating his sister made his stomach turn. He felt very gross and weird, but mostly gross.

Cadence rolled as she tried to process what just happened, she had no doubles which meant she was still in Tartarus. That fact really annoyed her.

Sombra was of course watching, he took care to always observe other's moves. “You know I could help you out of jail,” he said, electing to ignore Discord and Ivy completely, not that they minded or cared. They were way too distracted as they elected to keep eating limbs of strawberries. “I’ll pay your fee but you can’t buy houses until you pass go.”

Cadence tried her best to ignore Discord who changed into blueberries so that Ivy could eat him, and he could eat himself. She tried her best to move the game forward, “ok, I think I can deal with that.” She moved her piece the 10 that she had rolled, Random Cloud was the space she landed on.

Sombra was not as disturbed as Cadence, not as shocked as Shining and not as grossed out as Spear. He was happy, it was nice to see Discord have so much genuine fun. “While I will not be eating myself I think I’d like to be…..hmmm...I’ll be corn.” He said as he deposited bits into the bank, enough for two houses. He then rolled a 7 and paid Spear for he landed on the Doc’s lab.

“Really Sombra?” Spear asked, he was hoping to move on from the situation.

“When in chaos do as the chaotic do.” He casually said as he turned into corn.

Cadence smiled, “I’d like to be made out of water please.” She said, she wondered how different that would be. Soon she forgot all the awkwardness as the world became blue. It was like looking at the world through a pool. “Wow, this is cool!”

This snapped Shining out of his shock and into reality “can I be made out of armor, shining armor. Like my name.” He said as he smiled soon he was turned into a walking armor set. He rolled his die, 12.

During his roll spear spoke up “can I be lava?” He asked, now distracted from his sister, or at least distracted enough. Discord snapped not only was everything fireproof, and also waterproof, but Spear was fire itself. “Sweet, I literally am a roaster.” He said as he flailed his limbs around wildly.

“Sugar Cube Corner” announced as he paid Sombra and rolled again. This time it’s a five. Las Pegasus, he can not pay his debt. Shining only had two properties, so he didn’t have much to mortgage he was soon frustrated. “I quit!” he huffed.

“Now what?” Cadence asked.

Sombra picked up the rule book and glanced at it looking for an answer, “we put Shining’s money away and his spots go back up on the market. That is what it says.”

Shining scooted closer to his wife “I will help her now. To beat all of you! We will crush you all!” He said as he was determined to win in any way possible.

Spear felt a tiny bit of fear rise in him, Cadence would no longer compete against her husband meaning he was on the chopping block now. He rolled a 6, doubles, Library of Magic. He sighed as he realized he did not have the bits to pay Discord, he had to mortgage his property. He rolled again and rage soon replace fear as he landed on Auction House. That two hundred bits he needed was no longer his. He rolled once more and lucky he did not get doubles only Visiting Tartarus instead of being in it.

Ivy rolled next as she chugged more chocolate milk and ate more strawberries. She was very glad Discord enchanted her, so she wouldn’t get sick. Because she was pretty sure she would be. “Four, Canterlot, I’ll take it.”

Discord frowned, “that is the spot I needed! Trade me!”

“We’ll see.” Ivy teased, oh how the tables have turned.

Discord rolled a six only to land on Sculpture Garden. He grumbled to himself as he paid Cadence. He was a bit grumpy about his situation.

Cadence rolled, her darling and love sat next to her. Together they made a force to be reckoned with. “6, Cloudsdale.” She started and Shining finished “we will buy it.”

Sombra felt a small shiver, he wasn’t afraid. He felt...threatened. Those two were admirable foes. He rolled a 10 and landed on chaos. “Lava is now jello and you eat it, turns out it’s still lava on the inside and you burn your belly. Pay 50$.” This did not make Sombra feel any better.

Spear rolled next, he hoped for the best, “11...Random Cloud.” It wasn’t a fantastic place to be but it could have been worse.

Ivy took her roll “7, Wonderbolts.” She said as she paid Discord.

Discord giggled, yay he thought, as he rolled a 6 “Cutie Mark Crusaders Clubhouse.” He smiled as he paid Sombra. He was having to much fun to be any kind of sore.

Cadence and Shining took their turn. This time Shining rolled, “eight, Wonderbolts.” Cadence handed Discord the bits that they owed him.

Spear rolled next, a 6, doubles. He landed on Cloudsdale and then onto School for Gifted Unicorns. He did not have enough bits to pay off Discord, so he mortgaged what he could and hoofed it over. “I quit!” He said frustrated as all get out. “I’m teaming up with Ivy!” He said as he joined his sister in conquest.

“Welcome Brother, together we shall rule this board with an iron hoof.” Ivy joked but on the inside, she sort of wasn't as her desire to win was incredibly strong.

Cadence and Shining went next and Cadence cast the die. “7, badlands. That is our property and with our new bits I’d like to buy two houses.” She said as shining handed the bits to Sombra. Cadence put down her houses in response.

Sombra took the die and gave it a roll, “6, Ponyville.” He paid Discord. Then he smiled mischievously. “Hey...hey Cadence.”

“What?” she asked, sounding more bitter than she meant to.

“I was going to offer you the Crystal Empire but is that’s how you're going to behave then I guess I really shouldn’t,” Sombra said an evil glint shone in his eyes.

Spear and Ivy decide to take their roll in the midst of Sombra teasing half their monarch. They got a nine and the moved their piece as the conversation continued.

“Really?! I’m sorry Sombra I didn’t mean to-”

“For your Monopony.” Sombra cut her off, he wasn’t actually planning to give it to her. He desired to tease her. He stuck his tongue out at her and in return he received a glare. “I’ll take that as a no. Guess it's still under my tyranny. Oh, who will save all those slaves?” He scoffed.

Cadence rolls her eyes “oh ha ha ha. Ima tell Twilight on you.” She said as she summoned a piece of paper, wrote something on it, and sent it.

“Ohh I’m soooo scared. What is she going to do, friendship me to death?” Sombra said as he faked fear though he was actually concerned about that letter.

Spear and Ivy frowned as they stared on the space they landed on, the had to mortgage Canterlot in order to pay Cadence. The rest of the money was spent on one house in the hopes of getting it back. “Well, that sucked.” Ivy pointed out as she wondered how long they would be in this game.

Discord rolled a 4 and landed on Sombra's property Las Pegasus. He had to sell his houses and mortgage his property to pay. “You know what I give up!” He yelled as he forfeited the game, “I’m joining Sombra in His conquest. Now it is teams against teams!”

“Glad to have you Discord we will rule over this land together!” Sombra joked.

Cadence and Shining took their turn shining rolled as Cadence said “not before we do!” They glared at one another. Spear and ivy said nothing as they had a feeling they weren't long for this game. “6, chaos, disintegrate to the closest train station. We will buy it.” Shining added.

Ivy and spear rolled a 5 and ended up landing on a spot Sombra needed, “I’ll buy it!” Ivy said she could barely afford it but as long as Sombra didn’t have it.

“Uh, I don't think so remember you made an agreement with me. I get first dibs on the first 3 unowned properties you landed on. You landed on only one. I'll buy this.” He said as he smiled, pride filled his being. The air got tenser as he grew more and more confident about his position.

Ivy looked at her brother and saw defeat in his eyes so in their desperation they struck a deal. “Cadence I'll give you my railroad if you grant me immunity when I land on them. Forever.” She offered, in the end, she hoped they would rise from the ashes.

“Oh! It is a deal!” Cadence said, anything to win and looking at Ivy and Spears pile she could tell they would lose. Of course, they would she was too great and powerful. She took her tun and ended up with an 8, crystal castle. "Since somepony refuses to be reasonable and give me my empire. I think I will pass on this spot.”

Sombra Just smiled as Discord rolled, a smart decision. As he would never give up that card. It was just too amusing. “Oh, a 2! Library of magic. I think I’ll buy it!” He said as he rolled once more, “Chaos opposite day, you give go 200$. Dammit,” He said as he put the bits into the bank. Smiles appeared on the faces of his current friends…foes...foiends.

Ivy and spear saw their doom as they rolled a 5 and landed on Las Pegasus. THey mortgaged what they could to pay Sombra and then declared bankruptcy. “I think we will join The Prince and Princess.” Ivy said as her brother confirmed her statement “yes we will! We will be joining them. For victory!” Cadence took her roll, with her new friends by her side she couldn’t imagine losing. “Friendship for the win!” She said as rolled and moved to Canter lot. She bought it up so quickly a blink would have missed it.

Sombra and Discord looked at one another and smiled “More like tyranny for the win” He joked as he rolled a 10, landing on his own property. He then bought one house if only to irritate the other team.

Ivy yelled “harmony for the win!” As Spear rolled for team Cadenceshinrivy, he ended up with a 10, School of Friendship. “We will take it!” Shining exclaimed as he hoofed over the bits to Sombra.

Partaking in the glory of chaos, Discord was filled with determination. He rolled for his own team, team Disba. He ended up with a nine. Sombra moved his piece “Ghastly Gorge, we will take it!” Sombra said as he deposited the bits into the bank.

Ivy rolled next for team Cadenceshinrivy. She ended up with a 5, sculpture garden. Which is a spot that they all owned. So it wasn't bad but it wasn’t great either. They bought a few more houses for good measure.

Sombra rolled for team Disba this time, a 5. Discord moved the piece to the crystal library. He grumbled as he paid Cadence “your bits, overlord of the pink spaces.”

“You bet your flank I am.” Cadence insisted as Shining rolled for team Cadenceshinrivy. A 10...sombra’s property. Las Pegasus. They all frowned together as they mortgaged a good bit of property in order to pay off Sombra. Though they were still in the game, and they were still motivated.

Discord rolled for team Disba this time, and he ended up on Cloudsdale. “We shall take it!” He exclaimed as Sombra paid the bank for it.

Spear rolled for team Cadenceshinrivy, and they ended up on Froggy Bottom Bog. A space Sombra needed for another Monopony. “We will take it,” Cadence said as she paid for it just to spite Sombra. She had to sell some of her houses but it was worth it.

Discord rolled again for team Disba and ended up on another unowned space “School for Gifted Unicorns, we will take it.” Sombra said nothing as he had no objection and Discord kept getting great rolls, so he didn’t mind if Discord went. Plus if Discord was entertained he would stay more focused.

Cadence rolled for Cadenceshinrivy “7 crystal empire train.” They already owned that, and they couldn’t afford to buy any more houses, so they ended their turn.

Discord took his turn, by his he meant Disba’s, and he ended up with an excellent roll. “Look at that we landed on go,” Sombra said with a smirk on his face and brag in his voice.

Ivy rolled for Cadenceshinrivy “6, School for Gifted Unicorns.” Team Cadenceshinrivy frowned further as they paid their debt but just barley.

Discord rolled again, pride in his very soal “eight, Sweet Apple Acres.” He said with a smirk Sombra just stuck his tongue out once more in a teasing fashion.

This time Cadence rolled for Cadenceshinrivy “6 School of Friendship,” She rolled again as she got doubles “7. Auction house pay 200.” She sighed with such desperation one would have thought her soal was ripped from her very being. She needed that cash!

Sombra rolled next and Discord moved the piece “Ghastly Gorge!” He smiled, he was safe once more.

Cadence rolled and hoped to everything good that she would get lucky but luck and this fimfiction was not on her side. “9, Las Pegasus.” They didn't have enough money, Sombra had won!

Woooooo! I win! Go tyrant, go tyrant" he danced around in his chair, then climbed onto the table to further exclaimed his glory. Discord soon joined him as he danced around in victorious circles.





"You got mail," Twilight's mailbox said. She made that feature herself, though it was starting to get annoying. It was a letter from Cadence, she smiled. She wondered what it was, maybe it was important. Once she took a look at its contents she ended up rolling her eyes as she tossed it into the fire, and going back to her studies. It was definitely not important. It read 'Sombra is going to beat me at Monopony, quick send him back to the ice!' Just another interruption.
> Zap Apples
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Sombra woke up to a ringing of his alarm. Uhg, it was so very early, as he started to wonder why his alarm was ringing it spoke up. "Time to wake it its zap apple jam season"

"Shit! Leary, turn off my alarm." Sombra said as he bolted out of bed and to Discords door which he knocked on rapidly. He had forgotten, they promised to help Applejack again this season. They both helped in cider season and in zap apple jam season, along with her friends.

"What the fuck Sombra, what do you want, do you even know what time it is?" Discord hissed as his friend, his mind covered in a sleepy fog.

"Its zap apple jam season!" Sombra hissed back, "and we promised we would be there."

"Shit! Go get the coffee ready, I'll go get the baby." Discord said as he ran off to the nursery. He grabbed the pre-packed bag Cadence kept at the ready for when she needed to go out with Flurry. He turned around in a rush and then very slowly, very carefully, picked up Flurry from her crib. He cradled her in his arm as his eyes glowed a paper appeared. He wrote Cadence a note and went up to her bedroom door. He cracked it open just slightly and taped the note inside the door. He then dashed off to the kitchen.

Sombra had just finished the pot of coffee he was making and was pouring it into two cups when Discord came strolling into the kitchen. He picked up the cup and tossed the whole thing into his mouth, eating it in one bite.

Sombra followed that motion except he put his cup into the dishwasher. He watched as Discord ripped a hole through time and space, they both entered it and ended up on Applejack's farm.

"Hello," yelled Applejack, she had been up for the past hour feeding all the animals.

"Shhhh." Discord and Sombra said at the same time as they both pointed to Flurry.

"We have to watch Flurry. She's currently asleep, so hush. You'll wake her up." Discord scolded Applejack, if she woke up now, she would be cranky later.

"Sorry, wait how ya gonna help if ya have to watch her?" Applejack whispered if they had Flurry, how were they going to do this?

"We're gonna switch off. I'll buck and Discord will help make the jam. His powers would be better suited for making the jam anyway, since you know, it's quite a chaotic process." Sombra suggested but Applejack seemed very hesitant. "Or we could leave." Sombra assumed that they were not wanted unless they were paying attention to only this.

"No!" Applejack yelled, she needed their help. She needed all the help she could get.

"Shhhhhh." Discord and Sombra said together, scolding Applejack once more, but Flurry did not wake.

"Sorry, I guess thata be fine." Applejack said as she went off with Sombra. She brought him over to the section he was to buck. "Alright this is ya section, get as much as ya can done." She said as she left him to his own devices.

Sombra bucked his first tree, he could use his magic to levitate them all down. That wasn't all that fun, when reforming he spent a good amount of time here. He really grew to appreciate the physical aspect of apple bucking, sometimes things were nice without using any magic. This was one of those things, so he did it the earth pony way. By hoof, at least until he had to use magic, he was on a timer.

Applejack was halfway through her first section when she could hear the distant sounds of Discord obsessing over Flurry. It was incredibly distracting. "Pika-BOO!" Another tree missed. She grumbled to herself, how was she supposed to do anything if Discord was so distracting? She started trotting over, to tell him off, of course.

"IAhehiwrairla." Flury said as she rubbed her hooves all over Discord's face.

"Awww," Discord said as doted on her some more, scratching her ears, rubbing her head, scratching her belly with his claw. She clumsily grabbed his claw and started chewing on it. "Flurry, we talked about this. No biting. I know it hurts, so here." Discord said as he poofed up the new and improved bubble octopus. Now for teething babies, it was cold and hard, it would bring peace to her painful gums. "Chew on this my sweet little heart crusher."

Flurry bit down on the octopus and it was like heaven on her flaming gums. "eiohwho" She said, her mouth full of octopus.

"I'll assume that was a thank you, you're very welcome darling." He said as he cooed at her, going back to fretting over her, scratching and petting all the places she liked. "You are just too cute, I love you so very much. You're gonna be the best princess ever. Better than every princess combined, your gonna make all the past princess look bad!"

Applejack's breath hitched as the flood of memories of her father drowned her head. He used to fret and obsess in much the same way. Telling them how great they were, how they would grow up to be great, how proud he was. She trotted right up to Discord. "Heya Discord."

"Hello, Applejack." Discord responded flippantly, he looked at her once then did a double-take. It looked like she had seen a ghost. "Are you doing alright?"

"This will be mighty strange but can I have a hug?" Applejack asked she wasn't sure what was wrong with her head. This was Discord, lord of chaos, and she wanted some of that attention Flurry was getting. Was she going crazy?

"Sure I love a good hug," Discord said as he scooped her up in his arms. Was that all? All she needed to do was ask, he did not mind dishing out hugs.

Applejack leaned into Discord, felt his claw scratch her ears, felt his soft fuzz, his warm embrace. It wasn't the same but it was still nice. She smiled as she hugged him harder, she didn't care if this was crazy it made her feel good.

Flurry Heart was sitting the table staring at Discord's back. He wasn't paying attention to her anymore that was something she didn't like. "Aijiejfijfew" she said, but he wouldn't turn around, so she poofed onto his face. "huehhh."

"I'm sorry Flurry, Applejack needs attention right now. You'll have to share. Do you remember what your mother told you about sharing?" Discord stared in Flurry's sparkling eyes, and he wanted to cave, he couldn't. It sucked, but Cadence was right, he and Sombra did spoil her too much. They still did, but they tried not to contradict what Cadence was trying to teach her. Discord moved Flurry from his face to his head. He conjured a second clawed hand to scratch Flurry.

"Sorry about that Applejack......Applejack? Are you ok?" Discord asked as he started to feel Applejack hug harder, then start to shake.

"No, I know it be a might strange but ya remind me of mah father." Applejack couldn't stop her tears, everything he did reminded her of her father. Even the way he scolded Flurry, wishing to dote on her instead. Applejack's father spoiled her and her brother in much the same way.

Discord didn't know what to say, so he joked. "Your father was a Draconequus?"

Applejack snorted lightly at the thought, "yeah we're secretly related, just like Pinkie and me."

Discord smiled just a bit, glad he cheered her up. "I'm sorry I didn't mean to upset you."

Applejack looked up into Discord's eyes, he looked so concerned. It made her feel better. All that reformation sure was worth it. "He would fret and fuss over us. I miss him." It was more than that, Fluttershy was right, she was always right. He was more than just the lord of chaos. He was a friend, she wished she had been on that bandwagon sooner. Joining Fluttershy from the start, instead of doubting her for so long.

"Well I do love fretting, maybe there's something I can do to make you feel better?" Discord added, he hated that he made one of the elements of harmony cry.

"Do you think you can fret over Apple Bloom? She got her cutie mark, and we fretted, but it wasn't the same." Applejack asked. She knew it wouldn't exactly be the same with Discord, but she also felt that her family got nowhere close to the same feeling. It just felt so off, even Big Mac agreed when she asked him later. They were missing that father-like figure, she assumed stealing a little bit from Flurry wouldn't be too bad.

"She did? I had no idea. Well, bring her over." Discord's heart stung, another thing he had been left out of. He felt so....used. He could see why he needed to do this, but he was just filling a void. All the elements did this from time-to-time, when they weren't parading Discord and Sombra around like trophies. They missed out on a lot, unless their powers were needed, then they were needed. He watched as she brought Apple Bloom over to him, and it stung once more. He had to be considerate, one upset element caused more elements to be upset. Plus he did favor the cutie mark crusaders, so chaotic.

"You got your cutie mark?!?!?!" He said as he picked her up and sat her onto the table. That way he wouldn't have to crane his neck awkwardly, he poured his affection into her. Though he wasn't really feeling it all that much.

"Ya want to see?" Apple Bloom yelled as she raised her hindquarters, and pointed her hoof to her cutie mark. "See!?"

Discord just stared, confused "I have no idea what that could mean." He said before he felt a sinking feeling. "OH NO! Does that mean no more crusaders? You made such great agents of chaos. Who will give your sister headaches now?! I mean, besides me, of course."

Apple Bloom laughed, "we were worried 'bout that too! We actually got out cutie marks together, all together. We have the same job! We're gonna help others find their purpose! We figured it out by helpin' Dimond Tiara find her path, even if she was a big ol' bully."

"Wow, that's a lot of responsibility, are you ready?" Discord asked her, she was still very young, so he was slightly concerned.

"Yes! With mah friends, I can do anything!" Apple Bloom yelled confidently.

That made him less worried, she sounded like the elements. She would be just fine. "Well, if you want to cause some extra chaos." He said as he dropped a red whistle over Apple Bloom's head, "you can always call me." He snapped up a sticker that read 'Chaos Agent: Discord approved' on it. "There now you have two cutie marks and two purposes in life, now go cause some chaos."

"Thank you Discord, if I need ya I'll let ya know." Apple Bloom said, she wondered how many courses she could set up with Discord's help. Was it possible for a pony to get a cutie mark in chaos?

"No problem," Discord felt that sting again. If he was needed. He was never needed. She really was like the elements.

"Don't encourage her givin' me headaches." Applejack mock scolded, her sister was going to be doing that regardless of Discord's encouragement.

"Of course she will, she is supposed to. She's your family. You taught me that, so I guess it's sort of your fault." He tried to joke. He picked Flurry off his head and cradled her in his arms. At least he had Flurry and Sombra, something was much better than nothing.

Applejack noticed Discord seemed to be upset. She had no idea why, was, was it family? Just like how she had been upset. "You know ya never told me 'bout ya kin."

Discords heart dropped, "I....."

"Where have you been? I have been bucking trees by myself!" Sombra yelled, purple pouring from his eyes. He was peeved. He finished his section and the next three before he realized that a break was being taken.

Thank Celestia for Sombra, Discord thought to himself. It was easy bait, but he did not care, as long as he was out of this conversation. "Applebloom has her cutie mark."

"What no way can I see?!" Sombra rushed over to Apple Bloom who told him all about her mark. He felt a singular sting to Discord, he missed out, again.

"We should get ya one!" Apple Bloom said as she pointed at Sombra's blank flank.

"Oh I'm not really a pony. I just look like one, I'm sort of like Discord." Sombra explained, "I won't get one, even with your help." A cutie mark was something Sombra never really fretted over, even when he was younger. He always knew he'd never get one.

"You don't have one either?" Apple Bloom asked Discord.

"Not a pony, well part pony, but not enough to have a cutie mark." Discord explained, he could probably conjure one up for himself but it wouldn't be the real deal.

"How did that work? We're ya kin like that?" Applejack asked.

"Yeah, or....did ya loose 'em... like we did." Apple Bloom asked. She had never seen either of their parents nor heard of them.

"Uhhhh," Discord said as Sombra remained silent. It was a question they avoided and for good reasons. Neither of them knew what to say.

Sombra coughed, "uh um I..." He looked away and to Discord, he held hope that he'd do something that made the conversation change.

"Girls!" Granny Smith scolded "ya are clearly making 'em uncomfortable. They been kind enough to help every year and ya are stressin' em out. I taught ya better than that! Now leave 'em alone, we only got a few more hours left till the zap apples disappear." Granny turned to Sombra and Discord, "I'm mighty sorry, ya don't have to say anything if ya don't want ta. Now get back ta work."

"Thank you, Mrs. Smith," Sombra said, grateful that he wasn't cornered into an uncomfortable situation.

"Mrs?!!? While no ones called me Mrs since I turned 40." Granny waved her hoof dismissively.

"You're over 40? I thought you were no older than 25." Sombra said with a smile, he liked Granny Smith she was filled with knowledge, fun stories, and her cooking was some of the best he ever tasted.

"Aw! Ya should come 'round more often. Ya make me feel so young!" Sombra brought Granny back to a time where her husband was around, all the jealous stairs he would get. It was rare to feel that young again, especially when your grandchildren sometimes treated you like you were crazy. Of course, she still loved them to the moon and back.

"You are young." Sombra said as he picked up Granny's hoof and kissed it gently. "I'll get back to work Mrs. Smith." Sombra said as he sauntered off to whatever section he was on. He supposed it didn't matter, he would just keep bucking.

"Ya know what ya deserve a break. They been notten but slackers." Granny said as she shoved him to the barn, it wasn't all that hard. It was almost noon, she was going to make every creature lunch. She decided she was going to make Sombra and Discord something extra special, a dish she used to make her husband and son. They were looking so thin these days and it was a hearty meal.

"I'll take Sombra's place. Now that Flurry is awake I can take her bucking with me." Discord got up and wandered off to his section. More than glad that he didn't have to have an awkward discussion.





Granny pushed Sombra inside her home. "Keep me company while I cook." She said as she hobbled off to the kitchen.

"I would love to," Sombra said as he followed her into the kitchen. He wondered what kind of story he would be told this time. He sat down on one of the wooden chairs as Granny got out a pot.

"Allow me," Sombra said as he activated his magic and brought the pot to the stove.

"Ya think ya can bring these ta me to?" Granny asked as she grabbed her cookbook and turned to page 30. She looked at it fondly it had been so long since she made this meal.

Sombra skimmed the recipe for what he needed: avocado or coconut oil, yellow onion, red pepper, sea salt, black pepper, jalapeño, cloves of garlic, chili powder, ground cumin, smoked paprika, tomatoes, lentils, kidney beans, black beans, coconut sugar, and corn. He activated his magic and gathered what he could. Putting it on the table for Granny. "I'm sorry, but we don't have some of these ingredients. We don't have chili powder, ground cumin, smoked paprika, or jalapeño."

"Oh, I wasn't expectin' to make this. I should go ta the market." Granny said she started to gather her purse.

"Allow me, you would get more done if I did it for you," Sombra offered, but in all honesty, he had no idea where to find any of those ingredients. He wouldn't want Granny to have to go through all that work, especially when he could do it for her. Plus he could go get some help.

"Ya such gentle-colt, if ya insist." Granny Smith smiled, it would give her time to prepare all the ingredients she had.

Sombra dissolved into smoked and rushed to Pinkie Pie, he knocked on the door to Sugar Cube Corner. It swung open.

"SOMBRA! What are you doing here?" Pinkie bounced at the sight of her friend. She was more than elated to see him.

"I need help finding these ingredients," Sombra said as he levitated a list to Pinkie Pie. He was glad to see her, she was his favorite element, besides Fluttershy.

Pinkie took one look and knew exactly where to go, "follow me." She said as she bounced off.

Sombra trotted calmly next to her, giving an interesting picture of one hyper mare and one steely stallion. Sombra did not mind though, after being around Discord for so long, he was more used to this sort of behavior. Until he wasn't, Pinkie bounced a little slower today, he could tell because he sometimes outpaced her. Her hair looked a little less bouncy, her smile a little less wide. "Everything ok Pinks?" He asked.

"You could always read me like a book, can't hide anything from you." Pinkie Pie stopped bouncing and walked next to Sombra. "Do you think I'm random?"

"Compared to Discord, your book is an easy read. Not as much as Discord but a little bit. Why?" Sombra asked, he hated seeing Pinkie so upset, and she was clearly distraught. She had reformed him, he felt like he owed her, for being the element to back his reformation first. Of course, followed by Fluttershy.

"I feel like I'm hearing more creatures say it, I think...they might be using it to ignore me. I know I'm random sometimes, but sometimes I'm being serious. They just blow me off." Pinkie Pie pouted, was she crazy?

"You know you should talk to your friends about that. I'm sure it's just a misunderstanding. If it helps, I like your randomness it makes you, you." Sombra said as he smiled. Looks like he helped an element this time, instead of the reverse.

"You really think that?" Pinkie asked as she started bouncing at her normal rate. 

"Of course!" Sombra said.

"Thank you Sombra, you're right I should talk to them, you are one smart cookie." Pinkie Pie felt better, Sombra was very smart, and he was right. She should talk to her friends, she sure was glad Sombra was one of them.





Sombra was back in the Apple's kitchen with everything he needed, Granny was halfway through the recipe. With the rest of the ingredients, her chili was up and cooking.

"Welp, time to start on the rest of it," Granny announced as she gathered pots and pans.

"Wait I thought that was lunch," Sombra said confused, wasn't that for all the Apples?

"Naw I wanted to make ya and Discord somethin' special for all y'all's help." Granny clarified, it wasn't a big deal, and she had enjoyed making the dish. It made her feel young again, she was feeling a lot of that today.

"You know what Mrs. Smith, let me, when is the last time you've been weighted on hoof and hoof?" Sombra asked, not giving Granny a chance to answer as he dashed into the living room. He pushed the chair into its shadow then took it to the kitchen. This allowed it to fit through the door and it was easier to carry. He set it up at the kitchen table. He lifted Granny in his magic and into her chair. "Why don't I cook you lunch?"

"I don't even remember the last time I had a break." Granny smiled, "or lunch cooked for me by a hoofsome creature like you."

"Mrs. Smith you flatter me too much," Sombra said with a dismissive hoof wave. He truly did enjoy her company. She was a very interesting mare.

"Would ya like to hear bout the time Apple Rose kicked her stalker in the bits?" Granny Smith asked, one of the reasons she liked Sombra is he would listen to her stories, all of her stories. He never tried to avoid them, or dismiss her.

"I would LOVE to hear about that," Sombra said with a smile, sounded like this story would be a wild one.

"Well, when I was youngen Rose was a bit of a....well a hussy to put it lightly. She attracted many admirers, twas all fun and games ya know? Till one of them started followin' us 'round. At first, we kid 'bout it cuz we thought it twas a joke. Maybe it was a friend playin' pranks on us.

Then it didn't stop, we got mighty worried, rightly so. We went directly to the mayor. He escorted us everywhere for a while and the stalker neva showed up, so we thought were safe. Till the mayor stopped escorting us, then we realized it had to be taken into our own hooves.

So one night, late, Rose went to go 'pick crops'. She put on quite the show and it made her stalker act. He came a runnin' she then swore at him in such language. I dare not repeat it. Kicked him, straight in the crotch, never saw hide nore hair of him again. But if ya and ya friend wish to know what she said. Ya can come on over durin' the Apple Family Reunion and ask her. I'm sure she'd love to repeat it." Granny said as she whipped out two invitations to the Family Reunion. She slid them across the table to Sombra.

"Oh Mrs. Smith, I couldn't intrude on your family like that." Sombra said, Granny was a very nice mare, and he could see why she would help produce one of the elements. Sometimes it surprised him that she wasn't one of them.

"Nonsense, I like ya so ya get to go. And stop callin' me Mrs. Smith my name is Maria. It's been such a long time since I made a new friend, I hope you don't mind befriendin' an old folk like me." Granny smiled at Sombra, she had the same group of friends since she turned 55, so it was nice to make a new one. She wondered if there was a family member she could pair him up with, she would love it if he joined her family.

"Well, thank you, Maria. I'd love to come, so would Discord. You are not old that old, in fact, I'm way older. Would you like to hear a story?" Sombra said, it was his turn to tell a story.

"I would love ta," Granny said, she was the one who usually told stories, or Applejack, if something had happened. She was excited to hear something new.

"This is about the time I thought trains were giant carnivorous snakes." Sombra started.





Applejack, Discord, Big Mac, and Rainbow Dash, who joined late, all finished bucking. Flurry was currently asleep in Cadence's hoof. She had shown up after her meeting had ended to see her baby. They were off to the kitchen for lunch when loud laughter stopped them in their tracks.

"So of course since I was terrified I sucker-punched Twilight in the muzzle." Sombra laughed, it was terrifying at the moment but it was rather funny now.

"The element of magic?!" Granny gasped.

"Give me a break Maria, I thought she was sacrificing me to a carnivorous snake. How was I supposed to know it was a train?" Sombra snickered as he stirred the soup some more, making sure it didn't burn. "She had a black eye for a week, of course, I felt very bad afterward. Discord made fun of me for three months straight dangling toy trains in my face going. "Look Sombra it's a snake hisssss." Sombra said doing his best Discord impression causing Granny to laugh some more.

"I do feel a lot younger," Granny said honestly. "Do ya often get treated like ya an old coot?"

"More like an artifact, it took me forever to get this sketchbook back. It wasn't even mine, it was Discord's. They kept telling me it had to be preserved, you know we're alive right? It's pretty much stealing, also if you want to see his art. You could just ask him. I mean he is around." Sombra said frustratedly, "that doesn't include all the other things I had to fight to get my hooves back on."

"Discord is an artist? Well colored me surprised, I had no idea." Granny Smith said.

"He's an excellent one too, his paintings are something else," Sombra said.

"Sombrraaaaa that's so nice of you. I was gonna prank you with trains but now I'm gonna hug you." Discord said as he picked up his friend. Is then snaped a train and hung it from his horn like a hearth's warming fire ornament. "Hissssss." He snickered, he couldn't resist.

Sombra just rolled his eyes, "I'm terrified," he said with a smirk.

"Bring 'em over here why don't cha." Granny Smith said as she patted the seats next to her. "Ya can both sit right next ta me."

"Thank you, Gran-" Discord started.

"Call me Maria, I insist ya sit down. I'll get ya food." Granny said not even waiting for an answer. Of course, they sat down. Granny set two bowls down in front of them and gave them a heaping amount of food. "Now I want cha to eat as much as ya want." She said as she poked them both in the sides. "Ya ribs are practically out cha sides, ya gonna starve to death. I can't have that happen on my watch."

"What about us Granny?" Applejack asked, in a state of shake. She had heard very few ponies call her Granny, Maria.

"Ya got hooves, get it ya self. My friends are gonna be jealous when I tell them how two strappin' fellows joined me for lunch." Granny bragged as she rocked her chair she would have to give them a call after this. She felt as young as Applejack was. She reveled in their attention.

"You mean stallions aren't always joining you for lunch? That surprises me, I suspected a young mare such as yourself to capture the attention of many a colt." Sombra said.

Granny slapped him on the back with her hoof causing him to breathe out from the force. "Ya are my favorite colt Applejack ever brought home." She pointed a hoof to Discord "ya too. Ya both so helpful and so nice."

They both smiled as they dug into their meal, as they put the spoon into their mouths you could practically see their pupils turn into stars.

"Maria, what is this? This has to be the best thing I have ever eaten." Discord asked as he downed the whole thing, bowl and all. "Oops, I got too excited." He said as he proofed up the bits needed to pay for the bowl.

"I'll get ya a new one, but try to not eat it," Granny said pushing his bits away and getting him a new bowl, picking up Sombra's bowl on the way. She filled them up and gave them back, "there's enough left ta feed eight full-grown stallions. Take the leftovers wit ya."
> Flutters
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Fluttershy left her cottage as she did every day, she needed to go to the market. She always needed to restock the animal's food for the next day. Fluttershy loved being ahead of schedule, but she hated the market. The vendors sometimes pressured her into buying items. Fluttershy did her best to say no, most of the time she just ran away or bought the item.

Which she could deal with, but these days she was extra stressed as she had a colt that seemed interested in her. She tried to say no, she did, but he didn't seem to get it. So Fluttershy changed the hours she went to the market and that seemed to work. So she felt a little more confident going out today, she grabbed her purse and trotted out the door. The birds sang as she passed out of the comfort of the woods and into the stress of inner Ponyville. She took a deep breath as she approached the first stall. All she needed was carrots.

"Well, isnt it my favorite customer," a vender pony said as he waved to Fluttershy, he always made sure that she got things on sale. She kept all the animals safe, and he would dislike her buying things full price if she didn't have to.

"Um hello I'd like some carrots," Fluttershy's heart beat hard, all she had to say was no. It was easy as pie.

"We have a sale on those, do you want anything else? We have a sale on cucumbers, hay, and beets."

"Um, uh, cucumbers," Fluttershy internally sighed, she didn't need them, but she had them now. She could always make more cucumber based dishes and hope that she used them all. It wasn't that big of a deal.

"Anything else?"

"Uh, no," Fluttershy said as she looked away from the vender.

"Are you sure?"

"Uhhh," Fluttershy stated her anxiety started rising even more.

"Hello Fluttershy," a male voice said.

"Oh hi," no, no, no, it was the colt. Fluttershy started to panic more, she thought she had avoided him successfully.

"May I speak to you for a moment?"

"I guess so," Fluttershy said, maybe it wouldn't be so bad. She paid the vendor for the veggies and stuffed them into her purse. She could just nicely explain that she wasn't interested and this time he would get it. She followed him into a nearby alleyway.

"I have been dropping hints that I like you for a week. I have been patient, now I need to know. Will you be my mare friend?"

"Oh uh, I don't think so," Fluttershy said as she slowly backed away from the colt and down the alleyway. She tripped over a rock, accidentally dropping her purse onto the ground.

"Is that a yes? Well?!"

"Uh" Fluttershy could see her dropped purse by her left hoof, a red whistle stuck out of it. The whistle that Discord and Sombra gave her, she could do this. She was a brave pony with good friends, and she could do this. She grabbed onto it, "NO!"

"No? Arnt you single? Why not?"

"I said no!" Fluttershy said with force, this was just like the Breezies, her kindness was sending mixed signals. She had to be firm, and if that didn't work. She had her friends to back her up.

"I think you should give me some kind of answer as to why."

Fluttershy hooves trembled, she brought the whistle to her mouth and blew into it as hard as she could. It made no sound, oh no. Did it not work?

"What the Tartarus was that? No what do you mean no? I-" he was cut off by a large creature made of various animal parts.

"Yes shy?" Discord said with great concern. He had been watching Flurry but gave her to Sombra as soon as he heard the whistle.

"I said no, he won't leave." Fluttershy pointed a shaky hoof to the colt. She didn't even know his name, just that he was mean. She felt so embarrassed about having to call Discord to her side, but she didn't have another choice. She said no, she didn't want to. Discord was powerful, he would make sure she was listened to.

"She said no bud, get lost before I make you." Discord said as he got down on all fours. He could feel Fluttershy burrow against him, her muzzle was wet, this colt made her cry, and he would make him regret that.

"Oh please, like she belongs to a freak like you."

"Fluttershy is a mare not a piece of property. Now beat it, or did you forget who I was?" Discord said as he sported a cruel smile, things levitated off the ground, his eyes glowed a yellowish red, and he reared his claws. "Hurt her and I will bury you," he growled his voice sending chills through any creature listening. It sent the stallion running home instantly.

"I'm so sorry," Fluttershy said as she looked up at Discord, "thank you." Fluttershy felt both weak and empowered. She couldn't believe she had to call Discord but she could call him. If this happened again he had her back and that made her feel good.

"You have nothing to be sorry for Fluttershy. If he comes back you can call me. You can always call me." Discord stated, he didn't mind taking time out of his day to make sure she was comfortable. Her element was her demise, her kindness often trampled on, even by him at one time. No more, never again would Fluttershy be taken advantage of, not while he was around.

"I should have done so sooner," Fluttershy said, it wasn't a sin to depend on him to back her up. He clearly wanted to. She wanted him to. She had the power to say no, she just didn't use it.

"Sooner?" Discord asked with a frown. What did she mean by that?

"He's been following me around awhile. I tried to avoid him... but oh Discord, I'm so sorry," Fluttershy said as she burrowed into him again. That colt had been so mean to her friend, she couldn't believe the thing he had said.

"Oh....it's ok Fluttershy don't cry. Please." Discord's heart crumpled, he had been a last resort. Why was he always the last resort? "How about we prank Rainbow Dash?" His eyes glowed as he brought her to Rainbow Dash who was currently bucking away clouds.

Fluttershy sniffled softly, how could he not be upset by what that colt said?

Discord snapped his fingers and made one of the clouds un-buck-able. "Look at crazy old Discord, up to no good," he said goofily but Fluttershy just kept sniffling.

Rainbow Dash bucked that cloud nine times then noticed Discord, of course, it was him. She was about to go tell him off for pranking her, though she had to admit it was a pretty good one, but still. Then she saw Fluttershy, "Fluttershy, whose butt do I have to kick? Is it Discord's?"

"Why would you think that?" Fluttershy said as more tears poured down her face. "Of course not, a mean colt called Discord a freak!" She said as she hugged Discord again.

"Fluttershy who cares? His opinion doesn't matter, so don't be sad. It's not like I haven't heard it before. So chin up." Discord said as he patted her head. He thought this was still about her and her feelings. It was a nice surprise that she seemed concerned for him. Concern wasn't often shown for him. "Fluttershy I'm fine, don't worry about it. Look," he said as he snapped his fingers and the cloud he made poured onto Rainbow's head.

"Hey!" Rainbow shouted, now peeved that she was drenched in rain.

"See Rainbow Dash, more like Rainbow Drenched," Discord was banking on the fact Rainbow cared deeply for Fluttershy and her feelings, so she would help him in his endeavor to cheer her up.

A very small, very meek laugh turned into a slightly audible giggle, "Hehe...sorry Dash," Fluttershy said as she smiled at her friend that was pretty funny.

Rainbow smiled back, she would let it go this one time. For Fluttershy as she smiled and that's what mattered, though she swore that she would get Discord back for the prank. He loved pranks anyway, they really should go together more often. It would be better if he were on her side for any future prank wars.

Fluttershy stopped crying and wiped her tears, "are you really ok?"

"Yes, it isn't anything new Fluttershy," Discord said as he ran his claws through her mane, scratching behind her ears. Ponies seemed to love that.

"I can kick his but Discord, just point me to him." Rainbow Dash said, "he sounds like he could use a good beating." She said as she flew around in a circle, "in fact you can point me to anyone who calls you freak. I'll defeat them all."

Discord scoffed, "That would be a lot of butts Rainbow Dash," He giggled as he pictured Rainbow trying to defeat that many creatures. It would be an amusing scenario. "I'm pretty sure you'd lose," he snorted, the mental image was just too funny.

Rainbow did not slow down often, but she did this time as she hovered in the air. Her head tilted as she pondered why that was funny. It sounded like he was bullied to her, like Fluttershy. Well, next time she saw that an ass would be kicked.
> The Crystal Fair
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Cadence woke up excited. Today was the Crystal Fair and for the first time. Sombra and Discord were going to be around. For some reason, Sombra always avoided the Crystal Fair, even during his reformation. Today would be different, today they would finally get to see it in its full glory. So when Discord and Sombra came into the kitchen with some of Flurry's things. She was confused. "Hello, boys."

"Hey there Cadence. See you after the fair," Sombra stated as Discord appeared behind him. Of course, Discord was holding Flurry in his arms. They were ready to go.

"Why are you leaving? Why can't you stay?" Cadence panicked, she had no idea that they were leaving.

"Cadence I told you yesterday. I can't go to the fair." Sombra explained, "and neither can Discord."

"But I thought you meant you had too much work. Shining and I were planning to help. So you could go, we can even bring Flurry. We could have so much fun together." Cadence explained, she had not expected this.

"No, we can't be here Cadence." Discord stated next, he rather not be around when that thing went off. See he and Sombra had beef with anything harmonic. Its powers could affect them both, from just nauseous to downright painful. In theory, it could kill them. In fact, he knew for sure, as the heart was the reason Sombra died the first time, then the elements, after getting out of ice, and then put back in. And all the other times. The stallion was a stubborn one, Discord would give him that.

"Why what's wrong?" Cadence asked "maybe I could help. I'm sure we can think of a solution."

"Cadence, it's harmonic. Harmony hates us. I rather not die again." Sombra explained as he looked to Discord for help. They needed to convince Cadence they couldn't be around for this.

"And because of that, I need to go too. It...I don't know what it'll do to me. What it'll do to us. We don't have the best relationship with harmony. It might come after us again." Discord was already starting to feel nervous. Who knew what the heart was truly capable of. Was it stronger than the elements? That was a question that Discord was more than happy to never find out.

"How do you know for sure that it will hurt you?" Cadence asked. She desperately wanted them to stay. This was a beloved national holiday. She wanted them to be a part of this. If this was supposed to be their home, then they shouldn't have to fear it. That must be the reason why it felt like they didn't seem at home. They were scared, scared of the Kingdom, and its power. The power of harmony.

Sombra took one look at Discord before taking a breath. He would beat around the bush while giving Cadence a valid reason they could not stay. "Cadence, before either of us turned evil. We ran into harmonic things all the time. Sometimes it made us sick, sometimes it was very painful. When I was living here before I took over. I often came into town for food at night. If I got too close to the heart it would attack me, make me sick. There was a reason I went after it first when I ruled."

Cadence frowned before asking, "Why?"

Discord frowned, he could actually be honest about his past this time. "I don't know. Even if you view us as friends, harmony definitely doesn't. We can't take the risk, it could hurt us. Worse it could corrupt us and all the hard work every creature put into our reformation would go to waste."

"But!" Cadence started to protest before she was interrupted.

"Look we don't have much time. We can't be here. We will stay for a couple more hours than we have to go. Before this thing starts." Sombra offered, he was trying his best to compromise, but he really wanted to leave.

Cadence watched them both leave the room. She thought about the heart and what they told him. Why would harmony magic harm them, before they were evil too? She needed to see the heart, so that is what she did. The heart was kept in the courtyard of the Crystal Castle for all to see. So it wasn't too hard to find. "Why?" She asked it, her heart thumping, but she got no answer. This angered her, why would the heart do this? "If I didn't share your magic would you hurt me too?" She dared to ask it, question its judgment. She hadn't before, she thought its judgment was absolute and pure, but not anymore. For the first time she questioned was harmony always in the right? Or is that what she thought? For the first time, she was wary of the heart.

She thought back to her first experience with dark magic. When Sombra cast it on her, it wasn't all that bad for all its hype. She was sure it was much worse for the ponies whose minds were manipulated. She just had her magic blocked, which made her feel nauseous. Which in retrospect, wasn't all that terrible. And while she felt a foreboding sense of dread around King Sombra's magic she did not with Sombra. It was the same magic he was casting, she was sure of it. It wasn't the same colt. Now she no longer felt skittish around dark magic or chaos magic. She was starting to suspect those magics weren't initially evil, that it was dependent on the user. Twilight led her to that conclusion as she remembered that she once used dark magic. Cadence looked at the castle and back at the heart, she had to do something. Then a thought crossed her mind, just as insane as her previous ideas, but she would need her ponies approval. She got up and trotted away from the heart cautiously. Suspicious of its intent.

Cadence approached the castle where Spear was posted. He guarded the outside of the castle so it was easier to ask him to do what she needed to do. Plus she did not want to take her eyes off of the heart. "Spear," She whispered to him, afraid the heart might hear her. "Go get the staff. I want Sombra and Discord to partake in the festival. That means we have to remove the heart from the stand. For their comfort. We will put it back and bow to it when they leave, but they can spend most of the day with us."

Spear just looked at his princess, was she crazy? "But the storm, the storm will come and bury us in snow." He started to protest, "and I'm sure it won't hurt them now. They are on our side."

"Discord and Sombra can help protect us, I'm not sure for how long. But it should give us enough time to let them have some fun. Then we will put it back and bow. Everything will be fine, like last time. Remember when Twilight found the missing heart and put it back? It'll be just like that except it won't be missing. Also, I just learned that the heart hurt Sombra before he was evil. That they are both badly affected by harmony, before being evil."

Spear sat on that thought and looked over to the heart. If that was true, then why, "and you need the staff because?"

"I need help making an argument to the Kingdom. This decision should be made by all of us." Cadence said this was not a time to leave the Kingdom in the dark. While she made many decisions without their knowledge or approval, she was their ruler. This was one that she wouldn't do that for. So she sat and staired the heart down as Spear gathered what she would need. Soon enough the entire Kingdom gathered, soon she would have to make her speech. She turned to Spear "watch the heart. If anything happens, even a small glimmer. Let me know."

Spear saluted her and turned his gaze onto the heart. Discord and Sombra were indeed trustworthy. Which means he trusted them, which means he could trust what they said. If the heart attacked Sombra while he was good that meant one of two things. One: the heart knew of future events. Two: the heart wasn't as pure and absolute in its judgment as Spear thought. He stared it down some more. If his sister had the potential for darkness. Would it hurt her too? Would it hurt him? He stared at it some more, carefully observing it for the slightest of change.

Cadence approached her ponies and began her speech.

"Hello, my ponies, I come here today to speak to you. I am sure that you have notice Discord and Sombra running around doing errands for us. I am sure many of you have wondered why. Shining and I found it hard to rule with such little staff. While we did not have the biggest staff, to begin with, we had to let even more of them go. Sometimes it was because they did a poor job, sometimes it was for...other reasons. We soon regretted that decision, so we asked some friends to help us. Discord and Sombra. They did more than help, they are the reason why Shining and I are so well-rested. They have been taking a lot off our hooves. So much so, I have offered to have them stay, permanently. Some of you may think they would leave eventually but that is not my intention. I intend to make a home for them here. Among us.

Sombra has been acting as Royal Advisor keeping us on track and making sure we get done what we needed to. We only had one before this and it went so poorly that we have done it since. This time it's different. Life is easier. Discord has been Flurry's nanny. He watches over her and unlike all the other nannies he refuses to quit." Cadence could hear the mutters and whispers.

"I know you are concerned but rest assured I know what I am doing. I have always protected you, put your best interest forward. I need you to trust me. Trust I know what I am doing. Please. I know you are worried that it might go poorly but I have brought three ponies that will affirm that they have changed. They even volunteered." She moved out of the way to reveal Moon, Spear, and Ivy. While they took to the stand one at a time explaining their experiences, they also made sure one pony kept their eye on the heart. They went over how Sombra and Discord were more than reformed they were trustworthy. Just like their monarch. When all was said and done Cadence took to the stand once more.

"I tell you this because I hate lying to you, I hate keeping secrets that I don't have to keep. Today I want you all to think about what I am saying, what they said. I want to include Discord and Sombra in everything. I want them to feel like they have a home, a place to go. That it is here. I want to do the Crystal Fair without the heart. I want to take it out of its place holder. We can put it back and fill it with love when they leave. I want them to experience the fair. In 5 minutes I expect your decision." She stated as the mutters of the crowd got louder and louder.

Cadence turned away to stare down the heart. She frowned at it, how could it hurt him like that? He hadn't even done anything. It just did it because there was a chance, it reminded her of Flurry. Would the heart hurt her too,? She did shatter it and it was fine. But maybe it waa because she didn't have a chance to be evil. At least not yet, but if she one day did. Would the heart come after her? Just for the sheer potential? How many others did it go after just because there was a chance they could be evil? She feared the power of the heart. Something she thought she always understood, realizing, she didn't understand it at all. Is this how Discord and Sombra felt? Soon the time passed, and she turned back to the crowd.

"Show of hooves." She was surprised to see the entire Kingdom on her side. Little did she know the Kingdom had already warmed up to them. She had every reason to worry, she remembered waking up to her Kingdom covered in information about the ATA. It hurt her to see that they were being mistreated. 

Silver made quick work of that, unknown to her. His little stunt helped. It gave rise to other creatures to be brave and stand up for Discord and Sombra. To no longer fear liking them for fear of social suicide.

They got so popular that they started their own little fan group, unknown to them. The group consisted of many creatures of many sexes arguing over who was best. Team Sombra liked Sombra because he was a bad colt, but like the sexy kind of bad. He was also super mysterious, charismatic, responsible, and good with babies. Team Discord liked DIscord because he represented freedom of oneself and chaotic whims. The good kind of chaotic like freeze tag where you get frozen, or turning flowers to lollipops, or making it rain chocolate milk. He usually caused days off, and he was much better with children in their opinion. So they had already wormed their way into the Kingdom's hearts. Those that still held reverence believed in Cadence enough to let it go and move on.

The complete acceptance and trust made Cadence feel guilty for lying to them about Flurry, at least it was only one lie. A lie that she had to keep, to protect Flurry. Though that was still bad. Cross that bridge, she thought to herself. She took her win for the day. She approached the heart and gave it a shove, but it wouldn't move. So she tried harder, "a little help!"

Spear joined her next, followed by the rest of the guards, followed by the army. Then Ivy joined, followed by the maids, followed by every mare there. Then every stallion joined as they all pushed, and pushed, and pushed. Until they were out of breath.

"How the Tartarus did Sombra get the Crystal heart out of there?" She panted, the thing was stuck there.

"On three we will give it one big push." Spear suggested as he lined himself to spring his entire body up so that when he jumped all his weight would be pushed onto the heart. "ONE!" He yelled as his fellow ponies followed his lead. Lining up to make sure they hit the heart or pushed the pony in front of them. "TWO!" He said as he crouched down, his ponies following him. "THREE!!" He yelled as he pushed all his weight into the heart, so did every pony else as they threw everything they had at the heart.

The heart stopped spinning and jolted from its place, skidding across the floor. There it lay, on the ground. They did it, the heart was out. Cadence picked it up, and she tucked it away, behind a bush. "Oh noooooooo where did the heart go? Guess we gotta ask Discord and Sombra to help us. Could be anywhere in the fair. Which means they should do and try everything."

"That's a shame. I'm sure they will find it." Spear added, knowing full well where Cadence was going with this.

Cadence ran off, excited as all get out, to Discord and Sombra. She burst through the door as they were about to leave with Flurry. "The heart is missing come and see." She said with a smile.

Discord and Sombra stopped what they were doing to follow Cadence out to the courtyard. To find that the heart was indeed missing. "Where did it go?" Sombra panicked, no heart meant a harsh winter storm. One that was near impossible to control.

Cadence looked over their worried faces. "You'll never believe it. It grew legs, got up. It told me 'princess I don't want to be a heart anymore'  then it turned into a liver and ran away. It was crazy, we have to find it, convince it to be a heart again. But it could be anywhere, so we have to check every vendor, play every game, and eat everything we can."

This caused Sombra and Discord to stop and realize. She was kidding, the heart didn't do that but it was missing. Sombra spoke first "that gives me the impression that you know where the heart is. Cadence put it back before this place is covered in snow."

"I can't, we have to find it. You could help us put up a shield. Protect us from the snow. At least until the shields start breaking. Then we will miraculously find it." Cadence explained.

Discord was on the fence about this. He liked his chaos but this seemed very risky. Though Cadence was the one who did it, so it couldn't be that bad. "Okay, let's go look for it. I have had an eye on those caramel apples. The heart could be in one of them." Cadence knew what she was doing if this was as dangerous as Sombra thought, she wouldn't be doing it.

Sombra gave in, "ok," He said as he activated his horn to put up a shield that covered the town. Discord, Shining, and Cadence followed him, the shield now four layers of very powerful magic. It would be awhile before it was truly a problem. Though it wouldn't stay up forever, that storm was magical. Sombra followed Cadence and Discord, Flurry in tow. They did and ate everything. Playing games, bean bag toss, winning stuffed animals, trying to get hoops on sticks. Then they went on rides, temporary roller coasters, a haunted house, a room full of funhouse mirrors. Then they ate through every sweet vender they could at Sombra's request. His desire for sugar only grew the longer he was out. It was all fun and games until a huge cracking sound could be heard from above them.

"Alright it's time, the shield lasted as long as it was going to," Sombra said as he looked up at it. No longer could you see the sky, just the white of snow. It made him very nervous. "Discord and I should leave now."

Cadence sat and thought about it "No." She said as she turned to them. "I know you said that you don't have a good relationship with harmony magic. I think this might be your chance to settle things." Cadence said as she lifted the heart out of the bush. She held the heart out to them first.

Discord had been close to harmony before. The Elements. He always felt uncomfortable and sometimes in pain around them. Especially around the tree. This was the first time he was around something that contained harmony and it wasn't causing him some kind of ill will. So he felt confident enough to at least touch it, he lifted his claw and paw to it.

Sombra just looked at him and whispered "don't." There was no way this was going to go well.

Discord poked the crystal and nothing happened. He poked it more, nothing. He held it in his paw and claw, nothing. "Huh." He said as he turned it over to look at it. It still had scars from Flurry and he smiled. Nothing happened, it truly surprised him. But what surprised him the most was that he didn't feel that much power coming from it. Harmony or otherwise.

Sombra's jaw dropped as he stared at Discord holding the heart. His friend turned to him with a smile on his face, but while he was smiling. Sombra noticed he also looked a little confused. Shrugging that off, it was his turn now. Sombra oh so carefully put his hoof to the heart "please don't kill me." He said as his hoof made contact, nothing.

"Huh." He said as he expected to die that very instant. He grabbed it out of Discord's paw and claw, holding it in his own hooves, nothing. Then he did something way crazy, he lifted it with his magic. Nothing. How odd, there was quite literally nothing coming from it.

The citizens of the Crystal Empire watched as Discord and Sombra acted like two children who discovered something they had never seen before. Which would be pretty cute if they weren't all concerned that they would be vaporized at any second. Every creature was on edge until they were sure the heart by itself did no harm. Now they needed to put it back as large cracks were spreading over the shields and fast. It wouldn't be long before it shattered.

Cadence just smiled as she picked up the heart in her magic and approached its home. The moment of truth, how angry was the heart going to be? Technically the ponies it protected dethroned it for the day. She took a breath as she hovered it into its home.

"We are going to die!" Sombra panicked as he clung to Discord and closed his eyes. Forgetting about the oddness of the heart at that moment. More afraid than anything else.

This was it, it was over. Discord had been too distracted by Sombra, he forgot to snap them away. He clung back, his eyes closed shut. Holding onto Sombra for dear life. He wasn't the only one the entire kingdom bowed their heads, closed their eyes, and poured their love out, like they always did. But they too were terrified. They had challenged the heart too, they had no idea if it would hurt them. All except Cadence who didn't look away. She was scared of course, but she refused to let it hurt any pony here. They needed it for the storm, but that didn't mean she was going to let it do whatever it pleased. Though she had no backup plan, she was sure she would think of something.

Soon the heart was spinning in place, the shield spell shattered. The snow was gone. Cadence looked around to see every creature was crystal. Including Discord and Sombra. "Open your eyes." She said in a calm voice. Her ponies did so and rejoiced as the heart was not mad at them, it hadn't attacked Discord and Sombra. Everything was fine. The ponies hooted and hollered all except for Discord and Sombra who were still clinging to each other. "It's ok you're fine," Cadence called out to them, and they finally opened their eyes. They were made out of crystal. They smiled at one another.

"Oh thank Celestia. I did not want to bring myself back from the dead again. That really sucks." Sombra breathed as he watched the heart spin. He felt odd, filled with....something. For sure not love but something else. Respect? How strange. He very carefully approached it once more. It just sat there and spun at him. "Huh." He said once more as he just stared at it.

"What's wrong?" Cadence asked Sombra, noticing he hadn't taken his eyes off it. Plus he and Discord were so quiet. Not unusual for Sombra but it was for Discord.

"I was expecting to die, or a big dramatic thing to happen," Sombra said honestly as he just watched it some more. He placed his hoof on the spinning heart. It stopped, he moved his hoof and it started spinning again like he was never there. "Huh."

Discord soon joined him, this was very strange. Even by his standards, harmony always hated him. So what changed? It wasn't them, they were good when it hurt them, then they were bad and it hurt them too. So what exactly changed? If it wasn't them, and it wasn't the heart. Then who or what was it? He picked the heart off the stand with ease as he fiddled it in his claw and paw. Eventually passing it over to Sombra who fiddled with it in his hooves. Eventually putting it back as snow gently started falling. It blasted it away once more. Once more they were crystal.

This was the first time Sombra closely inspected the heart. When he was evil he took it out, but he got rid of it immediately. He didn't want it to be anywhere near him. He held it for maybe a couple of seconds while taking over the empire. "Hey, has Twilight ever studied this thing?" Sombra asked there was something that bothered him about it, but he couldn't be right. He just couldn't be right that would be insane.

"Uh no. We can't give it to her to study since it has to be in the pedestal. This is uh the second time it's been removed. You removed it the first time. She did take a look at it and said that it was filled with harmony. I took a look at it, it's filled with love. We assume it absorbs the harmony, love, and hope of the ponies to protect them." Cadence explained. "But that is all we know."

Sombra picked up the heart again, it would be a few seconds till it started snowing lightly. Enough time to have Cadence look at it. He handed it to Cadence with his magic. "Take a look at it. I mean really look at it."

Cadence held the heart in her hooves, she only touched it once and for not that long. Then every other time she passed it, it was spinning. So she never got a close look at it powerless. Even when she tucked it behind the bush, she only held it for a brief moment. Now she was holding it for longer, feeling in her hooves. She felt, crystal, she looked up at Sombra.

"Don't feel anything?" Sombra asked her.

"No." Cadence looked at the heart. She expected more, she thought it would be an entity. Like Discord.

"Well, I guess we know how the heart works now." Sombra said as he noticed confused faces among the empire, "it's a conduit. Meaning that it wasn't only absorbing your love, it absorbs everything else too. That includes your greatest wishes and desires. Like your feelings and intents about that storm, or me. Every time you bow to it you refill it with those said intentions, so when the feelings of the ponies change. So does the heart's purpose. In theory, you could make another one and there would be no difference." Sombra explained to the surprise of every creature there. Did that mean the kingdom no longer fear them? Well that was a relief and good news.

"Huh, I expected something more," Cadence said honestly.

"Me too." Discord and Sombra said at the same time. It made them wonder. What about the elements? There were ponies that represented those ideals. So was it the same thing? Or was the heart different from the elements? What did that make the tree? Was it as alive as every creature assumed? If it was. What was it thinking right now?





Gold Rumple was upset, very upset. He had a good grip on the business in town. The ATA was one of his best scams, and he didn't even have to try that hard. See, when you became a member and overcharged the evil living among them, you gave him 4% of that. Not only that but any business who wanted to bail would be blackmailed and charged 8% of the 10% they were getting from the evil ones.

It made him wealthy and happy. He grumbled to himself, all the money he could be getting. Gone. You think the briefcases filled with bits would satisfy him. No, it wasn't enough, he needed more. He couldn't even start a new scam, every creature knew who he was thanks to Silver. The whole town knew. Silver's stupidy spread like the plague, business were chewed out, and he ran. He knew he would be next, maybe even put in prison. Or worse, lose the bits he just made.

Which left Gold out on the hills with some of his stuff. He frowned at the quiet town, in the dead of night. Somehow this was their fault, it was their fault he was out here and not down there. Scamming the daylights out of every creature. He needed to think. He knew that they are evil, if not now then later. With their name dirtied, he could clear his, saying that Discord and Sombra made him do it. That they blackmailed him. 

Then he could go back to the hold he had on this kingdom. Who would believe him though? It would have to be some pony who still disliked them, some pony he could make the argument too, and some pony who would believe him. He smiled cruelly as an idea popped into his head, but first, he would need a crystal ball. Then he could go back, back to his scams. This empire was always the easiest to do that in, and he would hate to lose such a valuable property.
> Words
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

It was an average day, a normal day. It was going to be one, ah, who would believe that? A day in Cadence's family was never normal. For the love of Celestia, Flurry's uncles were Discord and Sombra. They weren’t directly related but Cadence and Shining sort of adopted them into the family. She was glad she did, they were the sweetest of creatures. She could hardly believe they were the same ones that used to be her enemies.

“Dada”

Yeah, they, wait, what? “Flurry what did you just say?”

"Mama."

“SHINING!” She yelled as she blew into her whistle to summon Sombra and Discord. Shining quickly came bursting through the kitchen door, followed shortly by Discord and Sombra who teleported directly to her.

“YES?!” They asked in a panic, assuming the worst. What was wrong? Was it Flurry? Of course, it was, it always was.

“Flurry just said her first words, come on Flurry say it again. Who am I? Mama. Mama." She cooed at her daughter.

"Mama, Dada."

Shining's eyes teared up as he approached his daughter. "Dada," she said as her tiny arms reached out to him. "That’s right Flurry I'm your father, oh Cadence. She talked!" He took a moment to look at his daughter in awe, before his moment was rudely interrupted.

"What about us!?" Discord and Sombra yelled as they ran up to her, they waited with bated breath.

“Sombra,” Sombra said pointing at himself with his hooves.

“Dada.”

“Sombra,” He said as he once again pointed to himself. “Som bra,” he pronounced slowly so that Flurry may understand how to say his name too. Though this meant he lost the betting pool. One started by Discord and his ego, he was absolutely convinced Flurry would say his name first. Every pony soon joined the bet as the months passed and the time for ponies to start talking approached.

“Mama.”

Discord just stared at her, how dare she? The utter betrayal, he was the one cleaning up her magical messes. He spent so much time with her and this was the thanks he got. He just angrily huffed but that anger didn’t stay for long.

“Issy.”

“What?” Discord asked his heart in his throat, was, was that his name? It sounded close to it. Was it wrong to get his hopes up this high? He made his way over to her. “Do you mean me?”

“Issy!” She said excitedly as she grabbed at his face with her tiny hooves. He just squeaked with excitement. “Dwaaa, hello Flurry! HI!” He said as he squeaked some more, he just couldn’t hold himself back. This was the most exciting thing to happen in the history of ever.

That just left Sombra he looked down at Flurry, he just took a moment. His heart crushed into a thousand pieces.

“Soma”

His ears perked back up, his heart stopped breaking. “Me? Is...is that me?” He said as he scooted next to Discord. “You…..mean me?” He said a little more cautiously then Discord did.

“Soma!” She said as she switched her attention from Discord to Sombra. Her tiny hooves reached his face. “Soma.” She repeated.

Sombra's tail flicked back and forth excitedly, and he joined Discord in squeaky voice town. “Hello, Flurry. That’s me, I'm Sombra.”

“We have to show Fluttershy!" Discord stated, she just had to see this. She just had to.

"And Pinkie Pie!" Sombra added, he could not wait to show her. Maybe they could throw her a small impromptu party.

"And Celestia!" Cadence could not wait to show Celestia.

"Road trip!" Discord exclaimed excitedly as he bobbed his head up and down. He was filled with so much energy. "Shining hold down the fort we are going to go show every pony.” That wasn’t really an option as Discord teleported all three of them straight to ‘Tia leaving Shining in the dust. He just sighed and smiled. Fatherly pride flowed through him, and he could not wait to see his daughter again though he wished he could also go.

Discord, Sombra, Cadence, and Flurry were now in the middle of Celestia's throne room. She was trying to have a meeting with some dignitaries but that was not going to happen now. Nothing productive was about to happen but that did not matter much.

“Celestia LOOK! LOOK!” Cadence said as she grabbed Flurry out of Discord's arms and ran over to Celestia. “Say it again Flurry. Say it, mama."

“Mama.”

Celestia's eyes went wide as she threw her papers aside. “Meeting is canceled you may go.” She said as her expression changed from surprise to happy. “Congrats Cadence.” She said as the dignitaries left the room.

“Say, Celestia,” she said to her daughter.

Celestia could feel her heartbeat as she caved, throwing all royal attitudes aside as she pointed hooves to herself. “Celestia, I am Celestia. Can you say, Celestia?”

"Tia!”

Celestia smiled. She used to hate that name when Discord gave it to her. But just like weeds, mold, and Discord, it grew on her. “Close enough for me.”

Cadence smiled and held her daughter close. “She is a smart one, aren't you Flurry. Yes, you are, boys could you give me a moment with Celestia?"

"Sure," They said as they left the room, the stood outside vibrating with excitement. They hoped she wouldn't take to long. There were ponies they had to see.

"Celestia, did you know Sombra was in Tartarus?" Cadence asked, but the face her pseudo-aunt was making. She already knew the answer.

"I never put him in Tartarus. He was put into ice, then dissolved into shadow, then put back into ice. Then we reformed him." Celestia said, "where did you get that idea?"

"Sombra said he was, he let it slip. He even has a number and everything. 237-A113-42." Cadence clarified. If she didn't do it, then who did?

"That's the cell Tyrik is in. How did he get out?" Celestia asked, she had seen no proof he was even there.

"Discord," Cadence told her, there was something she and Celestia were missing.

"I'm sorry but I had no idea. Did he say anything else?" Celestia had no idea Discord knew Sombra well enough to bail him out. There was something she wasn't privy to, wasn't there?

"He had to eat cockatrice to survive, he said a colt built the place, and that it was a place to just toss creatures into. Most of them didn't make it out alive." Cadence said, that was all the information she knew.

"Cockatrice? Those were all eaten by the time I got there, I could tell by the bones. It had to be Sombra. That means, whoever put him in Tartarus, ruled before I did. Who knows how long he could have been in there, it could be any alicorn." Celesta said, "I'll take a look for you, see if I can find anything."

"Thank you, aunt Celestia," Cadence said as she walked out of the throne room. As soon as she exited, she was immediately bombarded by excited creatures.

"Let's show Pinkie!" Sombra suggested but it really wasn't a suggestion.

"And then we have to show Fluttershy." Discord insisted.

Cadence activated her horn and suddenly they were in Pinkie Pie's shop. While she couldn't teleport long distances like Discord without getting exhausted, she could bring them to Pinkie's shop.

Sombra grabbed Flurry out of Cadence's arms, climbed over the counter, and ran straight into the kitchen all while yelling “Pinkie Pie you have to hear this!”

You think it would upset Cadence and while on some level it did. She found it funnier rather than upsetting. She hadn’t expected Sombra to be so excited. It was so cute the way his ears bounced back and forth, the way he hopped up and down, the way his tail swished back and forth. Any creature could tell he was excited.

“Flurry, say it. Say Sombra, Som bra, Som bra.” He said as he hovered Flurry in his magic.

“Soma”

He turned to Pinkie Pie whose eyes went wide. “She said your name!” Pinkie yelled as she dashed into the kitchen and back out faster than you could read this sentence. “She can have this, it’s on the house!” She said as party cannons sounded off behind her, confetti spraying everywhere. She handed Sombra a cookie meant for babies. Flurry picked it up in her magic and shoved it into her face.

“Awwww,” Sombra said as he watched her attempt to eat the cookie “Thanks, Pinkie.”

“No problem!” She said as a huge smile dawned her face. “You’re so good with her! Do you want kids?”

Sombra looked at her and just laughed, “Pinkie Pie you're too funny.” He said as he assumed she was joking until he saw the serious expression on her face. “You’re not kidding are you?”

“NO! What made you think that?!” Pinkie Pie tilted her head questioningly.

“No.” Sombra snorted, what a preposterous idea.

“You’d make an excellent father, especially after all you have done with Flurry.” Cadence stated, she was also curious whether or not Sombra had considered something like that. Did he have some-pony special? She hoped so, he deserved it and if he didn’t she should help him with that.

“No,” Sombra stated flatly as he got up and walked to Discord. “Where to next?” He had started feeling uncomfortable with the situation. He wanted to not talk about this anymore, so he focused on Discord. He would most likely turn the conversation into something else.

“What about you Discord?!” Pinkie Pie asked, Cadence hoped she would get more of an answer this time. Sombra gave no inkling as to why, he just said no.

“No, I'm far too old to be having kids. This little bugger will be the only one I will raise. Plus I don’t think you want two beings of chaos around.” Discord said as he picked up Flurry from Sombra's arms.

“Aww but your so much fun, I'd love another Discord. Discord 2.0!” Pinkie Pie giggled.

Discord snapped his fingers and a life-sized stuff animal of himself and Sombra popped into existence “here you go, just as you ordered. Discord 2.0, comes with Sombra.” He said as he dumped them into Pinkie Pies arms “I hope this will be good enough.”

Pinkie Pie squealed with delight as she set them up at an empty table. She put some food and drinks in front of them. “I love it, look you're having a tea party!”

Discord chuckled he always enjoyed Pinkie and her silliness he felt they were sort of kindred spirits. Both were chaotic, both made no sense, both could do something others could not. “Alright, we’re off the see Fluttershy see you around Pinkie.”

“Bye Discord, bye Sombra.” Pinkie pie waved to them as they disappeared with Cadence and Flurry. She hoped they would stop back soon she really never saw enough of them. Though now she had their duplicates which made her happy.

Discord appeared outside of Fluttershy's cottage, and he knocked on the door, holding Flurry in his other arm. He was so excited that he was bouncing up and down in place. “Hello?” A familiar voice answered.

“Flutterhshyyoujusthavetoseethis” Discord said quickly as he showed Flurry to Fluttershy, “Flurry say it, say Discord. You can do it. Say it, who’s your favorite creature? It’s….."

"Mama."

"Nooo Flurry it’s me its Discord say Discord, Dis cord." Discords ears flattened, was she not going to say it?

"Issy!"

"There ya go! Atta girl! Did you hear that Fluttershy? She said my name! Isn’t that awesome?!” He asked his excitement at an all-time high as he flew around Fluttershy in circles, occasionally landing only to jump up and down in place.

Fluttershy just giggled she had seen him excited before but this was a whole new level. Her heart couldn’t help but melt as she watched Discord coo at Flurry. He really seemed to take a shining to her. It made her wonder if Discord would have children of his own. She could always ask him later such a question would be private. “Congrats Discord, I think she likes you.”

“I think so too, did you know she likes my magic, just watch.” He said as an octopus that blew bubbles appeared in his hand “this one is her favorite.” He said as Flurry just giggled at his creation. She reached her tiny hooves at it, and he brought it close. She grabbed and bit into it. He was not worried as she could not eat it and it did not feel pain, so he let it happen. “Did you see that?”

“Yes Discord, you made her so happy.” While the scene melted Fluttershy's heart she couldn’t help but feel anxious. She had been let in on the secret. She had been let in on more than that. Cadence had told her about Discord and Sombra's love problem. Fluttershy was doing all she could, but it wasn't much in her own opinion.

Cadence had noticed the look on Fluttershy's face. She felt guilty for having her have to deal with this situation, a situation Cadence still hadn't solved. It frustrated her to no end, why did she feel this way? Like she didn't complete her mission. She wasn't sure but today was the day she was going to solve it. "Fluttershy and I have some business. We are gonna plan on telling Twilight. And I figure you guys would want to go out and have some fun instead." Cadence announced.

Discord and Sombra looked at one another and smiled. "Ooo no what a shame. Guess we should take our leave Discord," Sombra started. There was something they wanted to do in addition to showing Flurry's speech to as many creatures as they could.

"100 percent shame. Let us go do...something." Discord added as he bit his lip. He had planned a little something with Sombra.

"Something? Sounds suspicious." Cadence expected some backlash. For them to insist on staying. Not insist on leaving, they were definitely planning something.

"Definitely not, we have nothing planned." Discord insisted, but that was a lie. They wanted to give Cadence something, as a thank you for her constant kindness to them.

"Nothing." Sombra insisted but his face screamed. I am lying.

"100 percent nothing." Discord insisted as he snapped them both away. Back to sugar cube corner. There sat Pinkie Pie, Rarity. Discord 2.0 and Sombra 2.0. Rarity, just who they needed to see for their mission.

"Hello Pinkie Pie, Rarity," Sombra said as he waved to them all.

"Heya girls!" Discord yelled as he too waved at them. He was very excited for so many reasons. There was Flurry and there was a surprise. Discord thought at any moment he might explode.

"Hi again. You teleported away so fast that I didn't get to tell you the extra good news. I improved your popsicle recipe!" Pinkie Pie was so excited to show them but Flurry had distracted her from bringing it up sooner. It took her several days to get the recipe just right.

Sombra just blushed "not so loud pinkie I don't think your friend would want to know-"

"Want to know what?" Rarity asked she was only a few inches away from them. So it was easy to overhear what was being said.

"Oh, I already told her I was making you something special. Let me go get them!" Pinkie said as she bounced off to the freezer to retrieve the pops. She was so excited for Sombra and DIscord to try them, they were going to love them, she just knew it. Discord followed right behind Pinkie as he was much too excited to wait for anything.

"Rarity, how are you?" Sombra asked her as he silently hoped she would not ask him any questions.

"Just peachy. Thank you and how are you?" Rarity asked as she elected to not press the issue further, for now.

"Good, actually I could use some more red shirts. Flurry destroyed a few of them, do you think you could make me some more?" Sombra asked Rarity. It was true so many were lit on fire, frozen, had tares, not to mention all the projectile vomit. "Also Flurry can talk now. Say it Flurry, Sombra."

"Soma."

"Awww that is precious! Of course Sombra! You must like them a lot to ask for more." Rarity smiled, she was glad her creations brought Sombra some happiness.

"I love them Rarity. It was very kind of you to give them to me for free. This time I'd like to pay you." Sombra stated. He could more than afford it with the pay he received from Shining and Cadence, which he tried to refuse. That had more than failed, and he ended up taking the bits.

"Soma, Soma, Soma!" Flurry chirped.

"She's quite the chatterbox," Rarity cooed. "Sombra you don't have to pay." Rarity offered, he didn't have to. She considered him a friend, so she wouldn't mind doing this favor for him.

"I wonder what she will say next. And I want to Rarity. Giving so many things away is a bad business strategy anyway. Do you think I can get some different colors, besides red?" Sombra asked. Though he loved the red shirts and all. He wanted to try out some new colors. He wondered what he would look like in blue.

"If you insist. What are you thinking?" Rarity decided she would accept his bits. She learned to do that from her friends. Who would hide bits in her purse or wallet in order to pay her. She knew when to give in and accept payment.

"I trust you, you're the professional. Follow your design whims. Also, do you think you can help Discord and I make some string for hair bows? Discord and I have figured out a way to combine our magic. I think we could put it into the fabric. You remember the windows, no?" Sombra stated it was the moment of truth. Would she help them?

"Of course I do, I'd love to help, we can do it today if you wish. I'm free anyway." Rarity said.

"Fantastic Cadence has been nothing but kind and-" Sombra never finished that statement as Pinkie Pie came to interrupt.

"How many elephants do you think would fit into the sky?" Pinkie asked as she plopped a cooler in front of Sombra. Discord followed behind her, his arms crossed. She did the impossible, she made him wait, which he did not want to do. Flurry just babbled at Pinkie's presence, she was so full of energy that she took all the foal's attention.

"Pink Pie your so-" Rarity started before she was interrupted by Sombra.

"At least 5000. That would be my guess." Sombra stated. Pinkie often asked questions like this. He always made sure to answer her. He didn't want her to think he was ignoring her, or brushing her off. He hoped that she would bring that up with her friends soo, it looked like they were still using that phrase.

"I say a million and two!" Discord piped up as he started to bounce in place again.

“That's a lot of elephants! Try my popsicles!” She stated as she pointed her hoof to the cooler on the floor.

“I'd love to," Sombra said as he levitated a popsicle out of the cooler and stuck it into his mouth. No hesitation, "oh my Celestia this is sooo good Pinkie Pie. Thank you for doing this. It's very kind of you.” He stated as he gobbled the pop down. It put their own recipe to shame. He hadn't thought it possible in the first place, but here he was enjoying the taste of lemons.

“I wanna try.” Discord stated, he didn’t need the pops like Sombra did. So he only partook when he had to, or he wanted to. Also, they tasted terrible. “oh my. These are so much better. You did a fantastic job!” Discord was surprised, his pop tasted like strawberries. It was so good that he would love to have another one.

“Well, you supplied the supplies I just baked,” Pinkie Pie beamed “I’m really glad you like them. I even made them different flavors. Yellow for lemon, orange for orange, red is strawberry.” Pinkie pie stated.

“I think I'd like to-” Rarity began as she reached into the cooler to get one of these pops.

“NO" Sombra dove for the bin stopping Rarity just in time. "You don't want these trust me on this. It's for supplying dark magic. It's gross,” Sombra said as he watched Rarity frown, he had been too harsh, “sorry Rarity.”

“It can't be that bad.” Rarity stated, she wanted to partake in that popsicle. They made it look so tasty, the way they gobbled them down. The praises they sung about them.

“Its raw chicken and blood!” Pinkie Pie stated it wasn’t really something that bothered her all that much. Of course, it was sort of gross the first time, but then she learned how terrible they were. She couldn't let any friend of hers eat something like that. Not when she was one of the best bakers around.

“Never mind!” Rarity said as she quickly backed away from the cooler. She was glad Sombra had stopped her from consuming one of those pops.





"So about those meetings Fluttershy, when will there be another one?" Cadence asked.

Fluttershy frowned, she knew of the plan. She even tried to help get Discord and Sombra the love they need. Included them more often. She was going to try and get them to bond with other elements but to her surprise, some of them felt strongly for them. Rainbow seemed more than happy to include Discord on her pranking sprees. She didn't know about the love problem but she did seem moved by the colt fiasco. Applejack had also started to push harder for them but Fluttershy had no idea why. Rarity seemed to be on board but wasn't sure how to include them in what she did. Pinkie Pie she had yet to ask, but Fluttershy assumed that she would join the mission. "Twilight refuses to hold another one, she has taken over more responsibilities. Since we can't make a decision, it's been put on the back burner."

"Alright, if I can't get into one of those meetings. Maybe, maybe we can simulate it. It's time to finally put this to rest," Cadence said. "For a while now I feel as I have only band-aided the problem. I do not know why. To be honest, I sort of forgot, as I didn't have the time or the brains. With Discord and Sombra's help. I found myself with a clear head, due to the breaks I was receiving." It was true, It felt like all the cobwebs had been swept from her head. For the first time in a long time, she saw the world clearly.

"What about Twilight?" Fluttershy asked they did have to tell her at some point.

"We will get to that. The matter of love needs to be solved first. Tell me about these meetings," Cadence had a simple plan for Twilight. All she had to do was wait until Flurry was the same age Twilight was when she was deemed a prodigy. Four years old, though Cadence assumed two would be fine. Flurry was an alicorn. Then it was like the past never happened. Though she had to be careful, maybe just tell Twilight. She had been told that a dampener was put on Twilight when she was young due to her proficiency with magic. Maybe if she framed it just right, Twilight would understand and join her side. She did have first hoof experience. Everything would work out with everypony in mind. Everything would turn out just fine for all involved.

"Well, this one was about changelings and their land. It's so dead. So we were trying for a solution. Discord and Sombra came up with a pretty solid idea. They wanted to fill it with crops that had never been there. So it was using different nutrients while enhancing it with magic that would dwindle over time. That way the land wouldn't become dependent on just magic, but it would come back sooner than normal" Fluttershy said.

"That's a fantastic idea and so them!" Cadence smiled, she had gotten used to their unique way of thinking about things.

"I thought so too but no matter how hard we pushed for it. It was always no." Fluttershy added. This was before Discord protected her from that colt, she felt that if given the chance. She would depend them more, at least try. Their backing of her decisions made her more confident in those decisions. 

"Why?" Cadence asked the idea was a solid one. There was no reason that one would say no to it.

"I think some of the others still hold grudges. Especially Twilight. That, or they are too afraid to say anything. Twilight has been on the edge lately. We all remember what happened to Rainbow." Fluttershy added honestly.

"That's just what I thought, maybe you could be more specific on how you treat them. What has reforming them been like?" Cadence asked, maybe a glimpse into that would help her solve this mystery.

"Well, Discord wasn't easy even though we used the same lessons. We even did it the exact same way we did, but it was really hard to get him to cooperate." Fluttershy said as she reminisced on all the fights they had about friendship. "It was like he understood but was choosing to be difficult. Sombra on the other hand. It was like Sombra had never heard of friendship at all, or he pretended to not know. Then one-night Discord and Sombra hung out, and suddenly their reformation was barely any work at all. Then it was over. They were suddenly both so well behaved, it was strange, but I'm glad we succeeded."

"So you made them do it your way?" Cadence asked she needed clarification on this detail for thought was forming. "Give me an example," Cadence asked she didn't want to jump to any conclusions. No grey area was needed here. Only the exact answers needed.

"Teamwork with apple bucking. Just like Applejack learned the same way and everything. Trying to get them to work together with Applejack's family. We followed the journal step by step, no exceptions." Fluttershy clarified. Where was Cadence going with this?

"Ok what about when they do something wrong. What do you do?" Cadence said as she felt the pieces start to fall into place although the overall picture was still fuzzy. She was so close. "What about when they are good?" Cadence asked, so close, she was so close. She could feel it.

"Well, when they did we would say something like. This is not what friendship is like, then explain. Like lying, lying is wrong because you can hurt some creature by accident." Fluttershy explained. "We tell them that they did a good job or praise them,"

"I see, you are their reformers but it's more than that, you were trying to get them down your path. Not theirs. They won't learn the same way you learned. They are not you. It seems to me that you assumed that your path is the only path, that you had to follow it exactly to get anywhere." Cadence clarified.

"You think we forced them to try and be like us?" Fluttershy asked, "but I wasn't trying to do that. It was Twilight that refused to deviate from the book. Though I never stopped her, I just did what she told me." She felt guilty for not standing up for them more often. She tried her best to make sure that they had everything they needed although she often went overheard.

"Maybe accidentally. That doesn't solve the love problem but it does explain why reforming Discord and Sombra was not easy. So why does the situation feel band-aided? They have some friends. They have the love of Flurry heart, so what is missing?"

"Sombra did say he had no one at one point, though I'm not sure how that helps," Fluttershy added it was something she heard him grumble from time to time.

"Ok so let's assume that they think you don't support them. They think no one supports them. Maybe this is like every other love problem, miscommunication. Maybe they think we don't care about them. Though I feel its more than that, they don't rely on us for support. They rely on no pony. They don't think they can. Think about it, they been on their own for a very long time. No love. No affection. They need someone on their side, who will listen and understand. Push for what they want, support them in their endeavors." Cadence said this was the answer.

Just like how she was there for Flurry. That thought made her pause, and backtrack. Just how like she was with Flurry. Did somepony go back in time and hit her with a stupid stick? Because that is what it felt like. Cadence face hoofed so hard that she was sure it echoed through time and space. "They never needed Flurry's love, they needed my love. They need the love of a mother figure. That's why it felt band-aid-ed because it was love but not the love they needed." Of course, it was something they never had, something that they were missing.
> Ground Zero Tuesdays
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Cadence was sitting on her bed with her husband. She had just told him her new theory on the love Discord and Sombra needed and was waiting for his answer. It had been just eight hours, a night's sleep, since she decided this was the way to go.

"So you want to be their mother? Or a mother figure?" Shining asked his wife. He was a little lost on the whole thing, and he wondered if Cadence needed another vacation, maybe longer then a day. She was starting to sound a little crazy to him.

"Yes, ok ok. Just think about it. It's something they both never had, they have never had anyone there for them. They think they have no one. They don't realize they do have some-creature, some-creature that cares. If we could make them understand-" Cadence started to explain before they both lifted off of their bed. Seconds later Discord burst into their room.

Discord had to go get Cadence, tell her about the current situation. There was no way in Tartarus that this would go unnoticed. So he really had no other option than to take the blame for this one. While there was very little staff there was still some, plus whatever other creature just so happened to be in the castle that day. “Hey."

"Hey...mind telling us why we are floating?" Shining asked assuming that it was Discord that was causing this. That he was being pranked. Then he looked down, followed by his wife to see that there was no floor beneath them either. Something was up, besides them.

"It was Flurry, she took all the floors, there all gone. I decided to take gravity away so that it looked like I was doing this. Causing chaos. It’s chaotic enough that some-creature would believe it. Shining thought it was me, well I guess it sort of was." Discord explained.

"You shouldn't have to take the blame for something you didn’t do Discord. Though I appreciate the gesture. I think we can come up with something better. I do not want to reprimand you for nothing." Cadence said as she gently floated by his head.

"Well, I can’t think of a better lie!" Discord said, and it was true. He really couldn't, he had thought on his limbs. There wasn't another way, "some-creature could have already seen. Some-creature could already know. If we take it back now it could be worse! Imagine all the questions."

Cadence sat and thought about it, Discord was right. Taking it back now could cause more suspicion. More questions. "We planned this?" She suggested to her husband and to Discord.

"What?" Shining asked confused as all get out, "what is that supposed to mean?"

"We planned this, what day is it?" Cadence quickly said as she started forming a crazy plan. Just as crazy, if not more, than her decision to have Discord and Sombra live with them.

"Tuesday," Shining answered hoping she would further explain to him what she was thinking.

"Ground Zero Tuesday, that’s what we're doing now. To liven up the court, make it more interesting and fun. Discord is supplying us with what we asked for. Let’s go announce it to every creature." Cadence said as she teleported all her staff to the throne room and any other creature who happened to be there. Discord was right, she could see the number of creatures now floating. It was a lot.

"Surprise, I asked Discord to spice up our life. So he caused some chaos, today there will be no ground. We are calling it Ground Zero Tuesdays. Do not worry I know it looks scary but I assure you that you are safe. Since there is no gravity you will not fall

"Well while that is fun I do not appreciate the startle," Sombra stated he had been summoned here too, but he had no idea what was going on. So he just responded as he normally would, which he soon regretted doing. One look at Discord's face, and he knew Flurry Heart was the cause. He wished he had figured that out before he had said something and not after.

"I like it, made my heart jump but I would like some kind of notification next time,” Ivy said as she floated round the room, she rather liked Discord's chaotic surprises. Though a warning was always nice.“This is pretty cool though."

The rest of the creatures followed Ivy's lead, even Sombra. They tested out their new situation as they all tried to figure out how to maneuver around in no gravity. It was harder than it looked since not all of them had wings to push off with.

Discord just snorted as he found their struggle amusing and snapped swimming gear onto all of them, “that should help.” And it did, all creatures gained better control as they swam through the air. While the flying ones didn’t need it, he didn’t want them to have to fly. They could always fly, they couldn’t always swim through the air. Literally.

"I hope you all enjoy your gravity-free and floor-free day" Cadence said as she shooed them out of the throne room. "Now go off and have some fun!" She waited until they all left as she turned to Discord and Sombra. "She is getting stronger isn't she?"

Discord silently nodded.

"Twilight is supposed to come today, do you think we have a chance. Is it obvious?" Cadence asked discord.

"Well..uh no. I'm sure we can make a convincing argument but I don't understand. Why don't you tell her? Do you not trust her?" Discord asked while Cadence knew why, he did not.

"It's not that I don't trust her, I don't trust her reaction. I wish she would get help." Cadence looked at the missing floor in shame. Though she had nothing to be shameful for she had tried her best to get Twilight the help she needed. Twilight just kept refusing.

"I'm sure it'll be ok Cadence," Sombra said as he tried to reassure her but the floating made it difficult.

"Thank you, Sombra," Cadence said as she smiled up at him. That moment soon passed as she heard knocking at the throne room door. It was time, Twilight was here. Cadence took a deep breath, everything would be fine. She swam to the throne room door. "Twilight! Sunshine sun-"

She was interrupted with a hoof to her mouth "um Cadence why is there no floor?" Twilight asked as she looked down "it's safe right? That's a long fall."

Cadence smiled down at her sister-in-law "yes Twilight it is safe plus you have wings." It wasn't the first time their tradition was interrupted, and she assumed it wouldn't be the last.

"Oh right, I guess I was too tired to remember that. Training has been very hard and time-consuming. You were right...about the Flurry thing." She sheepishly smiled at Cadence, was that convincing? There was absolutely no way that something wasn't happening. "You know what, I don't think I can have this meeting. The no floor really freaks me out. How about next week? It isn't that important anyway, just wanted to see my family." That was both true and a lie. She did want to see her family, but she was leaving because she had to. She had to figure this out.

Cadence smiled at her sister-in-law. It looked like Twilight was ok with the situation for the most part. She didn't blame Twilight for wanting to leave. Looking down at the missing floor made Cadence's stomach drop too. It would take her a while to get used to it but at least Twilight was fine. Everything was fine. You know what it was more than fine, today would be great, even fun. She swam through the air once more to start her princess duties.





Twilight was back, back to her castle. She couldn't take being confused and lost. She needed help processing the information, she grabbed her trusty whiteboard from the corner of the room. She poofed up a tea and started boiling it. Nothing made sense right now, but she would make it make sense. Ok, ok, ok, let's start from the top what did she know?

 What you know I What Cadence told you
D/S watch Flurry I Flurry teleports, possibly dangerous
D causes chaos I Cadence asked him to
No nanny I Cadence couldn’t find one

True I False
D=evil I chaos is wanted
S=evil I D/S are helpful 

These were the things Twilight knew, Discord, and Sombra could really never get better. They had all tried very hard, but they kept meeting with resistance. They were allies. Twilight felt that they would never go beyond that. At least it was better than being an enemy. She was sure the rest of her friends agreed with her. As soon as she got to see them that is. Twilight spent all day every day for the past year preparing to become a princess. It was stressful and she never saw her friends.

Wait….its….its been a year. Twilight picked up her marker and under What Cadence told you she wrote D/S were supposed to stay just a couple of weeks just until they taught flurry teleporting was a no-no. It has been way longer than that. If Twilight hadn’t been so distracted by all her newfound responsibilities as a princess, ruler in training, and head-mare at the school of friendship. She would have noticed, but all those things took time. Not to mention the constant interruptions from her friends. She would ignore them, or turn them away, of course, she needed to focus right now. But what if? What if Cadence's interruptions were instead distractions. So that she wouldn't get suspicious.

She heard the whistle of the tea, and she picked up the kettle. She poured herself some chamomile tea. Something she did when she was anxious. She used the breathing exercises she found in a book in Celestia's library ‘Anxiety and You’ it was called. It was the compromise that she and Celestia agreed on. Due to Twilight's experiences, her anxiety always made her assume the worst. Like that one-time Pinkie planned a party for her, and she was convinced it was a going-away party, they didn’t want her anymore, or those times she yelled at her friends or the accident with Rainbow.

She always jumped to the worst conclusions but not this time. She trusted Cadence, she used the book breathing exercise again. Celestia wanted her to see a doctor, but she refused that's why she had this book. No matter how she reacted it wasn’t that bad. She was a princess she didn’t need help. She had that option, her friends, and of course, she asked them to help her from time to time, but she didn’t need professional help. She took to the whiteboard once more and under true she wrote ‘you don’t have bad reactions’ and ‘you have everything under control.’ She was a princess, she was perfect.

In the back of her head, that voice grew louder, Cadence lied, it said and Twilight had no idea how to fight it. Let's just say Cadence lied to her but not about everything. That one thing that was false was true. Cadence had lied to her, but not directly. Flurry was more powerful than Cadence was leading on, which means Discord and Sombra were helping. Not in the way she thought, they were helping to cover up this lie. It was something they would do, they wanted to lie to her. There was no way the two of them would care for Flurry, they didn’t have the capacity. Or maybe, they were messing with Cadence, forcing her to lie to Twilight. Maybe they were up to no good again. They were out of her watch, it was possible. Once evil always evil, once good always good.

Now all she needed was proof, but she didn’t have the time, so she started a list. If a 24 hours day took 200% of her time. Her schedule would look like this.


Sleep: 50%
Time spent training to rule: 50%
Time Spent on matters of friendship: 50%
Time spent on the school. 50%
Time with her friends: 0%


For the first time Twilight got a clear look at her schedule, she realized she was exhausted. There was no way she could squeeze an investigation into her schedule. She learned that lesson the last time she overpacked her schedule. She started a new chart.

 Time spent I what you can do about it
Training I Train faster?
Matters I Have your friends dor it for you
The school I New head-mare, to replace you 

Twilight frowned at this. She wanted to stay head mare of her school but it was starting to look like that wouldn’t be possible. As ruler many things would be demanded from her. And now there was an investigation. She could always make that head mare write her letters, it would be best if she already knew her. Someone who understood why friendship was important, had an inspiration for friendship, knowledgeable, organized, and responsible.

Only one mare came to mind, a good friend. Crazy was that though as she used to be evil, unlike Discord and Sombra. She would ask Starlight Glimmer, that mare had made great strides in friendship. She was Twilight's pupil, Twilight knew her and had seen her progress first hoof. After announcing her decision about the school, she would ask her friends to help her with issues of friendship. Now her schedule would look something like this.


Investigation: 80%
Time spent training to rule: 80%
Time sleeping: 20%
Time Spent on matters of friendship: 20%
Time spent on the school. 0%
Time with her friends: 0%


This would work, not only would she find out for sure whether Cadence lied to her, though Twilight was already starting to accept that fact as cannon. She also could find out just how powerful Flurry was and whether or not it was going to be an issue. Then see what Discord and Sombra were up to, her suspicion was blackmail. But she had to be careful there was the wrong way to do things, and there was Twilight's way to do things. She was absolutely sure, that since she was on harmony's side, she was right. She was a princess, what could she possibly wrong about?

The soft bringing of her crystal ball could be heard. Who was calling? How dare they interrupt her thoughts. She went over to it and tapped her hoof on it. "This is Princess of Friendship, Element of Magic, Future Ruler of Equestria speaking."

"Hello, this is about Discord and Sombra. I think they might be doing evil things." The stallion on the other end of the line held a list of phone numbers to call. Those phone numbers were for very powerful, very important creatures. He took it by force, a 'friend' owed him a favor. Names having been crossed off the list, he called every creature on there. That is, until he could find some creature who sided with him. So far he had been hung up, accused of prank calls, and called some interesting names.

"WAIT? WHAT? WHEN? WHERE?" Twilight yelled at the ball. Maybe she wouldn't need to find proof. Maybe the proof would come to her, all she needed, was one. One creature to come out with the same suspicions. Then she would work with them, to expose Discord and Sombra.

Perfect, the stallion thought, someone who sees reason. "Name's Gold Rumple and you are going to want to take a seat, Princess. I have so many things to tell you."
> Food II: Finally a Cupcake
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

It was about 24 hours since Cadence decided to mother the absolute daylights out of Sombra and Discord. She had everything set up, her husband knew and approved. So why did it take so long? Well, Flurry had an insane bought of powerful spells, and by the time she stopped every creature was much too exhausted. It was the wrong time. So now was the time, except Cadence had no idea how to do this. Was she just supposed to go up to them?  'Hey there Buckaroo I want to be your mom.'  How? Should she make tea, should she bring Shining with her? Should she sit them down, be serious, be goofy, lighthearted, straight to the point?

It's all she thought about as she went to meeting after meeting, obsessing over every little detail. Should she bring food, water, what was needed? Was that even needed? She should probably do it somewhere private. She was so inside her own head that time passed by without her knowledge, and now she was just sitting, staring at a meeting room wall. Trying to figure out what to do, and if that action was the right one. She took one look at the calendar and her heart dropped, today was the day, it was Flurry's first birthday. It was hard to believe that Sombra and Discord had been helping with Flurry for about a year. Cadence wanted to mentally slap herself again, how could she? Sometimes, she swore she could be so stupid. Her self loathing was quickly interrupted by just the creatures she was thinking about.

"Hiya Cadence." Discord waved to Cadence he had teleported into the room with Sombra. He was very excited for so many reasons. One of them was the surprise for Cadence that he and Sombra were hiding behind their back. Another one was because it was his little ball of chaos's birthday. Though he was somewhat concerned that Cadence was sitting in the meeting room alone. "Are you ok Cadence?"

"Of-of course!" Cadence could feel her anxiety grow, her chest tightened. She had to do this but all she could think of was, what if this went wrong? What if she ruined everything? What if she wasn't good enough? What if she made everything worse?

"Close your eyes then," Sombra said as he smiled at Cadence, he too was pretty excited. He just could not wait any longer.

"But!" Cadence interrupted. She felt that she HAD to do this, right here, right now. No option, no choice.

Sombra trotted over to Cadence and put his hoof over her eyes. "No butts! Close your eyes and relax." He insisted, she was just going to love what he and Discord planned.

Cadence reluctantly closed her eyes, she took this moment to take a deep breath. She felt she would fall into an anxiety attack. That wasn't what was needed. She started some breathing exercises only to feel a pair of claws on her head. Her eyebrows furrowed, and she opened her eyes to see only hoof.

"No peeking," Sombra said as he kept covering her face, he didn't want their surprise ruined.

Cadence closed her eyes, finding it easier and easier to relax. Discord's claws gently scratched and massaged her head. Hair went from one side to another, to another. She wondered what was happening but only briefly as Discord reached the base of her head. The scratches only felt better "oooo, am I getting a massage? Then why can't I see?" Her mind drifted off her problems and into Discord's claws.

"Sort of, now hush." Sombra insisted as he made sure she didn't peak.

Discord was concentrating, concentrating very, very, hard. Over, under, through, over, under, through. He worked his way down her head from her right ear down to the left side of her neck. Brading in a sort of arch. Discord couldn't wait for the best part, the bows. See the colors moved when you moved, gliding in and out. They were calling it holographic. The creation of the bows took a long time and many, many tries, but they did it. Much to a stressed-out Rarity, who they now owed big time.

Since the magic backfired and did some....interesting things to her shop. Things they promised to go back and fix, things like. Crystalized and chaotic furniture, half of her store was black and half an insane checkered pattern. Rarity, always the generous one, said that she would work with it until they could address it. Soon enough Discord was done her hair, he put the bow by her ear, a very large and him themed bow. It was time for her tail. "Cadence may I touch your tail?"

Cadence nodded, "of course." Tails were a touchy subject among pony kind, a sort of a special somepony thing. Though she let Discord do it, she trusted him, and she knew he didn't mean it like that. So she sat still, wondering what on Equestria they were doing.

With a tie of a Sombra themed bow on the top of Cadence's tale, Discord was done. He took one look at Sombra. Who seemed like he would explode with excitement at any moment.

"Cadence, we just want to say. Thank you for being so great to us while we are here. We both know how much you like the windows. So for Flurry's party, we thought we do something like that again. And well, you can look now." Sombra said as he moved.

They waited as Cadence opened her eyes. Discord snapped a mirror behind her and one in front and her jaw dropped. "Wow, I'm so pretty."

"Your always pretty." Sombra and Discord stated back without missing a beat.

"YOU GUYS!" Cadence cooed "you two are just the sweetest. Thank you I love it so much!" She said as she twirled around in front of the mirror. She used her magic to bring them into a hug. She felt good, better, she realized that she was putting to much pressure on herself. That wasn't doing any good.

"So you ready then?" Sombra asked from inside the hug. He really liked hugs now. "We are rather late, the party has already started. What were you even doing in here?"

"Ohh uh, just needed some space hehe." Cadence decided to let it go. It had to happen naturally she couldn't force it to happen. At least not now. She was teleported to Sugar Cube Corner by Discord. Tomorrow, for sure.

Once they got there Sombra bounced inside. Today was the day Flurry could finally have that cupcake, a fact that made him very excited. “Hellloooo Pinkie Pie. It is time for Flurry to have a cupcake.” Sombra said as he rushed over to her, totally ignoring the party that was in full swing.

“OMG, that’s fantastic! This isn’t like last time, is it? She can actually have the cupcake?” Pinkie Pie asked.

Sombra sighed, the rumor had gotten around really quickly due to Celestia and Luna's big mouths. To his surprise, Discord told one pony Fluttershy who told no pony else. Who thought representations of alicorn royalty could cause that kind of chaos? That was Discord's thing. He really didn’t appreciate that every pony knew about this, but he was willing to admit that it was sort of funny, with some hindsight. “Yes, Pinkie I asked Cadence before coming here.”

“I made her a super-duper-extra-special cupcake box.” Pinkie said as she packed a box of 12 cupcakes. Chocolate, vanilla, banana, raspberry, orange, lime, lemon, strawberry, apple, daisy, hay, and blueberry.

“Thank you Pinkie,” Sombra said with a smile it was nice to see her again. He was finally getting to socialize with the elements once more. Now that Flurry stopped teleporting he could see them a little more often. Though his day could be interrupted at any point due to Flurry casting a large spell. Something that made him nervous for tonight. Although she had been incredibly well-behaved today, so it might be fine.

“Why do you want to feed her a cupcake so badly?” Cadence asked as she entered Sugar Cube Corner. An action that made the party stop.

“Sugar was very rare when I was young. I didn’t get to have a cupcake until my reformation.” Sombra said as he briefly looked back on his past, he wasn’t kidding there was quite the food shortage.

“Oh. That makes sense.” Cadence quit while she was ahead, she wanted to ask more. But she did not want to cause a scene. That was something that she already did though as she could feel every creature staring. "Uh hi." She said to them.

"Your mane is gorgeous!" Pinkie and Fluttershy stated at the same time.

"Who did it for you?" Rainbow asked it was very different. Unlike anything, she had seen. It was cool, rad even. She liked it.

"Yeah, it's really somethin' special. Was it done by anyone fancy like?" Applejack asked, assuming some professional did it. Maybe it was one of Rarity's friends.

"Discord did it for me." Cadence stated as she looked among the surprised faces. It wasn't that unexpected, was it? Even if it was, Discord did that all the time. So it shouldn't be.

"Rarity helped us make the bows for your Cadence." Discord added. "Thank you Rarity."

"Oh darling, it was no problem." Though she said that she was still dealing with the aftermath of that experiment. Opting to close for the time being. Though she was getting some new inspiration. Darkness and chaos clothesline. She could see it now, then she wouldn't need to change her shop. Not for a while.

It looked like other ponies were about to chime in before Cadence's booming voice echoed off the walls of Sugar Cube Corner. “She can have ONE,” by now Cadence learned Sombra and Discord spoiled Flurry rotten. She didn’t want her to grow up with a rotten attitude as well. She thought of Flurry's room which was stuff to the brim with stuffed animals, various other toys, and fireflies. Discord insisted on those, said he was afraid that Flurry was afraid of the dark. It did help, she cried out a lot less often. Her parents got a lot more sleep as well as Discord, who helped out during the night as well. She was extra thankful for that gift. Discord and Sombra pouted, they kept pouting but Cadence did not give in, “ONE!” She insisted she had to remain firm because if she didn't two would become three, would become four, and so on.

“Uhg fine!” Sombra said grouchy, he wanted to give Flurry all the cupcakes, but he knew Cadence was right. What if it made her sick, and she never liked cupcakes again? He sighed as he realized his mistake, “sorry that was rude.”

“Its ok Sombra. I know both of you just love to spoil her. It could make her sick, that wouldn’t be good. So just one.” Cadence explained, she always made sure she gave them a reason as to why she was making her decisions. Why? Well, she didn't want them to be confused or out of the loop. She wanted to include them in all the bits of parenting even the sucky parts.

So Flurry could only pick one cupcake, Discord and Sombra wondered which one she would pick. What she chose now would be destiny. Would she grow up to be a chocolate pony? Vanella pony? Would she hate them? This was the single most important thing in the history of things. Not really, but Discord and Sombra sure thought it was. They entered the kitchen and sat down in front of Flurry.

With Cadence, Discord, and Sombra's attention on Flurry, the party went back into full swing. Pinkie Pie, Fluttershy, Rainbow, Applejack, Starlight, and Rarity danced on the dance floor. “Soma, Issy,” Flurry said. She seemed to pick up language very easily, knowing things were even if she didn't know the word.

Cadence wondered if it was because she was an alicorn. She also knew that Discord, Shining, and Sombra read to her every night which could also be helping. Either way turned out her baby was a fast learner.

Discord and Sombra waited with bated breath, which cupcake would she choose, what would be her destiny? DESTINY! This cupcake would define her for the rest of forever, she could never ever like another cupcake. Just this one cupcake, forever. “Is a cu cap” Flurry said as she smashed face-first into the raspberry cupcake. Guess she would be a berry pony, that or it just so happened to be the brightest cupcake. It was neon pink. That couldn’t be it though, this was a destiny cupcake. DESTINY!

"Yes, Flurry it's a cupcake. You are a smart alicorn!" He and several other ponies melted at Flurry's baby speak.

Discord took this moment to grab "Tia and Cadence. He dragged them away unnoticed, a grin on his face. Though it hurt to be away from Flurry.

"Discord where are we going," Cadence asked, snuggled away in his lion arm.

"Yeah, where are we going?" Celestia added, snuggled away in his eagle claw.

"I saw DDR the corner of my eye. Kay-Kay, 'Tia you are having an intervention. I noticed you both seem pretty stressed. I would take Twilight but she isn't here. Were gonna get trashed and play." He said as he turned into the back room where Pinkie Pie set up a temporary DDR station. He gave them each a drink that he swiped from the table. Making sure they were strong drinks.

"Where is Discord?" Sombra asked as he noticed his mismatch friend wasn't making smart remarks. He always made smart remarks. He was silent so something had to be wrong.

That statement was followed by "where is Cadence?" Shining noticed his wife's absence as well.

"OH NO!" They said as they realized that Discord and Cadence were most likely together. Last time they went off they got trashed and wrecked the kitchen table. Not to mention they ate all the food in the fridge. "Has anyone seen them," the two of them asked in a panic.

"No" rarity stated, they seemed concerned, which made her concerned. "Why?"

"Last time they partied together they went a little crazy we have to find them!" Sombra clarified.

"I saw them go off to the DDR station!" Pinkie Pie announced with a bounce.

Sombra and Shining ran off. "Pinkie watch Flurry" Sombra stated as he was followed by the rest of the elements who were curious. They ran down the hall and to the dining room where they found Discord, Celestia and Cadence poorly cheating at DDR. Cadence managed the left step, Celestia managed the right step, Discord managed the back step. Each creature took turns hitting the front step resulting in a lot of hoof and claw slapping. That resulted in a lot of giggling. It wasn't the craziest thing they assumed that they were doing. Which was a relief.

Just then Twilight stumbled in the door quite exhausted. She was done with all her duties for the day and had just barely made the party. The only reason she was here was because her friends were making a big deal about her schedule changes. She had to prove that those changes were for the best. That meant showing up today, she would make up the lost time in secret. "What did I-?" She stopped her sentence as the image of three entities she knew, clearly plastered, entered her brain.

"Twilight!" Celestia said as she turned away from the game and stumbled over to Twilight, "did I ever tell you. You're my favorite subject. Don't tell my other subjects. its a secret. Your the best!"

That got Discord's attention, "no because Fluttershy is better. Anything Twilight can do, Fluttershy can do better." He corrected Celestia. His attention was drawn from the game.

"Anything Fluttershy can do, Twilight can do better. Twilight is much greater!"

"No!" Discord argued, angry at the very thought. How dare she!

"Yes!" Celestia insisted, she was of course right.

"No!" Discord insisted back, he was right!

"Yes!" Celestia said, getting up into his face.

"Fluttershy can calm a manticore, like Twilight could do more."

"Twilight invented new magic, she is just that epic."

"Fluttershy reformed me, never did she flee!"

"Twilight helped, you jerk!"

"You know Fluttershy did all the work!"

"Well can she bake a pie?" Celestia asked though she wasn't sure why she did.

"No." Discord stated with a frown.

"Neither can Twilight but anything she can do, she can do better than Fluttershy."

The rest of the night consisted of an argument over who was better performed in a song. Twilight greatly regretted coming to the party. As soon as she got a free spot she was going to bail. She made an appearance, that was all that mattered. Plus there was an upside to showing up. Clearly, if Discord and Sombra were messing with Cadence, they were also messing with Celestia. The princess she knew was above this. The situation was worse than she thought, she would have to give Gold another call.
> Cadence
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Cadence had woken up that day with a hangover to end all hangovers but so did 'Tia and Discord. It took a couple of hours for Cadence to recover. She was the first one to do so. She decided to use her time wisely to gather everything she needed for the day. After a couple of more hours, Discord and Celestia recovered, and Celestia left. Cadence was more sure in herself than ever, she realized last night that her obsessing was just making it worse. If they did believe they had no one. Then Cadence had no relationship to risk.

Whatever the answer was, she was just going to do it. Like ripping off a bandaid. Today was her day off, so she had nothing to do today. Her schedule clear and with no demands, it was a perfect time. She did not want this to be interrupted. She took a deep breath, went into her room, soundproofed it, and blew the whistle. All she had to do now was wait. And remember the few talking points she had. In a few seconds, they were there.

"Cadence how can we help you?" Sombra asked her, glad to see her face.

Discord soon appeared behind him "hi Cadence!"

It was time to clear up some things. "What are you planning on doing after Flurry Heart?" Cadence asked. She wanted to confirm her suspicions first.

"Oh, when you're done with us. We'll probably go back to what we were doing before. I mean you only needed us for this." Sombra stated. It was true it wasn't like they were here because she like them or anything. They were allies, very good allies.

"Well, you can forget that. Your welcome to stay here." Cadence insisted, she wanted them too.

"Thanks, but you don't have to-" Sombra started before he was interrupted.

"Hush listen to the words I am saying. You are more than welcome to stay. In fact, more than that I got you this." Cadence said as she whipped out two papers. "I grant the two of you full citizenship in the Crystal Empire. You are now one of my people, protected by my rules. You are welcome to stay and live in the town, you are welcome to stay and live nearby, you can even stay in the castle. Forever. Mooch off of me, I don't mind. I don't plan on ever letting you go from your jobs."

"Cadence you don't have to-" Sombra and Discord stated at the same time. Neither one of them should stay. Sombra enslaved this place. And Discord was sure he'd mess this up one day, if not now, it would be later.

"No, but I want to. You are my friends, no you are my family. I love you both." Cadence looked at their faces. It spelled nothing but utter shock, she watched them look at one another and back at her. It's like they had never heard...they hadn't. Had they? It was a thought that broke Cadence's heart. Their whole lives, not an ounce of love.

"Chrysalis is that you?" Sombra asked, now more certain than ever. That he was not talking to Cadence. There was just no way. There was no way he would ever hear a sentence like that.

Discord thought the exact same way, there was no way some creature loved him. Tolerated, definitely. Liked, maybe. Loved, most definitely not. "If that's you, that wasn't funny even by my standards."

"What? No!" Cadence protested. They didn't believe her. They didn't believe her so much, that they thought she was some-pony else. That broke her heart even more. Wait if they didn't believe that she liked them, or loved them. Then what about the elements?

"Look Chrysalis, Cadence is a very nice mare. If you tell us where she is right now. Maybe we can talk it out. I know you felt betrayed by your hive and Thorax. But Cadence is a very reasonable alicorn. I'm sure she can figure something out. Not to mention we used to be allies the three of us, banded together. We could do it again, but this time as best friends, don't you want that? It'll be fun." Sombra stated to Chrysalis. Who he was sure would come around if they sold her the idea of reformation. He and Discord didn't get far in their convincing last time, they ended up having to put her back in stone. They didn't really want to but maybe this time they could get her on their side. I mean Cadence was great, so Chrysalis wouldn't have a hard time. And she was very forgiving. He knew that first-hoof.

"What Sombra said, so spill it hunny where did you put Cadence?" Discord asked Chrysalis, he was starting to get anxious. Wherever Cadence was, he hoped she was ok. If she wasn't. Chrysalis was in a world of hurt, even if they were allies at some point.

"We won't even call the elements. If you take us to her right now, it'll be just the three of us and Cadence." Sombra added, maybe if he added that bit Chrysalis would be more likely to reform. Knowing that she wasn't in the immediate danger of being blasted to wherever they chose to put her. Or being put back into stone.

"I'm not Chrysalis!" Cadence insisted, she wasn't.

"Look Chrysalis, we figured out your nonsense. You went too hard, telling us you love us. If you need love I'm willing to give you some of my stock." Sombra offered. He had plenty and unlike other ponies, he would be fine without it. It wasn't something his body depended on. Not like dark magic.

"Yeah me too. All you have to do is tell us where she is." Discord added, he too didn't need love to function. Just chaos and a bit of dark magic. And if giving her some meant she would drop the act and tell him where Cadence was. Then it was worth it.

"I am not Chrysalis!!!" Cadence insisted again. How was she supposed to prove that? She thought over it, maybe there was some kind of gesture. Something that she could do to convince them otherwise.

"Look we don't want to fight, neither does Cadence, I mean I enslaved her, and she forgave me. I'm sure after a while and some effort she could forgive you too." Sombra added. Maybe if he gave Chrysalis an example of Cadence's kindness she would give up the act.

"Cadence is a good alicorn, no mare, no Cadence is a good soul. We promise she won't hurt you. We'll even tell her how you helped find her. And we will make sure you aren't attacked. You just have to tell us where you put her, also admit that you are not Cadence." Discord added to Sombra's offer. Though he was starting to get impatient. If she didn't admit to her nonsense soon. Discord would make Chrysalis admit to her nonsense.

Cadence was both concerned and flattered. They thought so highly of her, they also didn't believe she was herself. Which was a problem because she was Cadence. "I am not Chrysalis, I am not kidding, I love you," Cadence said as she focused on all her motherly loved and planted a kiss on Sombra and Discord's foreheads. Choosing that as the gesture to convince them that she was real. What she was saying was real, that is how she felt.

The silence that hung in that room spoke more than any words could ever. Sombra ended up breaking it with a choke, a choke that was supposed to be words. He had no idea what to feel, besides stress. He looked, eyes wide, at Discord. As if he could possibly help him. Every joke Discord and Sombra made about their lives, was no longer funny. The weight of everything they ever been through crashing down upon them in one fell swoop.

Discord was...something. He was, he was. He just was. "No, that's not right." Was the only answer Discord could give. He felt everything and nothing as his brain scrambled to figure out what was wrong with Cadence. "Are...are you sick? I can go get the elements. I'm sure we can find a cure."

"I'm not sick. I love you both, please, believe me, I love you," she said as she wrapped her wings around Sombra, the only creature within her range. "Your welcome to stay here, live with me, as my family. Because you are my family."

Sombra just cracked, he just, he was so overwhelmed. He buried his head into Cadence and shook. He pressed hard against her like if he let her go she would stop existing.

Discord just stared at them both he rarely spoke what he was actually thinking, especially if it had to do with his feelings. He would this time though, he was scared, afraid, stressed. "Good things don't exist." He stated out loud. As if to assure himself that this was all a trick. It had to be a trick. He was a monster and no more.

"Discord!" Cadence gasped, she hadn't really expected that out of him. She held on tightly to a sobbing Sombra, so she couldn't really move.

"No, they don't exist!' Discord said as he backed away from Cadence. Something was wrong, something had to be wrong. He just knew it. That's when he put the pieces together. "I'm still in stone. This is a dream I'm having while in stone. That means you two Sombra! None of this is real." Discord concluded that had to be the answer. He would often daydream in his stone prison. This could be another one of his fabrications, and he never really left.

Sombra looked away from Cadence and at Discord with surprise. Tears in his eyes, he had known that Discord had a hard time with his stone prison. What he didn't know was it had effected his friend so poorly, though he couldn't scold him too much. He had a hard time in his ice prison, he still felt the harsh chill of a winter wasteland. Too much silence still bothered him and sometimes he swore he had heard the wind blowing even if it wasn't.

"Discord its ok, I am real. I just want to help." She reached out a wing to Discord who looked like she was threatening his life. "Discord its ok, I won't hurt you, I won't fade away. I promise. " Cadence said, as she rubbed Sombras back. She couldn't get very far with Sombra clinging like that, so she was going to have to use her words. "It's ok. I promise. All you have to do is come here. Feel my heartbeat, have your daydreams had those? Can you touch them, feel their breath? Are they that detailed?"

Discord knew that they were not that detailed. When he touched them they would fade away into smoke. If this was a daydream he wasn't sure he could handle that. Though if it was real, it was all the better. He had to put faith in Cadence. Something he never really did, he had to actually trust her word. As they were the only things he had right now. Eventually, he caved and hugged Cadence, clinging desperately to her. He wasn't sure what to think, say do, feel. The cascade of emotions caused him to seek comfort, no he needed comfort. He could feel the heat of her skin, the beating of her heart, and he knew she was real. Which means everything else was. "I'm... I'm sorry." At that moment they pretended that Cadence was everything they ever needed, she was their mother. They melted into her embrace.

"Don't be, it's ok Discord." She said as she welcomed him into the hug. She hadn't expected to have to fight him. She had never seen another creature reject love as hard as he did. It broke her heart more. Silent tears dripped down her face as she just let them cry to their heart's content. She wanted to be careful, to not let them know she was upset. She wanted to let them focus on themselves and not her. But she could not help it, her heart broke too much. They spent hours just sobbing clinging to Cadence who hadn't said a word otherwise. She just let them get it out of their systems.

"We should probably let you go now," Sombra said, he felt a slight quake from Cadence and it made him realize. He didn't deserve this. He made her cry, and he didn't' deserve this. This was a good thing, and he was not and if he asked Discord. Discord would agree with that statement. Though unlike Sombra he did not want to let go. He was scared to. Like the world would crumble if he did.

"You don't have to, you deserve it," Cadence said, though she didn't know why she said it, she felt like she had to. She wanted them to stay close. To soak in her love. She didn't want them to run away. "It's ok, it's ok for you to have this."

It was like she knew what Sombra And Discord were thinking. They didn't deserve the love they were receiving and cleared the air. That they did deserve it. Eventually, she felt their crying stop. She looked down to find them asleep, they most likely passed out. She didn't blame them either, they had gone through quite the emotional turmoil. She smiled to herself as she wiped her tears from her face. Today was a new day, a day filled with love for just the two of them. She felt the calm of a completed job wash over her once more. Though her gut acted up again. This time it was different, it was more like a warning. It told her there was something she was going to want to read before tomorrow came. She activated her horn and books appeared, hovering in front of her. She paused as the teleportation made a sound but the two of them did not stir.

Books on trauma. She wasn't sure why she would need these books but her gut was never ever wrong. So she started reading through each one. She was about halfway through the first one when she heard a soft knock at the door and then a creek.

"Hey, how did it go?" Shining asked as he popped his head in to see his wife covering up something with her wings and reading a book on trauma. Weird.

Cadence lifted her wings very slightly, so he could see Sombra and Discord, asleep. "Good enough. You're going to want to read these after I am done with them. My gut gave me a warning. I think it'll be important."

"If you say so....does this mean I need to sleep on the couch?" Shining asked, he rather he didn't but it looked like he would have to.

"Sorry, my love I promise to make it up to you." She winked at him and gave him a very suggestive gesture with her hoof.

Shining blushed at his wife, then he smiled "ok, couch it is." He said as he quietly closed the door. Leaving Cadence behind to read her books.
> Motherhood
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Cadence was sitting there, exhausted she read every book she could get her hooves on about trauma. Now what type of trauma they were dealing with was unknown to Cadence, but she was glad she did read it. Why? Discord and Sombra had been following her all day. Literally for hours on end. They always ducked when Cadence looked back, but she knew that they were there. Never once did it seem that she left their vision.

It was quite the change, from so off-putting to obsessive, just like that. It was like they were afraid she would vanish into thin air. Which she wouldn't but that didn't stop them. She was sure they would stop eventually. Then they stalked her to the kitchen, for her break. This made her aggravated, but she made sure to keep a level head, she had read those books. They said behavior changes were expected, and she did expect them. Just not like this. "Hello boys, I know you are there why don't you join me?" She watched as Sombra and Discord came out of the shadows. "Hello, would you mind telling me why you have been following me around?" The books told her that she needed to guide them gently. Well, she assumed gently, it would help is she knew what trauma they had. As the techniques for helping were different. She was just going to have to end up guessing.

"We just, we are worried about you," Sombra stated all he felt was stress. Love for Cadence and stress. He wasn't sure what to do with that love. Cadence was a very good thing, he just knew that when he didn't see Cadence his stress was worse.

"Why?" Cadence asked she wanted them to work through their issues. Not avoid them.

"Well, what if something bad happens?" Discord asked. He was just as stressed as Sombra was. He was worried something awful would befall her if he wasn't looking. He also didn't really like being away from her, she was a good thing. He wanted to be around that.

"Like what?" Cadence asked, if she could walk them through their worries. They could be better off, maybe.

"Like you could get eaten, or kidnapped or enslaved. I enslaved you, I know you can be." Sombra said those were just a few of the things he could think of. He was sure there were worse things that could happen to her. He'd never forgive himself if it happened on his watch.

"None of that stuff will happen," Cadence said she was sure it wouldn't happen again. Though as she thought that sentence. She wasn't too convinced herself. How many times had she been attacked, kidnaped? She didn't remember the number, but she was sure it was a lot.

"But what if it does?!" Discord stated, he too was worried about what would happen if he turned his back.

"Well, there is you two, you could come to save me. Or Twilight and the elements. They beat you, they can beat whatever comes after me." Cadence explained, she realized their worries weren't as crazy as she first thought. So she gave them an example of things working out. Even though it was reasonable, all she saw was their anxious gaze. "How about just for one hour, you promised to help Rarity clean up her shop. Then you never did. After the hour is up, come back, and you'll see I haven't moved. I promise nothing will happen."

Sombra and Discord looked at one another. "If you are sure, we promise to try," Sombra said as Discord reluctantly teleported them away and in front of Rarity's shop. Though all he really wanted to do was go back. He liked Cadence, of course, but what if? What if? He looked over to Sombra and saw he was just as stressed as he was. They said they would do this, and they did promise Rarity they would come. Discord snapped up some tea for himself.

"Can...can I try that?" Sombra asked, he had seen Discord do it before. When he was stressed, maybe it would help him too. All he knew is his chest was tight, and while he knew what anxiety was. It was never this bad.

"Focus on how the tea makes you feel, the warmth of the cup, of the liquid, the steam on your face. Focus on that." Discord stated as he snapped up another tea and gave it to Sombra. After that, he decided to focus on the tea in order to calm himself. It was just an hour and if anything happened he could grab the elements.

Sombra did as Discord instructed he felt the warm cup in his hoof. Let the steam dance over his face. Felt it when it was warm, felt it when it was cold when the steam blew away. He took a sip and felt the tea flow down through him. The warmness rose in his body. "Wow, I can see why you love tea so much," Sombra said taking another sip and knocking on Rarity's door. He felt better about staying plus it was only for an hour. An hour wasn't that long, and he was right next to one of the elements.

Rarity opened her door to Discord and Sombra, who looked like they were hit with something. "Hello, boys." She said, why were they here?

"Uh hi, Rarity. We're here to clean up that mess we made in your shop." Sombra stated, he was still a little bothered but now he was at least trying to focus on Rarity.

"OH! You don't have to do that. You inspired my new clothes line!" Rarity squeaked.

"We did?" Sombra and Discord asked.

"Yes, darling you just have to see it." Rarity said as she stepped aside and led her friends into her shop.

Sombra and discord gasped, it was quite something. The room was divided diagonally. One half was chaotic patterns from Discord casting his magic, the other black crystals. Furniture barked from Discord's side and Sombra's was ornate crystal.

"I was hoping you could clean it up after I was done with this line. Although I'd like to keep the crystal furniture. And the ottoman dog, he is such a sweetheart. I named him Precious." Rarity said, hearing his name. Precious came running up to her and licked her forehoof. "Isn't that right Precious. Who is a good ottoman? You are!" Rarity cooed as it licked her more. Somewhere Opal glared at Rarity, not that it was noticed.

"Sure." Discord said a lot of his magic was becoming permanent. His chaos magic, pure chaos magic. See when he gifted something to a creature. He snapped it into existence but it was still made from something. Like Cadence's windows were put together by his magic but the glass was real. He made plush animals for Pinkie but those were made from real materials. This creation was 100% chaos magic. To be honest he was surprised it lasted this long. He wondered if that was going to be an issue, or if it would be fine. He just inwardly shrugged and decided to cross that bridge when he came to it. "Let me know if it disappears and I'll snap it up again."

"Thank you Discord." Rarity said she looked over to Sombra with pleading eyes.

"Of course you can," Sombra said, he knew his magic was permanent though that didn't mean it was always wanted. It was exciting to have Rarity keep it. He was more than glad to let her have it. "What do we do now? We took an hour assuming we would have to help you clean." Sombra said, they weren't supposed to go back. They did promise that they would try. A promise to Cadence was a promise kept.

"Hmmm," Rarity mused for a few seconds as she pet Precious. "I know, since the line is inspired by you, you should model for me!"

Discord gasped and started getting giddy, this sounded like a good time for some chaos. Which excited him. He soon forgot his stress as he devoured his teacup. "Sounds good to me!" He said he gave a snap and turned into a unicorn stallion.

Rarity stared at the stud of a stallion that Discord was, next to the other stud that Sombra was. Both would be fantastic models. "Yes!" She squealed as she ran off to go get her designs. She gathered up a few of them. "Of course I made you something for your normal form. I'd like you to try it on after you are done."

"Oh. Why thank you Rarity." Discord said he hadn't expected anything, but he was more excited than ever. He grabbed the chaos designs and Sombra grabbed the dark ones.

"Oh, it wasn't a big deal. I call this line Chaotic Darkness." Rarity bragged as she waited for them to get dressed. She whipped out her camera. "Alright, it doesn't matter who goes first."

Sombra came out first and if Rarity was being honest with herself. It was a lot easier to make his line then Discord's. She used a lot of red, black, and purple. Most of his line was higher end, three-piece suits, tuxes, dresses. Inspired by his days as 'king' she always felt he had a regal air about him. Even after being reformed for a long time, she assumed now it was just a part of his personality. "Pose darling."

Sombra did his best but he was a little stiff. He never really posed for a photo before. He did for a painting when he was king. Though he rather not pose like that again.

"Relax darling, the camera won't bite." Rarity said as she tried to coax Sombra into a less rigid pose. She noticed the more he tried the more relaxed he became, and she ended up getting a bunch of photos. "Fantastic darling., go try on the other."

That was one half of his line, the other half was goth-inspired. Trench coats, corsets, dresses, and the likes. She just happened to switch over it and didn't even realize it, then she thought to herself why not? It seemed to fit him too and was more modern of a style. That is exactly what Sombra came out in next. Rarity really liked him in a two-piece suit but this was another level. Goth clothes fit him perfectly. "Pose hoofsome!"

This caused Sombra to blush as he posed for the next few pictures. Though it wasn't all that visible, he just coughed. "That good?"

"Perfect, you may keep the clothes you tried on today. Now sit next to me." She said as she dragged Sombra over with her magic. She did not mind sitting by a hoofsome stallion. She got her camera ready but no matter how ready she thought she was. She was not ready.

Discord came out as a stallion in a jumper that was a chaotic yet organized pattern. Rarity thought the line should be just as chaotic he was, so he had a suit, a jumper, dresses, shirts, shorts, and other random pieces of clothing. None like the other. Discord struck a pose with all his confidence, impressing rarity.

"Yes! Work for the camera, it loves you." Rarity said as she collected too many photographs to count. Maybe she should ask Discord to pose for her again sometimes soon. To bad his other line wouldn't be produced it was inspired by his chaotic freedoms. Rarity assumed she had gone too far and stuffed the clothes under her bed. But Discord had found those clothes and in a snap of magic, he was a mare, sporting quite the semi-revealing outfit. It caused Rarity to sputter. "I -I -I -I -I -I can explain!"

"Why you didn't put it out? Cuz I would like to know." Discord asked. "I think it looks very good on me." He said as he struck several poses. He rather liked this, it just screamed chaotic potential.

Rarity could help but photograph her subject until she realized he had asked her a question, "I uh. I didn't think it very appropriate. I didn't want to put something out like that in your name. I just-."

"Shhhh. Rarity I am chaos. A part of chaos is freedom and spitting into the face of society until it says 'yes daddy more'. If this is what you want to do. I support you. If you don't, I understand. AND BEFORE YOU PROTEST. Screw what the other elements think. Do you think Prancent Van Gogh, Édouard Ponet, Ponyo Picasso’s or Ponel Duchamp just sat around and were like, 'aw man society hates my art, so I guess I gotta give up'? NO! They made their art anyway. So what are you going to do? Just sit around and wait for some other creature to come along. To make something this great! Say it with me now screw-" Discord waited for Rarity to finish his sentence.

Rarity looked away from Discord. What would her friends think? What would Fancy Pants think? What would society think? She oh so quietly said "society." Not totally convinced that she could do this.

Discord noticed Rarity's hesitation, on instinct, he glanced at the clock. The hour had passed. "We have to go but why don't you think about it. You have my approval." Discord said as he snapped away hoping that Rarity would do what she wanted because she wished to do it. He hoped she wouldn't let a silly thing like society keep her from doing what made her happy.

Rarity looked down at the dress Discord left behind when he teleported. She loved the line, she loved making it. It made her feel free just like Discord did. Sometimes she was jealous of him, how did he do it? Go around with his middle claw raised to society like that. She held the dress and decided to give a pony much like him a call. Pinkie Pie. She wanted to talk about this some more.

Discord and Sombra appeared back at Cadence's castle. There she was still reading her book in the same place they left her. They were both so nervous but they approached her slowly. Discord went first, "Hi." He said.

Cadence looked up from her book and smiled, "Hello there boys. How was Rarity's?"

Sombra stuttered in his movements, "you are ok." he stated as he completely ignored her question.

"Of course I am. I said I would be." Cadence smiled at both of them. She made sure to stay calm and collected as their faces screamed nothing but worry. "Do you want to check?"

Sombra did that immediately as he activated his dark magic. He checked to make sure she was Cadence, he checked to make sure she wasn't possessed. Discord just decided to poke her lightly, to make sure she was still there. Once they were both done checking they gave her a hug. They spent the rest of the day spending every other hour with Cadence. When they weren't with her they were with Flurry, Shining, Ivy, or Spear. Who Cadence filled in on the situation. At first, those ponies were surprised at the severe change that Discord and Sombra were going through, but after some more explanation, they willingly volunteered. Cadence knew this was not something she could tackle alone. Plus she wanted to help build them a support structure of creatures who loved them.


-----The next day-----


Sombra and Discord woke up next to Cadence, they insisted on guarding her at night. It didn't matter that they had to sleep on the floor. They did so willingly, it was more important that Cadence was safe. They followed her and Shining to go get Flurry. Then they followed them to the kitchen for breakfast.

Shining had to admit that he wasn't expecting this. They followed the both of them around like lost puppies but they followed Cadence the most. Like her very existence was made out of glass that would shatter at a moment's notice. Shining knew his wife, she was strong and confident. She didn't really need anypony, but she chose to reach out for help anyway. This time was no different Shining was often a distraction for the hours they did not spend with her. Though that wouldn't be the case today. For as soon as they entered the kitchen and sat down at the table a letter appeared in a green poof and plopped down in front of Cadence.

Cadence stared at the letter she expected it to be from Twilight. The letter did come from Spike's magic. So she was surprised to see it was addressed to Discord from none other than Rarity. "It's for you." She stated as she hoofed over the letter to them.

Discord opened the letter, he didn't receive mail very often. It read:


Dearest Discord,


I have thought about your speech. It never left my head which is why I called Pinkie Pie. See you two are sort of kindred souls. I spoke to her about my feelings, about my new line. She said a similar thing that I shouldn't fear society. I should follow my heart, though if I didn't. She understood. I have always let society define and decide what I should make. Of course, I have been ahead of the trend, but safely ahead. Never quite upsetting the market, so to speak.

So with you and her ok with whatever way I go. I found myself looking inward. Was I going to risk everything, do what I wanted to do? Make what I wanted to make? I found myself going to the museum with Fluttershy. I looked over all the artists you mentioned and realized what I wanted. I do want to do this. I got Flutterhshy's support too, and with you and two of my friends on my side. I think I can do this. So I booked a photography studio at 2 pm for three hours. Meet me at my house at 1:30, and we shall go together. 


Screw society,
Love,
Rarity 


Discord squealed, he felt good helping Rarity find her way. Get over her anxieties. He felt good until he realized that meant he would have to be away from Cadence. Then he frowned, he wanted to do this but what if he left and something happened? He looked up to her and gave her the note "I can't go. What if something happens?"

Cadence looked over the letter and saw an opportunity. "We will build up to it. I think I have proven every hour I am ok. I think I can prove I am ok every two hours. Then when three roles around you can go focus on something else while you leave me alone for three hours." Cadence watched them look at one another with concern, but she was anything but. See every hour they could check up on her and spend the next hour with her but only if she could do stuff when they were not looking. She started off with just reading then moved on to matters of kingdom and love.

So she followed her new plan, every two hours. She made sure to only let them check to make sure she was herself every other time. They just had to trust her word the other times. Her plan was to stop that completely to only let them check before going to sleep but only if they slept in their own rooms. Her goal was to bring them back to normalcy and prove that everything was indeed ok. Then it was time, three rolled around. "See you guys later." She said as she picked up another book. This one was called Parisprite Destroys The Universe by Ponriak Harris.

Discord appeared with Sombra in front of Rarity's shop. He knocked on the door lightly, feeling some anxiety, that is until he saw Rarity. Who was sporting the hugest smile he had ever seen her wear, then he was more focused on what was happening. "Hello."

"You are going to flip!" Rarity said as she trotted off to the studio she was renting. She had already moved everything over there. She just needed them. She picked up her pace as she got closer and closer to the studio. She looked back every once in a while to make sure Sombra and Discord did not get lost. Soon enough she was at the studio. She opened the door, and entered the room. In it was a single stage in the center of the room. On both sides of the stage were rows of clothes and a box. Next to the box, to Discord's surprise, was Pinkie Pie and Fluttershy.

"Pinkie, Shy, what are you two doing here?" Discord asked.

Pinkie started first "I love going outside my comfort zone!." She bounced up and down excitedly. Trying new things was something she loved, it's why she liked Discord. The opportunity to try even more things, some of causing logic to go the corner and cry. She felt bad when it did that though, so she always left it an 'I'm sorry' cupcake. 

Fluttershy went next "Discord, watching Rarity and Pinkie go out their comfort zones made me want to. I'm so something uh. What was the word you used Pinkie Pie?" Fluttershy asked her friend.

"Kinky?" Pinkie pie asked.

"Look at me. Near revealing clothes, watching the shoot. I'm kinky." Fluttershy giggled, as she hid behind her mane. What would her friend say about that? She felt so naughty. These days she really was much braver, doing new things, saying no more often. It was very exciting.

Discord just smiled "it's a start." Fluttershy had always been an innocent and sheltered soul. It made him happy that she was doing something she considered out of the box. Even if it wasn't by his standards. He smiled down upon them, self-satisfied, as Rarity brought him a box.

"Discord, I want you to model for the best piece I have." Rarity said as she gave him the box. "Go try it on, and we will take photos for the catalog I am having a friend design. "

Discord picked up the box and looked inside, and he squealed with delight, he definitely did not regret joining now. He snapped his claw, and he was in quite the riske dress. Even by his standards, even if it just barely brushed them. It brushed them, which surprised him. He pranced around in it "I love it Rarity."

"Save it for the camera!" Rarity shouted as she quickly grabbed her camera. Discord was a natural at this, and she didn't want to miss a thing. Soon enough she had a ton of photos of Discord and Pinkie. More than she actually needed, but since she was having so much fun she just kept going. With her pictures in her hooves, she felt confident in her decision. The line looked fantastic on them. The hours had ticked by and it was time to depart.

"It is time for us to go." Discord said as he prepared to snap away with Sombra.

"WAIT!" Rarity yelled "you forgot your gift last time. I can't let you forget it this time." Rarity ran off to get Discord something really special. She worked very hard on it, improved it since the last time he was here. In the end, she was sort of happy she forgot to give it to him. She ran back to him, panting, with a small wrapped box. "Open it."

Discord tore open the wrapping paper and opened the box to find a neon pink bow covered in small bells. He looked at Rarity who tied it around his tail. "Move your tail darling."

Discord did, he lifted it up, shook it, and hit it on the floor. "Ring, ring, ring, squeak," Discord gasped as he did it again, and again, and again. "I love this. Fluttershy look at this!" He said as he scooted over her to show her the bow closer.

"What have you done?" Sombra asked her "he's gonna be obsessed with that thing. This is the squeaky toy all over again." He grumbled.

"Excuse me?" Rarity asked.

"When we were younger Discord found a squeaky toy in a trash can. He was obsessed with it. Gave me headaches. We had stuff to do, and yet he couldn't take his focus off the thing. I'm going to be hearing that sound forever." Sombra grumbled "come on Discord. We gotta go." He for one wanted to see Cadence as soon as possible.

Rarity just looked at him confused, he never said anything about his past. Unfortunately, Discord and Sombra left before she could ask any questions.

So Discord and Sombra returned home. When they did, there was Cadence at the table just as they had left her.

"Hello, boys." Cadence smiled.

"Cadence, Cadence, look what Rarity gave me." Discord said as he demonstrated what his gift could do.

"Its great Discord, thank you for showing me. It suits you well." She watched his face grow concerned and she sighed. "I'm fine. You can check before bed but only if you sleep in your own room." It was time to put that part of the plan into action. She watched them nervously nod. "Well then let's spend some time together and I'll see you in another three hours." She said with a smile.


----Several Days Later---


It was better Discord and Sombra checked on her every 3 to 4 hours, then 6 hours. Then it became randomized. Every once in awhile they checked to see if she was ok. Then they came to her more for other things like the kingdom and Flurry. Cadence had done it. She had navigated this. They hardly checked to make sure she was herself, they hardly kept an eye over her. It made her happy to have them back to normal. Well as normal as they were before. Cadence picked up her ticket. It was to Rarity's show, she had a VIP seat because Discord and Sombra were in it. All she had to do was gather what was needed and head out.





Rarity was behind the curtain. She was nervous at first, but that was expected. She had drawn a very large crowd not to mention a princess was here. Cadence, who Discord and Sombra both invited. She took a breath and went out onto the stage like she did every time to give a speech about her work. "Hello, creatures of Ponyville. I'd like to welcome you to my brand-new line. Now I must tell you that it was inspired by a rather interesting event. I was helping Discord and Sombra make hair bows for Princess Cadence." She said as she pointed a hoof to Cadence. Cadence just turned around, showing off her bows to all who were there. She wore them all the time.

"Now it didn't go all that great, there was a magical explosion in my store and I closed for the day. I stared at it thinking about how I was to clean it up. Then I realized I didn't have to, with a few adjustments I had the store where I needed it to be. They inspired my brand new Chaotic Darkness line. Sombra's line will be first and Discord's line will be second." She took a bow and left the stage. Many models move past her, modeling all the clothes of the kingly inspired part of Sombra's line. It went excellent and they cheered. Rarity felt more confident this time around as the goth section went out. Sombra followed behind them, right up to the curtain.

"Rarity I don't know about this," Sombra said as he looked out at the crowd.

"You look hoofsome Sombra, what is there to worry about?" Rarity asked as the sound of cheering filled the air.

"I just, I don't want to go out there alone," Sombra said as he backed away from the curtain. Normally Discord drew all the attention, even when he was reforming. Discord was used to a crowd, negative and positive. Sombra was more stoic, choosing to rule in isolation and reform next to Discord. The attention of large crowds wasn't something he was used to dealing with alone.

Rarity activated her magic and pulled him to her side. "You can go out with Discord. I've done that before. Save the best two for last, and they go out together." Her heart jumped as she remembered that this wasn't going to be a normal fashion show for her.

Discord approached both of them in mare form as the first part of his line went out. "Hello." He said wearing the best dress in his line.

Rarity started to have some doubts, this seemed like a good idea, and she could hear the cheers from the crowd, but this was so out of character for her. Could she really do this? She started to breathe quickly, her chest tightened. "I can't do this! I just can't? What if they hate it? What if they hate me?"

"You can blame me," Discord said as he covered her eyes enough, so she didn't see the second part of his line go out. "Society hates me anyway Rarity, call it a prank, call it whatever you like. Plus it already went out."

Rarity's heart tightened, and she shut her eyes, this was it. Her life was over, she could already hear the crowd gathering pitchforks which sounded a lot like cheering. Until she realized it was cheering, they liked it. They liked it! Rarity took a breath in and wondered why she ever doubted Discord, he was right. She loved the line, and she knew if she had backed out she would have regretted it. She smiled at Discord, "let's go out together." The three of them went out together and the roaring of the crowd rang in Rarity's ears. She waved to the crowd as she sat next to her two best pieces dawned by some of her best friends. Reporters clamored around her until just one dominated the crowd of them.

"Rarity, Rarity, is it true Sombra and Discord inspired this line?"

"Why yes of course, why would you think otherwise?" Rarity asked as Discord's words rang through her head 'society hates me anyway.' She had been too stressed out to really soak in those words. She glared down the reporter, practically daring him to say what was on his mind. She watched with glee as the reporter chose not to speak. Rarity had good ins with society maybe she could help them repair their image at some point.
> Sides You Don't See
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Sombra sat at the kitchen table, levitating in his magic was a newspaper. He was currently searching for his favorite section, the comic section. He had just found it when he felt a shiver go up his spine. He ignored it, it happened from time to time but it wasn't anything to worry about.

So he separated the comic section from the rest of the paper. The discarded bit he folded neatly onto the table. He opened the page when suddenly he felt a breeze. He shivered, there must be a draft. He put down the paper and scoped the kitchen out. All the windows were closed. He shivered again, maybe it was the AC? He went over to the thermostat and looked at the number 70 degrees. Warmer then he was feeling, and he knew. He knew what this was. He went over to the stove and started boiling water for tea.

"Hello Sombra." Cadence chirped as she skipped into the kitchen. "How are you today?"

Sombra looked at Cadence, and smiled. "Freezing." He said honestly, he was glad Cadence cared about them. It was awkward at first. They didn't really know what to do with her affection until they realized they don't have to do anything. They just had accept it. That meant opening up to her. Sombra was willing to take that first step, he wasn't sure he could tell her anything. But he was willing to open up.

"Oh, is it cold in here? I feel fine." Cadence questions

"Not that kind of freezing," Sombra said as the water completed boiling, and he poured a large amount of water into the largest cup he could find. He dug into the cabinet for Discord's supply of special chamomile tea. He found the box and brought it out. He opened it up and dunk the bag into his cup.

"Oh?" Cadence questioned, her heart thumping. "From the ice?" She dared to ask, would she get an answer this time?

"Yeah," Sombra stated. "Do you think I can work from a hot tub today?" Sombra asked, it was time to actually rely on her. She said that he could, so he was going to give it a try.

"If you wish to, but maybe you shouldn't work today," Cadence offered. "What if you hurt yourself?"

"Oh I'll be fine. I just get very cold. It'll go away eventually." Sombra said, she was so sweet to him. It made his heart swell. He went over and gave her a hug. "Thank you though. If I can't handle it anymore I promise I'll get you."

Cadence smiled and hugged Sombra back. It had been a struggle getting into their hearts and staying there. It was not easy after they accepted her love as they were filled with anxiety. Discord still sometimes fought against her love but not as hard or as often as before. She wasn't sure it was her love that he was fighting, it might be her attention. She was glad to have wormed her way into their hearts enough that they let her see different sides of them. "Alright if you insist."

"Thanks." Sombra said as he slowly sipped his tea "have you seen Discord yet?" He said as he snuggled closer to Cadence. She was so warm.

"No I haven't," Cadence said as she patted Sombra's back."

"Ok, body heat is the best for this. Gets rid of it the fastest. Discord is very warm. Though you are too, he's a lot warmer. Sort of like one of those weighted blankets you love so much." Sombra stated as he brought Cadence closer.

Ivy was walking down the hallway at that moment, she just so happened to peek into the kitchen where Cadence covering Sombra as he drank tea. "Hi, Sombra!" Ivy yelled in excitement. She was used to seeing this she was one of the ponies that helped Cadence out. Cadence had told them that she loved them, and the results astonished Ivy, her brother, and Shining. They were like completely different creatures, being so stressed all the time. Ivy assumed it was a form of separation anxiety. Eventually, when things calmed down Spear, Ivy and Shining told Discord and Sombra they cared about them just as much. They freaked out a lot less that time and over the days Sombra got very affectionate. Discord still kept them at arm's length, but less so. Ivy wondered why he acted like that.

Sombra smiled at Ivy "Hi Ivy!" He said as he waved to her. "How are you?"

Ivy stepped into the kitchen "good, how are you doing today Sombra?"

"Just a little cold," Sombra said as he waved off his condition. It wasn't anything he wanted to make a fuss over. He'd hate to bother Ivy.

"Sombra is freezing. He said it was leftover from the ice he was trapped in." Cadence told Ivy. 

"Oh no!" Ivy said as she joined the hug. "This better?"

Sombra felt a lot warmer as Ivy joined the hug. He couldn't help but smile. "Yes, thank you but you don't have to-"

"I want to!" Ivy interrupted as she snuggled up. Sombra was pretty comfortable. His hide a little heavier than normal, bushier, fluffy, he was fluffy. 

Sombra just smiled. "You know since you are here and you are young. Can you tell me what rad means? The crusaders said I was and I quote "rad yo." I just nodded."

"You know I'm young too Sombra." Cadence stated, she wasn't that old and rad wasn't even a new slang term.

Ivy giggled. "Rad just means you are cool," Sombra asked her lots of these questions. His lingo and cultural knowledge were still pretty out of date. She didn't mind though.

"Out of all the time I spent with Doctor Ponhatten, I expected to be more up to date. Though I guess culture isn't his specialty." Sombra stated. Doctor Ponhatten worked in the scientific reference section down at the M.C.U. Also known as the Manifold Creature University. Twilight introduced him back when Sombra thought trains were large carnivorous snakes.

"It's ok, you'll get there and even if you don't. I think you are pretty rad too." Ivy replied.

"Rad," Sombra said and the two mares giggled. Somehow it was rather funny when he used slang. 

Just then the door to the kitchen opened quietly and Discord stumbled in. He looked terrible, his hide and mane a mess. "Sombra," He whispered "there you are. I have been looking for you everywhere."

"I have been in the kitchen," Sombra whispered back, he already knew what was up. The whispering gave it away, he just calmly sipped his tea.

Discord walked past them all, picked up the kettle, and grabbed a large teacup. He got them from Hans Coper, a local ceramic artist. His teacups tasted better than any Discord ever had. So he bought them straight from the source. They also tended to look nothing like teacups which Discord appreciated. Abstract he called it, or that's what it translated to he spoke only Clawmen. He quickly grabbed his chamomile tea and dunk it into his cup. "Well, what's happening, do you need me to come with you or not?"

Sombra didn't get the chance to answer because Cadence jumped in. "Discord are you ok?" She whispered, she had no idea what was happening.

"I just have a migraine." Discord glossed over his condition. He hated seeming weak, but he also cared for Cadence. Even trusting her, somewhat. This dynamic caused him to have some trouble opening up to her. He wanted to, he just, what if she stopped liking him? "Also I really need Sombra to check out...a thing for me."

"Oh I have medicine for that," Cadence said as she left the hug causing Sombra to cling to Ivy as chills ran down the spot she left open. Cadence opened a cabinet and took out some pills, she opened it up and gave one to Discord. "Take this."

Discord did, and then he waited about 30 seconds. "HEY!" He shouted, the pain in his head gone. "That's pretty great, what did you call that?"

Cadence stopped what she was doing before Sombra dragged her back into the hug with his magic. "Medicine, do...you not know what that is? Also what thing? I could take a look at it if you want me too." Cadence offered.

"Must have been invented while I was in stone." Discord stated, man his head felt good. Whatever he was on he loved it, "how do I get some of my own?" Discord said as he brushed Cadence off. He didn't want her to see him like this. What if she hated him, and he never saw Flurry again? He had many issues and secrets, Sombra only knew cuz he caught Discord red clawed.

"Oh yeah, it was. It's sort of like how they make wine. They distill the spells inside crystals, and they grow more and more effective. Then they sell them. They can be more powerful then spells cast by powerful creatures, like you. You have to go to a doctor though, to get a prescription." Cadence explained, "and you never did tell me what the thing was."

"Oh, I can't just bum it off of you?" Discord asked as he once more swiped her attention away. His eyes glanced to the corner and he gulped. It wasn't real, it wasn't there. Everything was fine.

"No, medicine is very special they can't just put it onto shelves like carrots. They give you the exact amount you need and no more." Cadence explained. Discord was starting to look a little stressed, she followed his gaze to the corner of the room. Nothing was there. "Are you doing ok Discord?"

"Well, thanks." Discord paused as he turned back to the corner and just stared. "Sombra can we go now?" He kept his eyes planted on Chrysalis. She sat there and smiled at him, doing nothing else. He knew she wouldn't be here, but he couldn't fully convince himself. What if she was there?

"Yes, after Cadence goes to the corner. I can't do it I'm having one of my episodes, you clearly are too." Sombra cut in, he had work to do and he knew what was happening. Discord was hallucinating again, Sombra couldn't be sure what he was seeing. That is until he saw Discord get even more stressed, it wasn't an object, or shape, or animal, it was most likely a creature of some kind. Those bothered him the most, he ignored and powered through the other ones. But the creatures always freaked him out. Though due to his condition he couldn't go over there and prove it wasn't real.

Cadence walked over to the corner, leaving the hug once more, and sat in it. She watched as Discord visibly relaxed. "Discord you can tell me anything. I promise I won't be mad." She smiled at him.

"I thought I saw something," Discord grumbled, sometimes he saw and heard things that weren't there. Not anything crazy this wasn't like those flashbacks he would get if it was triggered. No, this was different. Usually, he could tell, and he would blink them away or rapidly move his eyes. He also made sure to keep his stress levels down good for both the flashbacks and the hallucinations. He also made sure to be around ponies and other creatures which sometimes helped both, but it helped the hallucinations more. "Let's go Sombra."

Sombra levitated Ivy off and headed off to Discord's arms, shivering the whole way. Soon he was wrapped in Discord's arms, snug as a bug in a rug. No longer did he shiver.

"Wait, Discord will you be ok?" Cadence asked concerned for both of her children. "Would you like me to cook you some waffles? I can make them just the way you like them. Burnt and covered in frosting."

Discord's stomach rumbled and so did Sombra's. Breakfast did sound good, and they didn't have to make it. They also desired to hit the hot tub. Discord liked it because it felt nice, Sombra liked it because it was comforting, they debated on what they should do. "Yeah, just...happens sometimes."

"You know what why don't you two go and I'll bring it to you when it is done." Ivy offered, "it is part of my job and I'm not doing anything."

"We couldn't make you do that." Sombra protested but Ivy just shook her head.

"I don't mind Sombra, now go off with Discord and enjoy the hot tub." Ivy smiled at him. The two of them snapping away shortly after.

Cadence hummed as she pulled flour off of a nearby shelf, self-satisfied. She learned more about them, a different side of them. One most creatures would never see. Ivy of course felt similar, they would both respect boundaries, and tell no other creature, and of course, take it seriously.





Cadence walked up to the spa room, Ivy wanted to do this but Cadence needed to see Discord. She pulled on the doors to see that they were locked. She tugged on them, how strange. It was then she noticed a note, 'please knock' it read. Cadence halted for a moment, she could teleport in. See what they were up to, but what if that broke the trust they had? She put her ear up to the door.

"Well I don't understand why Cadence loves us, she barely knows us. How do you love some creature you barely know?"

That was Discord's voice, in a rage she teleported in and put the waffles safely done on the floor. "How dare you?!"

"CADENCE??" Sombra said in a vibrating voice, he was so surprised he didn't change back to his normal form electing to stay as-is.

"HOW DARE YOU?! Do you still doubt my love? What do I need to do to prove that I love you? Move the planets? I know that you like your waffles burned and covered in frosting, your favorite fruit is apples, you like chaos, you have strong beliefs on freedom. You think it's funny when Twilight tries to measure something and you suggest she does it in cubic meters. You love harassing Celestia, you love Flurry, you're a good caretaker, you love to prank, you are very smart, you like reading upside-down, your favorite color is neon pink, and your favorite animals are cows because their faces are, and I quote "so super stupid." You think gravity is overrated, you like tea, you play the piano and the harp, and you speak several languages. You're also an artist!" Cadence said as she stepped into the hot tub and into Discord's face.

"I never ask you questions because I don't wish to upset you, like this morning. I know your past still bothers you, I know that you care about Sombra and that you have known each other forever. I know that you are a good soul and I couldn't be happier that you joined my family. What I don't know is why. Why do you keep pushing me away? Is this about your time in stone? Is there something else I could be doing?" Cadence wings flared up as tears dripped down her face.

"Ok, ok," Sombra said as he stepped in and pushed her off of Discord. He wrapped her into his smoky hooves. "It's ok Cadence."

"It isn't ok!" She yelled as she snuggled into Sombra, he was warm. She looked up at him and her eyes widened.

"Are you ok Cadence?" Sombra asked as he rubbed her back. Then he realized, he was out in the open, in his normal form, in front of Cadence. Sombra was going to panic before he remembered it was Cadence, he didn't need to worry. He just hugged her closer. "Discord you're being unreasonable. Even if she hadn't shown up I was still planning to tell you that. You can't keep pushing her away. She cares about us, for real."

Cadence looked at Sombra. He was made out of smoke. Taller, bigger, and way more threatening. She would have panicked if she didn't realize this was Sombra. There was no need to fear him, she frowned. "No, I am upset," she said as she hugged him closer. She took a good look at Discord, he looked way more terrifying as well, but she wasn't scared. "Why?" She asked clinging to her child harder.

Discord wasn't sure what to say, he opened and closed his mouth several times. "I just" he finally said. "I feel like there may be something we do or say, and you'll suddenly stop liking us. I also feel...guilty and weak."

"Go on." She said as she laid against her child, Sombra was very comfortable like this. He should stroll around like that more often, it was like laying on a cloud.

"There is so much you don't know about us, how can you be so sure you'll never stop caring?" Discord asked. Discord held many, many secrets. How was he supposed to be sure Cadence would keep her position?

"Because Discord, we're sitting in our normal forms in front of her. She asked zero questions and batted zero eyes. You know why? Because she loves us. Discord I'm going to be very real with you. Cadence is the best thing to ever happen to us. This is the best situation we could possibly be in. We aren't surviving, we aren't evil, we aren't being paraded around like trophies. We're just a couple of creatures. When Cadence says she cares, she proves it. I mean the elements say we're friends, but we know we are just their pet project. What do you expect Cadence to do exactly? What could she possibly be doing that would get you to stop being such a....well you're being a prick."

Discord was silent, he had no idea what to say to that. Was he being unreasonable?

"Discord how do you feel? It's ok to tell me. I won't hurt you." Cadence said, though she wasn't sure what more she could do. She had done everything she could. Well, that wasn't true, she hadn't fixed things between them and the elements yet. But how was she to do that if she couldn't even make this work?

Discord paused, maybe Sombra was right. "I just have some hesitation about all this. I know you love us but I just can't help but wonder. Why?"

"Discord, I love you because your funny, interesting, and I love your attitude. You make my days happier." Cadence replied "you make them easier to live. You and Sombra made my universe shine brighter."

"And you...you won't magically stop liking us? For any reason?" Discord asked as he started to believe that maybe, just maybe she meant it. That she would stay by them, no matter what.

"No of course not. Do you think I'm lying when I say I love you?" Cadence asked.

"Well no not really." Discord said, she did have a point. The longer she sat there, talking to him. The more he believed her. The more his walls came down. He was being ridiculous. 

"Well, then there's your answer," Cadence said as she let go of Sombra and flew over to Discord. She hugged him close, burrowing herself in his fur. He was so soft, but in a different way. Sombra was right, he was like a weighted blanket.

"I was hallucinating in the kitchen it happens sometimes. Most of the time its shapes or objects or animals. Sometimes it's creatures. I can deal with the other stuff. Make it go away with some actions I found that work. But I kept seeing Chrysalis and it was freaking me out. So when I can't get it to go away, or rationalize it away. I get Sombra and I make him go check it out. They don't do much besides just sit or stand around, they don't harm in any way. They're just sort of there."

"Do you think I'll treat you differently?" Cadence asked, was this what was bothering him? Or was there more?

"I think you'll think I'm crazy and you won't let me watch Flurry, or be around her. I'm afraid you'll learn something that will convince you I'm not worth it and kick me out. I just don't want to seem weak to you, like I'm incompetent." Discord said as he looked away from Cadence, it wasn't his fault, but he would be blamed for it.

"You would never put Flurry in harm's way, just like Shining and I. Discord if you say it's ok I believe you, you can depend on me. I do not think you're incompetent. Why don't you two tell me everything you can? We can make a night out of it. I'll tell you all about myself too. To make it fair, even the embarrassing stuff." She levitated the waffles over and put them in front of Discord.

Discord held the plate in his claws. The frosting the shape of a heart. He looked at Cadence, and let it go. There was no need to fight her interest, it came from a good place.

"Why don't we show her how we used to live, Cloudclaw does those survival style campouts. We could show Cadence the ropes. We can show, and tell Cadence about our past bit by bit. If it bothers you that much and...Cadence...you're the best mother ever and I care about you deeply." Sombra said, in all honesty, this had concerned him to but now it didn't have to. He smiled at her never would he have guessed that his future would look this bright.

"I love you too," she said as she hugged Sombra harder. "Now eat your waffles, you'll get hungry. I can't have that." She said as she cut his waffle into pieces for him. She picked a piece up with the fork and put it close to his muzzle. "Say aaaaaaa."

Sombra blushed as he opened his mouth. His waffles were covered in raspberries and not burnt. "It's good." He said as he let Cadence feed him. He had never done this before. It was a little embarrassing, but he enjoyed Cadence's attention.
> Elements
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Six friends were on the train to the crystal castle. Even though it was one of the hottest days of the year, each were super excited to see their friends.

Rarity, now an even wealthier mare, was able to open two more stores. She was finally able to upgrade her house. Getting a workspace instead of using her bedroom. Not only that but Rarity had gotten a little more adventurous in her clothing lines. She started a whole new avant-garde line call Daroas inspired by her own line. Chaotic darkness. It was unlike anything any creature had seen, and she had so many orders she had to hire workers. 

She was so glad Discord had pushed her out of her box. She was thankfull, even more so as Precious barked at her. Precious rubbed against her and she cooed. The best thing about him was he needed no food, no bathroom care, and he was already trained. She loved Opalescent, but she could be a stuck up princess. And of course, her store was the envy of all, having kept the furniture Sombra accidentally made. She wondered if he could maybe open his own craft store, there certainly was a market for it. She should talk to him about that.

Fluttershy sat next to Rarity. Over the year she had tried many things, flying a foot higher than normal, racing rainbow even though the race was slowed down, she tried new foods, read books she never would have before. But the best thing was her new nickname Flutterbold. See Fluttershy had a hard time standing up to creatures. 

Then she got that whistle from Discord, she blew the whistle and Discord had protected her. After that anytime some-creature harassed her for saying no, or demanded that she help even if she didn't want to. She blew the whistle. Discord or Sombra would show up and protect her. It made saying no a lot easier as she could just call her friends for back up. It filled her with confidence to know they had her back no questions asked. The only downside is they became known as Fluttershy's lackeys which she didn't appreciate, they were her friends, not servants.

Next to Fluttershy sat Pinkie Pie. She couldn't wait to cook with Discord. With his magic, she could bake food she normally couldn't like glass cake, paper cupcakes, and wooden pies. She would also get to see Sombra, see both he and Discord treated her well. They never brushed her away, or ignored her when she said something strange. Something she promised to address with her friends, as soon as Twilight was free. She just loved hanging out with them.

On the other side, facing her friends, was Applejack, her family owed Discord and Sombra a lot. They helped them every cider season, and every zap apple jam season. With their powers, things got done fast. More breaks could be taken, more could be sold. 

Especially since Twilight had been booked for the past year, sometimes they helped more than the rest of her friends did, and Granny loved them. She couldn't wait for them to come to the family reunion, the rest of her friends had gone. Discord and Sombra had never taken part, but they should since they were practically family now.

Rainbow dash chilled next to her pet cloud. Discord made a rogue cloud to mess with her and to cheer up Fluttershy. She had been mad until she got it to work for her, then she insisted on keeping it. Now she had a pet cloud, which was part of the army of Tank. Her number 1. Having a cloud was cooler than she first thought as she could make rain, snow, and lighting whenever she wanted. She had to admit it was a pretty funny prank. She wondered if Sombra would make a good prankster, or if he even tried.

Spike could not wait to propose the new campaign he made for Discord. Now that they made a new one. Sombra could join in, he did show some interest. Shining said so, he was excited to let another player join in.

Twilight grimaced in her chair, she was glad her friends came with her. She was mad that Discord and Sombra had a hold on Cadence and Celestia. She was glad they didn't get to her friends. All she needed now was proof, proof they were evil. Then her friends, and she could convince every creature and put them back into ice and stone. Whose idea was it to reform them again? Well, whoever's idea it was they were a dumbass. Soon, she would once again save the world, just like always.

Six friends left the train, the station completely abandoned. Not a single creature was around.

"Uh, Twilight they know were coming right?" Rainbow Dash asked, she was under the impression they were for some sort of friendship thing. She hoped it was just casual, Twilight wasn't looking so hot.

"No its a surprise visit," Twilight said, it had to be a surprise. That's how they would catch them in the act, the act of being evil.

"Oh darling, are you sure about this?" Rarity asked, it seemed rather rude to just show up. This was also the first time they had all seen Twilight in a really long time. Plus she seemed, different.

"Yes," were her friends doubting her, were they under their spell too? No that would be ridiculous. Never.

Twilight friends followed her, it was incredibly vacant until it was incredibly not. All the roads and sidewalks were turned into water. You had to swim around to get around. Right in the center was a game of volleyball. On one side was Sombra, Discord, Ivy, Spear, Cloudclaw, and Silver. The other side was Moon, Sandy, Shining, Glisten Rain who is the owner of a muffin shop, Zap Sparks who is a retired wonder bolt, and Clarity Fly who is a doctor.

Cadence sat on the sidelines in a plastic tube. Flurry sat on her head covered in floaties, just in case. Next to her sat Fire Rush, who elected to judge due to her pregnancy. The mothers had become closer since Discord and Sombra were good friends with Silver. Cadence was glad for that, Fire was a good mare and she liked spending time with her. Most of their conversations were about motherhood, something she never got to discuss. All the other mothers were in it because she, and her daughter, were alicorns. Fire was in it for the advise and company. "Alright, it's 3 to 3 whoever gets this last point wins," Cadence announced. "Ready, set, go!" She yelled.

Sombra served as they had just gotten a point but the ball didn't get far as it was hovering in purple magic.

"Oh hello, Twilight!" Sombra waved, he had so many things to tell her. He had seen her maybe once since staying with Cadence. But that was understandable she was busy. He could not wait to tell her about all the friendship and forgiveness he had achieved. She was going to be thrilled.

"What is happening?" Twilight asked as she looked around at all the chaos. This was going in the proof pile for sure.

"Oh it's too hot to get anything done, so we're taking a day off." Cadence clarified it had to be about 100 or 102.

"I did it, isn't it great? Get in, waters the perfect temp." Discord said proudly, more chaos, more fun.

Twilight watched in horror as her friends got into the water. She wanted to protest but if Discord and Sombra had their limbs on Cadence and Shining. Then it was possible the kingdom was also under their spell. Which meant Twilight had to fight a lot of creatures, but not if she could isolate them. "Actually I was hoping to speak to you, Shining, Discord, and Sombra. Alone."

"Oh, I guess we could do that," Sombra said as he turned into smoke and bolted to pinkie. "Can you take my place on the court?"

"Yes!" Pinkie bounced, that looked like a lot of fun and Cadence was right. It was too hot to do anything.

Sombra grabbed her and turned back into smoke, taking Pinkie with him. He placed her in his spot. "Kick some serious flank, show no mercy Pinks." He said as he turned into shadows and bolted out of the pool. He shook off and grabbed his shirt out of a nearby Bush. Putting it on lazily. He was going to get back in of course. Discord chose Fluttershy for his spot. Cadence chose Fire to take her place, and a guard took Shining's. They all followed Twilight off. Out of view of the kingdom. Cadence took Flurry off of her head and onto the ground, so she could stretch her hooves. She watched her daughter waddle around, exploring the ground.

Twilight took a deep breath, the moment of truth. As soon as she freed them, they would free the empire. Her friends would make an excellent distraction for the kingdom. "You have been lying to me! You have been lying to me. I know so! You're lying about Flurry Heart. She is super powerful and you lied!"

"I just didn't want you to worry about it Twilight, you have a lot on your plate and-" Cadence stated as her heart thumped in her ears. Her fears, coming true. Before she could explain herself further, she was interrupted.

"And you been brainwashed by Discord and Sombra. That's why you lied. In fact, this whole place is under their spell." Twilight said with confidence.

"Do...do you think we would do that?" Discord asked. No wonder they treated them like trophies, treated them like idiots. Like they wouldn't touch them, even with a 5 ft pole. It's because they never moved past them being evil, in their eyes they were still evil.

"After messing up so many times I wouldn't call it impossible. Plus Gold told me all about your evil deeds, like you could hide them from me. I'm lucky I found him, befriend him." Twilight stated, it wasn't like that was a lie. They fudged up their reformation, the elements did just fine learning friendship. So should they. This was the last time, no more chances.

"Gold? He's a scumbag, and a manipulator. We are good I swear." Sombra said, more desperately then he realized, he didn't want to go back to his ice prison.

"That's what you want me to believe but you're you! No, your useless I wished you never reformed! It's your fault that my family is in trouble. It's your fault they lied to me!" Twilight said as she pointed a hoof at them accusingly.

"Twilight! Do not talk to them like that! They are good creatures who helped Shining and I-"

"Hide the fact your baby is powerful just so you could avoid the guilt of having to put a dampener on her? Was it for her or was it really for you?" Twilight snapped at Cadence, accusing her of lying without Discord and Sombra's influence. She felt her head throb and her head filled with thoughts. Her world got blurry. It was their fault. All their fault.

Cadence gasped "of course it was her. Everything I do, I do for the love of my children, my kingdom, and my husband."

"Well, guess you did a shit job since you put them in danger, and they are not your children." Twilight said, danger, every creature was in danger. She was in danger. Everything was dangerous.

"Hey! You cant talk to her like that!" Discord yelled, she could shit on him and Sombra all she wanted, but she was pushing it now. Cadence was just doing what she thought best.

"Yeah," a group of voices could be heard agreeing with Discord. It was the crystal ponies and the elements. The elements were suprised, concerned, worried. They elected to stand by, prepared to jump in and help when they were needed.

"You aren't mad? But you all could be in great danger!" Twilight protested, was that her friends? Why did they look so...concerned? Oh no, the spell had effected them, that explained their sudden admiration for Discord and Sombra. How could she not see it? She let the situation explode out of control.

"If it was a real problem she would have gotten help!" Spear Roaster exclaimed, he had ultimate faith in Cadence, who always did what was best for her empire. "Which she did!"

"From Discord and Sombra," Ivy added, she did get help, help that wouldn't harm her baby in the long run. If she was a mother, she would do the same for her child. Cadence was a good mother, a good ruler, she was good.

"Yeah!" It looked like the empire agreed with both Spear and Ivy as they backed them. This was their protected, their guide, the mare who helped without asking for much in return. Who thought of her subjects first, her family first, love first. Sometimes at her own demise, she always put others before herself. It was their turn to do that for her. Protect her, as she did them.

"And if we couldn't handle it then she would have done the dampener. Right Cadence?" Sombra asked, as he turned to Cadence but to every creature's surprise she was crying.

Cadence was sobbing, but she managed to croak out "I'm terrible, what was I thinking? Twilight I just didn't want to overstress you, I swear. I was going to tell you as soon as you felt better. I swear. I was just trying to do what is best for you."

"I decide what's best for me. But that's ok because I'm still sure that they made you do it. So after I put a damping spell on Flurry for her safety, as well as the empires. I will be putting them back into ice and stone so the spell they cast stops. Clearly they have learned nothing." Twilight said as she shot off a spell, lost in her own demented world. Every creature was evil, except her. The icon of good, of justice. There was just no way she could ever be anything but that, it was everyone else that was wrong.

Sombra didn't think about it, he just did it, he dove for Flurry. He picked her up in his hooves. He covered her body and felt the blast of magic, it hurt. He ground his teeth together and his eyes teared up. It hurt more than anything he had ever felt, but he kept himself together, forcing his scream down.

Discord took hold of Twilight's face, his eyes becoming spirals. He didn't care if he didn't have permission, this was an emergency. Plus he was protected by Cadence, he was sure she would forgive him for this. "You'll listen to the sound of my voice and only my voice."

"I will."

"Sleep" Discord told Twilight, and she slumped to the ground, "we can yell at me about that later! We....need a plan."

"Soma goo?" Flurry was obsessing over a flower when Twilight cast the spell. Now her uncle was snuggling her. Sombra was so nice to her that's why she loved him. She wondered why Discord was trying to get auntie Twilight to sleep in the middle of the day. He was so silly sometimes. That's why she loved him. "Goo, goo?"

"Yes Flurry, I am fine," Sombra said as he shifted between smoke and pony. "Just wanted a hug. How about we play a game? I want you to close your eyes and open when your father tells you to. It's like a long game of peekaboo."

"Yes," Flurry said, she couldn't say ok yet, it was the k that she struggled with, so she said yes instead. She closed her eyes tightly. She felt Sombra pick her up and give her to her father. She tried to listen to what was going on, but she couldn't

Shining had a shield over Flurry. He frowned freely, making sure Flurry kept her eyes closed. This was bad, so very bad. Sombra was struggling to stay in one piece and Shining couldn't be more worried. And Twilight, he had no idea it had gotten that bad, she always had issues but this was just, another level. What was he going to do?

"Take the people and hide them. Just in case Twilight wakes up. I don't want her hurting any other creature. Then come back we might need you." Cadence said

"Ok." Shining said as he left with his Daughter and led the people to a pre-planned safety point. It wasn't too far away but still a good hiding spot. They didn't want to go too far just in case.

D--ord I a- -- p--pa--" Sombra's voice glitched in and out. The world was incredibly hazy.

"Ok, ok, ok, ok. Sombra just hold on, give me a second to think." Discord looked down at him, he had to assess the spell, maybe he could take it off. He stopped casting every spell he could and put all his power into holding Sombra together. "Uh, uh, uh." Sombra was low on magic right now, he knew that. He could feel it fading. So it was time to start there, it was better than blindly taking off the spell. Which had a great hold on Sombra. "Ok. Cadence go get a popsicle." Discord said as he tried to figure out a solution. His eyes trailed over Sombra, reading into the spell Twilight had cast, it was supposed to be a dampener, just a dampener, but like Twilight's mind, it had warped. It was sucking the magic right out of him.

Cadence and Shining came back at the same time. Shining left Flurry with Ivy and Spear, the Kingdom could watch her. They were more than willing to. Cadence handed Discord the popsicle, taking a moment to run her hoof down his neck. She sported a reassuring smiled and hoped that would make Discord feel better.

Discord calmed a little bit, "Thanks" he said as Cadence gave the popsicle to Sombra which he gobbled down in an instant. Discord breathed once more, he had to keep it together.

"Girls, can you tell me anything about Twilight, what she feeling, thinking, acting like?" Cadence asked, she for one wanted to know what happened. She felt sad, scared, but she would have to focus on the situation now. Twilight needed help.

"Well, I'm not sure we have barely seen her over the past year." Rarity said as she looked over to a sleeping Twilight, her pour friend. Some element she was, she hadn't even noticed, she just assumed Twilight was ok.

"Wait she hasn't been socializing with you?" Cadence asked in surprise.

"Uh no," Fluttershy said as she hid behind her mane. She hoped with all her heart that every creature would be ok.

Suddenly Discord piped up "Has Twilight been trembling or shaking? Sleeping? Eating? Seeing things that aren't there? Losing time? Talking to herself?' Is she constantly afraid of....never mind I know what's wrong." Discord stated, it sounded like something he had been through, he expected as much. Twilight had been through a lot, her mind was breaking down. She had break downs before, but never ones this big. Discord assumed one day it would happen, it looked like today was that day.

"---i h--- j" Sombra tried to say something, but he passed out.

"He's getting worse ...Cadence it's time to put your bits where your mouth is." He stated, "because he's gonna need to drink the blood of another creature. You haven't been part of a dark magic ritual? Or cast any dark magic spells, heavy ones. Light ones are fine."

Cadence shook her head no, she hadn't done that. She didn't even flinch as she stuck out her hoof to Discord, whatever he needed, she would give.

"I won't lie it's going to hurt." Discord said as he opened Sombra's mouth. He watched as Cadence stuck her hoof into his mouth like she was going to shake a limb. She was unbelievably calm, Discord shut Sombra's mouth and saw Cadence flinch. "Sorry." Seconds passed before Discord opened Sombra's mouth.

Cadence held her hoof, it had stung but it didn't hurt as much as she thought it would. Though she felt a tad faint, probably from blood loss.

Sombra gasped for air, breathing in and out deeply, he looked up at Discord with confusion. "Why does my mouth taste good?"

Discord chuckled as he let go of Sombra. "That was the exact wrong thing to say."

Sombra wiped his muzzle with his hoof it was oddly wet, he stared at his hoof. Was that blood? He looked over to Cadence. "Hey, what's wrong with...." Sombra trailed off as he stared at Cadence's hoof. It was bitten into. He tasted his mouth and his eyes went wide. In all the element's existence, they had never seen Sombra sport such a look of horror. "I'm going to be sick!" He said as he covered his mouth with his hooves.

"Don't! You might die, that spell is killing you magically. This isn't normal body death. You will die and stay dead. No creature can do anything, none!" Discord explained quickly, "so don't do that."

"Well shit! Reverse the spell!" Sombra said, his stomach turned. He felt so gross, so very gross. He needed a very long, very hot shower.

"I tried, but that spell is really on there. Twilight is going to have to be the one to take it off. I could end up making it worse, it's not worth the risk." Discord explained. The air was deathly silent as Discord and Sombra just sat there. The next steps unknown, who knew what Twilight would do once she woke. She was clearly unstable and so was her magic.

"Did....is...Flurry alright?" Sombra asked, breaking the silence. It had been on his mind but he was scared. Scared to ask, actually scared. He wasn't scared that often.

"Yes, she's fine, thanks to you. Thank you, Sombra." Cadence hugged Sombra tightly "you probably saved her life, and Twilight's."

It was silent once more until Sombra could no longer take it. "Is that how you all feel? Like how Twilight feels." Sombra looked at the elements in the eyes. "Is that what you think?" Rage could be heard in his voice and if he had enough power, purple would pour from his eyes.

"No! Of course not! You, Shining, Discord, Cadence, and Flurry are like a tiny family now, who would have thought it was possible-" Rarity stated she was going to go into how much they evolved before she could she was cut off.

"Oh so I guess you all do, you feel the same as Twilight! No no, I get it once evil always evil. Look at King Sombra attempting to be good isn't that hilarious. Hey, I got an idea why don't we befriend him but not really be friends. We'll reform him so others won't become evil, use him as an example. Parade him and his friend around like trophies. That'll be real fun." Sombra snapped back bitterly.

"We don't think-" Rainbow started to protest, of course, they were friends.

"Oh come on, you never invite us to anything, if something happens we are the last to know, and you never call us for anything unless you need our powers. We're just here to prove a point, don't be evil just be good." Discord added, "you dropped Trixie's past, you dropped Starlight's, you dropped Tempest's. So why? Why can't you drop ours? Is it because they're like you? We're just too different for you, we don't fit into your perfect society so you dust us under the bed."

The elements just looked at Discord and Sombra, they had no idea they felt this way. Applejack stepped up first "I won't lie, when we first met I had mah doubts. I thought Fluttershy was downright crazy. I thought Pinkie and her were crazy after that. Reforming the likes of ya. Twas me that was mighty wrong. I didn't even give ya a fair chance. I didn't join the bandwagon until later and I regret it. Ya more than my friends ya my family. Now I ask ya ta give me a second chance."

"Applejacks right, I'm sorry, for the element of loyalty I didn't have your backs. I should have kicked more butts for you." Rainbow Dash said as she joined her friend's side.

"I'm sorry too I gave you both a hard time at first and while yes. We did brag about our accomplishment of reforming you. It eventually became your accomplishment too. We aren't bringing it up to shame you, or prove a point. Not anymore, we bring it up because we're proud of you. You've gone through so much, we do the same for the ponies you mentioned. I for one don't care if you fit in, you're my friends. Screw what others think. You were right Discord, I hardly do what I want because I'm afraid to. What I want is to be your friend, both of you. So I'm asking too, for another chance." Rarity said as she too joined her friends.

"I'm sorry, Sombra. I just assumed you knew how I felt. You could always read me so well that I just assumed you knew what I was thinking. I'm sorry I should have said something you're my friend not a project. I'm sorry if I acted like you weren't. Discord, I never meant it to feel like I used you just for your powers, I always thought we were kindred souls. Chaos, together. So I hope you will give me another chance too." Pinkie pie walked up to her friends and sat beside them.

Fluttershy came out from her mane, "I would NEVER send you back to stone and ice. You're my friends and I love you!" She ran to Discord and Sombra and wrapped her hooves around them. "I'm so sorry." The elements followed her actions as they each joined the hug, tears running down their muzzles. Cadence and Shining joined too.

"You really mean that?" Discord asked surrounded by his best friends. With his tail swishing back and forth, he couldn't help but smile, friends with the elements. Something he more than glad to be. He wished he had said something sooner, brought his feelings up. He spent a lot of time assuming the worst when it had been the best. 

"Yes. Of course, we mean it." They said all at once as the hug increased in strength.

"Well then, I guess you could help. Sombra's gonna need more." Discord said with a scoff. 

"Nooooooooo." Sombra whined "I don't want to. Why it always gotta be me at death's door? You could take a turn you know."

Discord chuckled, "there, there, Sombra, I can put it in a juice pouch and you can pretend its strawberries. You don't even have to know who it's coming from."

"I guess that's slightly better," Sombra said, he didn't want to disappear, so he had to do this. He sighed, there went his streak as vegetarian, or as vegetarian as a practitioner of dark magic could get. 

"I kinda want to know what I taste like. Like on a scale of would have again to terrible, 1 to 10." Pinkie Pie said, getting more of the bounce she was known for back into her voice.

Sombra smiled at her, she was a crazy one. He was glad they were friends. He gently bit her hoof, making sure to not draw blood. "You're so yummy, Ima eat you alive. Ahhhhhh."

"Oh no! Please I'll do anything!" Pinkie said dramatically as she became less and less gray, her hair bouncier. She knew she wasn't really in harm's way, but that didn't mean she wasn't going to play along.

"Free cupcakes for life," Sombra stated flatly as the very slight hope for some cupcakes flowed into him.

"I can't do that!" Pinkie pie would go broke if she made Sombra cupcakes free for forever.

"Eaten it is!" Sombra said as he gently nibbled her. He had noticed his actions were cheering her up. He wanted that, so he kept going. A happy Pinks was the best Pinks.

"Ahahahahahah. Stop that tickles, Sommmmmbraaa sttopppp ahahahahahhahaha." Pinkie said as she wiggled on the ground. More of her bounce came back, her hair becoming poofier, hide bright pink.

Sombra didn't stop until Pinkie was back to being, well, Pinkie. Only then did he give up "you've defeated me once more. How will I ever cope?"

"I'll make you free cupcakes anyway." Pinkie offered with a bounce, now free to bounce around now that Sombra had let go.

Sombra watched Pinkie bounce around excitedly, "thank you. All of you. For everything." He looked at Discord and gave him a strange expression. Which confused the girls. "I guess you could say..."

"Friendship is magic." Discord and Sombra had said together. The girls squealed around them. They said their phrase, and they couldn't be happier, but it was a bitter happy. They wished Twilight was here, to join in the love. There had to be something they could do to help her.





Twilight woke up in the middle of the crystal empire "I am Midnight Sparkle, and I am sick of you not obeying equestrian rules." She said as she approached a crooked building "is it that hard to follow simple codes?" She yelled as she fixed the building with her magic. Next, she strolled to sidewalks that were broken and uneven,. They clearly violated several codes. "Do you need me to baby you for every Celestia damn thing? Are you that stupid?" She said as she fixed the sidewalks with her magic, it wasn't that hard to do. Why did she have to do it? It didn't take a genius to fix sidewalks. So why did it have to be her? Couldn't it be somepony else?

Twilight stared down the buildings of the crystal empire. She noticed how the bricks on the houses seemed uneven. She used her magic to carve them into even pieces "I mean how hard can it be to get it right? I can get it perfect. I HAVE to make it perfect." Twilight looked around the empire once more, she noticed the illegally parked wagons, and she parked them into the right place. "Why is it just me, you get to have fun. I have to obey all the rules. Why can't I have fun? Why is it ok for you to disobey the rules? BUT I CAN'T!"

"You were right," Rarity said, "She doesn't realize its cardboard. I guess she did need to get this out of her system."

"Yeah, she might know. She's still Twilight Sparkle, Princess of friendship. I don't think she would willingly hurt any creature, accidentally definitely." Sombra stated as he watched her closely, just in case she went too far. He would stop her from doing anything to regrettable, with Discord's help of course.

"You put too much pressure on me!" Twilight said as she picked up the cardboard people and drew a circle on the ground. She then placed the cardboard creatures gently inside the circle. "This is the circle of I hate you. Stay where you are I organized based on how much you suck dong!"

Discord scoffed and ended up getting stares. "She said dong." That caused the rest of the crew to smile lightly she did say dong. In the end, every creature knew Discord was just trying to make the situation lighter.

Sombra snickered a bit before stopping in surprise, "Oh my she kicked that colt in the crotch. No cardboard babies for that guy."

"Yikes," Discord winced, it hurt to watch, it was pretty hard.

Eventually Twilight had settled down in the center of the cardboard empire and the situation became more somber as she cried herself to sleep. Then her 'evil' rampage was over.

"Now what?" Cadence asked.

"We wait for her to wake up." Discord said.





Twilight slowly opened her eyes. A heavy blanket covered her as she lay in a comfortable bed. Her head swam as her vision did. "What happened?" She grumbled her mind, scattered to the wind. She tried to find the pieces and put them back together. Flashes of the past few hours flooded into her, and she cried, "What have I done?"

"You did nothing. I replaced the entire empire with a cardboard replica 3 feet from the actual empire. You couldn't tell the difference. No creature got hurt. Even when your 'evil' your still Twilight Sparkle sorry I mean Midnight Sparkle." Discord said.

"Midnight?" Twilight asked, she was still gathering pieces, but she knew enough to know she really messed up. Her vision was still blurry the room an array of colors, it sounded like she was underwater as voices were soft and far.

"What you named yourself. For your 'evil' rampage, which might I say wasn't all that evil." Sombra stated calmly. He sipped on his juice box, which was juice, for sure juice. He will tell you that's what it was, but it wasn't.

"Oh," Twilight stated as she yawned. She felt so tired, so very tired.

"Twilight when you feel ready, I"m going to need you to undo the magic spell you cast," Sombra said as he drank his juice that was most definitely juice. Though he'd really like to stop drinking that juice, strawberry wasn't his favorite flavor.

"Oh, no, Flurry!" Twilight sat up in a panic and it felt like she was hit with an ice pick, straight through her head. She winced in pain.

"Twilight please, relax," Cadence spoke as she tucked her step-sister back into bed. Of course, she was upset with her, but she forgave her. In the end, all her children were alive and that's what mattered most.

"I covered for her, but it's having very nasty side effects. It'll kill me, like actually, if I don't keep drinking...juice." Sombra said as that look of horror spread across his face again. Juice, strawberry, strawberry juice. That's what he had.

"Oh. I'll....try." Twilight said as she watched Sombra approach her bedside. At least Flurry was ok, she wasn't sure what she'd do if she ended up hurting her own family.

"Are you sure you're up to this, I'm uncomfortable, death is more present, but as long as I have my juice I'll be ok. I don't want to rush you. You just woke up." Sombra said as he looked down at Twilight, she looked exhausted.

"Yes, I could have...even if it was a mistake. Even if I didn't mean it, I could have hurt her. You...helped me." Twilight said, what was she doing? Why was she doing it? So much made so little sense. Twilight breathed as she removed her spell, it was really on there. So it stung to get off, but she powered through it and freed Sombra. "Cadence, I have to apologize to Cadence, and my friends!" She sat up again.

"I'm here Twilight, your friends are waiting outside. Just sit and relax I'll tell them you are awake. But please rest, apologies can wait you need to recover first." Cadence got up and left, going outside to see the elements.

"Sooooo tell me something about Twilight Sparkle I don't know," Sombra stated as he laid down next to Twilight, Discord joined the pile as well, curling around her.

"But Flurry, my friends, Cadence and you both. I uh....I'm sorry. I'm sorry about it all I just. I don't know what happened, I just and I just. I didn't..."

"Shhh, I think you went through enough today. Why don't we just chat?" Sombra asked, "you need to rest Twilight we can worry about the details later. If it matters that much, we forgive you. You forgave us, well you gave us a second chance. It would be-HOOVE us to do so." Sombra said as he wiggled his eyebrows and waved his hoof around.

"I do forgive you, your my friends and I'm sorry I ever thought otherwise." She paused before she realized what Sombra had said. "Was....was that a pun?" Twilight snickered, "that's so lame." She was already feeling a little lighter than last time. This time she would listen to her loved ones, depend on them. Recover. "My first crush was on Sherlock Hooves the book character."

Discord scoffed, that was a very Twilight thing to do. "I was trying to learn how to fly without magic. I was flying when I saw a hot mare. So I staired cuz I'm a teenager and teenagers are stupid. I ran right into the side of a mountain, then I got punched in the muzzle for staring."

"And then I laughed at him really hard," Sombra added.

"Thank you, Sombra," Discord said sarcastically.

"No problem, you made it easy," Sombra said and that made Twilight giggle, which made him smile.

Twilight looked up at the roof and cried once more. "Can I be honest? I don't want to do this. I was just a nerdy foal. I just wanted knowledge and to research, then I got friends. Now I'm an alicorn with responsibilities and I'm going to rule. What if I'm a bad ruler and creatures don't like me? What if my friends and I drift apart? What if I'm the worst possible choice? I'm scared of that, and being attacked again. I feel like some creature is always watching. I just don't know, I don't want to rule by myself. It's just all so much pressure, what if I'm secretly terrible and Celestia made a mistake? What if....I'm a huge mistake?"

"Then what would you call us? We messed up big time and were given another chance. You messed up, but everything worked out. Every creature is ok." Sombra said, trying to be as reassuring as possible this whole thing was so surreal to him and Discord. They couldn't believe they were helping the element of magic, instead of the reverse.

"Twilight, it'll be ok, one day at a time. You can stay here and watch Flurry with us. It'll be fun. Take a couple of weeks off." Discord suggested, it looked like she needed a little more chaos, freedom, and fun in her life. There was a lot of that around here, it would be like a vacation.

Twilight looked at the roof and closed her eyes, thankful for her friends. She wondered what she would do without them as she drifted off to sleep once more.
> Epilogue
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Dear Princess Celestia,

I'm writing to you for what may be the last time as your student. I spent the last few months recovering with Discord, Sombra, Cadence, Shining, and Flurry. It was the best decision I ever made. I'm sorry, so, so, sorry that I couldn't handle it. I'm more sorry that I didn't think I could rely on you. I'm sorry I didn't call my friends. I was just so wrapped up in my own head that I couldn't see what was right and what was wrong. Clearly I was wrong.

I'm sorry I made you cover for me and rule instead of me but I needed this. For the first time in a long time. I'll see my friends, I have been writing but it isn't quite the same. I feel ready, I feel good. You and I have so many things to talk about. If you still want me to rule you must know I don't want to rule alone, I can't. I'm making Spike my right hand, I'll be carrying around the whistle Discord and Sombra gave to me. I'll be having the rest of my friends take part too, I'm not sure how, but we'll figure it out. I'm thinking of a friendship meeting every year.

They're good guys and I love them so much. Did you know they both think green is not a creative color? I didn't. Though now that I think about, that might of been a joke. I told them so many things and I learned just as much. I felt safer than I ever have but I'm coming back. Back to reality. I know I can't stay there forever but for the time I was allowed, thank you. I'm sorry for disappointing you, if I did. I just, I tried my best but my best wasn't enough. I understand if you wish to demote me in any way.

Turns out Discord and Sombra, along with the rest of my friends, took care of my school, and my castle. Did you know it's part museum part library? My two favorite things. I bet they knew that. Though the top floor is till my home, the map kept away from the public. Starlight is the new head mare. Trixie is the new counselor and I met this amazing mare named Ivy. She'll be teaching a new class Trauma and Coping 101. I think it'll be one of the best classes there. She's so forgiving. So loving. So kind. So headstrong, her heart points her in the right direction.

Celestia, you and Cadence were always right, I did need help. I promise to get it. There's a doctor nearby, a wolf. I'll be seeing him from now on.


 I love you,
I'm sorry,
Twilight Sparkle your friend and family 






I entered the town having just sent that letter to Celestia. There, on the train station sat my friends, they all looked at me with love and concern. "I'M SO SORRY ABOUT EVERYTHING. I WAS SO DUMB!" They came running to me and I to them. I cried. I cried harder than I ever have before. They surrounded me in one of the warmest hugs I ever felt. I love them, with them everything will be ok. I believe that too. I'm so sorry, I couldn't be more sorry. Thank you, for my second chance. I'm sorry I ever needed one but I'm glad, I'm so glad it's with you.

I love you.