Family bonding

It's been two days since the reunion for the royal family started, and most of those present were having a good time. Really, it was just Twilight and Cadence who weren't, and that was mostly due to Sombra and chrysalis.

Right now, the two alicorns mares were near the main door to the gala room, talking with one of Celestia's and Luna's uncles, Hephaestus, who was, actually, an Earth pony, with a dark, almost dirt, gray skin and black hair, and they asked him about why he was an earth pony.

"Well, you see," he said in a baritone voice, "the entire family are alicorns, if they were born into it, like Chrysalis, or turned into one upon marriage of one who was born into the family, like Sombra upon marrying Chrysalis. We can use our magic to decide what we look like. For example, I admire the earth ponies, and how hard they work, so I decided to change my appearance to that of one. I still have my horn and wings, yes, but my magic simply, for lack of a better term, shrunk them to the point where they are invisible to the naked eye."

"And what exactly did you do, anyway," Twilight asked.

"I was the alicorn of blacksmiths and the like," Hephaestus said. "I always liked making stuff, and that's how I was seen by earth ponies, who did most of the manual labor back before Celestia and Luna were born, a little over five thousand years ago."

"They're that old?" Cadence asked, to which she received a laugh.

"No, they're that young!" the stallion replied. "Most of us are ten thousand years old." Twilight and Cadence promptly let their jaws fall to the floor.

"You're kidding, right," Twilight said. "Pony civilization hasn't been around that long."

"In that, you'd be correct," Hephaestus said. "But I ask this: what came before the ponies? Surely you've found relics you know didn't come from ponies."

"Yeah," Cadence said.

"Well, those would be from that civilization, and keep in mind the legends that alicorns were the first ponies."

"Fair enough," Twilight said. "But I am a little curious as to something."

"And what might that be?" Hephaestus asked.

"Over the last two days, I keep hearing you and the others say you all have a surprise in store for Celestia, Luna, and the other two. What is it?"

"Oh, just something that should, with a little luck, help the four of them mend the rift in the family, no matter how well they hide it," he said. "I hope that the two of you won't try to stop it."

"Much as I hate Chrysalis and Sombra," Cadence said, "if it'll help Celestia and Luna, I'll try."

"Same here," Twilight said.

"Ha ha, excellent," Hephaestus said. "Should only be a little while longer until it happens."

"Actually, Festus," Discord said, using his uncle's nickname as he floated by as if he was laying on his back in a pool, "a little over half an hour."

"Then have you told the others?"

"I'm the god of chaos, not a moron," Discord said. "Yes, they are aware of it, while Celestia, Luna, and our parents are not."

"What are you talking about, Discord?" Twilight asked, her arms crossed.

"You'll see, Twily." With that cryptic statement, Discord went to talk with Apollo and Artemis.

"Gah, I hate it when I get a cryptic answer," Twilight grumbled.

"Don't we all," Hephaestus said.

Anyway, thirty minutes later, the family was close to the doors, with quite a few conversations going on, most having to do with the surprise for, with Twilight and Cadence, to their credit, were making sure the four the surprise was for didn't pay attention to the conversations.

"So, how do you two like the rest of our family?" Luna asked.

"They're. . . interesting," Cadence said. "I didn't think you two had any family that were in Equestria."

"Yes, well, most do keep a low profile," Celestia said.

"And most just like being lazy," Luna said.

"That is something we can agree on," Sombra said, taking a sip of his drink.

"So, is everypony here?" Cadence asked.

"Yes," the four said at once, with Discord, a mischievous grin on his face and three talons pointed up.

He lowered them, one a second, before a voice said, "Oh, am I forgotten already?" from the other side of the door. Sombra, Chrysalis, Celestia, and Luna tensed up, while Discord snickered.

"I thought you said the seals were still strong, father," Luna said.

"They were," Sombra said as the doors opened, and, in walked a gray stallion, an earth pony, to be precise, with blue hair and tail, a devilishly smile that just couldn't be anything but charming the way the stallion did it, wearing a black shirt and shorts. On the shirt was a skull and crossbones.

"Miss me?" the stallion said.

"Hades," Celestia said, glaring. "What are you doing here? You were banished to Tartarus."

"I had some help," Hades said, chuckling as the others formed a semi-circle around him. "And, honestly, I wanted to do a little something in return," he said, snapping hi fingers, which caused a portal to open beneath the four in front of him. "Enjoy your vacation," he said as they fell, and the portal closed, leaving a shocked Cadence and Twilight.

Twilight was the first to break out of her shock, screaming in anger, "WHAT DID YOU DO TO THEM!?"

"Simply sent them to Tartarus," Hades said. "How long until they should return, Discord?"

"Decade," Discord said. "Hopefully the family issues will be fixed by then."

"Wait," Cadence said, glaring at the rest of the family. "This was your plan? To banish the two rulers of the country?"

"Yep," Apollo said, high-fiving Artemis. "Much as we don't like Uncle Hades, all of us agreed that the four of them needed to make up."

"You see," Discord said, "It was father and I who were in charge, when I wasn't stoned, of making sure what kept Hades in Tartarus. One day, when it was my turn, a letter showed up, and I read it. It was Hades telling me he had seen the error of his ways, which none of us believe, by the way," he said as he and the others glared at Hades, who, to his credit, didn't shrink, "and it had his plan to get the four of them back to actual family status relationship, which involved sending them through Tartarus that would lead to them going through challenges hat only the four of them together can complete. So, I distributed it to the others, who grudgingly agreed, and here we are."

"Discord, I'll explain it to them later," Hades said. "For now, let's get to having fun."