Chaos and the King

Chapters

Miracle To Me
Because You Love Me
Here In Your Arms
Secret Love
Battle Symphony
Far Away
Set Your Heart On Me
By Your Side
Almost Home
Prologue

Miracle To Me

Present Day...

At the present moment, he was stood in his private bedrooms while his royal aides, Notepage and Page Assist fussed around him. He'd ditched his illusion form for the most part, now fully comfortable in his crystal Umbrum form. As he fidgeted, his aides were adjusting his armor and making sure they were polished to a high shine to meet his guests.

“Ready, sire.” They said in unison.

Sombra set the crown atop his head, studied his reflection and nodded, satisfied. His aides fell back into step behind the King as he walked down to the main lobby.

"Sombra!" Fluttershy's gentle voice met his ears as the doors opened and the shy pegasus trotted in. Sombra smiled and they shared a friendly hug before speaking.

"How was your journey?" Sombra asked. He'd had a carriage sent for her and Discord, so they could travel in comfort and style.

"Oh it was just lovely!" She beamed "the city looks so pretty, I love it!"

"I'm glad to hear that, its still growing by the day, so many ponies visiting and moving here. It's amazing! Even this far on, the city still grows, new buildings, new businesses," he trailed off, chuckling "Sorry, I still act like a child in a toy shop when I see my home the way I do!"

"I’m just glad you’re happy," Fluttershy assured him "that’s what makes your ponies happy too!"

This made Sombra smile and he thanked her sincerely. His home was his world and all the ponies he'd been given the opportunity to rule over were his family. The family he always thought he'd been denied as a young colt.

Then he noticed Fluttershy was on her own, hadn’t she said-?

"Isn't Discord with you?" Sombra looked about for the Draconequus, puzzled by his absence.

"Oh, he said he wanted to go see the statue of you," Fluttershy looked perplexed "he said you’d know what that meant."

Sombra snorted, which made Fluttershy look puzzled.

"He stuck a moustache on it last time," the monarch explained "the guard chased him all the way here!"

"Oh Discord! I should've stopped him!" Fluttershy panicked, eyes wide. Sombra gently dismissed her fretting, saying he found it amusing and was wondering what Discord had done this time. Maybe another moustache, to continue the tradition?

"W-well, if you’re okay with it.." Fluttershy accepted, calming her heart down.

Right on cue, Sombra heard the trickster's voice just seconds before his body followed after it as the blur that was his best friend came charging in "I win!"

Discord spotted Sombra, grinned and scooped him up in a big bear hug. A traditional way of greeting his friend, this involved swinging him around in a circle before setting him down. A dazed, slightly cross-eyed Sombra dismissed the guards and insisted they leave the perceived "vandalism" as it was. Although he was so dizzy he addressed this to a pot plant, they just shrugged and accepted it.

"Moustache?" Sombra asked as his vision straightened out and he turned to face Discord.

"Moustache." Discord nodded sagely and Sombra laughed happily.

Fluttershy giggled, seeing how well the two got along made her really smile. Sombra was a good friend for Discord, and the Draconequus seemed less restless now he had someone to discuss chaos magic with!

"It's so good to see you Discord." Sombra said happily. He looked forward to his visits, some of which came out of the blue and often seemed to be timed around when Sombra felt like the stress was driving him mad. He mused over the idea that Discord knew him better than he may well know himself at times.

It was comforting to know that here was someone who could see the faults in his actions and rope him into countless silly pranks within the castles walls.

"You look pale." Discord was studying his Alicorn friends face, noting he seemed a bit distant.

"What-?" Sombra blinked, seeing both of his guests peering at him now.

"Are you OK?" Fluttershy asked.

Realising what they were asking about, Sombra smiled.

"I'm fine, late nights is all!" the King laughed lightly.

"Doing what. hmmm~?" Discord waggled his eyebrows perversely, making Sombra give him a death glare and causing poor Fluttershy to blush profusely.

"Don’t be idiotic!" Sombra chided.

"Aww...but I’m the best at it!" Discord whined, pouting childishly. His oddball behaviour had always endeared him to Sombra and he could get away with just about everything short of blowing the world up, and you'd better believe he knew it! Most of the staff had accepted this and endured the many pranks with good humour.

"Oh my.." Fluttershy shook her head as her giggles calmed down.

"How about something to eat?" Sombra changed tack "I had the kitchen prepare some desserts with the crystal berries shipment that came yesterday!"

"Race you!" Discord was gone so fast he left behind a semi transparent silhouette holding a sign saying "see you later!"

Sombra face-hoofed and Fluttershy rolled her eyes good naturedly. Discord was….Discord, he was realities blind spot! Sharing knowing smiles, they trotted off to catch up with him.

After a massive lunch, big enough to satisfy even Discord's appetite, the King and Draconequus accompanied Fluttershy to the shelter to see the animals.

The shelter workers greeted the King with obvious delight, saying it was honour for them to have him visit! And Discord too~

Sombra watched in curiosity as a dozen different birds landed on on his back, examining their reflections in his crystal body. He laughed as the birds shuffled up and down his back, chirping at each other and bickering the way birds did.

Discord watched the Infinitum trying not to fidget, hopping from hoof to hoof like a kid, his amused laughter ringing in the high ceilinged room. Fluttershy was up to her shoulders in a whole HERD of cute fluffy things that wanted cuddles!

--It's good to hear him laugh, even this long after what that brute of a Gargoyle did to him..-- the chaos lord mused as he watched Sombra and his bird entourage.

The shadows he'd seen in Sombra's eyes earlier had bothered him. Was something wrong? His friend hadn’t mentioned anything in their previous visits, he'd seemed a bit bogged down by his usual duties, but other than that he was the same pony Discord had become so fond of.

Well, not like THAT.

Right?

Part of Discord's mind tried to point out the secondary reason behind Discord's fondness for bear hugs as a way of greeting his friend. It had been pointing it out for awhile now.

"Look, a fluffy perch!"

He was distracted by Sombra ambling over to him and suggesting the birds try a different perch. Inside of three seconds Discord suddenly had a flock of birds taking up residence on the two different horns atop his head. He glowered at Sombra, who was still flushed from the tickle-torture of the birds.

"Wise ass." Discord grumbled and Sombra bit his lip as he tried not to laugh at the sight. But a mischievous spark flickered behind his eyes and Discord found it hard to stay mad at him. He'd probably taught this behaviour to Sombra, with all those pranks he'd brought him along on in the earlier days of Sombra's recovery.

"I learned from the best!" Sombra smiled brightly and Discord's mind again threatened to betray him. He stamped it down and instead did his usual routine of tweaking Sombra's ears, a habit from the start of their friendship. Goodness his ears were soft...

--Damnit.-- he thought.

He pushed those thoughts aside for the rest of their stay and eventually forgot about it...

The next time he visited, it was on his own as Flutters was busy with the girls.

This meant he got to have his best friend to himself all day, which pleased him immensely.

Pranking the guards over with and Sombra's sides aching from laughter, they headed to the joke shop.

"It has been awhile since I checked in, things have been so hectic!" Sombra said as they walked down to the shop. Discord grinned, rubbing his hands together eagerly. Then he noticed a strand of confetti stuck in Sombra's tail from one of the pranks and quickly whisked it up while the stallion was staring at the path ahead. Sombra's tail gave a little swish at being disturbed and a minute shiver raced up the pony’s back.

"Eeh!" Sombra squeaked, his gait offset a moment. Discord bit back a giggle, THAT was just adorable.

--Adorable, eh?-- that sneaky voice said in the back of his head and he told it to shut up.

Sombra gave him a look, but Discord just looked innocent. Which was a tell tale sign that he was the exact opposite.

Right as they walked into the shop, there was a whole class of kids being given a demonstration by the staff.

Discord nudged Sombra and winked, the kids hadn’t seen them yet, here was room for fun!

He vanished in a snap and when the staff pony whisked a bouquet of flowers out of his shirt sleeve, Discord popped out of it, pulling the goofiest face he could. The kids cheered and giggled when the staff pony yelped in surprise, dropping the flowers. Discord flew free and gave a bow to much delight from his audience. They knew who he was of course, his face was plastered all over the shop!

"Thank you, thank you!" Discord grinned "You kids are in the best place to learn how to throw a pie and run like hell!"

More giggling and clapping.

"But today’s extra special- you see, I bought a friend!"

Discord pretended to reach behind his back and Sombra suddenly found himself whisked from where he stood at the door and deposited beside Discord, who announced "ta-da!" while the bemused pony got his bearings.

The kids cooed in wonder, it was his majesty! They took in the fluffy wings, sharp red eyes and gleaming crown.

"Morning!" Sombra got his brain together and gave them a grin and a wave!

"Cool!" One of the kids whooped "wait until the rest of the school hears about this~"

"Hey, who wants to see a few pranks his royal goofiness has managed to get away with?" Discord asked the kids.

Needless to say, they cheered so loudly the shop owner came down to see what the fuss was.

"Who's making all this noise, I thought it was just a class of kids today?" he asked the closest staff pony. Said staff pony stepped aside and gestured with one hoof.

"Well, we didn’t bank on the shops mascot and our own beloved King making an appearance!" she chuckled as the owner took in the sight of his majesty entertaining the kids, along with Discord.

"Well, cant fault him for taking an interest, but why is it he only ever acts THAT much of a goof-ball when the other guys around?"

"Eh, we all have that one friend who can talk us into anything. Mine is my brother!" the staff pony giggled.

The teacher watched his majesty acting like a full grown foal, his chaotic friend right alongside. The kids adored it though, it was like meeting a celebrity for them!

At last the fun and games came to an end and the kids left for the next stop on their tour. Seeing a King instigate a pie fight- best day ever!

Sombra used his magic to clean up any mess in a heartbeat and thanked the owner for putting up with the lunacy!

Sides aching, Discord looked at Sombra as they got into the carriage. The King's face was flushed, eyes bright. The way he smiled, Discord's heart jumped a notch-

As such he wasn’t paying attention and snagged his foot on the plush carpeting as the door shut behind him and the carriage took off. With a yelp, he went flying into Sombra, knocking the pony flat on his stomach.

"Oof!" Sombra squeaked.

He was so warm, Discord could feel it through the thin cloak the stallion was wearing-

"Sorry!" Discord blurted, panicking as he hastily righted himself and pulled Sombra to a sitting position. The King shook his head, looking dazed."I tripped over my own stupid tail.." Discord lied.

"Heh, it's fine." Sombra laughed. Seeing Discord looking panicky for a second, he asked "you OK?"

"Fine, yes!" Discord tweaked the stallions ears and grinned. "winded me, was all! Those kids faces, priceless wasn’t it?"

Sombra chuckled, looking pleased "indeed. It's nice to take a day off! I am glad the shop is doing so well, it means a lot to me, after all."

Discord nodded, trying to not let his face go red. He couldn’t refrain from thinking...what did HE mean to Sombra-?

--No, stop thinking that!-- he commanded.

The rest of his stay there, he was able to put it aside, but barely. It took more effort than he'd usually care to give anything, however!

The next trip to see Sombra was a longer one, and he was visiting with Flutters again! It was Hearts and Hooves Day soon and Sombra had invited them up to celebrate the occasion with a big festival he was hosting.

In his letter he'd mentioned how with Cadance's help, he'd made it more thematic this year and he would love to see them! But that wasn’t the entire reason for such a long stay, for not long after that was Sombra's birthday, so the two were staying for almost three weeks altogether.

The other girls were celebrating Hearts and Hooves with family and Twilight was up in the Crystal Empire with Spike, her BBBFF and Cadance for the Empire's party!

They’d all be converging on the Umbrum Kingdom though, for Sombra's birthday bash. There was a huge ball planned, and everypony he knew was invited!

The usual tackle-hug greeting and catching up went as usual when the two arrived at the palace, then Sombra left them to unpack while he seen to that evenings dinner arrangements, making sure the kitchen had everything they needed.

After his friends were settled in and Sombra had requested Discord cease pranking his aide, they went for a leisurely tour of the main shopping area. Fluttershy bought some souvenirs for her friends and her animals. Angel Bunny needed a new bed, so she picked up one with a gorgeous hoof-stitched blanket.

"The arts and crafts here are just sublime" she said happily "Wait until Rarity sees these new dresses!"

Sombra smiled, Fluttershy was such a bright, cheerful pony. No wonder animals loved and trusted her so easily…

Lunch was at one a big fancy restaurant Sombra often attended fundraisers at and the staff went all out to make the Infinitum and his friends happy.

"Goodness, they’re so pretty!" Fluttershy said as she admired a carved centrepiece of a phoenix at the tables centre. "This is Umbrum crystal right? How do you get the colours?"

"That seems to vary, depending on the artist," Sombra smiled "Different ponies create different effects and colours. Strangely, mine appears as virtually colourless, just...clear. Although I have been able to add a cloudy pearl effect in the last few months, I still wonder why I don’t generate colours?"

"You ever shine a light through clear crystal?" Discord asked. Sombra blinked.

"How do you mean?" he asked, confused.

Discord asked him to generate a crystal, which Sombra duly did. Discord pulled a small flashlight from his bag, picked the crystal up and pointed said light at the crystals base. An array of colourful lights burst forth, patterning the ceiling with a rainbow of shades.

"See? Yours DO have colours!" Discord grinned.

"Every single one~" Fluttershy clapped her hooves "it's lovely!"

Sombra stared at the fan of colours, stunned. He'd honestly never thought about it this way!

"See?" Discord grinned, casting Sombra a knowing wink.

"Yes, I see perfectly now," Sombra said honestly. That hadn’t occurred to him, he had simply assumed being colourless was just a trait he carried, in the manner other ponies generated colour or effects in theirs.

Discord clicked the light off, setting the crystal down as the food arrived.

To further cheer Sombra up, he did an old favourite and replaced his eyebrows with carrots. When Sombra seen him, he clapped a hoof over his mouth to muffle a snort.

This was a familiar game, the "see how long it takes to make Sombra crack and laugh his ass off" game.

This was followed by goofy accents, more vegetables and his usual crude humour-

The wait-staff walking by the grand table were caught off guard by a loud guffaw, followed by the sort of genuine laughter that made everypony around chuckle, the sort that spread like wildfire!

The wait staff snuck glances at the table and soon found the source. The chaos lord, Discord, was sitting back smugly in his chair, carrots for eyebrows and a cabbage balanced on his head. King Sombra was burying his face in his forelegs atop the table, shoulders shaking in amusement while the shy pegasus with them was a bit flushed, battling with her own giggles. When the King lifted his head, the staff seen the amusement in his deep red eyes, the grin that lit up his normally serious but handsome features.

"Dayum," one mare whistled low to the guy standing next to her "he's even cuter when he smiles.."

They cleared off when Sombra spotted them from the corner of his eye, looking as busy as they could!

Sombra sat up, wiping his eyes, trying to calm his laughter. This was what he looked forward to, these days when he could laugh like this with his friends.

"We really shouldn’t play with the food.." Fluttershy giggled as she resumed her meal.

"I know, but its fun!" Discord grinned.

"Don’t you DARE turn the fruit into fruit-pones again, it took forever to corral them last time!" Sombra warned. Discord, who was holding a banana and looking very suspect, grumbled good-naturedly and put it down.

The two were left to themselves as Sombra donned his armor and went to make a brief appearance at the training barracks, to meet some new recruits. He wasn't gone long, and got back in time for dinner!

Sombra had asked they make his friends favourite desserts, which involved lots of crystal berries! The traditional Umbrum recipes were a big part of what drew ponies to visit the kingdom. The food was spectacular, focusing on a lot of mixes and flavours, and Sombra's mother Lady Umbra was pleased to see them being reborn in this modern day.

She joined them for dinner that night, laughing as Sombra recanted the story of the lunch trip! She thought of Discord as a part of her family, as she'd grown very fond of him after seeing how kindly he'd treated her son, helping him build real belief in himself right up until his coronation.

Fluttershy retried to bed early, to write letters to her friends as shed promised. This left Discord and Sombra to talk, so they wandered back to Sombra's dressing room. This was where the fancy armor and cloak were stored, the smaller room adjoining the Kings bedroom.

Discord floated around the room, looking at framed newspaper clippings from all the way back when Sombra had been seen at the fight against Scorpan, to present day. Stories about Sombra's recovery, his crowning, the opening of the Umbrum kingdom. On a stand was the chain given to Sombra by a friendly crystal pony, a chain bearing a miniature replica of the crystal heart.

"You have a lot of mementoes.." Discord mused.

"They all came from the kindness of the ponies I met." Sombra explained as he removed the last of the armaments. The armor had been a gift from Discord and his Umbrums. They’d designed and made it as a thank you to Sombra for accepting his place as their King. He set the pieces atop a dress dummy, smiling fondly.

Sombra's back ached slightly and he stretched, hearing his back click as his stomach brushed the floor, wings unfolding to loosen the muscles. "ummf- I really should visit the spa again- anyway, I didn’t want to get them damaged so I had those cases built specially."

"Ah, I see-" Discord turned round and trailed off. Sombra was just straightening up from his stretch, and the way his posture showed off that well toned body..

--Down boy..!-- Discord's brain gave him an internal slap. He had seen ponies openly admiring Sombra as they had strolled through town on their way to visit the animal shelter with Fluttershy. Eyes travelling over that flank and that powerful body overall. More than a few stallions had been giving the King envious glances. Now he was doing the exact same thing...

--I'm screwed, aren’t I?-- he thought.

Sombra folded his wings down and looked over at him, seeing Discord staring into space "you in there?"

"Hm? Oh, yes. How goes the cutie mark questing?" Discord grinned guiltily.

This was a bit out of the blue and Sombra had to think for a moment before the pieces clicked "Ah, the citizens? Quite well, it seems to operate in a slightly different way to other ponies. I expected it might, given Umbrums never had cutie marks until this time around. Given I accidentally invented the ability for our kind, I shouldn’t be surprised!" Sombra smiled, then looked puzzled "you seem a bit spaced out. Something on your mind?"

"Me? no, nothing. Not a lot going on there!" Discord joked, knocking a hand against his head, making hollow sounds. Sombra gave him an amused yet critical look.

"Really? You were spacing out at the animal shelter too last time...ah-" he got a crafty look on his face "It is Hearts and Hooves Day soon, is somepony on your mind?"

"Pfft!" Discord snorted, waving a hand dismissively "borefest alert! But I'm surprised YOU remembered that, didn’t think romance was your bag." Discord tried to deflect suspicion, he was figuratively sweating buckets by now. Did Sombra suspect-?

Sombra raised an amused eyebrow "I wouldn’t normally, to be honest I don’t understand it. But I know it has become one of the most anticipated holidays since the empires founding. I’ve had so many imports coming in for themed decorations and cakes! Even Miss Pie sent over some special ingredients to the palace. There’s a huge festival planned, I cannot help but take notice!"

Discord sighed in relief, Sombra had gotten off track.

"You’re not fooling me!" Sombra continued, cocking his head, trying to read Discord's expression "is it possible your mind is elsewhere?"

"Don’t be idiotic, that’s MY job!" Discord jokingly stuck his nose in the air with a huff. Sombra chuckled, turning back to the mirrored table in front of him as he removed his crown and opened the special case he stored it in.

"Really?" he asked.

Discord grumbled under his breath, maybe he could throw him off the scent by giving something away. "It's a pain, they’re so..." he again found his eyes straying over the pony, who had his back to him, focused on locking the intricate case "...distracting."

"I must admit, I am curious to see just who could distract YOU that much?" Sombra at last looked up from the case, meeting his friends eyes in the mirror. Discord had to hurriedly shift his glance from the enticing curve of Sombra's ears to his face.

"Keep dreaming!" Discord shot back, blowing a raspberry. Sombra laughed.

"Real mature, I hope your date likes that~"

Discord just pulled a smug face. But inside he was heaving a sigh of relief, he hadn’t been rumbled. YET.

--Dreams...huh. Guess that’s what ill have to settle for..-- he reminded himself as he bid Sombra goodnight and floated away down the hall. What if admitting anything to Sombra only ruined their friendship?

Just how strong were these feelings anyway..?

He got his answer not long after...

The next few days, Sombra took them both all over the kingdom. One day they took a carriage ride out to the forest where Sombra had fought all those Timberwolves. No more of the things had moved in after the ponies at the construction site, alongside the infinitum, had pushed them back, but it was still advised you take care should you venture in there however!

Under the watchful protection of both Sombra and Discord, Fluttershy gathered samples of new flowers and sketches of other creatures and plants. She sang to the birds, who flocked to her happily, joining in her song.

"She has the best voice, don’t you think?" Discord said proudly. Sombra nodded, he knew Fluttershy was very rarely heard singing like this, and considered it an honour to hear her.

Fluttershy's saddlebags were crammed full by the time they turned back. Discord noticed Sombra seemed to either have a habit of getting his flowy black tail stuck in shrubs, or he was just a twig magnet naturally.

When they returned to the palace, Sombra said he was going to take a bath and left them to themselves. Fluttershy went to pack away all the new notes and samples she'd made so she could mail them back to Ponyville and study them at her leisure later.

Discord, who hadn’t been listening when Sombra had mentioned the bath thing, drifted upstairs after a while, to find his friend. He wandered down the lavishly decorated hall, knocking on the door.

"Come in.."

Discord did, drifting THROUGH the door, so his head looked like it was mounted on said door.

"Bu...-" he was trying to say "boo!" but lost all of the remaining syllables when he seen what was in front of him.

Sombra was standing on the balcony opposite from the door. He'd just gotten out of the bath and his mane and tail were still damp, clinging to his soft, fluffy, undoubtedly hot coat. The rapidly waning sun highlighted every muscular curve of the Alicorn's body...

Discord was glad his mismatched wings were on the OTHER side of the door, as they’d just gone "sproing".

--OK, even I’m not going to believe I don’t find him sexy as fu- --

"Hello?" Sombra turned, spotted his friends head stuck through the door. This, coupled with Discord's genuinely blank expression startled him and he gave a loud yelp. His wings fluffed up to try guard him and he ordered them to relax. His heart was pounding in his chest, that was just scary-!

"Good grief, Discord! You were staying that still just to scare me!?" he huffed, once he calmed down.

Discord seized this as a way out of explaining himself "worth it!" he sang, grinning cheekily.

Sombra glowered at him.

--Please tell me he's buying this...-- Discord pleaded in his head, feeling his fixed grin starting to waver.

"I am sure it is~" the King drawled at last, but with a wry, familiar smile.

"Score!" Discord chuckled, dizzy with relief. He suspected nothing...

Sombra rolled his eyes as the rest of Discord's body followed him into the room.

"What were you watching?" Discord asked curiously. Sombra gestured to a telescope, a gift from twilight of course.

"I was watching the sun set over the kingdom. The buildings look beautiful.."

Although he nodded, all Discord could imagine was the sight HE'D been focusing on. As Sombra looked out over the kingdom below him from the balcony, Discord let his eyes wander over Sombra's wings, across his back and on to his flank...

He had seen his friend like this, as in not wearing fancy cloaks, plenty of times before. So why was his friends appearance suddenly causing so much confusion, among other things?

He snapped back to attention as Sombra suggested the Heart and Hooves street festival for the day after tomorrows expedition. OK, the day itself wasn’t until the end of the week, but the celebrations started early.

"Sounds like a laugh.." Discord shrugged.

Sombra moved onto asking about how things were back in Ponyville, what was Discord doing these days? Discord was happy to answer him, take his mind away from the puzzling feelings developing in him.

That night, as he lay atop the fancy bed in the room he always stayed in when visiting Sombra, Discord tried to get his thoughts in order.

It’d been a huge relief, back when he'd first been persuaded to help Sombra by Fluttershy, just to get the pony to stop flinching and looking about to cry at the slight touch. But soon he became attached to Sombra. He could see the pony was a fragile wreck, poised to shatter.

And at that time, they were banking everything on him remembering what the gargoyle that’d tortured him into that state had been planning. Bit by bit he coaxed Sombra into relaxing, into trusting Tia's promise she'd protect him. By the day Scorpan finally showed up to exact his revenge, Sombra had chosen who he wanted to fight for.

Those few days while Sombra had slept in stasis after defeating Scorpan had felt like boring, agonising, drawn out borefests. It just didn’t feel the same without the pony's deadpan sense of humour to counter his own loopy attitude. So when Twilight had said she'd worked out a theory to waken the Umbrum king, he'd hugged her. She hadn’t looked too pleased about it, squirming and whining a lot, but then Twilight was funny about him, most of the girls were. Dearest Fluttershy always spared him a big smile and many hours of her time, but the others still doubted him. He'd boasted to Celestia that he'd become a good guy now and knew how to be a good friend, but it hadn’t started to really come into practise until he offered that friendship to a pony who badly needed it in turn.

When Sombra had thanked Discord, amongst others, in his coronation speech, the Draconequus had felt himself flush with pride. Not just for the pony he'd helped, but for his own actions. Not something he'd felt very often, save for Fluttershy. He was still regarded with some wariness by most ponies due to his troublemaking in the past, but with Sombra on his side ponies were starting to thaw to him more and more. Even Ponyville residents greeted him now with smiles, as opposed to looks of fear and incoming pranks.

But, staring at your friend and pondering what it would be like to kiss him. THAT was surely going beyond friendship, right? He was pretty sure admiring your friends ass was impolite.

Or the way he smiled...

There was no denying it. He wasn’t viewing Sombra as his friend any more. He was hoping for more...but how did Sombra feel?

It'd been almost 2 years now since Sombra had been recovered from Scorpan and he'd never seen any sign from the stallion. Come to think of it, he'd never seen Sombra date anypony, or even mention it. During one key visit, the son of a visiting Lord had developed a crush on the King. Sombra had treated the young pony’s feelings with the utmost respect, letting him down gently. He hadn’t seemed uncomfortable with the affection...although he hadn’t reacted very strongly in the other direction either.

--That pony is a master of the poker face. Must take him to Las Pegasus some day, he'd be a pro at cards!-- Discord sighed, grumbling to himself as he pulled the covers over his head.

"Stupid sexy Sombra..."

In his dream he was sitting out on the balcony, Sombra was sat beside him. he looked stunning, eyes catching the light. He was so warm, sat right there. He turned his head, seen Discord staring at him, and smiled happily. Discord went red and Sombra tilted his head, looking curious...

Discord reached out to brush a hand along Sombra's cheek. What if he were to kiss him…?

But he hesitated and rapidly the look in Sombra's eyes clouded and turned to anger. He got up and ran back into the room behind them. Discord few after him, but the pony was nowhere to be seen. The room now resembled a maze, with semi opaque walls everywhere. He seen a flicker of something pass by and ran after it, then flew. But as high up as he went, the walls were always there to greet him.

"Who’s creating these blasted things?!" he cursed, giving one an experimental kick.

"Thou art." a voice remarked calmly. Discord gave a bumbling shriek and swung round, coming face to face with Luna, who was stood atop a neighbouring wall. She looked as calm as always. Luna was a master at keeping a flat expression on her face. Discord however, was not.

"Not to be rude," he grumbled "but is there something you need here?"

"Yes, we need to tell thee to quit stalling. This is the third time we have sensed these feelings emanating from your dreams."

"You’ve been watching them?" Discord looked concerned and shifty.

"No, merely monitoring what emotions they exude."

"Thank goodness. Last week, well-"

"We do not need to hear it!" Luna shook her head, flushing slightly.

"Really? it involved a sauna-" Discord grinned pervertedly "and some towels-"

"Stop evading our question!" Luna blurted, her cheeks turning very red.

"What question, you never asked one!" Discord threw his arms in the air.

Luna recovered her composure "Did we not? Well, let us ask it now: are you planning to let him know at all?"

"I don’t know!" Discord grumbled, sulking.

"Hast thou tried SAYING something?" Luna asked.

"Well DUH." Discord snorted.

"Duh, what?" Luna looked puzzled. Discord groaned, she was not dropping the issue.

"Well,- What if it makes him run away, like, well...he just did!"

"For one, that is just a representation of him, you cannot apply its logic to the real Sombra. For second; even WE have seen how much he cheers when you show up. Is it so unrealistic to assume he might accept this?"

"Luna dearest.." Discord patted her on the head, making her scowl "I’m pretty sure he doesn’t even swing that way, if you get me. That pony’s barn door don't open that direction and I am not going to embarrass myself and alienate one of the two friends I have by admitting I fancy him!"

Luna raised an eyebrow. "We have seen him hesitate just a little when stallions flirt with him, more so than with the females. It is barely noticeable, but we seen it during a party. Do not assume he will react so coldly."

Discord stared at her, she'd seen that?

"How did you spot that?" Discord asked, impressed.

"We OBSERVE." Luna looked a touch smug "it is important, Tia tells us so."

"Touché.." Discord replied, sighing. he looked at the maze he had apparently created. Was it trying to tell him he was making this more difficult?

"It is Hearts and Hooves Day tomorrow. We suggest you take advantage of the occasion and broach the matter with him. If you ever want an answer as to whether dreams can match reality, you must do something."

"Fine, I'll try." Discord sighed. Luna patted his shoulder and nodded, then she was gone.

The next day Sombra was tied up in official business for the morning, so Discord and Fluttershy went out on their own. During the visit to the animal shelter, Fluttershy noticed how silent Discord was.

"Is everything OK?" she asked, resting against her friends side. Discord tousled her mane and smiled absently. He been lost in imagining a heart shaped bed and a certain King...

But he was also imagining what would happen if his friend laughed at him if he tried to say how he felt. He didn’t want to lose Sombra...was it worth trying at all?

"Its nothing my dear Fluttershy, truly." he told her.

But she spotted his glance divert out the window as some ponies passed by carrying bags patterned with hearts.

"Is it because it's Hearts and Hooves Day?" she said subtly.

Discord jumped like he'd been scalded, fluffing up like a startled cat.

"What? Don't be silly...as if that mushy stuff interests me!" He made a face like 'bleh!', breaking out in hearts-shaped hives as a joke "too smoochy.."

Fluttershy chuckled, but she did wonder if something was bothering him...

Dispelling the hearts, Discord shrugged nonchalantly "I'm fine Fluttershy, really...I was just thinking about the last time I seen those of my own kind. We have some wacky mating rituals, its all about showing off really. The goofier the better!."

This rare titbit about Draconequui did its job, and distracted Fluttershy completely from asking about discords spacing out! New information about any species was a sure fire way to get he undivided attention. She asked more questions and Discord did truthfully tell her about the displays the males put on to attract a mate...

"And don’t get me started on the amount of time sin a day-oops i'll stop there." he decided, seeing Fluttershy going beet red. She was just adorable~

"Do you ever see them? Do you have...family?" Fluttershy broached once shed calmed down. Discord winced.

"I do, but saying we don’t get on is an understatement. Even if I knew where they were-" which he technically DID, "I wouldn’t want to see them after all this time!"

"How long do they live?" Fluttershy asked.

"Oh, ages. We can prolong our lifespans by sleeping, like a kind of stasis. Like Sombra does but on a massive scale. explains why I’m still good to go after being stuck in that statue, it's the same kind of thing. Only boring. Very boring."

Fluttershy patted his arm "its OK, that's gone now. You’re doing great, nopony's gonna make you go away again, I promise." she hugged him tightly and he felt the old pain fizzle away.

"Thank you, my dear Fluttershy.." he said softly, hugging her tightly "you’re a real friend. You and Sombra, you’re my world now."

This made Fluttershy very happy and she smiled widely.

Then they heard a commotion outside, lots of happy voices.

"What’s going on?" Fluttershy murmured, as they went over to the window.

Outside, Sombra was just dismounting from the personal royal carriage, his appearance drawing a lot of interest as it always did. The festival crowds flocked to their King and he smiled at them, nodding and responding to their calls as he walked towards the door.

"My apologies for being so late, things ran on rather long." Sombra's smile was kind, his ears looked so soft...

Kicking such thoughts from his mind, Discord followed Fluttershy and his best friend outside...

They stuck by the King as he visited the stalls. The owners beamed to see their precious ruler visiting them, offering him all manner of gifts. Sombra insisted on buying presents for the other six, based on what Fluttershy thought they’d like, as well as a special present for her.

"Can we get a photo your majesty?" a reporter flew up, others not far behind him.

"Of course!" Sombra agreed and Fluttershy was eventually convinced to pose for one with her friends, next to a stall selling animal sculptures!

On their travels, Discord found a charming bird sculpture that Fluttershy's eyes lit up upon receiving. She hugged him tightly and Sombra smiled as he watched them. Those two were close and he felt a funny pang in his chest when he considered the gift may have been a romantic proposal from the Draconequus to the kind mare. This was further backed up in his view as he seen Discord snap his fingers and Fluttershy's mane was done up with little hearts and ribbons.

--Why would I be jealous? I mean...-- he shook his head subtly --It's not like I’ll stop seeing him if he pursues miss Fluttershy. Get a grip!--

He quickly quashed those traitorous thoughts. He didn't want to lose his best friend and if he were to find out Sombra was jealous of Fluttershy for...romantic reasons? Well, Discord would likely distance himself from him. That was the last thing he wanted...

For lately, the usual greeting-hugs and ear-scratches from Discord had sent little shivers up Sombra's spine. And not the unpleasant kind either. He'd started feeling guilty, he shouldn’t be thinking this about his best friend. Was he really that desperate for attention that he'd start warping the closest relationship he had? Was his job getting too much suddenly?

--Pretty sure he doesn’t fly that direction, ya know?-- he reminded himself. --Probably knows how to fly in the 4th dimension and its probably full of string cheese, but I’m certain he wont fly...a stallions way..--

Last years Hearts and Hooves hadn’t been as big as this, the kingdom had still been in its starter stages, so he hadn’t put much thought into it beyond ordering whatever was wanted for the first festival. This year, with the imports and home-made business booming, he'd paid a lot more attention to it, noting what the citizens seemed to like the most. Future festivals would be even bigger!

He sighed heavily inside, keeping the cheery façade up even as he took a bite out of the cake he was enjoying. To distract himself, he asked the stall owner for another as he polished of the last bite...

While Sombra was wrestling with his own mild jealousy, Discord was peering at some necklaces on a Zebra's stall. The work was so delicate yet so intricate, he wondered if it was time he got Celestia a gift as thanks for putting up with him?

"Your affections will not go to waste,
find your beloved, tell them, make haste."

"Gah!" Discord yelped, flattening himself to the ground in defence, then raising his head cautiously. "Why does everypony keep startling me lately?!"

"We did not mean to scare you, just to let you know your feelings are important too"

Discord whipped his head round to see the stall owner smiling knowingly at him, and he recognised her now.

Aeris was the leader of the tribe of Zebras Sombra had rescued from dying out due to storms. He had given them homes in his still-growing kingdom, they'd put down roots and soon started branching out and making new families. She was a good friend of Sombra's and her daughter Fern looked up to him as an extension of their family. Aeris tapped at a necklace with her hoof, smiling.

"This one suits their heart best,
it will play a valuable part in your quest."

"I-I have no idea what you’re talking about!" Discord said, turning red as he peeled himself off the ground and stood up. He seen the amused look on the Zebra's face as he dusted himself down and realised he wasn’t fooling her one bit. She packed the item and held it up to him.

"Take it as a gift,
I hope it will aid.
You should not delay,
and your love will be made."

First Luna, now this Zebra. How could they all see what he was desperately trying to keep under wraps? He found his gaze sliding over to Sombra, who was polishing off a cake. The stallion rubbed at his cheek with one hoof to brush away crumbs and Discord felt a smile forming as he watched the gesture. The way Sombra smiled happily at the stall owner...

The Zebra gazed past the Draconequus, seeing the way Discord was sneaking subtle glances at a certain pony...

She pressed the box into his hand, nodding.

Discord looked at the box, then back up, intending to at least thank her...but she was gone. Blinking, he seen her at the other end of the stall now, serving two Umbrums. She winked in his direction and carried on.

Bemused, Discord tucked the box away into his bag. Had she known?

He rejoined Fluttershy and Sombra. The Umbrum Alicorn smiled, asking had he found anything? Discord shrugged, making jokes about it being too lovey dovey for his tastes, breaking out in the heart-hives again. Sombra gave him a sceptical look, but then nodded.

Discord could feel the weight of the necklace and what it represented to him as they continued with their day...

Alone in his chaotic little realm the next day, taking a bath after a fun trip to the kingdoms biggest cake shop to make some treats, Discord at last had an idea. Maybe he could make a practise dummy? Scooting outside as soon as he was clean, he corralled some of the clouds that floated around his realm, using his magic to fashion them into a being of solid cloud. A cloud Sombra.

"Right.." he addressed the cloud-Sombra. The pony cocked his head to one side and Discord sighed softly.

"Besides Fluttershy, you’re the closest friend I’ve ever had. Now, I'm pretty sure admiring your best friends arse and ogling him isn’t something friends do. Maybe, well, I want him to be more than a friend?"

The cloud looked blankly at him. Discord tried again.

"Nopony's ever gotten under my skin this much. And I’m NOT letting you away with it, you stupid sexy stallion."

Still blank.

"Can you even hear me?" Discord asked it. The cloud-Sombra nodded.

"Good. Look, your a facsimile of my best friend. One I can't stop thinking about initiating the horizontal tango with, get me?"

A nod.

Discord groaned, mind flashing back to his dreams.

"Were talking about a KING here. Cant just straight up ask him if he wants to bonk. This has to be tactful, much as the word is alien to me."

Another nod and a flicker in its eyes. Discord rambled, unaware of his creations growing faculties.

"He’s sexy as all get out. You’d faint if you seen him in my dreams. Especially after that bath the other day, reminded me of that dream with the sauna.." he trailed off, then snapped back to the subject and hand "It was a close shave, him thinking I was being so quiet just to scare him. The truth was, I was admiring that nice curvy rear of his...oh, don’t you start!"

The cloud copy had stood up, shifting so he was facing away from Discord, tail swishing across the aforementioned tempting butt. Perfectly recreated as it was in compacted cloud.

The cloud copy looked at him and flicked its ears. Discord sighed at its blank expression.

"What in Equestria am I supposed to tempt a King with? he has power, magic....a palace..."

The cloud copy sat back down, every movement seeming deliberate and unfussed.

"OK, just sit there and look natural...act...normal..?" he shrugged. The cloud Sombra seemed to shrug back, idly examining its hooves as Discord tried to find a way to explain himself.

"I know, you probably have admirers lining up around the corner, but-" no, that had some crass implications. Imply he was a sex pest. Nice going, straight out the door with that one! Discord shook his head in despair.

"You and Fluttershy, you’re my friends. But there’s something else, Sombra-" No, that sounded stilted.

Why was this so hard?!

"I've longed to catch you since the start, even when you didn’t need saving any more..." he sighed softly, tapping his nails against his chin.

Silence reigned.

"I couldn’t be any further out of my league if I tried, but- buck it!" Discord snapped, folding his arms petulantly, glowering at the unfazed cloud-copy "why is this so hard? I'm only trying to tell my friend I want to date him!"

The cloud-copy blinked, absorbing this data. It got up and butted Discord's face with its own. The mopey Draconequus looked up.

"Would this work?" he asked it; conjuring a sign that said "Guess what? You’re gorgeous!" under that was written "fancy coffee?""

The cloud copy made a vaguely bewildered face that Discord took to mean it was a bit OTT.

"Guess this one's way off the mark?" Discord joked feebly, indicating a sign simply reading "nice arse".

Another moderately offended look from the clone.

"Probably never find a use for that sign!" Discord sighed and tossed it over his head where it lodged in the side of a cloud.

"This shouldn’t be so hard, I know him better than anyone!" this was true. Sombra had opened up more to him than even Celestia. He mentioned before Discord was the reason he wasn’t scared of letting ponies closer to him now. And part of the reason why eh was finally able to accept the position of Infinitum all that time ago.

"I just want to keep you with me.." Discord stared at the cloud copy and sighed. It just blinked again, seemingly clueless.

"Forget it...I cant replicate how his mind works. Go on, scram." Discord snapped his fingers, releasing the spell from his hold. But he wasn’t paying attention, mind caught up in ways of letting Sombra know how important he was to him...

He recalled the necklace the stall owner had given him. Maybe it’d serve as an ice breaker?

He went inside the house to find it and rethink his speech.

Outside, the clouds, dismissed by the half-hearted spell, now reformed into a cloud Alicorn. It stood silently, watching the house, waiting for the one who'd created it to reappear...

Time passed as day turned to evening...

Sombra was surprised when Discord missed the start of dinner. Fluttershy was concerned too, so Sombra said he'd go see where he had gotten to. He returned to his bedroom and readied his magic.

Some time ago, Discord had taught Sombra the spell to open a gateway to his chaos realm, and now Sombra launched the spell. There was a loud pop and the portal wobbled into existence before him. He dove through, landing on a passing cloud as it shut behind him. A flock of toasters swum by, honking happily.

Sombra shook his head, this place was an affront to physics, but it made him want to laugh. It suited its occupant to a T. Chaotic, free...handsome-

He shook his head. Stupid Hearts and Hooves Day. If Discord cared for Fluttershy, he would be happy for him. End of story.

Kicking that train of thought off the tracks, he spotted Discord's house and jumped to the next floating cloud. This one must’ve been combined with a trampoline, as it flung him, at speed, face-first into the nearest cloud. He pried himself out of it, chuckling at the HIM-shaped imprint left behind. Another cloud had closed in while he was amusedly staring at the imprint and he ended up with his hindquarters stuck in another cloud when he tried to fly backwards. Prising himself out, he settled for a cloud further away. This one thankfully wasn’t...boingy? was that a word, he wondered? He was still chuckling to himself when something tackled him.

The cloud copy seen the portal open and broke off its surveillance of discords home. It seen a pony come through and its blood boiled. This one was identical to it.

Trespasser.

It crept closer, extending its own wings as it tracked the Alicorn bouncing off the clouds, trying to land gracefully. Seeing an opening he pounced. His weight slammed into the other pony's. This one was warm, flesh and blood. It stared up at him, confusion written all over its face..

Sombra gasped as the air was punched from his lungs. Something fuzzy was bodily pinning him so he kicked out, succeeding in pushing his opponent off him a little. Enough to use his wings to fling them back. Whirling, he snarled;

"How dare you attack a Ki-" And stared. It was himself. A doppelgänger made of clouds? It growled deeply, looking at him with total malice.

"How the buck..?" Sombra spluttered as he backed up. Then remembered he had magic, he'd take care of this right away! He teleported away from this insane copy, appearing on another cloud some distance away, magic illuminating his horn. The cloud copy snarled and Sombra seen the clouds behind it suddenly crowd in, forming into spears. Sweet Celestia this thing was really gunning for him! How did it have such control over the cloud?

It fired in his moment of faltering and he was forced to abort the attack spell, diverting his magic instead into teleporting and not a second too late. The cloud spikes impacted where he'd once stood, and his stomach sank.

Sombra's mind was reeling, why had Discord created this thing? This was way too smart for a random occurrence, plus the fact it was an exact mimic of him!

--Why would he have a crazy cloud copy of me, is that how he sees me...?-- he felt a sick sense of panic, surely he had to be wrong. But why would there be a cloud copy of him at all? It didn’t make sense.

"Discord. You..wouldn’t..?" he choked out, confusion tearing at his chest. He knew he shouldn’t assume the worst, but this made no sense. For what reason did this cloud-copy exist??

It was this worrying that made him hesitate, his defences stuttering. The next barrage of attacks blind-sided him as he lost track of his opponent. It hit him full on, sending him flying off the cloud he'd been perched on and slamming him into the one underneath. The fall knocked him silly and he stared stupidly up at the thing hovering above him. As he struggled to make his limbs move, he seen more clouds amassing to form spears..

But as they shot towards him, a barrier cropped up, deflecting them. Sombra heard something land behind him and pushed to his hooves, panic rising...

But then he seen who it was.

"Discord..?!" he asked, initially relieved, then everything came back to him. His stomach lurched, acidic feelings of anger bubbling up inside...

"Are you hurt?" the chaos lord reached out to him, to see if he was injured at all.

"How...how could you?” Sombra spat out and Discord faltered, frowning and looking hurt. This only made Sombra angrier, how dare he act innocent?!

He backed away from the chaos lord, so many questions spiralling in his head that he couldn’t speak for a moment...

Discord jumped, surprised by the sheer venom in Sombra's voice. The royal stallion was angry, wings fluffed up, ready to flee.

"Sombra-?" he shook his head "what are YOU doing here- no, scratch that, what are you talking about? A game, why would you think that-?!"

"WHY?! THAT is why!!" Sombra snapped, indicating the cloud copy watching them, seething silently.

"What..?" Discord looked up and did a double take "I dispersed that spell, it cant be here! This is puzzling.."

Sombra stared incredulously. How could he be so...flippant?!

"I want to know why there’s a cloud clone of me. And why in blazes its insane," He paused a moment, shaking his head "Is this how you see me, after all this? Still a madpony?!"

Discord opened and shut his mouth, seeing such anger on his friends face. But not just anger, hurt too.

Getting no response, Sombra's expression shut off and he looked away from his friend. It hurt all the worse because this was someone he'd trusted so deeply. To find out that archetype of him being mad was still present, in the mind of someone who had essentially SAVED him, it hurt. He felt his heart pounding in his ears, chest painfully tight.

Discord was panicking, this wasn’t what he'd intended.

"You’ve got the wrong idea.." he broached and Sombra glared at him once more. Seeing him looking so unhappy made Discord feel worse then he'd ever imagined. He had promised back at the start of Sombra's recovery, that he'd never see that look in Sombra's eyes again if he could help it. Now not only was it back, but HE was the reason why.

This was the worst case scenario his dreams had foretold...no, this wasn’t even a dream. It'd become a nightmare.

Sombra didn’t waste words. "Then answer me. WHY is there a crazy clone? And why is it trying to kill me?"

"I.." Discord groped in his head for the right way to say it "I was practising-"

"Practising? Practising what? Your aim?!" Sombra was aware he was behaving like a child, but he was just....furious. At Discord for doing this to him, and at himself for not seeing it, for getting lost in daydreams. He'd been such a fool, he thought, imagining anything between them.

"No!" Discord snapped, starting to get cross himself. Sombra was letting his mind run amok, he did have a dreadful habit of doing that. He'd get so locked up in his fear he'd become withdrawn...

"You have the wrong end of the stick you ridiculous pony!!" he shouted.

"Redic-" Sombra twitched "you have some nerve, given you made...THAT THING!"

They were so close together now, drawn in by the gravity of the fight, that Discord could have moved just a few millimetres more and kissed the stallion's nose.

There was a thud and they both stumbled as the shield wobbled. They broke off from bickering in time to see their pursuer was lining up more shots.

Discord shot forward, scooping Sombra up unceremoniously in his arms and zooming off. The stallion got flustered at this, bellowing to be put down this INSTANT!! So undignified and so on…

The way he squirmed against Discord wasn’t helping either.

"Loud." Discord winced as Sombra continued issuing edicts to set him down or else face the consequences! Sombra did have a habit of yelling when he got upset, he'd noticed.

He teleported them both away a second before the next barrage hit the shield they'd been behind before, shattering it. Sombra went stock still in the Draconequus' hold, voice trailing off as they did a series of dizzying teleports to try and lose the thing, before they reappeared round the back of a big bank of clouds.

"Stay low..." Discord motioned to him as he set him down. Sombra felt more like biting him to be honest.

Discord seen the anger creeping back into his best friends face and gulped nervously. He wasn’t sure which was more scary, the fake Sombra or the real one!

--Who's heart are you risking breaking right now?-- he thought --that’s the most important one..--

"Tell. Me. Right. Now." Sombra hissed. They could heard the thing roaring in fury as it sought them "I mean it!"

"Its not what you’re thinking!" Discord said, realising it sounded like he was guilty by saying that. "I wasn’t practising lining up a shot at you. Now who's being insulting?!" He folded his arms.

"Than WHAT were you using it for?" Sombra snapped icily.

"Well.." Discord heart lodged in his throat. Even under such circumstances, he still baulked at admitting his feelings for this pony.

"I'm waiting." Sombra twitched, every muscle in his body tensed to either launch at him or fly away.

"It's a complicated story." Discord was suddenly wearing an old fashioned outfit, complete with walking stick "once upon a spell-"

"Stop dodging the issue!" Sombra snarled, voice rising and Discord made a sound like "urk" as Sombra's magic hauled him so they were face to face...

"Now spit it out!" Sombra snapped. It was a strange sight, seeing the pony’s normally amicable expression warped by such anger. These days Sombra's temper of old rarely reared its head, he'd certainly become far more level headed after everything he'd been through. What drove the guilty nail into Discord's heart was the look of betrayal added to those eyes...

So he blurted out the truth, figuring Sombra couldn’t hate him any more then he already did right that second.

"Fine, you win! I was practising pick-up lines! I wasn’t trying to attack you or see you this upset. You want an answer? I was trying to find a way to ask you for a date-ACK!"

He was let go abruptly and overbalanced, falling on his ass. Shaking his head, he looked up, seeing Sombra staring at him. The pony looked stunned, and he was turning a steady shade of red.

"You...what?" he said in such a hushed voice Discord was barely sure he'd spoken.

"I was trying to come with a way of asking you if you fancied dinner, or a show..or...me.." he mumbled this last bit, so it was barely audible.

"I-i don’t understand..." Sombra stammered, mind blank as he processed this. "That cloud me..?"

"Was supposed to make it easier, but it just stared gormlessly at me." Discord sighed "I think Luna tried to warn me, she said I couldn’t apply logic to...not you. She's right, I should've just said something to your face!"

Sombra said nothing, swallowing down the resentment as it cooled into shame. He stared at the clouds underhoof, the news sinking in.

--I thought he cared for miss Fluttershy, not me..-- his jealousy from the previous day flashed through his head. He had felt a jab of resentment that he might lose the being that’d shown him so much attention and kindness. Now it looked like he wasn’t alone.

He didn’t know what to say. He'd been wrong and had shouted such nasty things just a minute before...

"Please believe me Sombra," Discord sounded upset and guilt edged his voice "I thought it would be easier to practise first, instead of making a fool of myself. But that thing up there seemed entirely unable to grasp the hint, just looked baffled for the most part. I swear I dismissed the spell, went inside to think of something else. I must not have disabled it properly, this realm does have rules of its own and it obviously re-formed. Complete with a grudge." Discord winced, seeing Sombra was still not looking up at him. He was staring resolutely at the floor till, body still tense.

"Why..?" Sombra couldn't think of any other way to say it.

"Well, if I had to guess, I’d say because it's jealous-"

"No!" Sombra blurted, closing his eyes a moment, then reopening them and continuing "I mean...why me?"

"Because..." the chaos being paused, frowned, sighed, then blurted "oh for goodness sake you silly pony, so SO many reasons!". Sombra blinked, seeing the blunt honesty on his face.

The Draconequus elaborated "You remember that day on the balcony? Where I showed you Canterlot's skyline? I didn’t want to let you go. For a moment, I thought I could make the choice myself, be certain you'd stay. But you needed to make that choice for yourself. When I see you finally move again, sit forward..." he shrugged "It was relief like I’d never felt. Even back then I didn’t want to lose you."

Of course Sombra remembered that day...

He'd hit rock bottom, had felt so afraid and hurt he didn’t want to keep hoping. Discord had pointed out he had a choice, as the pony had leant against the railings...he could give up, or keep fighting and find something worth fighting for around the next corner. Sombra remembered how relieved Discord had looked, when he'd made that choice. It made sense now...

He took a faltering step forward that the Draconequus didn’t notice, he was still muttering to the cloud under him, his demeanour like a sulky child. He doodled a pattern in the soft cloud he was sat on with one finger.

"The more time went on, the more I realised I viewed you and flutters differently."

"How do you mean..?" Sombra asked, his voice now sounding remarkably calm despite how fast his heart was beating.

Discord flushed, folding his arms even tighter and STILL staring at the cloud they were hiding behind. A few silent seconds passed by and he risked one glance up, very briefly, before returning his gaze to the floor.

He couldn’t read Sombra's expression, was he angry still? Did he return any of the affections? The worst thing was not only had he upset his friend, like when he'd betrayed Fluttershy, but he was genuinely developing feelings for this pony, which only made this all the more gut-wrenching. He decided to just be honest...

"I started seeing the way you MOVED, dear Sombra. Every little action, every single smile. You remember during the most recent visit, When I stuck my head through the door and you accused me of staying so still just to scare you? that wasn’t quite true..." he went red and grumbled the last bit "I was staring at your stupid sexy behind! Your rump is a work of art."

Sombra was surprised by this confession and blushed hotly. His rear-? He flashed back to that day, he'd just gotten out of the bath and had been watching the sky with his telescope. The thought that Discord had been admiring his body made him feel a flush of heat, but it wasn’t unwelcome. He licked his lips nervously, but the motion went unnoticed as Discord was still going..

"Even before that, I kept thinking about how the traditional greeting-hugs suddenly seemed more...significant."

Sombra began to move a little closer, almost afraid to move too fast. Like if he did, Discord would bolt. He certainly seemed pretty fidgety, could Sombra catch him?

"And don’t even get me STARTED on what that little stretching exercise you did in the armor room did! One word for it; BOING. I turned and you were just there, looking so damn effortlessly gorgeous. That was when I realised I had a problem on my hands!" Discord sighed and at last lifted his head to look at Sombra.

"So feel free to let rip, now you know the-oh!"

He stopped short as he came almost nose to nose with Sombra. The Umbrum had crept closer while Discord was venting all that and now was so close Discord had to wrestle with the temptations running around his head. He couldn’t pin down Sombra's expression, there seemed to be multiple feelings racing around the pony's head, his eyes a mix of curious, confused and....apologetic?

Incapable of resisting the pony’s proximity to him, Discord lifted his left hand to gently scratch behind Sombra's ear.

"Ah-" Sombra made a short, succinct noise, ears twitching in response to this most favoured of spots. For as long as he'd known him, Discord had been scratching behind his ears like this; why now was it suddenly so much more enticing?

Discord's heart pounded as his actions caused a shiver to run the length of Sombra's body, and he uttered that delightfully sensual sound. The Umbrum's wings fluffed up just a little, raising up involuntarily so they were halfway to unfurled. There was a dazed, yet content look in Sombra's eyes, it was obvious he enjoyed the sensation, would he enjoy more?

Sombra snapped out of his daze as the hand that had been attending to his ear now pressed flat against his cheek. It was so warm, how had he never noticed the warmth of Discord's hands before...??

Discords raised his other hand, so now he framed the stallions handsome face with both of them.

Neither tried to put a halt to things as they finally began to close the minimal distance between them. Sombra felt lips brush his- His heart raced, anticipation making him anxious..

SLAM. Suddenly his friend was pulled away from him, and Sombra gave a startled yelp. His wings flapped, trying to steady him.

He turned, seeing the cloud copy had now turned to attacking Discord. The Draconequus kicked it off and it growled angrily.

Sombra edged back as they confronted one another, glancing between them, It was the weirdest stand-off ever. Both parties ignored him, too busy eye-balling one another. He subtly began charging his magic, maybe he could use this to his advantage-

There-!

He fired, knocking the cloud him upside the head, giving Discord the opening he needed.

"You-!" he snarled, taking the moment Sombra had gifted him and grabbing the cloud copy by the throat. he flung it away from him, which sent the cloud copy punching through several clouds at high speed. Discord zipped after it and Sombra followed after them on auto pilot, hearing snatches of discords rant as he mercilessly fought the copy.

"-have any idea how hard this was?!" Discord snapped "a pony THIS important to me. All those dreams because I was to much of a coward to just admit it! Then I finally get him to believe me and you butt in-"

Sombra blinked, still catching up to it all. He'd never considered how his friend could mean more than just that. He had been so focused on being a good king to his ponies, he'd never even considered courting anypony's affections.

Thinking back, hadn't his advisor been hinting he should date? He'd almost tried, the previous year, but in the end he'd aborted on it, reverting to focusing on his empire. He couldn’t let his ponies down. At his coronation he'd said he was there for them and he had to keep that promise...

Maybe he'd been afraid, unsure if he could begin such a thing. What if it distracted him and he let somepony down? In the end these fears had made him shut off all efforts to find a loved one.

Even just last week....

Sombra's advisor had tried to corner him, explaining that he had some notes on the Infinitum biology he wished to impart to him. At that time, Sombra had shooed him away, saying now wasn’t the time, couldn’t he just submit it in writing? The advisor had looked peeved, but had given in to his Kings wishes, and had sent the files to his room. That’d been last week, and Sombra hadn’t read them. He'd been too busy getting ready for Discord and Fluttershy's visit. He looked forward to their trips, especially....Discord.

Sombra felt a wave of embarrassment hit him as he thought about it. He HAD always been most cheered by the Draconequus' visits, they were the times when he felt free, fully like he wanted. He snapped out of his daze and realised Discord was still ranting;

"-and now you have the nerve to interrupt the pivotal first kiss?! You’re going to wish I’d never created you to practise telling a stupidly sexy stallion-"

Sombra felt his confusion settle at long last, and he smiled. He spread his wings, flying up and hovering beside Discord.

"Let me help.." he smiled and Discord nodded. And so, as the battered cloud clone shot towards them, beyond reasoning now, Sombra and the Draconequus charged up their magic and let loose a doubly huge blast of dark and chaotic magic. The wide bore beam hit the compacted cloud and finally erased it from existence. They hovered there a moment, before simultaneously touching down on the nearest cloud.

"That is the last time I make copies of ANYTHING out of clouds. Far too stubborn!" Discord huffed. "Not bad, we make a good team-"

He half-thought the fight would’ve reset everything. Maybe he could try again another day to get this right-

"I cannot help but ponder...would we make a good anything else? Hm?" he felt himself blush as Sombra spoke. He turned round, and sure enough, Sombra was right in front of him, almost nose to nose. He swallowed nervously, processing what the King had just said;

"You mean-? Just being clear here, your majesty-" Discord babbled, simultaneously hopeful yet scared witless of putting one of his mismatched feet in it. Sombra snorted and shook his head, butting Discord's muzzle lightly with his own.

"Firstly, don’t call me "your majesty" ever again. You’ve never needed to. And yes, I want you to quit stalling and KISS ME for Celestia's sake! Are you just going to keep me waiting?" Sombra demanded imperiously. His lips were curved into a seductive smile.

Oh sweet Celestia he was so close, and so....direct.

--Damn..-- Discord thought, swallowing loudly and taking in the pony's confident stance. Sombra was armed with the knowledge of how Discord felt about him now, and was making things VERY clear.

So Discord gave the precocious King what he wanted. What he had been daydreaming about...

He sat down, framed the stallions face with his hands once more and drew him close. He noted in the back of his mind little details. The deep red of Sombra's kind, patient eyes, the way those jet black lashes contrasted with smoky grey fur as he closed his eyes, the heat of his coat...even the soft scent of whatever was in the water Sombra bathed in. So many details, the missing puzzle pieces from his dreams and fantasies.

Discord at last ensnared Sombra's lips with his own, and they finally completed the all-important first kiss. Saying it was worth the madness they'd just put up with was an understatement.

For Discord, it was like a tantalizing shock down his back, a real heart-stopper, he could swear he felt it slam into his ribcage as the taste of those lips sunk in. His tail swished eagerly, brushing against the pony’s cutie mark as it did. His ears caught a soft "pomf!" noise, muffled by the thud of his pulse thundering in his ears, but he ignored it in favour of enjoying the moment he'd been dreaming of for so long now.

Sombra pressed into the kiss, feeling that delicious shiver race up his spine again. Oh, he liked this. He was dimly aware of his wings flexing and stretching, adding to the tingly feelings in his nerves. He felt a freedom deep down he hadn’t known before. So much he'd never anticipated, never known...so much he wanted MORE of.

Discord heard a contented murmur, a gentle rumble through the body so close to his. It seemed to demand more as their lips parted for just a moment. Sombra's eyes met his and Discord eagerly kissed him a second time, even deeper then the first. His fingers tangled in that soft, flowing mane, caressing the back of the pony’s neck and drawing Sombra to a sitting position against his chest. Sombra groaned eagerly, feeling the warm body of his best friend pressing against his own.

They parted quite a few kisses later, both breathing a little rapidly. Lips numb and tingly, they caught their breath..

Discord realised what the "pomf" sound had been now. In hindsight he should recognised it.

Sombra had extraordinarily sensitive wings that displayed a variety of motions and fluffiness that corresponded to his emotions like a type of body language! Both of Sombra's wings had fluffed up, but there was something new. They seemed to shiver softly, like a subtle vibration was running through them.

It was obvious this new wing-emotion corresponded to what a normal pegasi referred to as "involuntary wing arousal", or to be more crude a "wing-boner".

Sombra looked at the wings, came to same conclusion and flushed a little, but somehow continued to look moderately unruffled. the way his eyes caught the light showed how much was going on behind the mask however. The way he licked his lips- oh sweet Celestia, it was tempting.

"How in the name of chaos did I ever concentrate around you?" Discord murmured out loud as he blatantly stared at Sombra.

"I'm not sure you did, if recent events have said anything." Sombra responded with a smile.

Discord brushed his thumb along Sombra's lower lip, then chanced placing another kiss on him, rubbing under the pony's chin as he did so. Sombra gave an involuntary moan, a soft, brief sound. but Discord heard it clear as crystal. It was as sensitive as his ears and Discord knew it.

"Do you see my point now?" Discord asked a little breathlessly as he let him go. "I never intended to anger you, I just wanted to get this right."

"Well you nailed it!" Sombra chuckled softly.

Discord snapped his fingers and confetti blasted out of nowhere. Sombra laughed and shook his head to dislodge bits of confetti from his mane, letting them drift to the clouds underneath. Discord smiled warmly and plucked a stray piece from Sombra's nose.

A thought occurred to Sombra as Discord placed a brief kiss on his nose and he suddenly winced guiltily "Discord, I’m sorry-"

"Hush." Discord kissed him quickly, cutting him off "it's nothing for you to be concerned over."

"You didn’t let me finish!" Sombra objected, and Discord chuckled.

"Don’t need to, my dear Sombra." Discord said with a grin. "I know what you’re talking about!"

"But I acted so childishly-mmh!" Sombra was cut off, and flushed again at the passion in the kiss. He blinked mutely as he was released.

Discord smiled "I said hush and I mean it. I think I’d be mad if I seen what you did. It's all just context, my dear Sombra. You didn’t have any to work with and I don’t blame you for getting angry, it looked insulting."

"Even so-" Sombra booped Discord's muzzle as the Draconequus closed the distance between them, briefly preventing them from kissing again "I jumped to conclusions about the one who's been supporting my my whole second life. I’m sorry, Discord."

The sincere look in his eyes more than ensured Discord couldn't have stayed mad even if he'd wanted to!

"Ish fine Shombwa." Discord said, eyes twinkling in amusement. Sombra flushed, lowering his hoof.

"Good pony," Discord smiled "now, your reward.." he pulled Sombra into a slow, leisurely kiss, one hand sneaking up to scratch behind Sombra's right ear again. This combined with kisses sent jolts down Sombra's wings, causing them to pomf again just as they had started to relax.

"I think they like you." Sombra said, making the wings twitch and curving them inwards to encase the Draconequus in their feathery embrace.

Sombra rubbed his cheek against Discord's, something ponies did to show affection to a cherished one. This gentle gesture made Discord grin inside, this was really happening! No dream, not even the sauna one, could compare with this!

As his hand slid down to rest along Sombra's neck, Discord recalled something else. The reason he'd returned to his house in the first place.

"Blast it, I forgot!" he he blurted.

"Forgot what?" Sombra blinked, startled by the sudden interruption.

"I had something I wanted to give you, something special-"

"Oh you already did~" Sombra purred, stealing a quick kiss of his own. They parted and Sombra was startled to hear a loud clang from inside discords chest. "What in-?"

"Sorry, that’d be my heart exploding, you have that kind of effect on me, gorgeous"~ Discord joked. Truth was, he was prone to such oddities of biology, he just got used to it as a being of sheer chaos.

Sombra tilted his head to one side, letting one hoof gently massage the spot where he'd heard the thud. "Maybe it can be jump started?" he said, in an almost teasing voice, before placing a gentle kiss in that same spot. This netted him another deep kiss on the lips from Discord soon as he lifted his head.

"Stop. Being. So. Cute." Discord scolded "I’m trying to be serious here. There was another thing I wanted to give you! Wait right here!"

Sombra chuckled softly, but nodded. He sat patiently as Discord vanished, pondering what had just happened. Things had gone from angry to heart-racing in the blink of an eye. He'd felt angry and betrayed on seeing that cloud clone, but it made sense now, Discord had been trying to work up the courage to tell him how he felt.

And, Sombra reflected, who else could possibly know him so well then the one who'd done the most in saving Sombra from himself. The PTSD, shock and his psychological damage had almost been the end of him, had it not been for Discord's constant reassurance. His refusal to listen to Sombra talk about himself as if he was still a monster. He'd believed since the discovery of Sombra's heritage that the pony could be a good ruler. He'd adamantly repeated "yet", every time Sombra had pointed out he wasn’t a fit ruler.

"Here.." Sombra snapped out of his daze as Discord sat back down before him and held a pouch out. He opened it with his magic and withdrew a chain. Hanging from it was a pair of crossed wings. One like a pony’s, the other different. Sombra smiled as he realised it almost resembled Discord's bat-like wing.

"Did you make this?" he asked. Discord shook his head.

"Aeris gave it to me while we were out shopping with Flutters. I think she KNEW. She said not to delay. In other words let you know. Undoubtedly she knew it was you, maybe she seen me staring, who knows?"

He frowned as Sombra ducked his head slightly, face reddening "what is it?"

"I uh.." Sombra chuckled as he met Discord's eyes, deciding to be honest as he owed him that much "don’t look so worried. I was just remembering how, when I seen you giving Fluttershy a present I...I was slightly jealous of her."

"You were?" Discord tried not to laugh. Sombra jabbed him in the chest lightly, blushing furiously.

"Don’t you laugh!" he complained, then calmed down "a-anyway, I was feeling depressed over the thought if you and she...got closer, that’d I would see less of you. I may have..."

"Been in denial?" Discord asked. Sombra blinked, he hadn’t sounded teasing or amused. More...curious? He nodded.

"You’re so cute, Sombra. And a crap liar to the end!" Discord chuckled. He'd always teased Sombra for being rubbish at lying, to him anyway.

"A book with-" Sombra began.

"Pictures and curse words." Discord finished the familiar phrase.

"The large print edition" Sombra quoted his friend.

"Ultra rare hardback." Discord added and they burst out laughing.

He gestured to the necklace and Sombra nodded. Discord draped it around the pony’s neck, doing the clasp up. It fell nicely against the curve of the pony's throat and the jewelled wings caught the light and glittered.

"Its gorgeous.." Sombra murmured, looking down at it. He felt a kiss press to his forehead, just at the base of his horn. The gentle intimacy of this action made him feel the same wonderful shiver down his back. He tilted his head up, nudging Discord's muzzle with his own. He made a soft harrumph noise, and Discord chuckled before he pulled Sombra into his arms again and kissed him.

The Draconequus wondered if the stallion knew just how close to bursting from happiness he truly was?

As he pressed the kiss deeper, running his tongue along the pony's lips, his hands wandered down Sombra's back to rest at the base of his wings. Gently massaging the flight appendages elicited another, louder groan from Sombra and they broke apart a moment later, the pony breathing rapidly. He clearly liked it, he'd made no move to fold them down since first pomf.

"Too much?" Discord wondered. Sombra flushed, feeling slightly self-conscious about the wings. He knew what a wing-boner was, Rainbow had given him a book on wings and that term had been covered in there, albeit with its proper name alongside. But wing-boner seemed to be a popular slang term commonly used by pegasi…

Sombra told his mind to get back on track and cleared his throat.

"No. Mistake it not, I enjoy it.." he said truthfully as he flexed one wing, enjoying the sensation of tension running down them. "Never have I felt this sensation before."

"Oh? well, I'm sure we can get you used to it.." Discord teased, grinning mischievously at now knowing his friends weak spot. Seeing this gleeful smugness written all over his friends face, Sombra gave him a mock-warning look.

"Don’t you dare-ahh!"

Another swift, unexpected cheeky petting of the wings made Sombra shiver and press instinctively against Discord's chest.

Seeing the King flush at being caught off guard, Discord kissed the curve of his jaw, murmuring; "it's rather adorable..."

"Shut up.." Sombra grumbled lightly.

"Hmm, fret not my precious Umbrum. I'll keep this secret, I don’t want anyone else knowing~!" the Draconequus caught the pony's eye and grinned. Sombra couldn’t refrain from letting a smile spread across his face too. Just THIER secret, hm?

Sombra's stomach gurgled and Discord raised an eyebrow as the pony face-hoofed.

"First clones, now your stomach, dear Sombra. Today is a day of nonsensical interruptions." he poked the pony’s belly, making him laugh briefly. Sombra opened his mouth to retort, then recalled the reason why he'd come here..

"Dinner!" he blurted, eyes wide.

"If you want, maybe a movie-?" Discord joked lightly. Sombra blinked, shook his head and tried to make sense;

"No, dinner! I came to find you because it's dinner time. Fluttershy will be wondering where we are!!"

"Whoops.." Discord chuckled "lets go then, I can postpone kissing you senseless to another time!"

Sombra laughed softly, but there was a faint flush to his face, hidden by his grey fur.

They disentangled themselves, Discord helping Sombra to his hooves. As they stood there, dusting cloud off themselves, Discord cocked his head to one side.

"Sombra?"

"Hm?"

"Why is there a perfect imprint of your ass in that cloud?"

"...how do you know it's mine?" Sombra said stupidly, then seen Discord's smug expression.

"Because I have admired your arse enough times to recognise its signature anywhere!" Discord snorted.

Sombra groaned "well it wasn’t intentional. Some of those clouds are secretly trampolines!"

"Well, at least I have a use for this sign, after all this!" Discord grabbed a piece of cardboard jutting out of a second cloud, turning it the right way round and wedging it in the side of the cloud bearing the imprint of a certain pony’s butt.

Sombra seen the sign read "nice arse", and would later swear he initially wanted to strangle Discord and would have too, had the urge to laugh not won that fight first!

Discord floated back, seeing the King just shaking his head and laughing his (shapely) ass off.

"You’d better get rid of that next time I come here.." Sombra snorted "if anypony else sees it, I am going to clobber you!"

"...It'll be worth it." Discord grinned at last and Sombra nudged him in the side.

Discord reopened the portal and they stepped out, emerging in the hallway outside the dining room. Sombra checked his reflection in the nearest window, he didn’t look too ruffled. Nothing to give away how close to hot and heavy things had nearly gotten. Just a faint smile on his face.

Discord noticed something though. The shift in Sombra's eyes, the worry haunting him had vanished, replaced by a faint gleam.

Sombra arranged his expression into its usual calm and pushed the dining room door open.

Fluttershy was on the balcony feeding some birds, and the cook looked up at their entrance.

"Ah, your majesty. You’re here!" he had asked the shy pegasus where Sombra was and she said he'd gone to find that chaos creature, Discord.

Everypony in the Umbrum empire knew who Discord was. Both his previous history and his role in their beloved King's return. He was King Sombra's best friend, his closest advisor. Sombra had repeated many times how without Discord’s help, he'd have given up on himself back at the start. So even though Discord did have an unfortunate habit of playing pranks on the palace staff, everypony was used to him. Any being that had earned so much of their monarchs favour had earned their respect.

Fluttershy heard the well-known voices of her friends and darted back inside, giving Discord a hug.

"You were gone awhile, is everything alright?" she asked curiously. Discord chuckled, booping her on the nose.

"I was dealing with a crisis involving sentient clouds gone homicidal when Sombra showed up. Took us awhile to destroy them all."

"Oh my.." Fluttershy blanched "what made them go crazy?"

Discord shrugged causally "Its chaos magic, in a crazy realm. Par for the course to be honest. Although it will be remembered as one of the more...unusual outcomes. Clouds utterly out the ass!"

Sombra barely bit back a snort of laughter at the reminder. Discord winked knowingly as they took their places.

But the thought did occur to Sombra later on; shouldn’t they tell Fluttershy? She was Discord’s closest friend after all, besides Sombra himself. She'd find out sooner or later...

--Lets just adjust ourselves to all this first!-- he decided in the end. His heart pounded as he recalled that kiss. Oh sweet Celestia, it was delicious..

Author's Note

Fun fact; this story has been in development for almost a year! I started it a LONG time ago, but sidelined it until I felt I could do it justice, write it properly. I'd like to thank Hail-King-

Sombra for letting me ramble about this over Skype, offering suggestions in some cases! Along with the support I needed to finish such an obscure project. Thanks~ *hug*

Also, here's a song i feel nicely encapsulates this whole story: Miracle by Shinedown. Its an awesome song

Because You Love Me

Author's Note

Just a heads up, things get pretty heated later in this chapter, nudge nudge wink wink, catch my drift? XD

Because You Love Me

The next day was the Hearts and Hooves Day, the main date itself! For the occasion, Sombra was wearing a deep red cloak with a rose-gold edging. His shoes and neck-plate were made of the same material.

"Oh that is so pretty!" Fluttershy cried, clapping her hooves as Sombra descended the staircase. Discord barely suppressed a wolf-whistle because that pony looked GOOD.

Flutters was wearing a pale pink and white dress she'd brought with her, its delicate floating fabric brushing the floor softly as she moved about.

"Courtesy of Rarity," Sombra smiled "I have been buying all my official outfits from her since the coronation."

--That pony must be rich by now!-- Discord mused, as Sombra gestured towards the waiting carriage outside.

"What do YOU normally do for hearts and hooves Discord"? Sombra glanced at his friend as the carriage rumbled along.

"Hm? me?" Discord shrugged "ignore it, mostly."

"Well, you always visit me for an extra special tea!" Fluttershy piped up. Sombra smiled at this side of Discord and the Draconequus felt himself flush under the King's gentle scrutiny.

"Of course my dear Flutters, I wouldn’t miss it for the world! I just mean I’m not into all this lovey dovey stuff." Discord tousled her mane, then snapped his fingers quickly and plucked a rose form thin air to tuck in her mane.

"Ooh, I love it!" Fluttershy beamed at Discord, then she cocked her head as the noise level outside was mounting quickly "we're here!"

Fluttershy double checked to make sure her dress was still clean as they got ready to exit. The sound of the crowd could be clearly heard, chanting their Kings name and cheering!

The carriage came to a halt and the aide opened the door, announcing his majesty's presence. The ponies cheered loudly as Sombra exited along with his two friends.

Sombra smiled warmly to the crowd as he strode forward, waving eagerly to them. Sombra stopped now and then for pictures, or to meet the children in the crowd, some of whom held up magazines or books for him to sign. He lingered as long as he could so as to satisfy them all, then finally turned towards the reason he was here.

Flower petals literally lined the street as the King, flanked by his two friends, stepped up to where a satiny red ribbon stretched across the top of the street where the festival was set up. After a short speech to the eager populace, Sombra cut the ribbon and declared the festival, begun!

The ponies cheered loudly and trotted eagerly past where the two halves of the ribbon lay on the street, to begin a day of fun and romance!

The citizens were very pleased to see the King strolling around the festival and he had no shortage of well wishers and admirers vying for a moment of his time.

“Your majesty- for you!”

“Please accept this, it's hoof-made..”

A group of school kids ran over to present a lovely card they’d all made together, it was covered in cute doodles of him, his kingdom and palace.

“Its wonderful~” Sombra thanked them warmly and the kids cheered, the teacher thanking the King for his time.

Very soon his own saddlebags were full and one of his assistants had to take over, as there was no shortage of ponies wanting to give special gifts to the ruler.

Sombra did his best to thank the ponies for the kindness, gifting each well wisher with a smile and words of gratitude. Many blushed when he focused on them alone, nodding because they didn’t know what to say to the monarch. Discord seen how not just mares but stallions approached Sombra too...

Ponies shot envious glances at himself and Fluttershy, being as the two of them were closer to the secretive King than anypony. Sombra's love life was a tightly guarded secret, everypony and many publications speculated every so often if he liked so-and-so or not?

"Goodness, they really adore him don’t they?" Fluttershy said, staring at the saddlebags of presents the citizens had given Sombra.

"And that silly pony thought he be bad at this." Discord chuckled. "How things have changed."

"I can HEAR you, you know!" Sombra joked over his shoulder. Discord whistled innocently, but naturally fooled nopony.

He caught Sombra's eye, seeing the King smiling, and felt a jolt run up his spine. Knowing that just yesterday, he'd kissed this same stallion and told him he liked him, made him grin inside.

Going by the brief look in Sombra's eyes, he was thinking the same.

At the centre of town, a special area had been set up for the King and his friends to sit in so they could watch the displays being put on.

Sombra had been entranced by a particular type of glitter fireworks when he'd been staying at the Crystal Empire, so he'd asked to have some brought in for the festival this year! It was this sparkling display that now filled the sky with dazzling, glittering light.

“Wonderful!” Discord grinned, watching the patterns filling the sky.

“They’re just gorgeous!” Fluttershy clasped her fore-hooves to her chest, eyes wide as she drank it all in.

For the grand finale, fireworks were set off that exploded in tandem to form the King's cutie mark, surrounded by a heart.

Sombra applauded loudly as the last one faded from the sky and the firework operators took a bow while the King praised the display.

"Those were the same fireworks I seen that day at the parade," Sombra explained to Discord, who nodded.

"I remember, I seen the newspaper. That and you had glitter on your face when you got back. You were smiling so much."

Sombra chuckled softly "Back then, I didn't do that often. I was still pretty locked up inside. But, if anyone dragged me biting and snarling out of the comfort zone, it was you."

“Guilty, yo." Discord put on some sunglasses and nodded sagely. Sombra snorted in amusement, shaking his head subtly. How did Discord think up these things so fast? Sombra liked to think HE had a fast enough sense of humour, but compared to Discord, he was still a novice!

Discord lowered the shades and winked subtly at his friend, making Sombra chuckle again.

Alongside the other wondrous displays was the other part of the festival Sombra looked forward to, the FOOD. Imported crystal berries had been used in many of the recipes, a lot of which were Umbrum delicacies recovered from Lady Umbra's memory link!

As the King chattered to his aide who was sat beside him, Discord seen the sunlight glimmer off the necklace he'd fixed around Sombra's neck just yesterday. He couldn't resist allowing a small smile onto his face as he watched Sombra, noting the way the necklace rested on the curve of his neck. He longed to reach up and scratch behind those ears- heck, he wanted to do a lot more, but knew Sombra to be a more private being, PDAs would have to wait.

Fluttershy looked up from her food and caught a brief glimpse of that same smile on Discord's face. She wondered if Discord was daydreaming again, he sometimes did drift off when something caught his minds eye- then she noticed where his gaze was directed.

He was looking at Sombra.

--Is he...?-- realising she was staring, she flushed and quickly returned her attention to her food, not wanting to be impolite. But the thought did occur to her that maybe Discord DID care about Sombra in that way? Back when they'd collectively been struggling to find a way to revive a crystal-stasised Sombra, Cadance had pondered if the two shared more then a friendly bond, but had quickly dismissed it. Maybe she had been right after all?

She didn't dare ask, she knew Discord was still very guarded, even if he relaxed around her, he generally didn't talk about how HE felt. Any attempts were often deflected with questions about her and she always gave in, not wanting to upset him.

The carriage drove them back to the palace and they had a lovely dinner filled with more traditional dishes and desserts.

Discord let out a sizeable belch as he finished.

"Discord!" Fluttershy frowned at him.

"Compliments to the chef!" Discord said "it is actually considered an honor here if your food is so good, your guests burp really loudly!"

Fluttershy looked at Sombra, who sighed "I am afraid he's right. It is a recent discovery, we have been able to get the most vital facts about our culture out of the way, our history, buildings etc, so now were noting down the less urgent facts. One of which, Discord just shared."

"Score one for me!" Discord grinned smugly “Learnt it off Sombra's mother when I met her on the way down to breakfast!”

"I see.." Fluttershy flushed as she stared at her plate "I don’t think I can burp like that.."

“Oh you don’t have to," Sombra reassured her "it is strictly voluntary. Mainly its done at fancy dinners to show off to your host and their kitchen! The louder the burp, the bigger the compliment."

"So the cooks won't mind," Discord grinned, gesturing to the kitchen door at the rooms far end "hopefully they’re pretty pleased!"

Sombra shook his head and laughed.

"Don’t you look so modest, you!" Discord teased the King "Last time I was here, you did one so loud they literally left the kitchen to thank you!"

Sombra face-hoofed as Fluttershy began helplessly giggling at the mental image.

"Shut up, Discord." the King growled jokingly "or I’ll-"

"Stuff me down the back of the couch? You’ve been threatening me with that for years, shake it up! Why not a chair with a very high back? That way it’ll take forever to see me from the back!" Discord joked. Cue a death glare from the King, tinged with an amused grin.

Sombra caught the giggling Fluttershy's eye and gave her a grin. She could see how genuinely relaxed he was around her and Discord.

--I'm glad he's able to feel happy, he's been through so much after all..--

Later on, as they walked the halls together after accompanying Fluttershy as far as her room and saying goodnight, Discord floated next to Sombra, nudging his friend.

"Shame we can't just get a minute alone." he said softly, so only the King would hear him. Sadly, Sombra was heading to a late meeting to catch up to what his time at the festival had delayed.

Sombra smirked knowingly "I’m not sure I would be satisfied with just a minute?" he teased in return.

"Well how about tonight, once everypony's asleep?" Discord murmured. Sombra caught his eye and a minuscule nod served as confirmation.

Discord watched the pony vanish into the room the meeting was situated in and drifted away humming.

The entire duration of his wrap-up presentation to the King once the other advisors had left, Page Assist noticed the King seemed to be smiling more than usual. Usually the monarch wore a very serious expression, although not unkind, yet today he seemed more happy than he usually displayed.

He studied the pony's posture, the way he held his wings and had a thought...could it be? Had something changed this year at the romantic festival?

It was common knowledge that the Umbrum Palace was considered the first wonder of the empire, the second its super tough crystal generated by native Umbrum's and the third, according to gossip, was the King's heart. Surrounded by mystery, many would love to be the one who could boast they’d unlocked it.

"Sire," he approached Sombra's desk, setting the King's tea in front of him "have you perchance read those notes I left for you?"

"Hm?" Sombra looked up, a perplexed frown on his face "what notes are those?"

Page Assist sighed "the notes on Infinitum biology sire! It's important that you read them. It has been over two weeks now since I gave them to you!"

Sombra let the book he was studying fall from his magic's hold, making a soft thud as it hit the desk. He fixed a confused, slightly annoyed glance at his aide.

"I am aware my memories were once fractured, what with everything that I endured back then, but I am not so blind as to be unaware of my own species. Unless you fear I am getting sick?"

"No sire!" Page Assist backtracked, "As the Infinitum, you are literally a step above a normal Umbrum. Your magic and body function on a level we still haven't fully identified. Even Lady Umbra had admitted she does not know all there is to know about the Infinitum's, her memories do not contain complete info about what you are! That report is the deepest she has been able to delve so far, it has been months in the gathering. We need to confirm what details from the past are true and what is just speculation. I beg you-"

Sombra sighed, raising a hoof to make the aide stop "very well. I shall endeavour to attend to to it this week if I have time."

He wondered idly why his mother hadn’t brought this up, then remembered she was probably handling a dozen different historical restoration projects at once and it made sense to delegate.

Page Assist realised this was as close as he could push the King. He'd learnt by this point how to read the King's moods and right now Sombra's irritation was starting to show in the set of his jaw and the way his ears twitched. So he backed down for now, ceding to his King's whims. But if his suspicions were correct, his majesty was possibly about to enter a new stage of Infinitum development. It would be a major change if IT happened, one the King needed to be aware of.

Sooner rather than later...

--Still,-- Page Assist reasoned –his majesty is very well mannered. If my observations are correct, he is not the type to just run headlong into anything more...physical.--

He hoped he was right.

Sombra walked back to his bedroom, smiling at the memories of the day. He drifted in, letting the door click shut behind him. As he passed the table holding the water jug, his eye fell upon that report Page Assist had been so fidgety about earlier. He cast a bored glance at it, then finished undressing and climbed into bed, pulling the covers up over his body. But he didn't sleep just yet, he was waiting...

Soon, he became aware of a shadow falling across the end of his bed. Heart picking up in excitement, his gaze flicked up to the balcony window, where a familiar figure hovered.

Discord waved at him and grinned widely. Sombra got out of bed, slipping a cloak on and opening the doors for his more-than-a-friend.

"Hello you~" Discord grinned as they came face to face, massaging behind Sombra's ears as he spoke.

"Hello yourself, also." Sombra said softly, enjoying the ear-rubbing. He was treated to a quick, teasing kiss that made him grin ear-to-ear inside.

"Follow me." he whispered to the chaos lord, kissing him in return before taking to the sky. He heard Discord following after him and flew up into the clouds. He knew of a special place where they could be alone properly.

He took a specific route to avoid the patrolling guards and headed for the forest. In the moonlight, the leaves seemed to glow a pale silver as the two winged figures dove down into them. Sombra alighted on the leaf strewn ground, trotting through the trees on autopilot.

"Where are we headed- whoa.." Discord raised an eyebrow as his question was answered by what he seen as the branches fell back into place behind him. Sombra had led them to a lake. It was perfectly still, the water gleaming like a polished pane of glass in the starlight. The sky above it was filled with stars, giving the lake and appearance not unlike Luna’s mane.

"I often come here at night, it's peaceful." Sombra smiled back at Discord.

"It's very charming," Discord had to admit "escaping your guards, eh?"

"Sometimes, when I need a break. But usually at night when they least suspect I will take a wander." Sombra sat down at the lakes edge, letting one hoof brush the surface of the water. This sent ripples out across the previously still surface, making the stars reflections shimmer and scatter.

Discord settled down next to him, sitting comfortably close to the stallion's warm body.

"As hideouts go, this is pretty epic." He grinned at the King. Sombra smiled, nodding silently, then he unfolded his right wing and draped it over Discord's back.

The Draconequus felt his breath catch in his throat at the warmth of that wing and what it represented. But his King wasn’t done yet...

Sombra shifted his weight and leant against the Draconequus, who could hardly believe his luck. Sombra was making it pretty clear how he felt, again. Even Discord knew a fair bit about wings; wing-boners indicated arousal most of the time (although Sombra's tended to fluff up when startled), a lot of body language was shown through wings and the move Sombra had just made was a pegasi version of flirting. Laying a wing around another pony signalled you really liked them.

He couldn't resist letting his eyes roam down the wing to the spot where they joined to the stallion's back. Sombra caught him mid-stare and smiled knowingly. Discord flushed happily, for THAT particular action was like a retort to the first flirty action. Staring at a pegasi's wings, especially at the base, was a personal move generally reserved for a romantic partner. Pegasi had been known to punch one another out over cases of another pony ogling them or their date.

Sombra completed the move set by snaring Discord in a kiss. The chaos creature uttered a happy sigh, closing his eyes and letting himself indulge in just THIS moment. This wasn’t a daydream, an idle fantasy used to entertain himself, this was real.

He hadn't found anything or ANYPONY in this case, that had made him feel this happy since making friends with Fluttershy. But this was a different happiness. Fluttershy was a cosy, steadfast and supportive happy, whilst Sombra was a wild and untamed kind of happy.

He heard the sounds of the forest all around them, the soft rustle of the breeze, the chattering of insects and the occasional caw of a nocturnal bird. The sound of his heartbeat going a gazillion miles-an-hour blended into this ambient sound scape as he returned the kiss, one hand coming to rest over Sombra's hoof.

Discord uttered a soft moan before he could stop himself as the pony's tongue brushed his lips. He happily let the Alicorn push the kisses even deeper, returning them with equal fervour.

At last the pony released him, looking pleased. The way the light caught his eyes made Discord fall even more into them. Those soft ears that he admired so often twitched, as if sensing his gaze.

This close to him, Discord was able to admire how fine Sombra's coat was as. Despite looking like solid crystal at first glance, Umbrum ponies actually had soft coats but the hair was so fine it flattened down perfectly, creating a smooth appearance. Beneath the transparent hair of said coats, their bodies took on unique shades as they matured. In a way, it was like a cutie mark, showing the pony's maturity. Although thanks to their King's efforts, Umbrums gained cutie marks now too.

"What...?" Sombra asked curiously, seeing Discord studying him in such an intense way.

"Just admiring you," Discord said shamelessly, raising an eyebrow with a grin "your species is amazing. Crystal, yet soft as silk..."

He ran a hand up Sombra's chest to his right ear, where he scratched behind it. Sombra chuckled, angling his head to lean eagerly into the attention, a contented growl rumbling in his chest.

"Mmmh...." he sighed softly, ears twitching against Discord's gentle fingers.

Discord moved from scratching behind the pony's ear to under his chin next, making Sombra tilt his head back, eyes closing and a blissed out smile spreading over his face.

"Mmhh, that's good." he said approvingly, blinking dazedly as Discord finished, paw resting back by Sombra's hoof once more.

"The benefit to having hands." the Draconequus grinned, waggling his fingers. Sombra chuckled.

"Oh, I am sure there is a lot you can do with those~" he smirked. Discord struggled not to blush, was that an innuendo from his precious Sombra?

"I believe I have acquired such knowledge of the sexual euphemism by YOUR tutelage." Sombra informed him, reading his expression.

"Touché." Discord shrugged, but still looked proud of himself.

"Hay," he nudged Sombra lightly after a moments reflection, "wanna see the best thing about fingers?" He folded his thumb and all but one of his fingers down, leaving the middle finger up.

"I call it "flipping off!" It looks rather rude, therefore a good way to show dislike of something!" he grinned proudly.

Sombra studied the gesture a moment as he processed the meaning behind it, then started laughing.

"Very inventive," he praised "I only wish I had fingers, so that I could do that."

"True, hooves do limit your options slightly. Can't do it with your wings I suppose?" Discord queried. Sombra promptly tried moving his feathers around, but only succeeded it poking his friend several times, once in the eye, with said feathers.

"Sorry." he coughed, folding the wing down. Discord laughed, kissing him quickly as he scratched the base of that wing. This made both of them fluff up a little and Sombra uttered a soft moan of pleasure.

"Ahh...little to the left..." Sombra closed his eyes, wings fluffing up to maximum to show off his relaxed state as the attention continued "that’s it, right there."

Discord bit his lip to refrain from saying what was going through his mind. That if he closed his eyes such words took on a new meaning...

Sombra's stomach came to the rescue when it gurgled and the regal stallion pretended to look innocent, which didn’t work.

"Afraid to say it, but I know that’s you." Discord dead-panned.

"Blast, my plan has been foiled!" Sombra declared theatrically, making Discord snigger loudly.

"You goofy pony!" he teased, earning a familiar glower.

To distract him, Discord kissed Sombra and said he'd make a quick trip to his chaos dimension to get them a midnight snack. Sombra nodded and felt the faint displacement of air that accompanied a teleport, as Discord disappeared.

He lasted a mere minute before the temptation of the water got to him. It looked so still, and inviting...

He stood up, stretched, then dove into the water. The splashing echoed in the still air as he swam towards the centre. There, he held his breath and let himself sink under. The thudding of his pulse in his ears always reassured him, he'd done this ever since his recovery and it was why he had such a deep bath in his private bathroom!

Whereas he'd once done this because he was scared or suffering from trauma, now he did it to hear his thoughts more clearly. He recalled the feeling of Discord's kiss and listened to the thud of his pulse as he drifted to the surface, swimming back to the shallower side near the bank so he could stand. The water came partway up his legs and he shook his wings to dry them a little.

He turned to look back up at the sky, gazing at the stars...

This was the precise moment when Discord returned from his errand. He teleported back in, carting a picnic basket along with him and promptly caught sight of the contemplating King. He stared, words catching his throat.

Sombra was standing in the water, rivulets of it running down his coat. The water gleamed like liquid starlight on the Umbrum's body. This was even more tantalising then when he'd stuck his head through the door and seen Sombra's mildly-damp coat after a bath. Completely waterlogged, his tail clung to the curve of his flank, leaving little to the imagination. The moonlight flashed off the crystal Alicorn as he stared dreamily at the stars.

--Boing.-- Discord's crude side nudged his more quiet side, catching it off-guard.

Thus Discord broke off from ogling the sight of the crystal King to realise Sombra had (albeit unwittingly) given the Draconequus a wing-boner himself and then some.

Sombra turned as he heard a faint fwumpf. Looking over his shoulder, he seen Discord lying on the grass on his stomach, chin propped up on his hands with a basket in front of him and a grin on his face.

"Ta-da!” the Draconequus gestured to the basket.

"Wonderful!" Sombra's stomach gurgled again at the thought of food, he was pretty hungry now.

"Taking a dip were we?" Discord asked, trying to keep the pony distracted so he could at least TRY to relax his wings.

"Yes, I have always been fond of the water." Sombra said as he turned to face his friend. He strode through the water, magic shimmering over his body and drying him as he stepped back onto the bank.

"I grabbed a whole bunch of stuff, random dimension, random kitchen cupboard contents!" Discord said brightly. He seemed a little distracted, Sombra thought, but maybe he was just imagining things?

"I probably should have assed- I mean ASKED, if you fancied anything specific." The chaos being mentally face-palmed.

--Smooth. Like sandpaper. ...You dingus.-- he scolded himself.

This odd little slip up made Sombra tilt his head curiously, but he didn’t say anything. Discord was sweating figurative bullets. Did Sombra see through his act?

--I cant tell him he looked so good he got me going, so to speak!-- his brain chided him, all the while fighting the urge to pin Sombra to the grass and kiss him senseless.

"You know me, I am a lover of all manner of food!" Sombra smiled idly, stretching his wings and back. This meant that at one point he WAS sticking his rear a little high in the air, as ponies were apt to do when stretching.

"I brought some wine, if you fancy, so-" Discord tailed off as he watched Sombra, swallowing nervously "bottoms up?"

"Say again?" Sombra asked, blinking at him as he straightened up.

"Never-mind." Discord coughed, yelling at the urge to get lost already! He'd only just told Sombra he felt that way about him, wanting to bonk him already would probably come across as a bit manic.

Not to mention, he was pretty sure Sombra wasn’t likely to play submissive to ANYONE. He was too powerful and too fierce, right? Not that Discord at all minded the idea of this wing-and-other-types-of-boner pony doing the deed with him, hell, it had been his top-ranked idle daydream as of late. But the other, the second place fantasy? THAT entailed him nailing the gorgeous pony. A body like that, how could he deny the thought?

He pushed those thoughts aside as Sombra settled down by him.

"Are you OK?" Sombra asked, brushing Discord's nose with his own "you seem a little distracted."

"I'm fine, handsome." Discord stole a quick kiss and grinned.

“Alright..” Sombra dropped the issue, nuzzling his cheek and watching Discord blush.

"Now, shall we?" the Draconequus indicted the food and drink.

Sombra nodded, once more draping his wing over Discord's back as they dug into the food. Some of it Discord heated with his magic, delicious smells filling the tranquil spot.

"Ooh, try this!" Discord held up a spoonful of rainbow coloured jelly, lashings of cream topping it off "I got the recipe for this from Fluttershy, who got it off Pinkie Pie!"

Sombra made a curious noise and Discord blushed at the way the King angled his head to snag the dessert off the spoon Discord was holding. Even sexier was the way a small blob of cream remained on the tip of his nose, as the pony licked his lips.

"Most delicious," The King said in approval, looking up at Discord "where did you say you-"

He stopped, seeing his friend was more than a bit red "are you OK?"

"Yes, fine- just very...hot!" Discord pretended to blast steam out of his ears, fanning his face. This display made Sombra laugh.

"It is pretty humid here, you should see it in winter. The ice grows thick enough to skate upon!"

"Fluttershy and I skate in Ponyville all the time in the winter months! You should join us!" Discord beamed, almost fainting in relief inside when Sombra bought the distraction.

But that smudge of cream was still there...

"You uh- on your nose?" he coughed at last.

“Hm?” Sombra blinked, leaning down to see his reflection in the once more still waters. Seeing the blob of cream, he burst out laughing and wiped it away with one hoof.

Eventually, both the food, drink, AND Discord’s crazy urges were gone. Sombra reluctantly said he would need to return to bed, he had work in the morning.

Discord nodded, disappointed their night ended so suddenly, yet glad he'd had the time alone with him. He wasn’t sure how things were going to move forward, when or if at all Sombra would want more. But he was content just to kiss him as often as he could get away with, for now.

He escorted Sombra home and kissed him goodnight inside the privacy of the King's room. Then he simply teleported out, returning to his own bed.

The next day passed with Discord and Fluttershy having a laid back day at the spa. Once he was free, Sombra happily joined them to get a wing and back massage.

Discord couldn’t help envy the masseuse, he wanted to put his hands all over Sombra too.

That night, Discord racked his brains, trying to think of a way to make a lovely date for the King?

He knew Sombra loved food as much as he did, that pony had one heck of an appetite! So what about that restaurant he'd heard about from Rarity? The one with that speciality dish?

The next morning, eager to see what Sombra thought, Discord showed up on the balcony, knocking at the window. Sombra trotted out of the bathroom, smiled when he seen the fidgety Draconequus and stepped out to join him.

"You're up early!" he remarked "coffee?"

"Definitely." Discord answered. Sombra took a minute to make them some coffee, then they sat out on the balcony together, watching the world wake up.

"Something on your mind?" Sombra asked, breaking the companionable silence at last. They were sat comfortably side by side and the knowledge that the morning guard would definitely see them was all that kept discord from sneaking a kiss or three.

"Yes, I was wondering if you were busy this evening?" Discord said casually. Sombra blinked, wondering if Discord was asking what he thought he was?

"Well, you are in luck, my appointments are all in the morning and afternoon. Why?" Sombra asked with a smile.

"Because I want to take you to dinner, as I promised. And I know a lovely little place, out of the way and peaceful, where you- where WE can relax."

"Sounds wonderful," Sombra smiled "I shall see you this evening then?"

"You shall indeed. Just pop into my realm at the usual dinnertime and we'll go from there!" Discord said calmly, whilst squeeing inside. It'd worked, the first official date was set!

Sombra's bright smile seemed to reflect his excitement, he could see it in the pony's eyes. Then the stallion seemed to remember something, and asked "oh, what about-"

"Flutters is meeting somepony for dinner, a pen friend of hers from some place she stayed at. So don’t worry, she's not being forgotten."

"I wonder who it is?" Sombra tried to remember that one pony Fluttershy had mentioned at the spa, what was her name? Something about a tree, or three?

Discord shrugged, he couldn’t remember the pony’s name either. Something about a hug?

"Scoot now, cutie. I'll be seeing you later." he nudged Sombra's muzzle briefly with his own.

"It's a date." Sombra whispered, anticipation sending a thrill up his back as he watched Discord fly away, walking back into his bedroom.

That entire day, Discord was like a cat on a hot tin roof. Next to nothing held his attention. He was very eager to take his precious King out for their first official date! He'd never dated exactly, so he was basing what he was doing off a book he'd read. Go out for dates, buy them gifts etc..

Fluttershy noticed his spacing out, but figured it was something private and didn’t ask. She just nudged him when he forgot to eat or drink, as they had lunch together.

Sombra told his staff he'd be having dinner in the chaos realm, so no need to worry about him that evening. This wasn’t an unusual occurrence, every so often Sombra had dinner with Discord, so they didn’t bat en eyelid.

Sombra was blissfully unaware of Page Assist's stare on his back as he trotted merrily out of his office.

--I just know something is up, yet I have seen no further evidence, and I can hazard a guess the report still remains unread.-- he sighed. How to get the King to see its importance without angering him?

Sombra was met by an eager Discord as as he stepped out of the portal, into the chaos realm.

"Am I late?" the King asked, but the Draconequus shook his head.

"So, I’m early?" The stallion teased. A nod.

"Have you been standing here long?" the amused King asked. Another shake of the head.

“You can talk you know!” Sombra laughed and Discord smiled.

“As you wish, my dear Sombra~” he said with a bow.

Sombra felt that familiar sense of joy that Discord always granted him, brushing aside the worries of the day...

"C'mon!" Discord grinned, excitement making him seem even more animated than he usually was.

"Lead the way~" the King chuckled.

Discord snapped his fingers and a portal ripped the air ahead of them, showing a quiet street...

"Ready to go, my dear Sombra?" he asked, taking in the neatly groomed King, the way the stately cloak and golden shoes contrasted his smoky grey coat.

"Of course! So, where are we going?" Sombra asked, but Discord only tapped his nose and shook his head, so the amused pony shrugged and trusted his friend.

Discord turned to the rippling, shimmery portal and gave a deep bow, indicating his date to go through first. Sombra, touched by this gesture, angled his head a little to plant a kiss on Discord as he passed by.

He heard a faint pomf sound and looked over his shoulder as he stepped out onto the street, seeing Discord's wings had gone pomf as the chaos creature joined him, the portal vanishing with a pop.

"What? They may be mismatched, but they're still wings!" Discord winked, catching his look. “hay, look at me, I’m technically out in public with a wingbone-”

“Alright you, shush! Honestly.” Sombra flushed, chuckling softly at how carefree Discord was.

“Want me to give you one?” Discord waggled his eyebrows perversely and Sombra had to clap a hoof over is mouth to avoid letting out the loudest snort of laughter he'd ever felt.

“Dis. Cord.” he almost squeaked, part flustered and part amused “cut that out!”

“Alright, alright..” Discord decided to go easy on him, Sombra was so adorably uptight in some ways.

--Wonder what he'll be like in bed?-- piped up that pervy part of him –it'll be a whole other side to him..--

Discord chided his brain to stop that. Sombra didn’t know Draconequui had pretty high sex drives, and he probably wouldn’t need to know! Unless it turned out the composed King was actually a firecracker in-between the sheets-

“Discord?” Sombra asked, seeing him spacing out.

“What- huh?” Discord shook his head and smiled at his date “sorry, just uh..remembering where to go from here, it's been awhile.”

--Nailed it.-- he thought with a internal grin.

Sombra nodded and followed alongside Discord as he set off. The Draconequus described the place they were headed to as they walked along.

"I wanted somewhere peaceful, where we won't be interrupted or gawped at by the press. This place is lovely from what I’ve heard, the owners are really nice! Rarity mentioned this place, said something about it deserving a good rating, whatever that means?"

Discord shrugged as he finished, he hadn’t fully paid attention to half of what Rarity said, he'd pretty much just remembered where she'd been saying the place WAS!

Sombra nodded and followed him up the short flight of steps to the door. Discord pushed it open and an array of delicious smells hit their noses. Sombra's stomach gurgled in anticipation.

The restaurant was quiet, today was a peaceful day. The restaurant owner, Risotto, pottered idly back towards the front desk. With the Hearts and Hooves Day over, things were calming down, sort-of. He was on tenterhooks tonight, as he had a VERY special guest coming later to rate the restaurant! If she liked it, it could mean a big increase in custom-

The door opened and he looked up, his welcome speech for the critic ready to go, only to veer off track when he seen the pony standing there;

It wasn’t the critic.

"Welcome to Pasta Paradise- sweet Celestia,- y-your majesty?"

"Good evening~" Sombra beamed and Risotto noticed another familiar figure stood beside the King. He recognised Discord from the books about Sombra's rise to the throne! Lord of chaos, King's best friend.

"We're here for dinner, I’ve heard all about this place from little miss Rarity~" the Draconequus said airily. Risotto recognised the name from his wife’s magazines. Rarity, she was a designer, right? He'd been on a trip the day she'd come by, but his wife hadn’t stopped talking about it for days.

He nodded now, hoping he hadn’t been staring too hard "Follow me, its right this way! Its an honour to see you both."

He brought them to a nice private table at the back, the one with screens and pot plants set up to offer privacy. He usually reserved it for romantic bookings, but it also came in handy on this occasion for giving royalty a bit of privacy from staring eyes.

"This place smells wonderful.." Sombra sniffed the air as they sat down "what is that you’ve got cooking?"

"A signature dish, named after myself, Risotto. Would you like to try it? It's unique to this restaurant!" he babbled nervously for he was honestly unprepared for such a high profile visit. A critic was scary, but having royalty pop in out of the blue, that was a whole new panic on its own!

Sombra nodded and Discord asked for the same. As the nervous and quite honestly surprised owner bustled away, Sombra smiled at his friend.

"It is nice to be somewhere new, this place is so cosy. Most of the restaurants I have been to lack this sense of comfort, it is all about clean lines and high class!"

"It reminds me of Ponyville. Very down home cosy, or whatever Rarity says about this sort of thing?" Discord shrugged "I don’t talk much with her, I’m no good at fashion!"

"You don’t have to be, I am sure she likes just having a good conversation." Sombra said. Discord thought about that, he had a point…

Soon as he was out of sight of his majesty, Risotto sped off, he had to find his wife!

In the kitchen, said wife was very startled by her husband running in at a hundred miles an hour.

"What on Equestria has gotten into you?" she asked. He looked at her with wide eyes;

"You’re not going to believe who just walked in!" he blurted.

"The critic? Honey, we're expecting her-" she began, but her husband shook his head rapidly.

"Then who?" she asked. What was he getting so excited over?

"King. Sombra." her husband's words stopped her dead.

"Whuh...seriously?" she did a double take at him.

"Very serious. Not only him, but his friends there too, the chaos lord!"

"Goodness!" She set the saucepan down on a low heat and followed her husband over to the door leading back into the restaurant. She could just make out his majesty’s voice and caught a glimpse of his signature mane and horn. There was no mistaking either of the guests!

They ducked back inside, Risotto's eyes bright.

"This is unexpected!" His wife wheezed. "How did he even find us?"

"Discord!" Risotto explained "you know that fashion designer you’re obsessed with?"

"Rarity?"

"Yes, her! Apparently she told him!"

"Goodness, how wonderful! I remember the day she and that excitable pink friend of hers came by. Never seen one pony eat so much dessert, as that pink mare did!"

"I need two plates of the signature dish, asap!"

"Alright honey, relax. Let's just take this easy..." she smiled, sharing her husbands excitement. The King, in their little restaurant! It was quite a stroke of luck.

Sombra and Discord ordered drinks, falling into conversation about Sombra's work, Discord's crazy home, the flock of toasters roosting there and various other things. Discord smiled as his jokes made Sombra almost bust a gut laughing. The stallion endeavoured to muffle his laughter so the whole room wouldn’t hear him, but didn’t honestly succeed that well.

The food arrived and Sombra was delighted to meet the owner's wife as well. They both seemed fairly starstruck by his choosing to grace their humble little business with his presence! Discord could see how nervous yet pleased they were to have such a famous guest and suggested a photo?

Sombra happily agreed and Discord used his magic to float the owner's camera up so they could all fit in the shot. And he naturally did bunny ears behind Sombra's head, it was standard protocol.

"Thank you your majesty, both of you!" Risotto said again as Discord handed him the photo, then they bowed and left the duo to eat.

"Mm, delicious!" Sombra sighed contently as he tasted the first bite.

He didn’t take long to clean the whole plate, neither did Discord. The dish was so easy to eat, the flavour very distinct and lively.

Dessert followed soon after, a type of cheesecake Sombra hadn’t tried before.

"Oof, I’m stuffed." Discord burped very softly, making Sombra chuckle as he set his fork down.

"I don’t advise we move for at least a few minutes." the King laughed.

"I think you’d have to roll me out of here!" Discord snorted and Sombra smiled, trying not to laugh at the mental image.

"It's good to see you smile, you look so handsome." Discord watched Sombra, keeping his voice low so only the King would hear him. Sombra flushed subtly.

"Speak for yourself." he teased, one wing shifting so he could brush Discord's back with it. Discord blushed, oh he was just too irresistible, that pony...

He glanced around to see if there was enough privacy to-

Sombra must’ve read his mind, for he closed the space between them and kissed Discord briefly as the chaos being turned back around. The icing on the cake was how he looked so pleased with himself.

--That’s my Sombra-- Discord approved wholeheartedly.

"You read my mind." he spoke at last, heart pounding in delight as he offered a flirty grin to the stallion.

"It may not be as obvious as that book of mine with the pictures and the curse words, but you do sometimes show a very clear illustration from time to time." Sombra joked.

While they'd been eating and talking, lost in their own little world, at the other end of the restaurant a snooty guest had arrived. She had been silently judging the food and drink, among other things...

After hearing about this new city with its un-critqued restaurants, Zesty Gourmand decided this had to be rectified. And so, the same system had sprung up in the Umbrum Empire too, with restaurants sporting a 3 hoof marking above their door if they were the best! Zesty still bristled every time she thought about that incident in restaurant row at Canterlot. That pink bundle of energy and that fahsionista pony had embarrassed her, saying just because she said a restaurant was good, didn’t mean EVERYPONY had to like it!

Now she was in this fancy Umbrum kingdom and goodness gracious, the place was lavish! Crystal buildings, soaring architecture, this kingdom had the upper class works! She'd read quite a bit about it and its seemingly eccentric and reclusive ruler, King Sombra. She was in awe of the amount of work he'd put into regaining Equestria's respect, she was a firm believer in hard work herself, after all! That was how she had gotten so far!

Now, she rolled her eyes at this cutesy décor. So cloying, why didn’t the owners bring it more in line with the bigger places? How else did they expect to get anywhere if they didn’t follow trends! She was about to try this dish she was presented, something named after the restaurant owner himself.

"Hmph, seems very dull." she snarked, turning her nose up. The owner winced, panic stewing inside.

"I do apologise, but might I request the bill?" A deep, rumbling voice broke into the uneasy bubble and the owner happily let his attention shift away from Zesty.

Zesty ignored this interruption, until she heard him say "-your majesty!"

--Majesty?-- she thought, glancing up sharply. And sure enough, just across the room was a very recognisable sight. His majesty King Sombra and that famed chaos friend of his. She'd read the books, knew these two were close friends, but what on Equestria were they doing in a tiny no-ratings place like this?

Sombra felt a gaze burning into him and turned his head slightly, seeing a very fancily-dressed pony with a pale white mane staring incredulously at him. He offered a polite smile, bowing his head in greeting. Seeing her hesitate over the food, he asked, while Discord said he'd handle the bill and drifted after the owner;

"First time eating here, ma’am?"

Zesty recovered herself and nodded, regaining her posture "yes, that’s correct. I'm Canterlot's most renowned food critic, I consider it my duty to survey every restaurant I hear about!"

"I see," Sombra guessed that explained the snobby way she regarded the dish. Unable to resist, he added "tonight was the first chance I have had to sample the food here. I must impart how impressed I am at the love that goes into their food."

"Really, your majesty?" Zesty lifted her fork, still sceptical.

"Really," Sombra said with a chuckle "it is a wonderful change from the same dishes that everywhere else likes to stock!"

This caught Zesty off guard. She got the feeling he was awaiting her opinion on the dish he so seemed to enjoy, so she finally took a big bite.

She surprised herself by making an involuntary "mm" sound as the flavour hit her palette. He was right! The dish looked plain and unassuming at first, but the flavour woven into it was another matter entirely.

"Interesting." she said, not wanting to admit he was right.

But he was right.

"Ready to go?" Discord reappeared beside Sombra.

Sombra nodded, and Zesty watched as the King and his long-time best friend trotted out the door, discussing some practical joke or another.

"Today’s just been full of wonderful guests. First his majesty, then yourself!" the owner said as he turned to go back to the kitchen "I can tell my kids I met his majesty! Such a kind fellow."

Zesty nodded mutely, then returned to her food. Now she'd had a first bite and time to really taste it, she really was liking it more and more! She picked up the pace, polishing off every last bit of it.

--I'm impressed. If this place attracts royalty, maybe I should reveal it to my readers?-- she mused, tapping her pad with a pencil.

"That was delicious." the Umbrum sighed as he and Discord reappeared in the chaos realm.

Discord belched and nodded, making Sombra laugh.

He opened the portal to the palace, nuzzling the King and sneaking a tantalizing kiss. Then another..

They had to pull themselves apart in the end, so Sombra could leave.

Discord flopped back onto a cloud as the portal shut, his precious pony gone back to his own home.

--Best. Date. Ever..-- he thought. Good food, Sombra's company, what could be better?

--Sex?-- that crude side of his brain piped up and he gave it a mental slap, flushing deeply.

"Keep it in your pants, Discord." he grumbled to himself.

--How?-- his brain asked --we don’t wear pants? Where am I supposed to keep it?--

"I'm not answering that." Discord grumbled, then realised he was arguing with himself again. Oh dear.

The next day, Sombra woke to see Discord sitting out on the balcony. With a sleepy smile he ambled outside, sitting next to his friend without a word. Discord held up a cup of coffee, which Sombra gratefully took.

They sat in companionable silence, drinking their morning coffee and watching the streets come to life below them, as shops opened and deliveries were made.

"Last night was wonderful," Sombra spoke at last. Discord flushed, but was secretly very glad he'd liked it.

"I thought you might enjoy that place. It's quiet and like Rarity said, the foods great!"

Sombra nodded, draining the last drop of coffee.

"Who was that mare you were talking to when we left?" Discord asked curiously.

"I'm not sure, that is to say I didn’t catch her name. I think she was a food critic though, I was telling her how nice the main dish was, so hopefully she gave it a chance. I would like to see that place gain recognition."

--Critic huh? I bet seeing his highness here gave her a shock!-- Discord chuckled to himself. Sombra's muzzle nudged his a second later and he tilted his head, meeting curious red eyes.

"What is it?" Sombra asked, smiling softly.

"Just a passing thought," Discord murmured. Oh his majesty was so kissable...

Sombra smiled languidly and they sat watching the scene far below until it came time for breakfast.

"Fancy a flight tonight?" Discord asked as they headed back into Sombra's room.

"Sounds perfect," Sombra smiled "loose the guards and find somewhere private?"

"You know it." Discord grinned.

"I look forward to it~" Sombra said teasingly, as he walked out of the door. Discord allowed himself an over-the-top sigh of delight before teleporting out.

Another day, same politics. The only interesting moment came in the form of lunch with his mother, Lady Umbra. She wanted to know what he wanted for his birthday?

--An aide that doesn’t keep pestering me?-- Sombra thought briefly. Page Assist was getting increasingly nosy about that idiotic report. As if being a King didn’t keep Sombra busy enough without being a guinea pig!

But he pushed that thought aside for now...

At last the day came to an end and he could collapse into bed. But he didn’t let himself fall asleep, after-all, he had plans for tonight.

Soon the familiar sight of a shadow on the balcony met his eyes and he threw the covers aside.

He seen the familiar shape disappearing into a cloud and spread his wings, flying up after Discord. Tonight, the sky was chock-a-block with clouds, enough to give them some cover once they'd moved several of them closer together.

Landing on the cloud as soon as their secret hiding place was complete, Sombra was swept up in a bear hug. He laughed happily, feeling free at last.

Discord set him down on the cloud, gently pinning him there on his back. He curled his body around Sombra, leaning over him and nuzzling his ear.

Sombra felt the stress of the evenings dealings with Page Assist dissipate as Discords body pressed close to him. Not a single word was spoken for a few minutes, as Discord's tongue became entwined with his and their moans of contentment grew louder...

But Discord didn’t stop there. Releasing his stallion from the last kiss, Discord nuzzled at the pony’s neck, feeling Sombra's pulse racing beneath his soft coat. He shifted how he was lying so he could move further down the pony’s chest...

Sombra shivered, arching his back with a groan as the tantalizing shivers ran down his wings, making them fluff up a little.

As Discord left off from his nuzzling to kiss the Umbrum once more, he seen a shimmer run the whole way down Sombra's body. It seemed to lend a subtly different shade to Sombra's crystal coat, make it ever more stunning...

"What was that?" Discord asked curiously.

"What’s....what?" Sombra said lazily, too busy enjoying his friend's attentions. Discord chuckled, gently kissing his lips and indicating the pony's coat.

"Just now, you got even more shimmery then you usually are!"

"Hm?" Sombra raised a hoof, looking at himself. He blinked, rather surprised "I don’t know, this hasn't happened before!"

Discord raised an eyebrow, a grin spreading over his face "Is it another type of boner?"

Sombra snorted loudly, face turning red as he tapped the Draconequus' nose with one hoof.

"Well, maybe we need to replicate the situation-" the stallion began, heart thudding rapidly.

He barely finished before he was pulled into Discord's hold and kissed deeply. Discord shifted onto his back so the pony was resting on his chest and stomach. This left his hands free to massage the base of the Alicorn's wings. This prompted that adorable POMF response.

Discord delighted in the warmth of Sombra's kiss. He ran his tongue along those lips, the kisses becoming deeper and more investigative once again..

As they became caught up in their ever-deepening affections, Discords tail happened to swish a little too eagerly and inadvertently brushed up against the pony's rear. It flicked the Umbrum's tail out of the way, whilst also brushing against a very intimate spot...

Discord was nibbling at the base of Sombra's ear as his tail ventured further then any other part of him had and he heard the stallion utter a deep, almost primal moan, breathy and fast-

Sombra felt the mother of all jolts run up his back, but he couldn’t stop the vocal reaction. It caught him off guard completely. Not that Discord's attentions thus far hadn’t given him a wing-boner that was proving difficult to calm- but with his body already on high alert from the heavy petting alone, this meant the brief sensation was amplified. Heat shot through his stomach and down his body. His breathing sped up, he hadn't felt this strongly before...

Just as Discord let him go and was about to ask was he OK, they heard voices on the wind. Both froze.

The breeze was blowing TOWARDS them, so they caught snatches of a conversation as two ponies approached. A quick glance around showed nothing in sight, so they had mere seconds-

Thinking quickly, Discord snapped his fingers and the cloud suddenly surrounded them on all sides. They stayed stock still, but with Sombra lying atop Discord's chest and stomach, it wasn’t an easy task.

"What’d you think of that play?" the first stallion asked, as the two hidden exchanged frantic looks. Had they been spotted?

"Eh, not bad, plot was a bit confusing though.."

“It's a murder mystery, I think that’s the point..."

Sombra went even redder as he realised he recognised the two. They were part of his night guard group, patrolling the castle and the skies around it. The cloud covering them shifted as the two settled down for a rest and by the sounds of a metal box opening, their snack break. He groaned soundlessly.

"Did you see the celebrations for Hearts and Hooves this year?"

“Yeah, it was pretty awesome! His majesty really loves those fireworks doesn’t he?"

"They’re specially imported from the Crystal empire, apparently. Hay, that reminds me, I heard a rumour yesterday!"

"What, about his majesty?"

"Yeah. Somepony told me he reportedly refuses to have anything to do with love, which is weird. I mean, he clearly enjoys the Hearts and Hooves Day, I’m pretty sure he gets even more presents than on his birthday!"

"Lucky son of a-" the other pony chuckled "I’ll admit I’m jealous over how much attention he gets!"

"Yeah, but when have you ever seen him return it?" the first pony said and Sombra could imagine him shrugging.

"True, he's always working so hard. He's always slaving away on some new concept for "his home and its ponies". Guy needs to relax! Not like he has any shortage of cute mares drooling after him!"

Sombra flinched. Discord noticed and felt a surge of anger at the two bozos above them.

"Hay, do you think he prefers stallions or mares?" the conversation resumed.

"What kind of question is that? Why, does it matter-?"

“It doesn't, don't get you and your coltfriend's tails in a knot, I'm just curious, that’s all. He's literally never shown any more interest when presented with declarations of love, or gifts, from either side!"

His friend calmed down and replied, after a moments thought "I don’t know, maybe he likes both? He could be any which way for all we know, but somehow he avoids giving away even a single slip of evidence! I don’t ever want to go against him in a round of poker, he'd wipe me all out in seconds!"

"True, you’re a rubbish poker player," his friend teased "you always wrinkle your nose-"

“I do not!" the other retorted good naturedly.

"Either way, were back at the same argument, nopony knows that about his majesty! The only ones closer than acquaintances are those harmony mares and the chaos guy."

“Oh yeah, the one the joke shops named after! My guy spends half his time in there, I dread our dates sometimes!" more laughter.

"Hay, you don’t think-?"

"Nah, they’ve never shown any signs of being close. Aside from those times when they go on a prank spree together in the palace! I'm STILL looking for cream pies under the barracks bed! Besides, I mean, wouldn’t his majesty prefer somepony serious like himself? Somepony dignified.."

Sombra noticed at that moment, that an annoyed Discord was giving the unseen duo a double dose of the "middle finger" gesture. Most dignified indeed. He bit his lip and buried his head in Discord's chest to muffle any laughter. His whole body was shaking subtly however, which wasn’t helping the intimate position they were trapped in.

"Please stop doing that," Discord said in a barely audible voice "I cannot hold myself responsible if you keep squirming like that!"

"There’s room for your wings to stretch!" Sombra hissed back. The hollow they'd created around themselves at least gave them SOME room.

"Oh my dear naive King, it's not my wings I’m worried about." Discord reddened and gave his precious stallion a "catch my drift?" look. This shut Sombra up and he blushed deeply, recalling his own response to the tail earlier.

"Half the guards would kiss him if they got the chance..." the first guard said "not me, I got MY guy. But I know a few others."

"Hay, no argument! I'm sure more than a few of the guys on the squad have had him in mind when they mas-"

Discord got VERY affronted at this point and placed a hand on the cloud under him. A spell rippled out from him, turning the cloud dark and making sparks flicker over it.

"Whoa, Nelly! We got a rogue one!" the two leapt up like their butts were on fire.

"Should we grab somepony?"

“Nah, we can buck this, its not so big that two of us can't handle it!"

Sombra panicked and glared at Discord, as if to say "now what?"

Discord looked equally as worried for a moment, then he grinned. He whispered something in Sombra's ear and the pony nodded.

There was a kaboom of unleashed thunder when the two bucked the cloud apart, a flash bright enough to hide a teleport. behind another bank of clouds several metres away, Discord hunkered down, holding a tiny child-form Sombra.

"That.." Sombra grumbled..

"Was pretty funny.." Discord snickered. Sombra wriggled in the Draocnequui's hold, turning his small body so he could glare up at him and protest just how silly Discord had acted. So...jealously? He clammed up, blushing as he caught up with himself.

"You’re right." he chuckled, recalling what the guards had just said about him needing to relax "goodness, I haven’t had my heart race like that in some time!"

“Welcome to the elicit thrill of nearly getting caught.." Discord murmured back. He was glad Sombra wasn't angry. He tousled the tiny pony’s mane, then stuck his head up above the clouds "OK, they’re returning to patrol!"

“We should get back." Sombra sighed. He did have work in the morning. Discord nodded reluctantly, then set off carrying his friend in his arms.

They touched down on the balcony of Sombra's room a moment later. Discord opened the door and they slipped inside. He set the pint sized Sombra down, whereupon he transformed back to full size.

"Time for you to get some sleep, my King," Discord smiled as Sombra nuzzled his nose "I'll see you in the morning."

Sombra nodded, mind abuzz with so many thoughts and feelings vying for his attention he didn’t know what to say.

Discord studied his silent partner then just nodded, planting one more kiss on his lips before leaving.

--I'm like a child and that pony is the sweetest candy. But I cant help it, I just want more of him...-- discord thought as he flew to his own room.

Sombra stumbled into bed, feeling his face redden. What a night! He hadn’t expected those guards, he thought he'd memorised the schedules but clearly they’d changed it.

He thought back to Discord's joke about his wings not being the thing he was concerned about and flushed. Had he really almost gotten him aroused just by wriggling?

--And don't forget, you were halfway there yourself after that tail manoeuvre of his!-- his brain reminded him. The guards conversation about his sexuality and the mystery surrounding it prodded at the back of his mind. He'd thrown so much time and effort into becoming the perfect King the Umbrum's wanted, he'd never stopped to think about romance. Sure, many citizens flashed him smiles and looks that made it obvious they'd like nothing more then to find a way in to his bed.

He had been a little startled when he'd realised the temptation was a LITTLE harder to resist thinking about when it was a stallion. But gradually getting over this revelation didn’t persuade him any, he still turned away from the idea and threw himself further into his work. On one occasion he'd started investigating his feelings, but he'd stopped short and abandoned the idea.

--I guess that was a mistake. I was just running away from my own feelings again. Ironic, in that Discord was the one trying to show me that all along, now he's the reason I’m having to think about this now.--

He lay in the silence of his room, mind going in circles. Unable to get to sleep, he floated over the report Page Assist had sent and flicked through it by the light of his magic.

It was very long winded and detailed and he groaned softly. However, a section about Umbrum's wings and more importantly COATS caught his eye and he stopped. There it was in black and white. Umbrums coats change during certain milestones. A note written in pen read "see voluntary/involuntary arousal".

Sombra slammed the report shut, twitching a little. Why was Page Assist so obsessed with his reading this? What was he trying to tell him?

--Is he concerned over my dating? NOT dating? Hell, is my SEXUALITY an issue? Doubtful, I never told him.-- He felt a spike of anger there. How dare-

Wait...his advisor didn’t have a thing for him, did he? He shook his head, it seemed unlikely. As far as he knew, he'd never let slip any hint about his preferences, he’d never even let anypony get close enough to do so.

Not a PONY, anyway.

With a rueful smile, he threw the report aside and let his eyes close. Sleep finally came and his worries drifted away for a while...

He woke up and shreds of what’d troubled him the night before came back and he sighed. What now? Discord was practically the overlord of innuendos, his mind on diplomatic terms with the sewer. No way he'd have missed Sombra's response to the tail thing. Heck, he'd probably been trying to broach it by the time they’d had to so suddenly hide.

--Knowing Discord, he'll probably phrase it like; "Hey, wanna bang?"-- this thought seemed so on track, so representative of Discord's unfailing bluntness, that it made an amused laugh bubble up. Sombra sat up in the plush double bed, chuckling softly. This good mood, coupled with his preoccupation over last night meant he was in a pretty cheerful frame of mind.

He hummed to himself as he got dressed, slipping on the crystal shoes and neck plate he wore around the palace, with a light silk cloak draped over his back.

As he strode down the hall, he seen a guard down below in the entranceway, he was scolding a young foal. Sombra crept closer to the railings.

"But Daad, nopony at school believed me when I said you worked for his highness! I just wanted to see-"

"I could get in trouble for this! You should be at school, not obsessing over what those silly kids in your class say-"

"Ah, but a young ones classmates can have quite the influence. Correct?"

Both spun round, looking up at the pony leaning over the railings. The kids eyes widened as he took in the fancily dressed stallion smiling kindly at him. The gilded crown, fluffy wings and gleaming shoes.

"Y-your majesty?" The kids father stammered. Oh buck, why had his majesty happened to be on his way to breakfast just when his crazy son as sneaking into the palace?!

Sombra teleported down to where the kid and his father were and the kid grinned.

"Cool!" the little colt murmured.

Sombra smiled at the father "it's alright, you’re not in trouble, either of you. I can understand the young one's feelings. After all, I had enough fights with my classmates at the orphanage at his age, I went to many lengths to get them off my back."

He looked down at the little colt "can I ask your name?"

"I'm Striker, your highness!” the kid said proudly, mimicking how he'd seen the guards do at public appearances, and snapping off a very precise salute for a little one. Sombra smiled, giving the kid an impressed nod.

"I know kids like our respective classmates can be pains in our hindquarters," Sombra said with an amused chuckle "but trust me, they are probably just looking for a way to shift the attention off THEM. If they pick on somepony else, nopony sees how scared they are."

"Really?" the kid said sceptically and Sombra smiled.

"I learnt that lesson rather late, but the orphanage director often spoke to me about it. Thinking back, I wish I had taken her advice. They were as insecure as I was, they were just really bad at getting over themselves. So trust me, they’re more than likely trying to keep their own butts out of the fire by targeting someone else."

"So...what did you do?"

Sombra couldn’t help a little laugh "I went coo-coo, so I never resolved those particular tensions until my second life. But, you can still turn things around. The director said to me me once "Nopony can make you feel inferior without your consent." So if you decide you’re not going to let their bluster upset you, soon it will show. That will throw them for a loop."

"Yeah.." the kid nodded, taking in what the Umbrum was saying "you’re right. I don’t gotta prove anything to those doofuses!"

His father had to chuckle and he caught the smile on the King's face. The kid had set his saddlebags down while his father scolded him earlier and Sombra seen an instant camera sticking up out of it. He lifted the camera out and caught the kid's attention.

"Still, sometimes a case of one-upmanship can give you an edge, can it not? Pictures tell quite a story."

Striker's father was silently having kittens over whether he'd be in trouble after wards. His highness didn’t seem mad, but he had to be prepared to be told off for the infraction, regardless. But it did make him feel happy to see his son taking the King's advice.

Striker couldn’t believe his luck as he got to pose between both his father AND the Umbrum Monarch. As a bonus thought, Sombra fanned out his wings in the shot.

Striker stared at the picture as it came into focus on the paper.

"This is so badass." he whispered. Sombra smiled.

"I agree! Now, I’ll have somepony drop you back off at school. A carriage will get you there fast."

"Sire, are you sure it wont be a bother?" Striker's father asked.

Sombra smiled "I wont be needing my private one until later, I am sure it won't be a problem."

"Thank you sire," the father gave a grateful bow "I’m sorry for this-"

"It is quite alright, we were all young once. Even an old fart like myself-"

Striker burst out laughing at this.

Sombra puffed out his chest, looking mildly affronted "What? I am technically over a thousand years old, I am allowed to make that joke!" he declared grandly, making the kid laugh even harder at his mock-outrage.

"In all seriousness though, do not give your father heart attacks by sneaking in or out of places you're not supposed to. Maybe you could follow in you fathers hoof-steps one day, would you like that?"

“Yeah!" Striker nodded.

"Well, being a guard is a tough but rewarding task. You have to work hard and be good at sticking to your resolve. Can you do that for me?"

Striker nodded. If a King thought he could do it, darn right he was gonna try!

Sombra called another guard over and asked them to drop the kid off at school via his personal carriage. Striker said goodbye to his father, thanked Sombra again and followed the other guard out the door.

"Your highness-" the nervous guard began.

"It's alright, you’re not in trouble."

“I apologise for my sons actions, he-wait, what?"

Sombra laughed softly at the guard's startled face "it's alright, it has made for an interesting morning. It is refreshing to see such energy and drive, I’m sure your son will make you proud in the future."

"If he doesn't turn my mane grey first, your majesty," the guard sighed in relief "I’ll talk to his mother and we'll try find an activity for him to do that’ll burn off excess energy. He's been pretty boisterous lately, what with this business at school."

"You know, you’ve given me an idea.” Sombra mused “I wonder if an after school activity of some kind, like a sort of junior guards programme, would help with cases like this? Give them activities to do, some exercise? It'd teach them good values and tire out those with energy to burn, direct it much more positively, don’t you think?"

The guard nodded, that sounded ideal "that'd be marvellous, your majesty!"

“Can you do me a great favour? Talk with your son, have him ask his classmates what they’d think?" as he spoke, Sombra was writing these instructions down on a sheet of parchment. He signed it with a flourish and handed it to the guard "let me know by next week?"

"Of course sire! No problem!" He thanked the King once more and the monarch sped off towards the breakfast hall. The kid had brightened up the morning quite unexpectedly.

Page Assist frowned as he studied the King. He was seeing Sombra spacing out again and there was no hiding something was different about him. It was subtle, but definitely there...

"Is everything alright, sire?" he chanced asking.

"Fine." Sombra snapped out of his daze, returning to his work. He refused to say anything further, so Page Assist backed down, but he continued to study the King.

Sombra was glad when the day was over and he was finally free to find Discord and Fluttershy. They were going out to dinner at the kingdom's fanciest restaurant, which meant Sombra needed to get dressed up.

As he left, he glanced surreptitiously at the reflective shiny surface of a vase by the door. Yup, Page Assist was staring at him. What was up with him lately?!

Discord noticed Sombra seemed, for a better word, slightly annoyed. Little glimpses in the pony’s expressions spoke of something bothering him.

But as Fluttershy began talking about Ponyville and Discord shared some moderately cheeky jokes, the King relaxed and was back to his usual self not long after. Discord relaxed upon seeing his precious stallion so cheery.

A week from the next day was Sombra's official birthday. No sooner was Hearts and Hooves day over than the kingdom began readying for more festivals and celebration in their monarchs honour. It was a celebration on a massive scale, the birthday ball on a par with the grand galloping gala in terms of sheer scope. Many wanted a chance to see the King up close at his birthday party!

Umbra, as she always did, asked again what her son wanted for his birthday? He honestly told her he wanted memories when they reunited, carved from crystal. It'd been so beautiful when he'd finally freed her from crystal and hugged her solid form once more. Umbra's eyes misted up when he said this and she hugged him, promising she make it the most beautiful sculpture he'd ever seen!

During one of their early "lets watch the sun rise" moments together, Discord had noticed the King shiver. When pressed, Sombra said he didn’t want to put a cloak on, as his summer one had gotten damaged and the winter ones were too heavy!

So Discord had snuck off to Ponyville one day, to corner Rarity and make a request of her.

Fluttershy spent many a day down at the animal shelter. Part of her extended vacation in the Umbrum empire was to see Sombra, the other was to give the animals at the sanctuary the King had built for her the love and affection she lavished on her animals at home. Discord sometimes joined her, sometimes went off on his own, it depended on his attention span.

Both were delighted when they heard the familiar sound of Sombra's royal carriage pull up outside the shelter. Whenever he could, Sombra would blow off official duties and take them to lunch!

They packed up and rushed outside to greet him.

"Where do you fancy today?" Sombra asked a she met them at the door.

"O-oh!" Fluttershy remembered seeing a new restaurant opening up "The hayseed and carrot? I-if you don’t want to that’s fine-"

"To there we go!" Sombra declared, seconded by Discord. Fluttershy smiled happily as the Draconequus ruffled her mane. It wasn’t far, so Sombra figured they could walk.

But, as they set off down the street, nimbly dodging the regular paparazzi with their questions on the weather, what was going on in court and where did Sombra most like to dine, one stallion's voice cut through the sea of ponies.

"Did you know its been two years to the day, since you were first recovered from Scorpan?"

That name sent cold chills through Sombra's body and he stopped dead, body stock still. Few reminders of his past trauma still shook him, but that name was an exception. Fluttershy paled at the mention of that beast and Discord's hands clenched tightly, unseen by the voices owner.

"Your majesty?" The reporter said smugly, floating a Dictaphone up "care to comment on what you would say had changed since then-?"

Discord glanced quickly at the device, then Fluttershy's bag. She owned an identical one she used for keeping notes. He could see a freshly wrapped new tape sticking out of a side pocket. Promising to buy her a new one, he reached out for it...

"What did you say?" Sombra regained his voice, a mix of shock and anger making him sound cold.

The crowd of other paparazzi frowned and shared murmurs. Sombra had been fairly open and accepting of the media and if approached honestly, would often answer in kind. This pony being so rude was clearly making him angry, something they didn’t often see...

If reporters pestered him with questions over his reformation, or his work, he more often than not gave astern but blunt answer. Let them know JUST how hard he had been working, how he had changed. He wasn’t one to back down and cower, he seemed to prefer brandishing the evidence and watching his opponent squirm. He'd smirk in that knowing way, often stating he'd faced worse opponents in his path to redemption, did they think they stood so high a chance?

So for this guy to cause him to go straight to fury without even a reply, this was BAD.

"The official dates tonight, or did you forget-?" The reporter pressed again. If he could get some info on what the King could remember of the great gargoyle threat, his boss would be pleased.

He cut off as Sombra finally turned to face him. The King's expression was closed off, but he also looked pale.

"Where," he said coldly "did you get that date?"

"I'm afraid I cannot reveal my sources, your majesty.." the reporter said smugly as Sombra stared coldly at him "why don't you answer my question-?"

“Why should he?!" Fluttershy could see how hurt Sombra was and had one of her rare surges of public bravery. Like when she'd faced down that dragon that'd been threatening Ponyville, she squared up at the reporter now.

"Fluttershy?" Sombra blinked, he hadn’t expected this!

"He doesn’t have to answer anything, you big meanie! Should I ask YOU about things you don’t like? Should I?!" her eyes flashed, and the reporter smirked.

"Freedom of the press, little lady-"

"Nopony makes MY friends feel bad!" Fluttershy cried as she hovered in front of the reporter. "And if it turns out you stole the information, or got it by...by bullying somepony, you’re in a whole heap of trouble! I wouldn’t want to read THAT kind of paper!" the pegasus folded her forelegs and shook her head. Many in the crowd nodded, they had a lot of respect for the King and had good working relationships with him.

"Let see." Discord appeared suddenly behind the reporter and whisked his pass out of his bag "the Canterlot Tribune. Got it! Think we can find their office in Canterlot next time we visit, Flutters?"

"You cant do this!" the reporter blustered. Blast it, these two just HAD to get in his way. He needed that information or his boss would angry. She was already mad at the state things were in...

"Do what?" Discord smirked "have a friendly conversation with a reporter? What’s the matter, aren’t we worth your time? Were his best friends, or don’t you know? Honestly, I’m insulted!"

It was rare for a pony not to recognise him and Flutters, they were often brought up in pieces discussing the King's personal life!

"You cant let them away with this!" The reporter glared at Sombra. Why were both his friends crazy?

"Diplomatic immunity." Sombra shrugged, but there was an edge to his voice now, one of amusement. "That or I really don't care what you say. You pick. What I remember about that day? Go read the book I published. What's changed since then? Go read your own paper. How do I feel about that day? Keep pushing and you'll get nowhere, because I refuse to tell you. I have work to do, ponies to care for. Entertaining the hurt of the past for your amusement? I am afraid you could not offer me anything to coerce me into doing THAT. Now, do you have any RELEVANT questions, hm?"

The crowds of both reporters and citizens cheered.

The reporter fumed, he'd been so close to getting an answer by startling the King in the way he had. Now these two had butted in and the King had closed off any further reaction, he wouldn't get a word out of him now. But, he still had SOME little observations to go off of.

"It doesn't matter!" He declared, determined to have the last laugh "I have all this on tape and in my memory, you cant take THAT! See you, your majesty." With those mocking, parting words, he ran off.

"Bucking idiot." Discord said in the silence, making Fluttershy blush.

Sombra shook his head, sighing. "Every so often I get the crazy ones." he remarked "come on, we've wasted enough time!"

The other reporters didn’t ask any more questions as the King walked away. They didn’t want to, it seemed like he'd had a rough enough day at the hooves of that creep. In a strange, unspoken act of honour, they turned and walked away, content with the pictures taken so far.

Sombra seen them go and felt a stab of gratitude. He'd worked as hard as he could not to get on the wrong side of the free media. He'd gone to great lengths to strike deals with many for exclusive interviews, and would entertain as much as he could tolerate of their photographs. In return, they’d been cordial, often respectfully stepping down if he asked them to cease trailing him. Very rarely did it get that out of hoof. Celestia had been the one to teach him all this, as he'd noticed how she handled the press and asked her for tips. She'd spent a good many days showing him how best to strike a balance between letting them get the shots they would be satisfied with and maintaining his own privacy.

The reporter Sombra had just verbally checked ran down several silent side streets before slowing to a halt. He grinned, eyes flashing. For a second, holes appeared in his legs, but with a shake of his head he reverted to a pony again. What Sombra had said struck a chord, a book eh? Maybe his boss would accept that in lieu of vocal proof?

As the trio walked, Sombra made a mental note to have some kind of letter of gratitude sent to the papers whose reporters had been so kind.

"Hay, you alright?" Discord asked, seeing how quiet Sombra had gone.

"I am fine, really." Sombra shook his head "I just haven’t thought of that name since- well, it has been awhile."

“Then stop thinking, it's easy!" Discord declared.

"Yes, so you demonstrate!" Sombra joked.

"Hay!" Discord objected, then "nice one."

Sombra snorted, then started laughing, body posture relaxing as they approached the restaurant. Fluttershy smiled, relieved he was feeling better now.

"Thank you both, for sticking up for me back there." Sombra said as they sat down.

"We're your friends, we won't let some bully make you relive those days!" Fluttershy vowed "I know it was rude of me, but that meanie didn’t know how much it hurt you.."

"I'm very grateful miss Fluttershy, you gave me time to pull myself together. You both did, thank you." Sombra assured them. Fluttershy relaxed.

Discord grinned to himself, just wait until he showed Sombra his surprise later!

That evening, as Sombra bid Fluttershy goodnight, he and Discord walked up to Sombra's room.

"I have a little present for you, consider it an early birthday gift." Discord said as they stopped outside the door.

"What's-?" Sombra blinked as Discord held out a tape.

"I may have switched it with a blank one from Flutter's bag." the Draconequus winked. Sombra put two and two together and realised what was on this tape, his heart sank. Discord misinterpreted his silence as gratitude and rambled on;

"Before you worry, he put in a new tape, so I’m not stealing any legitimate work. And like hell some jerk like him speaks to you that way." Discord finished. Sombra was torn between getting angry at him for stealing it and relief that tape wasn’t in that pony's hooves any more. In the end he chose his royal duty...

"Discord," he said softly,"You cant do that."

Discord's expression shifted to one of hurt and an almost anxious anger.

"What?" he asked, confused.

"You cannot just take someone's work like that-"

"Well what was I supposed to do? LET him get away with it? I could see it hurt you-"

"That incident is public knowledge and that’s the price I must pay!" Sombra blurted and there was real pain in his voice. He shook his head silently. Discord floated back, expression clouding a little.

"You and I both know that date was never released-" he began.

"If I kick up a fuss now, it'll undo the good work I have done already!" Sombra pleaded "I will question the doctor tomorrow, but there's nothing more I can do. I cant prove anything and it’ll be too late. He'll still likely publish the article with or without his tape..."

Discord felt a smidge of anger at the rebuke, he'd expected Sombra to be grateful, not SIDE with that creep.

"Fine," the chaos lord shrugged when Sombra didn’t speak, setting the tape on the edge of the potted plant by Sombra's door "have it your way. I'll leave this with you then. Didn’t realise you had such a penchant for punishing yourself-" he cut off abruptly, realising too late that he'd gone too far.

Sombra had taken out extensive punishment on himself after he'd been rescued from Scorpan, believing he needed to endure the pain for the mistakes he'd made in his past. It had taken Discord and all the other girls a very long time to coax him out of it, he'd had so much self-loathing inside.

Discord opened his mouth, realising his mistake- "Sombra-"

"No, no...I understand." Sombra backed up, struggling not to get upset. But his expression crumpled just a little and it twisted Discord's heart in two.

"I didn’t mean it like that-" Discord said desperately, worry entering his voice. He moved towards the stallion but the pony flinched away, expression closed off. "I'm sorry-"

"Yes, I know." Sombra gave him a sad smile, then pushed the door open "goodnight, Discord."

The door clicked shut and the Draconequus was left in the silent corridor.

Discord stayed in the hallway for a minute or two, eyes stinging. He hadn’t meant to hurt Sombra like that. He'd hoped his little act of tape-switching would make the pony HAPPY. That they’d get a chance to share a few moments, a few kisses. His only thought had been to ease Sombra's burden. But the King had flipped out, gotten mad at HIM. Why?

He picked up the tape as these thoughts roamed his head, not wanting the guard to find it out here. He couldn’t be angry enough at Sombra to leave the matter so exposed like that, he knew it deep down. Even if Sombra had scolded him for his efforts-

--He's just trying to do what a King has to.-- that rarely heard logical part of his brain piped up --as much as he hates reporters like that, he has to be seen to be above reproach. That's what he meant by "the price I must pay".--

Discord hadn’t meant to hurt his precious Sombra, he never wanted that!

In the end, he drifted away down the hall, feeling utterly wretched.

That night, Discord found himself back in that same dream-scape he'd been in when Luna had confronted him about his suppressed feelings for Sombra. And there she was, looking...anxious?

"Why are you here?" Discord asked, puzzled. He was still a bit grumpy and wasn’t in the mood for her cryptic nonsense.

"We need your help." Luna said simply.

"With what?" Discord said suspiciously, folding his arms.

"Sombra." Luna said and the suspicion dropped off Discord's face, replaced by worry.

"Something's wrong, isn't it?" he said softly. Luna nodded.

"You see it too, then?" the Princess asked.

Discord sighed heavily, thinking back to the many expressions his precious stallion had made that day "I made him mad earlier, I was only trying to help-" he cut off, shaking his head.

Luna took this in without a word, then spoke "Normally we can detect Sombra's dreams. But on THIS particular night, what he dreams is unknown."

"hows that possible? You’re the dream walker!" Discord frowned, it made no sense.

"We thought that also, but he seals himself, his slumbering mind anyway, behind powerful spells i cannot unwind. They are Umbrum magic, which we am not fluent in."

"I see, but why would he hide his dreams? Surely, if they’re bad, would he not think you could help him? I know he's a stubborn fool sometimes, but..."

"Maybe it is something he does not feel he can easily share. Something deep seated." Luna surmised.

"How do you think I can help him?" Discord asked. "I'm no dream expert! Unless you count wet dre-"

"We do not!" Luna bellowed, making Discord's fur stand on end "stop dodging the issue. He needs you, we are certain of it."

"Sorry to burst your bubble dear Luna, but he's pretty mad at me, I may have brought up some bad feelings."

"Even so, you are more attuned to him, emotionally speaking. His dreams recently have been happy and they centre on YOU." she observed the Draconequus flushed slightly as she said this, but he looked pleased nonetheless.

"I don’t know if I can unpick his magic, but if he's hurting like you suspect, I can't sit around and let him suffer." Discord sighed at last "I'll go see him."

Luna nodded, looking relieved "Thank you. We are certain you can solve this." then she was gone.

"I hope so.." Discord murmured "I didn’t even know he was in pain. I just hope this isn’t all my fault.."

Discord woke up abruptly, head spinning. Shaking it, he decided to go check on Sombra. If he was using powerful magic to rebuke Luna’s attempts to help his dreams, then chances were there’d be a ward or something in the physical world!

He teleported himself to Sombra's balcony and peered in the window. What he saw had him very concerned.

Sombra was curled up in his bed, but that was where the illusion of normalcy shattered. A faintly visible shield pulsed as it surrounded the entire bed. Sombra's blankets were tangled around his body, scrunched between his hooves as he slept. As Discord watched, the pony uttered a soundless moan, turning onto his side so he was facing towards the window. His expression was one of pain and sadness, and it was heartbreaking to watch.

--I don’t care if he hates me for this, I cant leave him like this.-- Discord thought and he picked the door lock, slipping silently inside.

He hovered above the bed and tentatively reached out to the shield. It didn't hurt him, which surprised him. Hand resting on it still he frowned, studying the feel of it. It was benign, not intended to repel, more...deter. Evidently it was strong enough to prevent Princess Luna from gaining any ground against it, but maybe Discord's magic could crack it?

--Chaos and darkness. We are alike, in a way.-- he thought, closing his eyes. He sensed so much tension written into the spell as he picked away at it. Sombra had been afraid when he constructed this. Echoes of fear from previous years lingered still.

A long time ago, back when Sombra had still been recovering, Discord had been able to splice his consciousness into the pony’s feverish dreams to see what troubled him. He used this now to merge himself with the shield spell, find a way to disperse it. Like a ball of chaotic string, he slowly unravelled it and after a minute or two it finally fell apart. He opened his eyes, hearing a faint whimper. Looking at the pony sleeping fitfully in the bed, he seen Sombra had now curled up in an almost protective ball.

He took a deep breath and reached out, letting one hand rest on Sombra's shoulder.
"Wake up, my dear Sombra." he murmured "c'mon."

Sombra flinched in his sleep, stirred and abruptly snapped awake, frightened words spilling from him in a rush.

"No, please! D-don't...!" he didn't seem aware Discord was even there "keep away from me!"

Whatever he was dreaming, Discord could tell it wasn’t HIM. What Sombra was seeing held him in a transfixed state of panic.

"Sombra..." he said softly, "can your hear me?"

He scratched gently behind the pony’s right ear. Sombra flinched, gasping sharply as he snapped out of his daze and his gaze finally focused back in the present. He blinked, surprised to see a familiar face hovering above him.

"Discord?" he asked, his voice croaky.

"Yes, my precious Sombra." Discord assured him, gently brushing the palm of his hand across the pony’s cheek, worried by how cold his coat was.

"W-why're you here..?" Sombra asked, then everything caught up and he realised the most likely reason WHY Discord was suddenly here with him, and how he'd woken him. Cold fear settled in his stomach, guilt making it churn uneasily. Discord's expression gave it away instantly, he knew something wasn’t right. Sombra swallowed nervously, suddenly at a loss for words.

"What’s the matter, Sombra?" Discord asked gently.

"Nothing!" Sombra blurted "it was just a bad dream, I-"

"Then why the spell, why prevent Luna from helping you?"

"It is nothing to be worried about, I’m sure she has other things to do. I did not want to bother her." Sombra finished lamely, defence frail.

"It was hurting you." Discord said.

"It's nothing!" Sombra said, his voice suddenly loud and clear. He clammed up, guilt darting over his face once more, then he abruptly curled up back on his side, his back to Discord as much as he could.

"What are you doing here?" he continued "i left that tape outside, if you want it so badly!" he knew he sounded petty, but he couldn't let Discord find out the truth.

"Screw that tape!" Discord said sharply "I was an asshat for saying those things and you can hate me as much as you want, but not until you tell me why you’re so in pain!"

"In pain-? I am not!" Sombra lied "I'm sorry if I disturbed you but I didn’t want the guards hearing me, it makes them get into a tizzy if I appear unwell. You can go back to sleep. I'm fine." he closed his eyes, praying his foolish plan would work and that he would forgive him.

Discord studied him and knew right away it was all lies. His Sombra dearest was FAR from alright. The panic and pain was there in his voice, guilt forcing every stilted word out. Why was he feeling guilty? His gaze travelled down the pony's back, seeing how the Alicorn's wings pressed to their bearers sides and seen them shiver subtly. Wordlessly, he reached out.

Sombra thought he'd convinced him, Discord had fallen silent and the room rang with the guilty emptiness. Then he felt a warm hand settle on his back and his breathing hitched, catching just a little. It was so warm...

He closed his eyes, focusing on the warmth of Discord's hand as his long time friend and more recently, his special someone, gently began massaging the place between the tightly tensed wings. And it worked, he felt the flight muscles start to relax, loosening up as the chaos being rubbed his back. His breathing became easier and he was finally able to take a deep breath, like a sigh.

The hand stopped massaging his back, but remained resting on it.

"Tell me." Discord whispered.

Sombra tried, but suddenly he was afraid to. What would his friend think? Whatever respect Discord had for him would be no doubt be sacrificed once this tangled story came to light.

The seconds seemed to drag on and Discord was about to risk rubbing the pony's back again when Sombra suddenly spoke;

"Its about the anniversary-" he stopped suddenly.

"Of what..?" Discord asked gently, then remembered the earlier events "you mean-?".

Sombra nodded hesitantly "Yes. The anniversary of the day I was first recovered, brought into the doctor's care."

"From...Scorpan?" discord spoke the name hesitantly. A shudder ran down Sombra's body, serving as confirmation.

"This isn’t the first time I have dreamt of it, sometimes things...trigger it and my dreams turn unpleasant. rarely enough to summon Luna, but after today, with it being today on the dot, I foreseen the memories would be worse. So I sealed myself in that shield. I seen the clipboard myself, back then, he set it down while he was examining me. I seen the date, those numbers became brunt into my mind. The first time I seen a calender, I searched back until I found it. There was so much going on, for a time I forgot about it. The final fight, the trip to the Empire, building my home. I thought I had gotten past it all. I had so much work to do, ponies to take care of. I thought it was over. Until now, I thought I had it under control, I avoided thinking on it for long.."

Discord was surprised to hear Sombra speak this way. His trauma still bothered him it would seem. Why had he never spoken of this?

"Sombra-" he began. Sombra flinched, imagining the accusation in Discord's voice. He'd hidden this from his best friend, always insisted he was fine, through it all.

Abruptly, he moved away from the warm hand resting on his back, rolling out of bed and stumbling to the rich carpeting. He staggered over to the small table by the wall, shaky magic lifting the jug to pour cold water into a crystal glass and draining it in a heartbeat.

"Why didn't you tell me? Why are you still tormenting yourself?" Discord asked, seriously concerned. Sombra had seemed to be so happy and content lately, how long had this been going on? "You don't-"

"I tried!” Sombra blurted, silencing Discord. The pony carried on, the water doing little to make speaking easier "I mean, I cant..."

Discord wanted to hug him right then, but knew if he did that, Sombra would clam up and he'd ditch this moment to speak in favour of a warm embrace. As much as it pained him, he needed to keep his distance for now.

Sombra wouldn’t turn to meet his gaze, instead staring at his reflection in the water jug, as drops of condensation rolled down its cut crystal surface to pool on the tablecloth.

Discord felt like his own heart was breaking seeing Sombra so upset.

"Why didn’t you say anything? Does your physician know-" but Sombra cut him off with a violent shake of his head.

"No! Nopony knows, I couldn't tell them. They all kept saying how pleased they were with my progress, how amazed they were that I had recovered to much, so fast. I couldn’t fall apart, not with an empire relying on me. Eventually, I couldn’t battle the shameful nature of my secret, so I vowed to just get through it. Told myself one day I would make it up to them for all these lies-." he cut off, voice hitching as his vision blurred, dangerously close to breaking down.

"Why didn't you tell ME?" Discord asked in a soft voice. Sombra felt like a rat, felt so rotten. He'd shouted at Discord for going behind his back, yet how was HE any better? Lying and hiding his real feelings...

"Because- you always made me feel so free whenever you visited! I didn't want to disturb that, I didn't want you to worry, or feel burdened. I'm sorry, I know it was unfair..."

He shook his head, finally asking;

"Please, can you forgive me?" He realised just how far he'd dug himself into this and felt swamped. His throat ached as he swallowed, awaiting Discord's response.

He heard the mattress shift subtly, and footsteps padded across the small distance between them. A hand came to rest on his back, but Sombra stared steadily at the water jug. He couldn’t meet his friends eyes..

"Sombra, look at me." He winced guiltily, but found himself, like a school-pony, unable to disobey the stern request. Discord didn’t look angry though, he looked worried.

"You shouldn’t be labouring all alone like this. I won't scold you or make you feel weak, you know that." the Draconequus shook his head gently "you don’t have to suffer alone, you have ME. I won't abandon you because you’re scared. I stayed with you for your first recovery, and I’ll stay here for this one. Do you trust me?"

"Of course!" Sombra blurted. Discord kissed him gently, then spoke sternly.

"I could never be ashamed of you, Sombra. NEVER. What you’ve done, what you’ve fought through, its mind boggling. To fight depression and fear like you did? It takes BALLS. And you did it all for your Umbrums. You have a good heart and you're cute to boot." he winked at the pony and Sombra laughed softly. Trust Discord to insert something silly like that!

"You amaze me, you fretful pony," the Draconequus carried on "Don’t think me stupid enough to abandon you after all we've been through. alright? Yes I’m a little cross you hid this from me, but I know you were only trying to do what you thought was best. Even if it was a bad idea."

"The tape.." Sombra said.

Discord rolled his eyes theatrically, with a huff included "oh, forget that blasted tape!"

"But," Sombra began. Discord shook his head.

"NOPE!" Discord declared, tapping the pony’s nose "not another word! OK?"

A wordless nod from the stallion. Discord kissed his forehead gently.

"Good pony." he whispered reassuringly "you wont get rid of me so easily. To quote Celestia, I’m like that mould that grew in the palace storeroom, impossible to get away from for long! She was cross at me you see..."

He extended an arm to the pony as he rambled and Sombra folded gratefully into his embrace. He wrapped his arms tightly around the pony, rubbing his back again. Nuzzling into the pony's neck he whispered;

"I wont let you torment yourself, my precious King. You’ve nothing to feel guilty for. but you need to stop hurting yourself like this. That time is passed, you’ve beaten it, you’re free."

Sombra nodded, wanting those memories to be gone, so badly. Discord seen this reflected in his eyes as he sat back and gently framed the ponies face in both hands. The moonlight shone off his gorgeous coat, highlighting the curve of his wings.

Discord felt his breath catch once more, he was so tempting. It was getting harder to control his feelings around Sombra. The urge to beg him to let Discord make love to him was almost unbearable. But he crushed it down once more, Sombra needed reassurance, not sexual advances. Right?

"Promise me, Sombra, that you wont hold yourself in guilt for surviving what that monster did to you after tonight."

"Discord-"

"Promise me." Discord was unrelenting, voice stern.

Sombra took a deep breath, felt his throat lock up as the last remnants of said guilt tried to stop him. But he knew discord was right. It was time to accept that he hadn’t committed some wrongdoing in starting a new life after Scorpan's torture. He hadn’t deserved it, any of it, he'd just been a pawn to that creature.

"Come on.." Discord whispered, "you can do it. Promise?"

At last Sombra spoke, it was just two words, but it was an immense weight off his chest. His vision blurred as he said what Discord wanted to hear, a single blink sending the tears splashing onto the carpet;

"I promise."

Then he was kissed deeply, sending a wonderful shiver down his spine, awakening that dormant feeling from before when Discord's tail had unwittingly aroused him. He bit back a moan, surely Discord would think him crazy, getting flustered at a time like this. But with his grief and terror appeased, other feelings longed to stretch their legs now.

He could not resist the urge to kiss Discord back. Neither knew about the feelings they each wrestled with.

Discord groaned softly at the passion of the pony’s kiss, did he know how tantalizing he was? Their kisses became ever more intimate as the seconds ticked by...

Discord finally panicked when Sombra pressed even closer, dangerously close to setting him off like last time. He could feel the heat from his friends body-

"I-it's time you got back to sleep!" he blurted, trying to casually release the pony from his hold. "You need your rest!"

Sombra blinked, perplexed and a little hurt. Had he done something wrong? Had Discord realised the pony was getting excited by all this, or was he still a little angry?

He was surprised when Discord snapped his fingers and he found himself literally tucked up in bed, with the sheets so taut, they held him in place.

"Sleep tight handsome and oof-!"

Discord cut off, as his attempt to leave was foiled by a shield. His nose bumped off it and he made a faint yelping noise. He fidgeted, panicking silently.

"Discord?" Sombra sounded annoyed and his speech was punctuated by several annoyed grunts and the sound of fabric slithering.

--Even the noises he makes are sexy!-- Discord groaned.

"Stop pretending you cant -umf- hear me -ngh- blast it Discord, what madness is this?!"

Discord turned his head to glance at him and immediately blushed. Sombra had partly succeeded in getting himself and the sheet free from the tight tuck they'd been in. The bed-sheet was tangled around his hind legs, a section of it pooled between his legs, covering his stomach...

Sombra was arching his back, trying to kick the sheet free. With every attempt the sheet slid further down and Discord did his best to look elsewhere.

"What is going on with you?" Sombra fumed. His face was flushed, strands of his mane sticking to his cheek as he shot a look at the fidgety Draconequus. He briefly caught a glimpse of where Discord was staring, and felt the heat creep up his body.

"You’re too much Sombra" Discord blurted petulantly "I cant keep from- wanting to, well- wanting YOU, alright?"

"What’s- first your worrying about kissing me, now you’re concerned about ogling me?" Sombra was confused.

"Please don’t ask me to explain it, I cant do it.." Discord pleaded, hoping his precious Sombra would drop it. What if he laughed in his face when Discord blurted out the truth? He returned to staring out the window, sighing heavily.

Sombra finally got free from the bed sheet and closed the distance between himself and the Draconequus. He stood on the beds edge, Discord was less than a foot from him.

He reached out a hoof and let it rest on the chaos beings back.

"Tell me what it is you want." he said firmly, heart racing.

"No can do cutie-"

"Tell me, Discord, please." Sombra pressed.

Discord sighed and figured since Sombra had already faced HIS demon for that night, it was only fair...

"You want to know? I want to pin you to that bed and ravish you senseless. We're talking mind blowing here, you damn irresistible pony. I want to SLEEP with you. Full on, orgasmic, making a mess of the sheets SEX." he threw his arms in the air and declared "there, you happy?"

Sombra was blinking, processing this. His face was on fire at the mental image this had summoned. His stomach felt full off butterflies, the type that sent flutters up his spine. Among other places. He fidgeted atop the bed, imagining a dream from some nights prior-

Snapping out of it, Sombra tilted his head to one side, studying the sulky Draconequus. Why was Discord so flustered over this?

He voiced this query aloud and Discord fidgeted even more. He still wouldn’t turn around.

"Because- well why would a King want to be subservient to someone else?" he briefly turned his head to flash Sombra an almost sad smile before returning to staring out the window "Don’t lie cutie, you’re the dominant type."

Sombra blinked, processing the Draconequui's statement. He felt that exciting heat unfurl in his stomach again. He combined that with that dream and made a decision on what HE wanted. Now to inform that befuddled Draconequus...

"I am more than my rank, Discord." he scolded gently as he jumped gracefully down off the bed. He walked so he was standing in front of Discord now, meeting his gaze.

"You know, after that night where you joked about what those hands could do, I had an interesting dream..."

Discord made a surprised sound "y-you did?" he said, trying to keep his cool. Something in the pony's eyes was making his body awaken, was Sombra really-?

Sombra smirked seductively, unfolding one wing and brushing it up along Discord's stomach. This was a blatant pegasi flirting technique and he knew it. He'd re-read that book again.

"You know what I happened to dream?" he continued, brushing Discord's cheek with the tip of his wing. A glance further down on the Draconequus' body told him it was working...

Discord could only make a squeaking noise, words were a lost hope.

"I dreamt of you putting them to good use, on ME. I was reluctant to wake.." he smirked in that sultry, sexy way "and what do you think I felt?"

Another squeak.

Sombra lowered the wing, closing the distance between them and looking Discord squarely in the eye "I LIKED it." he finished in a growl of desire, fangs bared.

In a flash he was scooped up and deposited back on the bed, soft pillows propping him up at an angle. The mattress bounced him up and down a moment, making his fluttery stomach even more so, then warmth pressed against him as Discord gently pinned him in place. His body was positioned between the stallions legs, the pony noticed with excitement;

He lay on his back, looking up at the being pinning him. His breath was rapid, pulse racing in anticipation. Had it worked?

"You mean that..?" Discord asked, he could barely hold back from kissing Sombra, he looked so good.

"Every single word." Sombra said firmly. "I may be royalty, but that doesn’t mean I demand power and control at every turn. In fact, do you know what the biggest turn on for those with power is?"

He brushed his lips against Discord's.

"It's surrendering to someone else. Must I make demands of you, insist you give me what I want?"

"Sombra.." Discord breathed.

Sombra nibbled at his ear, making Discord moan eagerly and whispered "stop stalling and RUT ME, Discord."

Discord couldn't keep from kissing the stallion and when he let him go he was rewarded by the sight of Sombra's wings going pomf.

"You will get your wish, my King." Discord whispered. He sat back, the pony's legs brushing against his sides as he crouched there.

His dreams and fantasies had never been this subtle. His creativity mostly ran as far as the pony asking for a good doing, then lower instinct had taken over and he'd simply gone about finishing himself.

"You look amazing in the moonlight.." the Draconequus murmured, tracing his hands over Sombra's firm chest and stomach. The pony squirmed comfortably under his touch, arcing his back to press more of his body against Discord's hands. Discord traced the elegant curve of the King's hips, imagining the power behind a single thrust from them...

Setting that thought aside for later, Discord finally indulged his biggest desire and at last allowed one hand to stray further down, encircling his stallions shaft and stroking it gently, feeling it harden in his grip. He noted its colour, the same dusky grey as Sombra's coat, it made the creamy white fluid that beaded up and trickled down its sizeable girth even more obvious. Discord snagged the droplet, bringing it to his lips and licking it clean. He closed his eyes as the stallion's taste melted into his tongue and he couldn’t suppress a low groan of longing. Sombra blushed hotly, yet felt another jolt run down his body.

"You even taste as good as you look." Discord said seductively, opening his eyes and regarding the stallion below him.

A few more teasing touches around its base and tip made the captive Sombra squirm and moan even more heatedly. His hooves were tangling in the delicate sheets beneath him, already dampened with sweat. Discord could feel Sombra's pulse in every twitch and throb of the pony’s aroused member.

Discord gathered a few more tastes of his lovers fluid before leaning down and kissing Sombra, tongue parting the stallions lips and letting him taste himself. Sombra's tongue danced with his, kiss after kiss, parting only enough to draw breath before claiming each others lips again.

They ceased kissing at last, and for a brief moment only a single gossamer strand of saliva still connected them, like silver spider silk. Then it snapped and disappeared.

"Discord.." Sombra panted, his heart racing so fast it almost made him dizzy. His body ached, the sheer force of the longing he'd been carrying within for the last few days ramping up now. He hadn't been joking about that dream...

He'd woken in the middle of the night with a problem, one that refused to calm down easily. He'd tried to ignore it at first, but almost unbidden, his hoof had crept down the barrel of his own body to below. Slow hesitant movements to start, could he not ignore this fantasy? But his hoof would not be stilled, snapshots of the dream running through his mind like a tsunami, irrepressible...

He'd finished by gasping the Draconequus' name into the pillow as he reached his self-controlled climax. He'd changed the sheet himself once he'd recovered, and had used his dark fire to burn the ones he'd stained. Part of him hadn’t wanted the staff seeing it and asking questions, such a thing was private...

"Mmmm, you’ve been suppressing yourself a while, haven't you?" Discord said softly, once again brushing a thumb over the tip of the pony's cock, jolting Sombra back to the present moment, before moving his hand down and squeezing at its base. Sombra gasped sharply, his voice a deep, sultry growl. His ears trembled eagerly, this was bliss..

"Then I trust you can handle it?" he smirked in his trademark fashion, yet he was only barley keeping his composure in the face of such sensual touching. His own efforts at getting himself off had never felt this good. Discord grinned in the moonlight, as if he could read his mind;

"I'll handle you my love, count on that." he purred.

Discord continued massaging Sombra's belly even as he sat back enough to snap his fingers, making a tube appear in his hand. He squeezed the transparent substance onto his hands, letting the tube fall to the wayside...

"Now, let us make that dream of yours come true!" he grinned at Sombra as he indicated one lube-coated hand, the slick liquid gleaming in the light. Then he brought his fingers down to his lovers entrance and thrust two of them into him.

"Ah- yes~" Sombra growled in satisfaction as he felt that first intrusion, the brief chill of the lubricant soon warmed by his own heat.

Discord flexed his fingers, eliciting an even louder cry of desire. Then he pushed a third finger in, beginning in earnest. Sombra couldn’t even speak as Discord's talented, flexible fingers pushed and thrust inside him, spreading and stretching the stallions body in anticipation of something far bigger. Spreading the thick, warm lube thoroughly over his inner walls....

Discord leant down and playfully nuzzled at Sombra's stomach as he worked. Sombra writhed atop the bed, rumpling the once pristine sheets, his deep, breathy moans the perfect accompaniment to the Draconequus' actions. Another penetrative thrust and Sombra called out much more vocally, pressing his head back into the fancy pillows.

"That feel good, my precious Sombra?" Discord teased. Sombra focused on him through the haze of pleasure governing his mind.

"Outstanding-" he growled huskily, those sharp little fangs glinting in the silvery light "even better then my dream."

He was rewarded with a sweet kiss from the Draconequus. The way Discord looked at him made his heart race in a whole new way. He may as well have been the only thing in Discord’s world right now, with the way his friend looked at him.

"Oh, you flatter me, my King. This is only the start of what I have in store" Discord shot back with a knowing smile, moving his fingers again and feeling Sombra's body responding eagerly, muscles clamping down on his fingers.

It was time, his precious King was all set.

Removing his fingers, he positioned his body so his own flared tip was pressed, a feather-light touch, against the kings body...he pressed just a little in, a little taster.

Sombra groaned eagerly as he felt the fingers that had been teasing him slip free from him now, feel the Draconequus teasingly pressing that shaft against him. He could feel his stomach was soaked with his own pre-cum, thanks to Discord's pre-emptive teasing, his own member so tense in anticipation it almost HURT. There would be much more fluids before the end of tonight..he licked his lips impatiently, what was the Draconequus waiting for?

As if reading his mind, Discord moved, letting the first few inches push brusquely into the waiting stallion. Sombra growled deeply, the sound rumbling through his sturdy body. His back was almost arching off the bed, his wings going some way to supporting this endeavour. Discord squeezed the pony’s firm hips, digging his fingers in slightly. Sombra squirmed and gasped again.

"Mmm, you’re a good fit, my King." Discord breathed "so firm..."

Slowly, bit by bit, he pushed into the stallion, enjoying the sensation of Sombra's body adjusting to accommodate the large mass entering him. Sombra was so hot inside and the scent of not just his pre-cum but his pheromones- it was intoxicating. Discord wanted to push every limit Sombra's body had, make him scream his name by the time he finished....

Once he was fully hilted inside the stallions body, he paused a moment to let Sombra absorb how it felt, then he pulled back slowly and thrust quickly back into him, the lube he'd spread inside the stallion now coating his shaft. He did this a few more times, withdrawing then thrusting back in, enjoying the sounds Sombra made, the way the Alicorn begged for more; who was he to refuse?

"Discord-" Sombra panted, feeling the absence of his lovers organ keenly with every teasing pull. "I said n-not to hold back!"

"I could never deny you," Discord vowed, then, bracing his hands either side of Sombra's head, he repositioned himself, then thrust forward once more...

When the rhythm moved from tantalizing to full-on rutting, Sombra moaned his lovers name eagerly.

Yes, this was what he'd wanted all along. Someone to handle HIM, take him and just fuck him on a level that had nothing to do with his rank, that would eliminate any remaining sensibility he had left. And Discord knew what he was doing- oh, he knew VERY well- each thrust sent fresh, nerve sizzling sheets of electricity down his spine.

He closed his eyes a moment, letting the increasing sensation become his entire world. His breathing was in sync with his heartbeat, racing like a stampede.

"Oh my sweet Sombra, yes-" Discord purred, voice heavy with lust "you're amazing, Sombra!"

The next thrust sent an even stronger jolt up Sombra's spine- Discord seen the wings tremble, the way they curved upwards now making it seem as if they wanted to embrace him. He knew he'd hit that sweet spot so he altered his pace and angle, hitting that spot on his lovers insides without fail. Each thrust and push made Sombra gasp and moan in approval.

He kissed Sombra briefly, muffling the eager cries, feeling the pony's forelegs holding tightly to him as he did. Moonlight filtered through the shivering wings, making sparkles of light dance over their entwined bodies.

He switched to bracing himself with just one arm next to Sombra's head. The free hand traced a pattern over Sombra's belly, brushing over sticky fur before reaching the tip of his member and curling round it. With his next thrust he squeezed it gently, brushing his thumb over its tip, timing it perfectly so the pony was hit with a double dose of pleasure.

He felt Sombra's fangs nip at his right ear, HARD, the pony uttering a half-whine, half-growling noise. The sharp sting of pain mixed with pleasure from his nerve endings and Discord pumped his hips a little faster and harder, pressing the pony back into the luxury bed as he did. The springs creaked as Sombra growled;

"Sweet sanity, Discord-nggh.." he couldn't continue, lapsing back into the overwhelming euphoria of the act.

Discord could feel how close Sombra was, the subtle way his body was trembling, the way said body clenched tightly around the chaos beings member. He couldn't hold back himself for much longer either, he wanted to claim this pony as his own.

"Call for me, my King!" he gasped, and he pulled back one last time-

With one final hard thrust, he brought Sombra over the edge, the stallion calling his name as he desired, voice almost a feral growl. Discord closed his eyes, unleashing his own climax. It was hard and fast, every fantasy he'd had contributing to the thick, sticky splashes of seed filling his partners insides.

Semen spattered Discord's hand where it still curled around the stallion's member. As the Alicorn rode out the ecstasy of his first good rutting, Discord caught his breath and looked down at the hand that had been tending to his lovers shaft. Sticky, warm cum dripped from his fingers, the undeniable aroma of his lovers scent could not be refused and he felt a few additional ropes of seed join the initial load inside Sombra, member throbbing eagerly as he licked his hand clean of every last drop of Sombra's fluid.

He met Sombra's eyes as the pony opened them. He was acutely aware of the point where they were so intimately connected, what had just taken place. The Alicorn's wings were almost rigid they were so tense, fluffed up to maximum. Discord sat back, still inside the stallion and moved his hands to massage the base of the wings until Sombra was able to fold them down fully.

Coat soaked with sweat, mane clinging to his face and neck, the King looked so handsome. His chest rose and fell rapidly, crimson eyes filled with a mix of lust and contentment. His forelegs were folded atop his stomach and he exuded an air of fullness, satisfaction. He really was a stud of a stallion, Discord thought.

"You look stunning, my dear Sombra." Discord whispered, reluctant to tear his eyes away from the sight of his lover.

"Speak for yourself~" the pony spoke at last, voice a few shades fainter then at the start. Hopefully his throat wasn’t too sore...

With a gentle kiss at the base of the pony's horn, Discord carefully pulled out of Sombra. Cum overspill dripped onto the sheets beneath them as he did, Sombra uttering a soft moan. His body already objected to the absence of that which had been rutting him so efficiently.

"Outstanding, my King." Discord praised, making Sombra flush happily. The way he called him that, it was quite arousing.

Exhausted, Discord flopped down onto the bed on his back, drawing Sombra into his hold seconds later. The pony snuggled up close, their combined warmth making the afterglow even more enjoyable. Sombra rested his head on Discords chest, he could hear the chaos lord's heartbeat, it was fast as his own.

Discords fingers toyed with his ears, making him smile sleepily.

Sombra popped the shield that had been masking their sounds and cool air wafted in, cooling the heat of the room.

Discord toyed with the pony’s mane now, tangling his fingers into it and rubbing the back of Sombra's neck. Sombra smiled, then shifted his body so as to kiss Discord.

"My Sombra..." Discord whispered and Sombra smiled seductively, kissing him lightly once more. The pony's eyes were slowly starting to close, any tension and excess energy from the nightmares before, gone now.

"Rest my love, we will meet again in the morning." Discord murmured. Sombra happily drifted asleep, the nightmares a distant point in time. He had a far more powerful memory now…

Discord snapped his fingers and the sheets settled down over them. He stayed awake as long as he could, watching the stallion sleep.

--I hope I was able to give you what you needed, my sweet Sombra.-- he thought drowsily --I know I’ll never forget tonight.--

Then he too drifted asleep...

Here In Your Arms

Author's Note

More bedroom shenanigans abound! Enjoy~

Fun game: try editing mistakes with an iPhone. Gah.

Here In Your Arms

Discord woke slowly the next morning and it took him several seconds to realise this wasn't HIS room. There was also the distinct warmth of someone else's body lying next to him.

A familiar warmth, a body he'd lavished attention upon under the light of a full moon-

He opened his eyes quickly, the memories flooding back in a rush. The one curled up next him was his precious Sombra!

--That’s right, after Moonbottom came to find me..-- Discord thought languidly.

After being alerted by Princess Luna that Sombra was suffering traumatic nightmares that he was locking her out of, Discord had gone to find the stallion and do something, anything, to put a stop to his torment.

Sombra had rejected his help at first, insisting he was fine. But his body language was just mere words away from a cry for help. Discord couldn’t stand to see his Sombra so unhappy and had eventually gotten him to confess to what was upsetting him.

He firmly told the King he wasn’t abandoning him and Sombra's relief and gratitude had been evident when he'd kissed Discord.

--You got me going good and proper dear Sombra,-- the Draconequus thought, admiring the intricate design on the ceiling. --I tried to hide it, but you seen right through me..--

Sombra had let slip that he liked the idea of surrendering himself to the chaos lord's capable hands.

--What was it you said, “shut up and rut me, already?”-- Discord smiled, feeling himself flush a little. Sombra was even sexier when he was being so demanding. It was pretty hot, Discord admitted.

And Discord couldn't turn him down, couldn't resist the stallion he'd dreamt about. Dreams that had become increasingly erotic since admitting his affections for Sombra.

The sex had been heated, passionate and quite frankly better then Discord's idle fantasies had ever conjured up.

He looked down at Sombra now, done recollecting the chain of events that'd led to a night between the sheets with the Umbrum. The pony was curled up next to him, his body lying pressed close to Discord's side, one hoof draped across the chaos being's chest. His head was resting on Discord's shoulder, soft breath tickling his neck...

Sombra's strong, muscular body was partly covered by the bed sheet, but Discord could easily visualize every well-defined curve and recall the feel of powerful muscles shifting under that coat. The pony was biting the corner of his lip with one cute little fang. In the golden morning light streaming in the window, he looked so happy and peaceful...

--I never imagined you'd let me have you that way, my dear Sombra.-- Discord thought, heart racing as he watched the stallion sleep. He hoped Sombra's dreams had been kind after the nightmares he'd been trapped in had left him shaken and lost.

Sombra made an adorable snuffling sound in his sleep, one wing twitching, raising slightly and making the blanket shift down an inch or two before settling down again.

--So cute.-- Discord squeed silently.

Carefully, the chaos lord moved the arm Sombra wasn't sleeping on and rubbed behind the stallions right ear. Sombra uttered a soft, contented sigh, then carried on sleeping. Discord repeated the gesture, this time rubbing little circles at the base of Sombra's ear with his thumb. Sombra smiled contentedly, uttering an adorable little groan and nuzzling against Discord, but he still didn't stir.

--Asgfdas-cute-overload!!-- Discord couldn't suppress a gleeful giggle. THIS woke Sombra, the gentle vibrations in his lovers chest stirring him to wake. He blinked sleepily, deep red eyes focusing on the Draconequus as he raised his head.

Sombra woke to the warm presence sharing his bed with him laughing softly. He lifted his head, vision focusing.

His sleepy red eyes met Discord's and he recalled the previous nights salacious activities.

Memories of the Draconequus' sizeable shaft plunging deep into him, hitting that sweet spot every time- the finishing climax making him feel light-headed and deliriously good- he'd never experienced anything so liberating. Something deep inside had clicked into place and he wondered how he'd denied himself so long...

He flushed subtly, recalling how he'd thrown poise and decorum to the wind and growled at Discord to basically shut up and fuck him.

He felt different and not just in the physical sense, it was as if something had woken up and started operations within his mind.

"Morning, handsome." Discord grinned, reaching one hand up to brush it along Sombra's jaw, coming to rest on his cheek. A warm hoof snared it and held it there a moment;

"Mmm, good morning.." Sombra said, his rumbling voice making even a simple greeting seem somewhat seductive as he released Discord's hand. He sat up fully, the blankets slithering down to his hips.

“Looking good~” Discord said with a grin, brushing a thumb over a small mark left on his lovers hip from the Draconequus' own hands.

Sombra stretched his wings out, uttering a deep grunt of pleasure, flexing the appendages at leisure before lowering them.

"Tense, my precious Sombra?" Discord raised an eyebrow at this blatantly teasing display. Sombra tilted his head to one side, dishevelled mane falling over one ear.

"I can still feel it," he met Discord's eyes and flashed a smirk "cant blame me for enjoying it."

“Indeed, I cannot. For you-- buhhhh.”

The pony went one step forward and rolled onto his back. Like a playful young colt, he arched his back to get the kinks out of it, then moving onto stretching his legs. This meant Discord's attention span didn’t stand a snowballs chance in a furnace and he gave up on words.

--Boiiing.-- Discord's mind offered and Discord could only nod mutely in agreement.

His eyes travelled over the broad barrel of Sombra's chest, lingering on firm shoulders and the soft curve of his neck before moving downwards-

The obvious moan of enjoyment the pony uttered finally spurred Discord to move.

"OK, now you’re just being a tease-" he chuckled, pouncing on Sombra and pinning him lightly on his back. Sombra laughed softly, the early morning light catching his eyes and making them shine like rubies as the King titled his head slightly to one one, pursing his lips.

"This is a way in which ponies stretch. There are others of course, but if it is a problem, I could stop-" he said teasingly, a smirk on his lips “If it's proving problemat-”

He was shut up with a fierce kiss that near took his breath away and moaned eagerly at the faint taste still on Discord's lips. HIS taste.

“Discord..” he moaned softly as he was let go and the Draconequus began a trail of kisses along his jaw, then moved down to his throat.

The Alicorn groaned, feeling his wings fidget, wanting to pomf up at this attention. They felt so sensitive, attuned to Discord's warm hands and lips.

At last the sensual snuggling stopped and Discord answered the question he'd interrupted.

"You will do no such thing, handsome." Discord scolded breathlessly "It's important you look after yourself. Plus, I reserve full rights to openly ogle you, yet act like I wasn’t when called on it!"

Sombra laughed, the sound full of such light and happiness that it made Discord blush, heart cramping in a good way. For Sombra to be so blissful when just last night Discord had comforted him after a nasty nightmare.…

It made his chest ache with relief.

"That's the Sombra I know," he smiled "happy, free..."

Sombra recalled the topic of Discord's intervention last night. His expression sobered up a little and he kissed Discord softly then spoke;

"Discord..." he smiled softly "thank you."

The Draconequus kissed him deeply, letting the pony go after a few seconds.

"You don't need to thank me, my dear Sombra. Seeing you happy, it means more then I can say. I cant begin to list what I’d have given to see that sadness leave your eyes," the chaos creature said soberly, then added, entirely deadpan "note to self; bang him senseless."

Sombra uttered a loud, unrestrained burst of laughter. He butted Discord's muzzle, making a cute “chuff” sound.

"What? What’s so funny, your majesty?!" Discord pretended to act confused, but the way his eyes twinkled made it very clear he was enjoying the tease.

"You’re so crude-!" Sombra snorted out at last as he laughed, the sound rich and so happy. “and stop calling me “your majesty”!”

"Fine, fine, my precious Sombra. Besides, you weren’t objecti-mmmh" Discord cut off as magic shimmered in the air and he was pulled down to a deep, sensual kiss.

"Who said I was?" the pony smirked sexily as he let Discord go, biting gently on the chaos beings lower lip before letting him speak.

"Good pony." Discord praised, scratching under the King's chin, prompting more contented noises.

“Did you sleep well?” Discord chanced asking as he let up on the attention. Sombra met his eyes, understood the question and nodded without hesitation.

“Wonderfully,” he whispered “your heartbeat lulled me to sleep and all I remember dreaming was of US, that night at the lake.”

“Good,” Discord said firmly “tell those bad dreams that it's gonna stay that way, okay?”

Sombra nudged Discord's muzzle with his own, smiling as he spoke;

"I do not think those nightmares will come back," the Alicorn murmured "not when I have a memory like that."

"Oh, we have many more memories to make, my dear Sombra." Discord responded, with a knowing grin. "You are far too irresistible for any type of constraint."

If this was how feisty Sombra was when he offered to let someone ELSE be dominant, Discord could just imagine-

"Speak for yourself." Sombra smirked, seemingly reading his mind. Discord looked down at him and the look he found in those garnet red eyes sent tantalising shivers up the Draconequus' back. What was his sexy Sombra planning?

"Oh, you know." Sombra whispered, again pre-empting any words Discord may have used. His nose nuzzled against Discord's ear and he nipped at it in a callback to last night as he whispered "I wonder if you can handle ME?"

"Fuck me." Discord groaned on impulse and he heard Sombra chuckle, that gorgeous gravelly voice stating "that is the intention, no?"

--Dammit Sombra..-- Discord snared his lover in a kiss, grinding his body suggestively against the King's, letting him know exactly what he was doing to him. Driving him utterly, wonderfully crazy. --I finally did something right to earn YOU.--

He released the pony from the kiss at last, both of them breathing heavily.

Just as Sombra was about to speak, there came an abrupt knocking on the door.

"What?" the King grumbled, annoyed and (from what Discord could feel), partially aroused.

"Your breakfast is ready, sire." the staff pony on the other side of the door blinked at how grumpy the King sounded. He was normally an early riser, hanging around the kitchen and being shooed away by the amused staff.

"Are you OK, sire?" he hedged, hoping Sombra wouldn't be angry at the question.

"I'm fine," Sombra glowered at the door, searching for an excuse "just had a-AH- bit of a rough night!"

He glared at Discord, who tried to act like he hadn’t just groped his majesty's bottom.

The pony blinked, assuming he was-?

He nodded to himself. He knew what this was.

"Of course sir, I’ll have the cook make some of that tea the doctor recommended."

Sombra couldn’t resist being a smart ass.

"That one from the time I got blatantly drunk and had a hangover?" There was an edge of amusement in the monarchs voice, the staff pony noted. Sombra was very hard to outmanoeuvre.

"Yes, sire." he coughed, suppressing a laugh, for that particular tale was legendary around the palace. Sombra had gotten so drunk he'd been found holding a conversation with a potted plant. For days afterwards the King couldn’t look at plants without sniggering and neither could the guards who'd found him.

He heard the King chuckle softly and sighed in relief. Good, the Umbrum ruler wasn’t angry..

He said he would go see to the King's breakfast and trotted away from the door.....

"Rough, hm? That’s not what you were saying last night-!" Discord teased Sombra as the pony turned his attention back to him "as I recall, it wasn’t really words, orgasmic moans maybe-"

Discord cut off as Sombra kissed him, followed by a familiar smirk on the King's face as he let him go.

"It was the only thing that I could think of!" Sombra chuckled, shaking his head ruefully as Discord helped him sit up.

"The last time I was hungover, nopony dared put a hoof wrong around me, in case it set my headache off. I figured it would stop them asking too many questions about this. I have bottles of expensive wine in that cabinet over there, they will just assume I must have had one glass too many at dinner, or after."

"Crafty.." Discord grinned "I like it~!"

"Now, we probably have a few minutes before breakfast?" Sombra raised an eyebrow. His tail swished eagerly, a gleam in his eyes.

--Whoa.- Discord whistled in his mind –He really is a firecracker!--

"As much as I would happily have YOU for breakfast," Discord let his eyes roam over Sombra's matted coat "you may wish to take a bath before you dine."

"Hm?" Sombra looked down at himself and realised now that his coat was splattered with a certain sticky fluid. He flushed subtly, but couldn't help a smug smirk as he met Discord's eyes.

"I guess I do need a good scrubbing! Care to assist?" he teased, as he got down off the bed, the unashamedly sexy way his hips moved leaving Discord no option.

"At your service, your maj- Sombra~" Discord retorted, floating after him and into the King's private bathroom. It was a big, luxuriously-tiled room with plenty of space for two under the spray.

Sombra flicked the switch with his magic, the room soon filling with scented steam. He sat himself under the spray of water, allowing it to run down over his body.

“Mind if I..?” Discord gestured to the stallion's coat with a shampoo bottle. Sombra nodded, smiling softly.

Discord sat behind him, gently tracing a pattern up the pony's back as he poured shampoo onto his palm. Sombra unfurled his wings and the Draconequus expertly ran his hands over them, massaging the joints and lovingly washing the feathered appendages.

“Mmm, that feels nice.” Sombra purred with a smile, as little shivers ran down his spine. He leant back against Discord, leaving himself to the chaos beings gentle caresses. A moment later, he tilted his head back, faintly nuzzling at Discord's jaw, unable to resist the contact.

Discord felt himself blush a little, heart racing. There was something so thrilling about the way Sombra trusted him so implicitly, that it made him fall for the stallion even more. Nopony had trusted him so much in his life, EVER. But Sombra had opened his heart to him after the slightly bonkers cloud-clone-confession incident and seemed fully content to drop all barriers around him.

He felt like he truly was important in this pony's world and that was a gift he'd never expected to find in his second chance lifetime.

His gaze roamed over the stallion's peaceful expression, eyes closed as he entrusted his care to Discord's hands, then down his throat where the necklace still hung against his chest.

Discord blushed, he shouldn't really be ogling. But he couldn't resist, he'd dreamt about getting this close to the Umbrum King for so long now. He reminded himself he was supposed to be cleaning up the King's coat and remembered the obvious spot that he'd pointed out to the monarch.

Sombra groaned softly, eyes fluttering open as he felt his lover's hands brush over his chest as they moved down to his stomach.

Discord felt the pony fidget eagerly, a soft moan reaching his ears.

--Wow, he really loves a belly rub..-- the chaos lord noted.

Sombra moved the wings to allow easier access, nuzzling against Discord's cheek as the fluid splashed across his belly was washed away by the same mismatched hands that had prepared him so thoroughly the night before.

He was aware of Discord's finger gently tracing the curve of his right hip as the chaos being murmured in his ear.

“All clean, my precious King.”

Sombra turned to face him as he was let go, kissing him deeply and giving the Draconequus' chest and stomach a good washing in turn, slowed a bit by the fact he was easily delayed by deep, hot kisses. Sombra didn't care how late he was to breakfast, this moment was too delicious to end before he wanted it to.

“Turn around.” Sombra said huskily as he finished that task.

“O-oh?” Discord wondered what he had planned but did as his King asked, his back now facing the stallion.

What did Sombra have in mind?

One heck of a back-rub.

“Oohhhh…..that is positively boneriffic..” Discord said dazedly, then snapped out of his daze as the hooves rubbing his back stopped and he felt the pony's muzzle butt against his shoulder. Soft, muffled laughter reached his ears a second later.

“Oh, right! I forgot, you're ten years old. BO-NER.” he emphasised and Sombra's laughter sped up.

“Enough of that!” The pony scolded as he resumed his washing “I cannot concentrate with you making me laugh!”

“I'm sure we can work on th-aaaats it, yup, that bit, that's bliss….” Discord trailed off “what was I thinking about? Ah, I don't care!”

Sombra chuckled again, then finished his massage, setting his hooves onto the tiles once more. He was pulled into a kiss as the Draconequus twisted his long, curved body to face him again.

“You're too tempting, my sweet Sombra.” Discord said breathlessly as he let Sombra go. For a creature with hooves, Sombra sure knew how to manoeuvre them!

“Is that so?” the monarch teased, a smile tugging at his lips.

“Yes. VERY.” Discord emphasized as Sombra sat back a little “we can't have you being too late, can we? As much as I’d happily continue last nights exploration of that gorgeous rump of yours-”

Sombra seemed to share his thoughts, for he smirked and pressed back against Discord, whispering;

"There's always other nights..."

Discord wrapped his arms around the King so the pony was resting against his chest. Sombra smiled, feeling more content then he had in years. He LIKED what had happened last night and he wanted more of it. More of that unconstrained raw emotion, more of that desire. He'd neglected this side of him for too long now, battling his own demons had taken up so much space in his head that having room for these new feelings to unfurl was a delicious prospect.

He could also feel something pressing against his stomach and he grinned knowingly.

"Cant help it," Discord snickered unashamedly as his lover angled his head to direct that smug look in his direction "your hotter than the damn shower water!"

Sombra kissed him by way of response, the movement making him press ever closer to Discord.

"If you want to make it to breakfast on time, stop being so tempting. You hear me?" Discord mock-scolded, gently nudging Sombra's nose with his own, eyes narrowed. He kept a straight face for all of 0.5 seconds before both he and Sombra busted up laughing.

Sombra wished he could tell his advisor’s and everything else, to go take a hike. But he knew his responsibility to his kingdom trumped his love-life...

"We're lucky," he said as they dried off and Sombra put on his royal regalia and crown "Page Assist is away for the day, visiting family. If that had been him at the door, he'd likely have kicked up such a fuss!"

"Rude." Discord grumbled.

"It is his job to help me manage the kingdom, he takes it VERY seriously." Sombra chuckled as he finished drying his wings, folding them down again.

"Well don't work too hard." Discord chuckled.

“Perish the thought!” Sombra replied and the Draconequus grinned.

Discord settled for one last kiss before letting his lover trot out the door. Then it was a case of simply portaling down a few minutes after to be greeted by a peppy Fluttershy.

As they sat down to breakfast, Sombra informed them he had to attend to several matters for most of that day and he was sorry he could not join them. But he told them to go anywhere they felt like, the palace staff would help them find anything that they needed.

"O-okay.." Fluttershy was disappointed, but Discord ruffled her mane and smiled to cheer her up.

"Hay, we'll have fun, Flutters! Whatever you fancy!"

He gave her a hug and she smiled.

"Oh!" She noticed something different about him as she let him go "are you using a new shampoo? It smells wonderful!"

Discord had a brainfart for a moment, not sure what she meant- then he remembered he had been washed using the stuff in Sombra's shower, which had been in a fancy bottle. The bottles writing had indicated it was from a far off kingdom, no doubt a gift from a trade partner.

"Yes!" He grinned "something Sombra recommended!"

This seemed to satisfy his friend and they all started in on breakfast.

"Sorry for being so late," Sombra said to Fluttershy "I had drunk perhaps a bit too much last night."

Discord mimed being drunk and Sombra shot him a “ha ha, very funny” look.

"As for me," Discord chuckled as Sombra returned his attention to his food "I was up late reading a book!"

--Interesting choice..-- Sombra thought idly, as he took another bite of food.

"Oh, was it good?" Fluttershy asked.

Discord grinned cheerfully, unable to help himself as he replied "yes indeed! Fantastic plot, couldn't tear myself away-!"

Fluttershy was torn between wondering what the book was and being concerned by Sombra suddenly having a coughing fit right at the end of that sentence.

"I'm fine." Sombra coughed, blinking to clear his blurry vision.

Discord turned back to Fluttershy, smiling innocently. "Didn't even need a bookmark, just used my fingers to keep my place. Finished it in one go."

“Pfft-!” Sombra nearly choked on the drink he'd taken to calm his throat after the first euphemism had sunk in.

"Not a book fan, Sombra?" Discord teased subtly. Sombra shot him a dirty look. Then he calmly responded;

"I am aware of books, I have a library smart-ass. There’s just not much time in the day for me to fit in a book."

The innuendo soared right over Fluttershy's head, hitting Discord squarely.

"Really? Maybe in bed? No better place to curl up with a HARDback than bed, at the days end." he placed a subtle emphasis on the word as he met the King’s gaze.

This one bypassed the Fluttershy-stratosphere on its return journey.

"Hm, there is that. Plenty of space for a book in that bedroom." Sombra mused. He knew it was most unbecoming of a King, but he was rather enjoying the slam-dunking of increasingly obvious sex jokes. Fluttershy of course was too innocent, thus entirely unaware of their game. She was just glad to see her two friends having such a nice discussion!

"Two or three, if you’re in the habit of speed reading?" Discord shrugged.

"No, I feel that books should be enjoyed, given some proper attention." Sombra chuckled, as he casually finished his coffee.

"True, don't want to spoil the story's climax." Discord said airily.

"Indeed. It is the best part, after all." Sombra nodded as he took a sip of his coffee. He was trying SO hard not to laugh, but it was like a rush. A guilty pleasure lending a spark to a life that had become mired in routine.

Discord caught his eye again and flashed him a brief, knowing smile. He seen the stallions lips curve just slightly, a smile that seemed to say so much.

He decided to test his luck anyway.

--BONER-- he mouthed and Sombra gave him such a look he nearly broke his composure.

Breakfast over with, the trio walked out the door. The two guards standing station outside the door exchanged looks as they vanished around the corner.

"They're gonna bang, right? That's what that was about?" one asked the other.

Sombra hummed softly to himself as he walked along to his office. As he approached, the guard stationed there, still new to his post at the King's side, tried to juggle the letters the postmaster had given him. Said postmaster had insisted he hand them directly to the King ASAP. Which meant holding onto them personally.

Now, as the powerfully built pony strode over, the nervous guard stepped forward, tripped over his own hooves and nearly dropped the letters. He would have face-planted into the carpet had the King not used his magic to set him upright.

"Are you alright?" Sombra asked the dizzy stallion. The guard nodded, staring wordlessly at the King as he used his magic to pick up the scattered letters, glancing at the names.

"Oh, I have been waiting for this one!" the Umbrum ruler said, studying the postmark. The guard was hit by a sudden realisation; the Alicorn pony smelled really good. He'd once had a crush on the King, but after meeting another guard during his training, he'd fallen in love and all but forgotten how smitten he had once been with the ruling pony. But something about today felt different. The other Umbrums coat looked even more sleek today and he could see the way the way the muscular pony's body shifted under it with every movement. Sweet Celestia, he was cute-

In a flash of images, he imagined that same pony pinning him to a sumptuous bed, silken sheets and smoky grey fur, its crystalline texture shining in the light. A generously sized-

"Can you hear me?" he jolted as the King's deep, rumbling voice broke the fantasy apart. He nodded mutely.

“Shall I send for the doctor?" Sombra asked him, mesmerizing red eyes boring into the guards blue ones.

"No!” the guard blurted hastily, then continued “I mean, I'm fine sire."

"Just started?" Sombra asked and got a nod in reply.

“I-I mean, yes, your majesty!” the guard realised he was staring mutely and forced himself to talk.

The Umbrum King studied him a moment and the guard felt himself flush under the scrutiny. Could his highness SEE somehow what he'd been imagining? He was grateful his helmet hid a lot of his face, so with some luck it would hide his blushing.

"I wouldn’t be concerned, we all make mistakes." Sombra smiled at last. The pony nodded, standing straight at his post once more as the King trotted by him and into the office, the door clicking shut behind him. But as he walked by, the King's long, soft tail happened to accidentally brush the guards hind leg and he bit back a moan- what was wrong with him?!

Alone again, the guard felt his senses returning after a few minutes. He felt embarrassed for ogling his majesty in such a manner. He wasn’t the only one by far to have a crush on the monarch however, as quite a few of the guards on a drunken group night out, had admitted they'd happily plough the royal plot if the universe ever conspired to create such an opportunity. Or let the King screw THEM.

Nopony knew what his majesty's preferences were, although there had been rumours some time back that Sombra's best friend, the chaos being, was far more intimate with the King than any mere "friend". But none of them were crazy enough to ever say such a thing, you never knew where Discord might pop up from, scaring you silly and making you paranoid. He had a sixth sense that made even the most sceptical pony jump.

But, the guard informed himself, he HAD a colt-friend, yet he'd stood there fantasizing about the ruler of the Umbrum empire ploughing him. On further reflection, he realised he hadn't had a day off with said colt-friend in many weeks. He resolved to try and get a day off to spend it with him soon!

Feeling better now that odd phase had passed, he stood straight and resumed his job.

Sombra was on his own that day and in a weird way it was nice to have a break from Page Assist's fussing. He was an exemplary aide, but sometimes he got a little too into his work.

It was a nice day, so Sombra opened the windows, taking his cloak off and draping it over the back of his chair. He extended his wings, feeling the soft breeze ruffle the feathers. He smiled as he recollected last night. It had surprised him that Discord had been so uncharacteristic in his nervousness about admitting to his desires, Discord normally didn’t HAVE a filter.

From there, it had been the sort of night Sombra hadn't even dreamt he could experience. The sheer ecstasy and pleasure, it had been amazing. A night that once held nothing but terror now had a vivid memory in its place. That had been one heck of an orgasm.

He allowed himself to sigh and drift off into a daydream for a moment, the quill hovering above the scroll he was supposed to be signing.

"Sir-?" the door opened and Sombra jumped, narrowly avoiding splattering ink onto the scroll by pulling it aside with one hoof.

"Yes?" he coughed, trying to appear unruffled as he met the guards eyes.

"Lunch, sire." the guard walked over to the desk with a tray held in his magic. He set it down, noticing the King seemed flustered.

"Everything alright, sire?" he asked. Again, he was struck by how mesmerizing the King looked. Sombra nodded, getting up from the desk and walking over to a side table to set the finished scroll in the outgoing box. The guard realised he wasn't wearing his cloak and thus he caught a glimpse of the stallions flank and seen the way Sombra's tail swished over his rear. A very firm, well toned rear-

He gulped nervously, why was he staring at his highness like this?

Suddenly embarrassed and something else altogether more troublesome, he excused himself and all but bolted out of there. He caught a brief glimpse of King Sombra's expression, seen the stallion looked puzzled. Then he was gone.

"What was that about?" Sombra asked the thin air, but couldn't conjure up an answer. He shrugged it off a few seconds later and sat back at his desk to start on lunch.

That same guard was more eager then usual to sign off his shift an hour later. He ran into his colt-friend as he exited the changing room a few floors below the King's office.

"Hay, what’s gotten into you?" His precious stallion asked, seeing how flushed he looked. The first guard grinned and on an impulse steered his lover towards a rarely-used storage cupboard. It was big and usually stored blank scrolls, quills and anything else his majesty needed for his work. He picked the lock and bundled them both inside.

What happened after that was a no-brainer. The effect he'd gotten from gawking at Sombra carried over to the relationship with his beloved.

"Wow, I guess lunch was a bit dull?" his partner joked after they were done. "What got you all riled up?"

So the first guard told how he was convinced Sombra had some kind of pheromone spell or something, or had been around someone who had used one. The weird attraction, the fantasy that had made him want to find his lover and-

"Wow," His startled lover laughed "an indirect thanks to his majesty then, that was damn HOT."

"We need to clean up though." the first guard chuckled. They hurriedly mopped up the fluids with a well placed spell and were about to slip out, when the door rattled and the sound of a key turning in the lock reached their ears.

They swore silently and hid behind the stack of boxes they'd used as cover. They held their breath, praying it was just a guard fetching something. Or the King's aide, he always had his nose in the air and likely wouldn’t notice-

But no such luck.

It was his majesty. He was frowning at a list floating in front of him as the soft purple glow of his magic lit the expansive cupboard a little, highlighting the Alicorn's figure. The King strode in, not bothering with the light-switch. It was noted that he had good vision in the low light, probably because of his shadow heritage.

Sombra stopped at the shelf running parallel to the boxes the two amorous guards were hiding behind and selected several things off the shelf, stuffing them into his saddlebags. He scowled, seeing something wasn't where needed it to be.

"Ah, wrong shelf." he muttered, stooping a little to pick out what he sought. This made his tail shift slightly and both guards couldn't help admire him.

"See." one mouthed to the other.

They went silent as could be as Sombra straightened up sharply, ears pricked. He cast a glance around him and they thought they were busted, then they heard a voice from the doorway;

"Who's there?"

"Relax, it's me." Sombra said, regarding the guard calmly.

"Oh! O-of course, your majesty! My apologies, I just wondered why the door was open, but as it's your good self-"

"You can return to your post, I am quite alright." Sombra smiled. The guard nodded, before leaving the room.

Several seconds passed and Sombra sighed in relief. Maybe he shouldn’t have been standing around with the lights off, but it was a force of habit.

--Time to return to my desk.-- he thought with a sigh. Then he sniffed the air subtly, picking up on a scent he now had memorised, after last night. Sweat and passion…? Was somepony in here?!

The two watching between the gaps in the boxes relaxed a little, only to get the fright of their lives when Sombra spoke, with only a cursory glance in their direction.

"I would suggest finding your entertainment elsewhere. I would prefer my private cupboards not be used in such a manner again, clear?"

As he neared the door, Sombra deliberately let the keys fall to the floor. Then he was gone.

The pair exhaled in relief, then realised they'd just been rumbled. They hurriedly redressed and bolted for the door. Then they seen the keys and their hearts sank.

"He's gonna wanna talk to us." the first guard groaned “I am so fired.”

"We're screwed." the other agreed.

As they locked the cupboard and made their way to the King's office, they tried to figure out a way to NOT get fired. Neither had much luck, regrettably.

One unusual thought did occur to the second guard, though.

"You said he had some kinda spell on him right?" he asked his lover.

"Well, I assumed so. Why else would I be thinking like that? Especially with YOU with me, it made no sense."

"Hay, if I could get me, you and him in a room together, I wouldn’t object-" the second stallion joked "but, I’ve read about those sorts of spells and he doesn’t seem flustered or even remotely- ya know."

"That's true," the first pony sighed "so why? Am I just getting too pent up?"

"Maybe?" His colt-friend chuckled "we have both been very busy lately and his majesty does have a gorgeous arse."

The first pony began to laugh but it was soon dampened by panic as they approached his majesty’s office. The guard who was taking the afternoon shift let them in and was told to go on break by the King. Figuring his fellow guards were in deep trouble, he happily left so as not to get included in any telling off.

The two guards fidgeted shamefacedly as they stood in front of the King's desk. The stallion was frowning lightly, yet he also appeared calm. His majesty was famous for this "poker face" which made it very hard to read his emotions unless he deliberately showed them.

"I assume you have come to return something of mine?" he asked coolly as he held out one gold-shod hoof. The first guard nodded rapidly and handed the keys to the monarch. Sombra set them aside and fixed a steely glare on the two guards, a rumble in his tone indicating his displeasure.

"Now, I would like an explanation as to why you were breaking into my private cupboard?"

The two guilty ponies fidgeted and suddenly couldn’t say a word. He already KNEW, so...

"It was-" the first tried, then stopped. Sombra sighed heavily, his disappointment like a scolding tap on the ear.

"I am not blind. Fine, I will answer for you. You picked that lock with intent to have s-"

“Sire!" the second blurted, wincing as Sombra's frown only deepened at being interrupted. "It's as much my fault, I didn’t exactly try to stop it-"

"I do not doubt that. Such allures are a basic instinct, it is nigh on impossible to defer, am I right?" Sombra said. They blinked at him in surprise, this was as close as anypony had ever heard his highness get in referring to relationships of any kind.

"As much as I say I understand, I find the lack of restraint a little alarming. Am I to expect to find this occurring again?" his expression darkened and they swallowed nervously. Sombra was known to be a fair and level headed ruler, but his temper was legendary. In fairness, he rarely displayed it unless he was exceptionally disappointed in whomever was the target of it. Now, they were wondering if they were about to get a telling off of literally royal proportions.

Both ponies shook their heads rapidly in response to his question. They felt the urge to apologise repeatedly, say anything to make him forgive them. But they knew about King Sombra well enough to know grovelling only tended to irritate him. So they held their silence as Sombra regarded them sternly.

"I should think not. If you are feeling so pressured by your work that you do not have time to wind down, then I suggest you speak to your supervisor. Or, if you cannot do that, talk to ME."

He relaxed his posture slightly, indicating they were free to speak. The first pony, who considered it his fault for getting so distracted, began;

"I'm sincerely sorry, your majesty. It was a foolish mistake and it wont be repeated. I don't know what was going through my head to be so reckless. Both of our priorities lie with ensuring we serve you well, your highness."

The second nodded "Sincerest apologies your highness, I never intended to make you distrust your guard. It seems inadequate, but we admit our mistake and apologise." the first pony nodded in agreement.

The two held their breath, awaiting the monarch's response. Sombra regarded them out of the corner of his eye as he got up to walk over to the window. Both guards instinctively tried to refrain from staring at his rear and failed beautifully.

Sombra sighed to himself, blissfully unaware of this bum-ogling and the effect he was having. Part of him was angry at the two guards lacks-a-daisy approach to their duties. But then he recalled how good it felt to fall for someone that hard. After all, had not last night- He shook his head to clear it, regaining his composure as he walked round to stand before them. They straightened up, ready to accept whatever punishment the King had ready.

"I am aware that things have been a bit hectic lately and many of you have had to work double shifts. In light of the strain the recent festivities have placed upon everypony, what with this year being even bigger than last, I will let this matter go."

Both stallions looked about ready to collapse to the carpet in relief.

"But, do not let me catch you doing something so reckless ever again. Save it for the night." Sombra gave the tiniest hint of a smile to show he was joking and both stallions nodded, their faces red.

"Now clear off!" the Alicorn King shrugged "I think you have had enough embarrassment for the day. I would suggest getting this out of your system by tomorrow, for I will not be so forgiving next time."

The guards nodded, bowing deeply and thanking the monarch repeatedly. Then they bolted out of there.

Sombra shook his head, today was a weird day.

It got weirder when his aide popped in upon return from his trip and asked about the report, AGAIN, as Sombra was packing up for the day.

"I left it in my room, cease your fussing!" Sombra barked and the pony quickly shut up, nodding.

"You'll get it when I’m done with it." The ruler grumbled.

He didn’t mention either incident at dinner that night, instead listening to Fluttershy and Discord talk about what they’d been up to that day. He smiled happily, feeling content in their company.

At one point, Discord's eyes met his and he felt a warmth bloom in his stomach. He smiled, thinking about their passionate night together...

That night he slept like a log, not troubled by dreams or bad feelings. Just glimpses of a wonderful memory.

He looked forward to Discord's sunrise-snuggle where they sat out on the balcony and watched the moon and sun switch places.

“Still sleeping good?” Discord asked protectively and Sombra nodded, entwining his tail with Discord’s.

"Today's schedule, your majesty." Page Assist bowed to the ruler and set the document in front of him. Sombra knew he'd be busy today, but he had hoped for a break long enough to meet his friends. Sadly it seemed like it was back-to-back meetings.

He was kept busy making notes on what he needed to remember about each visitor or meeting, but he couldn't help thinking he could feel Page Assist staring at him.

Staring a little TOO intently.

So he waited for the aide to go fetch more coffee and hatched a plan...

Page Assist came back, setting the freshly made cake and coffee on the side table. As he made a pretence of fussing with the plates, he snuck a glance at Sombra. The Alicorn's coat had changed, he was CERTAIN-

"Why in Celestia's name are you staring at me!?"

Page Assist gave an ungainly shriek, bumbling round to face a shadow with irritated glowing eyes hovering beside him.

"H-how?" he glanced from the shadow to the desk- as he did, the fake sat in the big chair merely disappeared.

"You’ve been staring at me all morning. In fact you have been studying me very intently as of late and I find it discomforting." The shadow form glowered at his aide and Page Assist backed up.

Even though his King was just a shadow at that moment, only his glowing eyes visible, Page Assist could sense the anger radiating from him.

Sombra swirled away, reforming in his Umbrum form in the middle of the fancy office.

"Is there something you need to tell me?" Sombra said coldly.

"I-it's.." Page Assist stammered, not thinking he'd be busted like this, he wasn't prepared! He grabbed and shuffled through the report, eyes scanning for something, anything-

And in his panic, promptly picked the worst phrase he could have;

"Its about the Infinitum's mating rituals-"

"What is it with you and that bucking report?!" Sombra felt a flush of anger creep up to his face. He'd JUST found the most amazing thing in his life and now suddenly his aide was butting into his love life? How could he know??

Page Assist bowed so low he was half talking to the carpet, all he could see was Sombra's polished, armored hooves.

"Please, your majesty! Power is a blinding thing and the biology of the Infinitum holds some unusual secrets-"

"Like what? Making my aide obsessed with my sex life?" Sombra snapped.

Page Assist blushed profusely "It's important you are informed of this, thus I h-have to ask, have you slept with somepony recently-?"

There was a whip-crack sound and Sombra was suddenly looming over him, red eyes blazing with anger, wings out in full defence mode. Page Assist quailed, this was going every direction of WRONG.

"That is IT! I want you and that report out of my office this instant!" Sombra glared down at him, fury etched into his handsome features.

Page Assist squeaked.

"Never-" Sombra was furious "EVER presume you have the right to intrude in my private life. I will endure the political red tape, I will suffer the ass-backwards roundabout nature of such matters are handled. But I will NOT tolerate having my private life made a mockery of!"

His fury bubbled over and he snapped on impulse "in fact, fuck that damn report!"

His aide's eyes were on stalks, he rarely heard Sombra use such language, not since he'd quit working on a building site.

Sombra turned and walked away to stand by the window, heart pounding painfully fast. "Now get out."

When Page Assist didn't move, he found himself being physically dumped outside the door by Sombra's magic. The last thing he seen was Sombra's disappointed expression, then the doors were closed to him.

The idea he had betrayed the King's trust was the most terrifying he could imagine. He had served at his majesty’s side ever since he'd first met him during the empires construction. Sombra's spirit had impressed him. For all the times the Umbrum acted very unlike a King, Page Assist found himself impressed by how much it seemed to please the masses. And Sombra knew it, as he'd refused to revert to his aloof, cold ways.

Gradually, Page Assist had gotten used to the King's eccentric ways. He still couldn't understand him fully, but he'd learnt to read his King's moods and take whatever action necessary to assist him. Sombra was a very private pony, but on rare occasions he'd confide his concerns over matters with Page Assist, something the pony considered an honour.

The matter of the report that'd just landed him in hot water had been in the works for some time.

It had been decided that recovering the Umbrum's lineage from the depths of memory was first priority, so history books could start being produced. It had taken the better part of a year and then some, but it was done. Copious notes had been transcribed, typed out, published and distributed to the citizens.

That done, Umbra had moved on to diving into trances to find any information about the long vanished Infinitums. These memories, passed down with all the others from keeper to keeper, were harder to bring to light. But she was determined to get them for her son. Bit by bit he was learning about those like him, that had come before.

During one lengthy dream dive, she'd come across something a little awkward. Mainly that Infinitums had a whole litany of unusual biological quirks, meaning her son's wing-emotion responses were just the start!

She'd had it compiled into a report and had suggested that, as the King's advisor, Page Assist could approach it. Page Assist had been fretting for weeks now over how to do it, Sombra didn't seem to express any affection for anypony, not that the aide could see. But he'd tried anyway and had been relieved by Sombra promising he'd try read it.

THEN he'd noticed the change in Sombra's coat that first morning. No doubt about it, the King had chosen to finally accept somepony as a lover. Of what gender he was unsure, the monarch managed to effortlessly charm ponies of both sexes, yet never showed any real liking to one or the other.

He needed to talk to Lady Umbra...

Sombra got through the rest of that day in silence. After ejecting his aide from his office, he packed away the books, not realising the blasted report that’d caused all this trouble was tucked in between the ledgers as he roamed the palace.

He got through the day by forcing a smile and trying not to let his anger show. But ponies kept smiling dopily at him without saying anything, which baffled him to no end. What was up with them?

Come days end, he stormed up to his room. He felt the frustration all the more keenly, given what was driving it. What did Page Assist think he was playing at?

"Evening handsome." a voice greeted him as he stomped into his lavish bedroom. Sombra jumped, wings pomfing out in defence, then he sighed and relaxed as he seen the Draconequus.

"Discord." he said, relief flooding his veins at seeing his lover floating in mid air above the bed. Sombra willingly clambered up onto the bed, throwing the saddlebags aside. Books scattered across one side of the bed, but Sombra didn’t care. He used his magic to set the chaos being on the soft, springy bed and-

Discord snared his lips with a passionate kiss, like he'd read the pony's mind. Sombra sighed, feeling some of his abject fury ease off, other emotions overriding it.

He pressed against Discord, feeling those same wonderful sensations filling his body as when they'd had that little roll in the royal hay. Warm hands caressed his sides, massaging his wings at their base. He gave an anxious moan, not wanting it to stop. Before he could restrain himself, he was pinning Discord to the bed.

"Goodness me, somebody’s riled up! What's gotten into you, handsome? Other then me. That lovely night, I mean. Where was I going with this?" Discord asked as he scratched behind Sombra's ear, seeing the way it made a shiver run down Sombra's back. The pony shook his head, not wanting such pointlessness to get between them now.

"You would not believe it if I told you. Besides, I don’t want to talk about THAT." Sombra shut his eyes, feeling the tension still pervading every part of his body.

"Then what do you want, my dear Sombra?" Discord asked. Sombra looked at him with a real hunger and grinned. Discord flushed, oh he knew THAT look.

"Allow me-" he snapped his fingers, changing himself into a pony. It'd be easier for Sombra, right, to rut a pony’s body? But with a tingle of magic, he was suddenly back to his usual self. Sombra shook his head, tutting softly.

"I want you AS you." he scolded.

"You want-” Discord groaned eagerly as Sombra nuzzled at his neck, nipping at his ear.

"Oh yes, how did you phrase it? "Full on, orgasmic, making a mess of the sheets SEX"?"

"You read my mind." Discord grinned. Sombra smirked.

"It's not your mind I’m reading." the stallion shot back. He swished his tail, brushing it against Discord's already partly-aroused member. The Draconequus moaned eagerly.

Then the pony suddenly got off him and moved back. Discord opened his mouth to ask what he was doing, but words fled the scene along with coherent thought in hot pursuit as Sombra languidly bowed his head to run his muzzle along his partners shaft, planting a feather-light kiss at the flared tip. Under this teasing sensation, the Draconequus' cock grew almost teasingly hard in a second.

“Mmm..” Sombra murmured, looking pleased with himself.

Discord moaned early as Sombra slowly lapped up the thick globs of pre-cum that welled up, his heart thudding eagerly. He tried to sit himself up fully, but Sombra gently pushed him back down again before continuing using his tongue.

Discord watched through a haze of desire as Sombra turned the end of one foreleg to shadow and formed...was that a hand?

Sombra curled the shadow hand around Discord's shaft, starting a slow rhythm of strokes and squeezes.

“Sombra- ahh...” Discord felt a tantalizing shiver race down his back, bucking his hips against Sombra's shadow-seduction.

Thick globs of pre ran down the chaos creatures member rapidly now as Sombra used this new trick to his advantage. The regal Alicorn licked his lips as he swallowed the thick, musky fluid.

"Fuck, do you know how hot you look Sombra?" Discord asked breathlessly. Sombra licked his lips once more, those cute little fangs glinting in the light as he tilted his head to one side;

He didn’t speak, merely summoned a certain type of tube from his bedside drawer.

Sombra let the lubricant drip onto his shadow-fingers, rubbing them together and smiling seductively.

“Sombra..” Discord said, watching his stallion's expressions. How could one pony be so amazing?

"Needs to be more firm.." the pony said huskily, working and weaving his magic until the shadow, while still a smoky impenetrable black, now seemed to reflect light.

“Let me show my appreciation for that night.” Sombra purred, letting Discord get a full view of the lubed shadow hand before lowering it-

The Draconequus scrunched the sheets under his hands as Sombra's faux-hand pushed into him, the tendrils brushing and teasing his insides, before flexing and spreading.

"Ohhhh, that's it..." Discord panted, arching his back and doing his best to push himself further down onto the shadow appendages as they explored him "mmh, yes-!"

Sombra closed his eyes, magic swirling around his horn again. The shadows grew in girth, stretching Discord even more, their surface rippling and shifting inside the chaos lord's body. Discord growled eagerly, clenching his muscles tightly around the thick shadows. This was beyond anything he'd anticipated, he was so hard he wanted to beg Sombra to do him now, before his prepping made him cum.

But Sombra wasn’t done. He unfurled one wing, brushing it over Discord's stomach to make him squirm, before using the feathers to brush along his partners member. He brought the wing in low, dragged the primary feathers up and along. Given the size of Sombra's wings, it was nearly enough to blow his mind. Where had the Alicorn learned all this?

Sombra at last pulled the shadow appendage free from preparing his lover. Discord uttered a soft whine, it'd felt so good...

Sombra stood up, throwing his cloak aside and using magic to remove his shoes and crown. Discord took in his fully de-clothed lover, that gorgeous body gleaming in the light. With a flash of magic the shield enveloped them once more, masking their sex from nosy ears out in the hall.

He was torn from admiring Sombra as he once again found himself pinned bodily to the bed by a fully aroused stallion.

His shaft throbbed eagerly, wanting this hot stallion to just dominate him already. He wanted the owner of that body, screwing him with that impressive endowment, right NOW.

Sombra seen where he was looking and smiled knowingly; he stepped a little closer, hooves bracing on the wall over Discord's head, so it was within touching reach of the Draconequus. From this angle he looked down at his lover, seeing the desire and awe on Discord's face as he took him in.

"This what you’re after?" he asked, deep red eyes flashing in the light. Discord surprised him by darting forward to caress it not with his hands, but his tongue, swallowing a glob of pre-cum quickly. Sombra gave an eager groan, then stepped back out of reach.

"Let's save that for later~" he purred "I have been thinking about this all afternoon."

Nothing on Equestria could've made Discord refuse what he was being offered, so he let Sombra move back out of his reach once more to get the best position.

The way he settled himself, his movements unhurried and an almost teasing smirk on his face held Discord entranced. Sombra braced himself on the bed, took a deep breath and pushed briskly into his adoring Draconequus.

"Ngh-fuck!" the chaos god groaned, Sombra was good. Not fully in on the first thrust, but far enough that Discord could feel the space where he SHOULD be aching in longing.

"Mmn," Sombra gave a low, languid groan as he plunged even further in "oh yes, that's good!"

Soon he was fully inside and Discord could acutely feel that length stretching his body just a little. Even though he'd done this before, with Sombra at the helm, it was like nothing he'd ever had. For one thing, Sombra was bigger then the average pony.

The pony's eyes met his and Discord growled “fuck me HARD, Sombra.”

“As you wish,” Sombra said in a husky voice, pulling out just a little to make Discord moan deeply.

Sombra's heart pounded in exhilaration as he gripped Discord's hips with his hooves and began, pulling back and waiting just enough to make his partner beg, then thrusting into him once more.

"Yes~ that’s it my King." Discord groaned, claws tearing little holes in the sheets as he braced himself so every passionate thrust from the dominant King teased him inside and hit that sweet spot.

Sombra moaned eagerly, this felt good. The Draconequus' hot insides hugged his cock tightly as he moved. He flashed back to how Discord had made him feel that first night and began picking up the pace. Hard, fast, rhythmic thrusts rocked his lovers body and he heard Discord gasp in approval.

The Draconequus' moans of ecstasy and pleasure spurred him on, pleas to go harder, faster, really rut hard-

"Yes-! I'm yours, my King!" Discord cried sharply, throat almost raw his voice was so loud. But such a passionate lover deserved nothing less then such praise, he could feel the climax begin to build.

Both wings unfolded this time as Sombra continued, their feathery tips brushing Discord's stomach and sides, making an already sensitive body even more so. Spreading his wings back out to his sides, Sombra crouched his body so his stomach was brushing Discord's length with every thrust, his hooves now braced either side of the chaos lord.

“Sombra-!” Discord said lustily, “I can't hold on, I’m gonna cum-!”

“Then come, and HARD!” Sombra flipped Discord's request from earlier, voice a sexy growl.

With these words, Sombra plunged deeply into him once more, with a sharp cry of release following shortly after.

"Sombra-" Discord gasped, arching his back and pressing into the plush bedding as he felt his lovers seed flood into him, coating and filling his inner walls. He was helpless to stop his own orgasm as it hit like a tsunami, his member throbbing as it blew its load.

“Mmmh, Discord-!” Sombra moaned, closing his eyes and giving a final thrust of his hips as he enjoyed the pleasure of his release. He felt his lovers cum splash onto both their coats and let himself grin. He'd need another wash later.

At last silence fell, aside from their heavy panting and Sombra removed the shield. He gently pulled out of the dazed and content Draconequus, then settled down next to him on the bed. Discord seized him and kissed him hotly, taking his breath away with the sheer passion conveyed within it.

"That....was downright criminal, it's so good.." Discord said, still breathing heavily. Sombra flushed a little, kissing him in return.

"Glad I could do you justice. Or just DO you. This is not going according to plan is it?" he asked. Discord chuckled, kissing him again.

"On the contrary, it CAME together wonderfully." he winked, making the stallion collapse against his chest he was laughing so hard.

"Oh Discord," Sombra laughed "you'll never cease outpacing me in the innuendo department, will you?"

"Probably not, handsome. You were raised far too polite," the Draconequus chuckled "As much as I can claim to have dirtied your mind, you’re still too cute."

"Flatterer.." Sombra chuckled, but kissed him anyway.

They didn’t need to say anything else for awhile, just basked in the afterglow of their second time together. Slow, relaxing kisses filled the time as their bodies cooled off.

Taking a breath, lips tingling softly, Sombra sat back and admired a shag-happy Discord, his sweat-slicked coat and VERY pomf'd wings.

“Mmm...I gave you a wing-boner good and proper~” he said with a grin.

“Indeed you did cutie, I am powerless against you!!” Discord said theatrically and Sombra chuckled.

“I'll add it to my list of accomplishments~” the King said with an air of amusement.

“Ahhh, you rodgered me good and proper!” Discord groaned contentedly as he stretched his back, and heard a crinkling sound. Sombra cocked his head to one side.

“What was that?” he asked.

“...would you believe me if I said my penis?” Discord joked, and Sombra face-hoofed, already laughing helplessly even as he did.

Grinning at his success, Discord pulled a smushed stack of papers from under his tail.

"What’s this?" he asked.

Sombra blinked, and in a rare planets-orbiting-at-just-the-right-time sort of moment, he blurted the first thing that came to mind as he remembered something he'd shouted in anger at his aide...

"When I said "fuck that report”, this was not my intention." he said bluntly.

Discord looked from him to the report, realised what Sombra was saying and what they'd just DONE to it and burst into loud guffaws, joined by an amused Sombra.

"Okay, I want the story behind that one, right now!" he ordered.

“It is nothing, really-” the pony began, but Discord tutted, shaking his head.

“I am not leaving you alone until I hear about this!” he declared almost primly.

Sombra chuckled faintly again, but his good mood was fading, Discord could see it in the way he sighed the next second, slumping his shoulders as his laughter trailed off.

"Sombra?" he asked "my dear King, whatever is the matter?"

Sombra looked at the report again, said nothing for several seconds then finally sighed and snarled unhappily before speaking.

"That thing," he said with an annoyed huff "is a blatant breach of privacy and common decency, courtesy of my aide!"

"It says it's about Umbrum biology and physiology, what’s that got to do with your aide?" Discord asked, poking the thick wad of papers. Sombra scowled darkly.

"Because he attempted to use it to pry into my sex life!"

"How did he know you have one?" Discord asked "I’m pretty sure we hid ourselves well that night!"

"Exactly!" Sombra shook his head "he had the nerve to ask me if I had recently had sex, Discord!"

"That is a little much." Discord pulled an exaggerated face.

"Little?!" Sombra was looking peeved again, fangs bared as he snarled. "It is an insult! I told him to never mention it again and I also might have made some carnal threats in the direction of that report." he flushed, tailing off towards the end of his rant.

"Ah, now I get it. Well, if it's any consolation, I don’t think he'd bring this up if he knew what we'd done on it." Discord waved the papers and Sombra turned red.

Discord snapped his fingers and Sombra found himself cradled against the Draconequus' soft fluffy chest, familiar arms encircling him.

"Let us read it, my dear Sombra. I for one want to know EVERYTHING about how your body works."

“I would think you'd have gotten a pretty good grasp already.” Sombra retorted and received a kiss from a chuckling Discord.

“Now, which part of this best-seller here is the bit that ticked you off so bad, my dear Sombra?” Discord held up the moderately scrunched bundle of papers for the monarch to see.

Sombra flicked through the pages to reach the chapter he'd seen Page Assist reading before he'd yelled at him and finally located it “it's this bit.”

“Then we'll start with that one~” Discord smiled. It was a LONG report, small writing and many pages. This would take a few.

Sombra flushed, grumbled under his breath, but settled into his lover's hold anyway. Discord's body was warm and the scent of lovemaking still clung to it. Sombra felt his eyes starting to close…

He actually dozed off briefly, but Discord didn’t have the heart to wake him. So instead, he finished reading the section of the report at his own leisure, eyebrows raised as he processed it. As he finished the last page of that chapter, he scratched behind Sombra's ear, rousing him.

"See?" Sombra yawned, seeing Discord had finished reading as he stirred "Utter garbage."

"Not quite my love. Bear with me here." he kissed Sombra's nose to placate him as the pony immediately frowned and Sombra reluctantly nodded.

Discord highlighted one part of the page he was looking at.

"See, here it mentions about the Infinitum's pheromones."

“Pheromones? Meaning what?" Sombra frowned.

"It's a type of mating dance in a way. When you're, how do I phrase this? "Awoken", or you’ve developed an attraction of a sexual nature for the first time, your body starts preparing to get some. Once the process has begun, you give off a powerful aura of, well I’m just gonna go ahead and call it "screw-ability". Walk into a room and anybody looking for a stallion wont be able to resist checking you out. It seems the Infinitum have very high sex drives, due to their scarcity. They want to mate, and they want to mate ALOT. It's a mating thing."

Sombra grumbled, burrowing deeper in to Discord's hold, muttering into his chest "so?"

"Sooo...your aide was probably concerned either you or your chosen partner might be caught off guard by your appetite. I can safely say I can handle it, but your aide doesn’t know that."

Sombra sighed, he was right. He'd gotten so angry, thinking Page Assist was threatening his love life.

"Also, if everypony in range is drooling over you, you might find it unsettling."

Sombra frowned "now you mention it, it did seem as if some of the ponies I spoke with the last day or so could not stop staring vacantly at me. One of them was blushing...ah. That explains those two guards also."

"It's already in effect. You’re sauntering around giving off an aura that says "I just got some" and its getting everypony else aroused."

Sombra groaned, burying his head on Discord's shoulder.

"This is insane!" he groaned.

Discord massaged the pony's ears, chuckling in a sympathetic manner.

"I did not think my body could do such a thing." Sombra sighed at last.

"Makes sense as to why your aide was so flustered, though. It's not an easy subject to broach, but he was probably concerned you'd be angry if every gay or bi pony suddenly began hitting on you."

"So what am I supposed to do about it?!" Sombra groaned, flushing as this all sank in "I am essentially in heat, that's what this means!"

"It will wear off, once your desires settle down. How long that takes is unclear, I’m guessing no records of THAT level of detail exist."

"Hmph, the previous Infinitum's probably punched out the poor fool that dared ask such a question!" Sombra huffed.

"Until then, I dare say we can keep your appetite under control."

“How?" Sombra asked, then realised the obvious answer. Discord chuckled as he kissed Sombra gently.

"By making your nights as pleasurable as you require, my King~" he purred.

“As eager as I am to discuss that,” Sombra's smile was tinged with worry “-what about cause? Does it say how it starts?”

Discord flicked through the pages “not there, nope, aha! Here, it's suggested it is invoked at a time of the Infinitum's choosing.”

Sombra thought this through and went bright red as he realised something.

“Light-bulb.” he muttered awkwardly.

“How so?” Discord asked, seeing Sombra blushing deeply.

“When I ah, instructed you to can the argument and mount me, my body must have considered that an open invitation. I do not think my brain was present for that meeting.”

“I wouldn’t be so sure. You pretty much dared me to stop being such a wuss. That’s quite an achievement!” Discord joked and Sombra finally relaxed, laughing a little.

“Seriously,” Discord murmured, smiling at his lover “I would’ve kept on wussing out and avoiding the issue had you not bombarded me with your sexiness! In fact, c'mere you-!”

Sombra uttered a surprised squeak as he was pulled into a series of deepening kisses that sent wonderful shivers down his spine. They alternated each kiss with gentle nibbles at ears and throats-

It escalated with Discord being pounced on by Sombra, who kissed him deeply with a smug smirk as he pinned him. Discord swished his tail involuntarily, brushing it across Sombra's bottom. The pony gave a little groan, biting his lip as his face flushed and Discord's eyes gleamed wickedly.

"Oh, you liked that before didn’t you? I think I have the perfect reward for letting me explain that report~" Discord teased his stallion.

Sombra blinked, about to ask what on Equestria he was on about when Discord wrapped his arms around him in such a way that the pony couldn't get his upper body free. His forelegs and chest were pressed close to Discord, his muzzle just touching his lover's. Sombra's rear was still poked up in the air and Discord's tail was creeping towards it.

"It's not just my hands that have amazing flexibility~" Discord purred, kissing Sombra even as he swished his tail up between his lovers legs, pressing the fluffy tip of it against his ass. Sombra gasped, uttering a delirious moan. Discord wasn’t done demonstration yet though, as he coiled said tail around his lovers member and squeezed lightly. He felt it harden again under his touch and Sombra groaned, panting a little.

--Mmmm, he's got quite a recovery time.-- the chaos being thought with a grin.

Discord didn’t hesitate or tease, just alternated between tickling his precious pony's exposed rear with the feathery part of his tail and using the more solid part of it to rub and squeeze the stallions endowment. Sombra squirmed in his hold, instinctively wanting to make a move to help speed things along, control his release.

But Discord kept him in place, capturing the pony’s mouth with his own as he kept his measured, almost toying speed. Sombra's eager moans were like the sweetest music between kisses.

“Discord, ah-” Sombra grunted, nudging the Draconequus' muzzle with own “you’re driving me crazy-!” he cut off, words lost beneath a fresh moan of pleasure as the tail squeezed at his member's base.

“It'll make it all the more delicious when you finish, my King~” Discord promised, kissing the spot behind the pony’s left ear. Sombra looked so cute, his face flushed, ears trembling softly, fangs nipping at his bottom lip. His eyes were half-closed as the stallion became lost in the haze of desire.

“My King.” Discord purred and the pony's ears twitched.

Sombra angled his head to bite at Discord's ear, something he KNEW his Draconequus lover liked. The tail pleasuring him sped up, its strokes firmer and faster as the chaos being revelled in Sombra's unexpected addition.

Finally, Sombra's body went tense and he gave a sharp, ecstatic cry as the second climax hit, more semen splashing onto the chaos being beneath him.

“Well done...” Sombra heard the Draconequus' praise as he slowly opened his eyes, heart thudding from the second orgasm.

Discord untangled his tail from his lovers body, letting the pony collapse atop him, smearing both their already sweaty coats from earlier.

"Good Sombra~" Discord purred, kissing the base of his horn as Sombra caught his breath.

Discord could feel how sticky both their coats were and chuckled. Reaching up to tuck a stray lock of sweat-dampened mane away from Sombra's face, he brushed a thumb along Sombra's lower lip. Sombra's eyes met his, contentment showing in their crimson depths.

"You look delectable, my Sombra. Lets get into that shower, I can't let you sleep all splooged on~" he teased as he scooped the pony King up, carrying him in his arms.

"And whose fault is that?" Sombra joked as he clung onto him.

"Hm, you, then me." Discord replied wryly as the water was turned on and he set about helping his lover clean off.

Once they were both clean, they wandered back out to the bed.

“I wonder what it'd be like to have sex in the shower? Bit slippery I’d warrant, things might not stay in place that well-” Discord rambled, then noticed Sombra wasn’t blushing, telling him off or even laughing.

Sombra picked up the crumpled report from the bed as he sat down and sighed.

Discord sat next to him, rubbing his back.

"What troubles you?" he asked. "Too much sex? Not enough sex? Say, fancy some sex-"

"It is not about sex!" Sombra started to laugh and Discord grinned.

"There’s that smile!” he teased smugly, snuggling Sombra's left ear "now what’s getting you down?"

"I kicked Page Assist out of my office and accused him of betraying my trust in him," Sombra sighed as he looked at Discord "now YOU explain it, I understand where he was coming from."

Discord nodded, scratching under Sombra's chin, making the pony sigh happily.

"I'm sure it wasn’t that bad-" he began, but Sombra shook his head emphatically.

"I literally turfed him out. When he wouldn’t move on his own accord, I ejected him with magic." Sombra sighed "I shot down every attempt he made at discussing that report, it got my back up so intensely that to my mind, he was attempting to control my love life!"

Sombra sighed, resting his head on his lover's chest, revelling in how soft his fur was. He felt Discord's arms encircle his body and growled contentedly.

"In your defence, it did sound somewhat creepy." Discord said bluntly "he could've been a bit less weird about it. I don’t blame you for being angry. Just talk to him- NOT now, silly pony!"

For Sombra had attempted to get off the bed, only to be pulled back into Discord's hold.

"It's nearly bedtime," Discord chuckled "you were asleep awhile there earlier. Tend to it in the morning, okay?"

Sombra blinked, looked out the window, and realised Discord was right. It was twilight now..

He sighed, but nodded and was rewarded with a kiss from his partner.

"I'll leave you to sleep, my precious Sombra." Discord murmured, rubbing Sombra's back, stalling as best he could. He wanted to drink in every detail of Sombra's body in the fading light, but he should really let his love get some sleep. He looked out the window, watching the day fade by the second.

Sombra titled his head, studying the other as they sat together on the bed. He seen Discord glance reluctantly at the window, seeing how dark it was getting. He seemed restless, as if he didn't want to go...

So Sombra reached up a hoof, resting it on his partners cheek. Discord blinked, his eyes meeting Sombra's.

"Stay." Sombra said. “Spend tonight with me.”

Those words, spoken in Sombra's deep seductive voice, made Discord very happy. He nodded mutely, a sense of relief he didn't have to bid him farewell just yet overwhelming him.

Sombra burrowed under the silken bedcovers, keeping the decadent fabric raised, those eyes beckoning. Discord snuggled up next to him, heart pounding loudly as Sombra made himself comfortable pressed up to him. He gently rubbed Sombra's back, then kissed his forehead.

They fell asleep not long after.

Sombra slowly drifted to a waking state, being scratched behind the ears and he made a comfortable groaning sound.

"Wake up handsome." Discord's voice stirred the pony fully awake.

"Five more minutes." Sombra complained. Then a hand groped his rear, giving it a quick squeeze.

Sombra yelped, wings going POMF and sending the bed covers flying to one side. It woke him up abruptly and he glowered at his partner, who looked smug.

"You’ll be late for breakfast. I don’t think they’ll buy you being drunk twice in a row.." the Draconequus pointed out.

Sombra grumbled under his breath, but reluctantly sat up and stumbled towards the edge of the massive bed.

Discord sat and stretched as he heard Sombra talking;

"Maybe we can go out for a fancy dinner-fuck!" he cut off with a swearword as he toppled off the bed, his hoof snagging in the blanket.

"I don’t care if you’re the King, I’m pretty sure you cant do that in public!" Discord quipped.

“Up yours!” the King sniped.

“Yes, you did that yesterday.” Discord dead-panned. “Quite expertly too, I must add.”

“Screw- oh I am NOT finishing that sentence!” Sombra groaned.

“You finished pretty nicely yesterday!” Discord stuck his head over the edge of the bed, nose to nose with a grumbling Sombra now.

“Smart-ass.” Sombra said sulkily, but with a smile just toying at the corners of his lips.

"C'mere you.." Discord scooped him up and set the pony on his hooves, kissing him quickly before ushering him towards the bathroom.

Sombra looked back over his shoulder, grinning.

"I assume you are joining me? Even if we did wash the evidence away before retiring to bed, I do not desire to bathe alone."

Chuckling at Sombra's way of pointing things out, Discord followed him into the bathroom.

They didn’t speak, just tended to the matter at hand, attempting to freshen up and sneak as many close contact kisses as they could. As the hot shower water poured down over him, Sombra felt Discord's warm, gentle hands massaging the joints of his wings. Sombra grinned happily as he felt the sexual tension literally fade out of the appendages.

"It's cute how stiff they get- hay, they really do display your emotions!"

"Shush you," Sombra grumbled with a chuckle "hay, how come your wings don’t go poing every time?"

“Oh they do occasionally. Such as yesterday. But I don't really get wing-boners much, mostly just regular boners. You know the kind, they’re usually your fault."

"Oh sure, blame it on me-" Sombra paused "wait, why am I objecting?!"

Discord laughed, kissing him gently as they stepped out from under the waters spray.

Sombra dried himself via his magic, and put his shoes, cloak and neck-plate on.

“And the final touch~” Discord held up the crown and Sombra nodded. He kept his head still as the chaos being set the crown atop his head. They studied the reflection in the mirror.

"It's hard to believe you ever doubted yourself," Discord said softly. Sombra gave a rueful smile.

"Back then, the idea terrified me. Rule again, after what I had done? It seemed impossible. Now, I cannot imagine being anywhere but where I am now. A lot of that is thanks to you, remember?"

He angled his head to kiss Discord, who happily returned it.

"Of course I remember. I was and still remain incredibly proud of you, cutie. Now shoo, go amaze them all once more.." Discord shepherded him out the door. As the door swung shut behind him, Discord seen the stallion flash him a seductive, lingering glance. Then he was gone.

--DAMN.-- was all Discord could think. Sombra was relentless in his temptation. He was the type that held sway over others effortlessly, who had no shortage of admirers, from what Discord could tell.

He wondered how Sombra had amused himself until now. He was far too good at the horizontal tango for last night to be the first time he'd done it. Discord was curious, Sombra's honest responses to Discord's affections made Discord think love had never entered the equation. But what about sex?

Figuring he should get a move on, he snapped his fingers and the bedsheets were cleaned of the evidence. That way the staff wouldn't have an excuse to be nosy!

It was his way of protecting his precious Sombra.

Then he drifted off to find Fluttershy.

Breakfast over with, Sombra wandered the halls in a haze of thought. But as he approached his office, he seen a familiar pony outside.

Pacing back and forth outside the office was his fretting assistant, Page Assist. The guard standing at the door was watching the pony wear a groove in the carpet and seemed unsure what to do. He spotted the King and shot a perplexed look first at Page Assist, then the King, as if to say "what shall I do?"

"Let him in." Page Assist nearly fainted to the carpet as he heard the monarch's voice. He'd been worrying all night about how to beg the King to hear him out. He'd spoken with Lady Umbra after his removal from the King's office.

The prior day:

Umbra sat and listened to the stressed out Page Assist as he babbled the whole tale. By the sounds of it, his attempts to broach the matter with her son hadn’t gone well. Sombra had become personally offended by this intrusion into his private life.

"It'll be OK,” she smiled "he might be angry, but he won't continue that way until he's certain he's right to. The nightmares he suffered through have made him reluctant even now, to fully trust."

"I understand Lady Umbra," Page Assist sighed "I know his highness is not unfair in his actions. But I fear he will not want to hear me out a second time. If I survive with my job intact, it will be a miracle."

Umbra smiled gently "He won't fire you so easily, he might not say it, but I can tell from our conversations that he is impressed by your work. He is incredibly guarded and sometimes I fear this isolates him from forming close links. But if what you are saying is true, then maybe things are set to change."

"I'm certain his coat was.." Page Assist coughed, aware this WAS the King's mother he was discussing this with. The Umbrum were, in comparison to most Equestrian races, quite open about sexuality. A fact the King seemed to have trouble grasping.

Umbra seemed to read his mind and nodded sagely "he has not quite adjusted to the traditional ways. He grew up with no knowledge of who or what he was, thus his sensibilities are more closely linked with those of a normal pony. It makes sense this beloved of his will be a strict secret."

“What should I do?" Page Assist asked. Umbra pondered it, then suggested he simply confront the King.

"Sombra will have had time to mull it over. Whatever opinion he reaches, he'll put an end to this bad business between you."

And so Page Assist had shown up very early, having hardly slept. He'd been pacing ever since, the minutes ticking unbearably by. Now he looked up, seeing the King standing before him. He swallowed nervously and bowed deeply to the Umbrum.

Sombra glanced at the guard as he studied Page Assist's pale face "could you have the kitchen bring some hot food up?"

“Of course, sire!" the guard saluted and trotted away down the hall.

Sombra swept past Page Assist, nudging the door open with his face. This behaviour baffled his aide sometimes, did his highness just forget he had magic? Before he had his coffee, the ruler could be a bit strange.

He shot in the door, following the King. Sombra sat at his desk, stretching his wings and giving them a brief flap, which dislodged several papers from his desk. Page Assist shot forward, instinctively grabbing them out of the air and re-sorting them, before setting them on his highness' desk.

He stepped back, staring at a sculpture on the King's desk.

"Have you been pacing outside the door all night?" Sombra asked at last. Page Assist shook his head, still staring anywhere but at his ruler. He heard Sombra sigh softly.

"I assume this matter will not go away, no matter how much I wish that it might?" Sombra asked.

"I.."

"Do not sugar-coat it." Sombra said sharply "just be honest with me."

"Yes, sire." Page Assist nodded "I’m afraid this is here to stay. Infinitum's are exceptionally complicated. It was not until one of Lady Umbra's descents into the memories of our race that we learnt of these matters. There has been so much to do, it was discovered only recently."

At the mention of his mothers name, Sombra felt some of his anger shift. He realised what had happened, his mother must have thought talking about such a private matter may be easier coming from another male companion, or in this case his advisor. Of all ponies, Page Assist was closest to him after all, even if their relationship was only professional.

He got up from his desk, striding over to the window and opening it to gaze out at the wonderful empire below. HIS empire. He smiled to himself, seeing banners and pennants flying from rooftops. This was a popular week for celebrations, for not only was this month host to Hearts and Hooves Day but-

He stopped himself, realising he was supposed to be paying attention.

Page Assist was still babbling and STILL talking to the desk. Sombra cocked his head to one side, realising his high strung assistant didn't look like he'd slept much.

"-and it creates a scent, a type of pheromone-"

“That gets anypony in range restless?" Sombra finished, recalling Discord's explanation from last night.

Page Assist looked up and frowned when he realised the chair behind the desk was empty.

"Your majesty?" he bleated.

"I'm BEHIND you." the King elaborated. Page Assist jumped, spinning round so fast Sombra expected him to sprain something.

"Y-yes your majesty it- wait?" he frowned. Sombra made a huffy expression, a mix of embarrassment and annoyance on his face. He strode past Page Assist, sitting himself atop the plush couch at the offices far end.

"Yes, I had a "helping hand" in understanding that report. I still find it needless that my private life becomes a joke, but I can see where your concerns may lie. You expected the shift in me might provoke strange behaviour in others?"

"Y-yes," Page Assist stammered "the signal you're giving off sire, it's like a lure. Like-"

"An animal in heat?" the King harrumphed, his face reddening slightly as he frowned.

Page Assist flushed at the King's statement, but nodded. He'd pretty much nailed it there.

"Yes, sire." He said at last.

"Your report did not say when it would cease." Sombra looked over at him, expression unreadable. Page Assist flushed.

"W-well, even Lady Umbra was unable to discern that. The best she could garner was something about the Infinitum's ah, "appetite"."

There was a soft fwumpf as Sombra face-planted into a cushion. It muffled the snarl of bemused fury.

"I'm..." Page Assist was starting to feel bad for the Infinitum. After all, he hadn’t known this would happen to him when he'd become an Umbrum Alicorn..

"So, we had better hope I am not a sex pest, then?" Sombra drawled sarcastically into the cushion he hadn’t surfaced from for several seconds now. Page Assist flushed again.

"I'm sorry, your majesty. I don't have any further information on that topic. Neither does Lady Umbra, this was the most she was able to recover from her descent into memory. It seems as if the information was never catalogued."

"Yes, I had a theory last night that it was on the grounds of the previous Infinitum's getting, as I have done, unreasonably pissed off." Sombra's voice, muffled by the cushion, sounded bizarrely calm now.

Not a good sign.

"Your anger sire, is not unwarranted. I see how my attempts to broach this matter offended you." Page Assist was getting antsy again.

"I just do not take kindly to my private life being monitored!" Sombra growled softly, glaring at the cushion he had finally prised his face off of.

"Lady Umbra advised it be discussed in case it caught you off guard and put you at risk."

"At risk? Are you suggesting any pony that shares my preferences will try and jump me? Preposterous!" Sombra shook his head.

Page Assist envied the King's ability to be so blunt and had a feeling the monarch's closest friend had a paw involved in that.

"Maybe not THAT dire, sir. But it is possible you may find yourself the target of some increasingly flirtatious members of your own royal guard for example."

"Don’t be silly, they have never tried hitting on me."

"Sire, I can name at least three that have a massive crush on you-"

"Please don’t, that is personal for them." Sombra said sternly, cutting his aide off. Page Assist nodded in understanding. His King was as protective over his associates lives as he was his own and tended to kick anypony trying to pass on idle gossip out of his immediate vicinity. Page Assist would often gather intel instead, sorting the wheat from the chaff and present his King with a version that made sense to the monarch.

He'd overheard various staff members and some of the guard joking about Hearts and Hooves Day. Would their King accept anypony's affections this year? To date, the ruler had remained away from romance. It wasn't as if he had any shortage of suitors either, even delegates from other parts of Equestria had tried flirting with the Umbrum King, both male and female. But none had made any headway.

Yet something had clearly changed, for the King to suddenly awaken the Infinitum's mating rituals.

Sombra looked upset, Page Assist thought, as he watched him.

"So, what are you saying? My fate is too create trouble should I choose a partner? Fantastic." Sombra sighed, rubbing his forehead with one hoof, feeling tension building "Is it inadvisable that I feel anything for anyone, is that it?!"

"No, sire, not at all!" Page Assist hurried to correct "There's no reason the effects shouldn’t calm down in time, once..."

"ONCE..." Sombra encouraged, that stern look back again.

"Once...uh...well-"

“Spit it out!" Sombra thudded a hoof down onto the couch, eyes narrowing again. Mindful of the King's unexpected willingness to listen to him on the matter, Page Assist blurted out;

"The theory is once the Infinitum's appetite is satisfied, it should calm down. At least, that’s our conclusion."

Sombra looked out of the open window behind the couch. His face was burning.

He had deliberately stayed away from love, sex even. Bar that one night with the shape shifter spell and the bar-

Anyway, whatever way you looked at it, he'd been suppressing his own desires for quite some time. If even just a certain Draconequus feeling him up gave him a wing-boner, this spelled disaster.

Page Assist stared as the King did another face-plant into the cushion. Why was he doing it THIS time?

"Fuck ME." Sombra groaned.

"I hate to say it, but that may be the solution your partner will require." Page Assist murmured under his breath. Then went rigid in panic as Sombra's head shot up off the cushion and the King let out a loud sigh. Had he heard him?

Sombra stared into space for several long seconds, then his expression seemed to clear and he sighed.

"Is this the end of the matter? Now you have "discussed" this nonsense with me?"

Page Assist assumed he'd read the whole report and was happy to not double check on this occasion. If Sombra had any further questions, they'd come up soon enough.

"Well, yes. There’s little else can be done." Page Assist said "Once its out of your system.."

"I get it." Sombra sighed.

There was a knock at the door and Sombra called for them to enter. The head cook stuck her head round.

"Got the food you requested, your majesty!" she beamed.

"Thank you." Sombra smiled as she set the trays out on the desk, bowed then left. He glanced at Page Assist.

"Eat."

“Sire?"

“I can tell from your pacing this morning that you have not eaten, you always look peaky when you skip meals. So eat, I will sort through the matters at hoof." he gestured to the desk.

Page Assist was startled by the King noticing this. He hadn’t thought it was that obvious.

"Aren’t you hungry, sire?"

"No, I already ate."

"Thank you, sire." Page Assist was grateful for the food and his appetite, now Sombra had finally accepted the issue he'd been worrying over, returned in force.

"You can stop fretting also," Sombra said, from where he'd returned to sit at his desk, peering at a scroll hovering in front of him "you have done nothing to worry about, concerning your job. If anything, I apologise for my rash response."

This was another thing Page Assist liked about the King. Sure, he was stubborn and sometimes bullheaded, but he was also kind. He'd apologise if he felt he had been too harsh, but wouldn’t take any crap either. The staff respected him yet had a healthy fear for invoking his anger.

Once the food was scarfed, and Page Assist's rumbling belly was full, he approached the King once more.

"Preparations are under way for the celebration sire."

Sombra nodded. In a few days time it was his official birthday. The close distance between that and Hearts and Hooves Day meant he just let the celebrations run into one another. The citizens celebrated for over a week!

It was customary for that day to be an official day off for Sombra, with Page Assist and Lady Umbra taking over the duties. Of course, Sombra had invited the six ponies that had helped rescue him. With Fluttershy already here, it was just the other five plus Spike, arriving tomorrow. Also coming for the ball in the evening of the official day were the Princesses and Prince Shining Armor. Even Haydon and Vorak were dropping by, staying for an extended vacation.

A sudden thought hit Sombra as he sat at his desk. He HAD to get this "situation" under control by the eve of the party, otherwise everypony would witness him being hit on en mass.

--Looks like I need to speak to Discord.-- he chuckled dryly.

Lunch approached and Page Assist at last left him alone to eat.

Barely had the aide gone, then there was was a puff of magic and Discord appeared beside Sombra.

“Have you eaten yet?” he asked. Sombra shook his head.

“Good, because there's a festival going on. I'm stealing you away..”

“I'd like nothing more, Discord. But..” Sombra sighed.

“There’s always a but,” Discord flopped to the floor with a depressed sigh “wait, is it YOUR
butt?” he asked, perking up slightly. Sombra smiled dryly.

“Sadly yes, my very recognisable butt. I go out there we'll get mobbed. I am very hard to miss.” he sighed, looking at his reflection in the window.

Discord realised from this angle he could easily-

“Hay!” Sombra side stepped as he realised Discord had stuck his head under his cloak.

“Aww, I was gonna give you belly rubs~” the Draconequus sulked. Sombra pulled him upright and kissed him firmly.

“With your face?” Sombra arched an eyebrow.

“Damnit.” Discord grumbled as the pony snickered softly “busted.”

“Save it for later~” Sombra murmured “and back to my original point, I cant really...go out.”

He sighed heavily “I am too big to blend in and being an Alicorn does not help, I cannot exactly hide my wings.”

“I can!” Discord snapped his fingers and Sombra was hit with a sudden dizzy fit.

“Discord-?” he blurted dizzily.

“Its OK, just take it slow.” Discord's warm voice assured him.

When Sombra opened his eyes, he was shorter. And now looked like a new pony. His coat was beige, his mane was a soft red and his eyes were a light green.

“Ta-da!” Discord grinned “one thing I’ve learnt is, it's better if someone else does the spell, that way it wont break if you get too distracted. Now, lets fly!”

Without any further ado, he scooped Sombra up and they disappeared.

When they reappeared, Discord was a pony too, grey with black mane and blue eyes.

“Nopony will know it's us. See, I’ve even got the lingo down too!” he grinned, holding out a hoof “what do you say?”

Sombra was touched by the effort Discord was going to just to give HIM an easy time. So he took his out-held hoof and they walked together towards the end of the alley.

As they stepped into the light, Sombra noticed they were still holding hooves.

“Won't ponies be staring at us?” he asked naively. Discord chuckled, planted a kiss on his cheek then gestured to a banner hanging opposite them.

“Love & Pride Day.”

“I did not pay attention to those festival applications this year, did I?” Sombra went red “of course! How could I be so blind...”

“Be fair, it wasn’t exactly on your to-do list to explore how you felt. I’m betting you were always distracted by working so hard.” Discord said kindly.

Sombra smiled at Discord's words “thank you, you always manage to make my fuck-ups sound okay.”

“Any time, my King.” Discord whispered, then realised “what am I gonna call you? Can't call you Sombra, that’ll give the game away..”

Sombra looked at his cutie mark, which was now a heart with wings.

“Uhm...” he began, drawing a blank.

“Heartgold? Because you really do have one?” Discord teased. Sombra blushed, but nodded.

“Just call me Featherlight.” Discord gestured to a floating feather icon of a cutie mark that adorned his side.

“So, what’s going on here?” Sombra asked as they walked.

“Just celebrating love of every variety, you get the gist of it!” Discord grinned.

As they trotted from stall to stall, meeting new ponies and buying snacks with the money Discord had brought with him, Sombra felt like he could finally relax.

While they were sitting down to have some food at a café, both ponies heard a discussion spilling over from the table behind them.

“And man- that outfit! Where does his highness buy them, they’re exquisite!” the stallion speaking sighed dreamily “I want that cloak!”

“Dream on!” his friend chuckled “he can afford the most high-end designers, that thing probably cost a fortune. Besides, the one you’re wearing is cute.”

“Flatterer~” the first pony chuckled. A mares voice piped up next;

“Do you think he's dating that shy yellow pony, you know, the one he and his chaos friend are always hanging around with?”

“Nah, I’ve seen how he smiles at her, it's purely platonic, not romantic.”

“How can you be sure?”

“Because and it's just a theory here, I think his majesty is aromantic.”

“Aro-who?”

“Aromantic. As in he doesn't DO romance. It would explain why he's never courted ANYPONY his whole time here.”

Sombra flinched subtly, feeling his heart clench. Was that how they seen him?

“Hay,” Discord set a hoof atop his, seeing real sadness brewing in his King's eyes “let's get outta here.”

He pulled Sombra away once they’d paid for the food and brought him to a quiet fountain away from the crowds.

“Don’t listen to them..” The dracon-pony said softly, rubbing Sombra's back. Sombra sighed.

“I cannot help it, it's- I have started seeing how distant I appear. I did not intend that.”

“They’re just being nosy. They cant help but speculate who you’d like, its just a facet of social mobs. Curiosity. You’re a public figure, a celebrity, so that ramps it up tenfold. But you cant let that make you feel bad. How you choose to arrive at feeling happy is YOUR decision, you can take all the time you want.”

He tilted the pony's face towards his and kissed him, seeing the same look of happiness in Sombra's eyes that he'd seen that first morning after. He let the pony go, hearing some sounds of “daww..”

They both looked round, seeing some couples nearby, all female, watching them with kind smiles. Sombra ducked his head, blushing furiously, which only made him look more adorable.

“He's shy, ladies~” Discord winked.

“Well don’t be!” one called out “we're free to love, and love being free!”

The other girls whooped and they set off, soon melting into the crowd.

“Freedom..” Sombra mused. He wondered about how the public would react-

--I can't think about that right now, I- -- he flushed, his heart racing --I’m still getting used to this. Having affection like Discord's, I want to keep it to myself just awhile longer. I've never felt this happy, not in a long time.--

“You alright?” Discord asked.

Sombra nodded, watching the crowds, wondering how the girls would feel if they found out they’d been offering such kind advice to the kingdoms ruler. Would they be shocked, surprised?

“It's nothing. It just feels strange not having to act like a King.” he said softly.

“Well, how much longer is your lunch break?” Discord asked. Sombra looked round for a clock, seen it and went white.

“It was over 45 minutes ago!” he panicked, bolting to his hooves “oh no, Page Assist is going to go BANANAS!”

“Oops, way to go Discord,” the dracon-pony face-hoofed “and I tried to keep track of time, too!”

“It is not your fault, besides..” the disguised King smiled “I have enjoyed myself, finally felt free.”

“Alright then, let's get you back..” Discord said, flapping one wing and teleporting them out.

The whole time they’d been there, neither had noticed the mare sitting on the opposite side of the fountain. She was smiling absently, as if lost in her own world. Her eyes flashed as she licked her lips, ears twitching.

Those two stallions, they'd given off such an unusual aura and unless her ears misled her, those two were-

--The King and his little buddy.-- she sneered. --So, he's trying to coax him out of the closet is he?--

She hadn’t seen them kiss, she'd been in a trance of sorts, absorbing the love given off not just by them, but by others passing by. But she'd felt a strong bond between them nonetheless, albeit somewhat mixed up in all the other sensations she'd been getting. Was it possible the chaos lord was in love with his best friend?

--Oh how cloyingly sweet. Is he hoping he'll get a chance with his majesty the uptight?-- she snorted.

Enough time wasted, she had to get back to her Queen. She had some vital details about the kingdom and its strange monarch.

Sure enough, when Sombra reappeared in his office, back in his normal form, Page Assist was sitting at the desk, looking fearful. A guard was standing in front of the desk, nodding to whatever the aide was saying.

“What if something happened- YOUR MAJESTY!!” Page Assist screeched as the teleport light faded. The guard jumped, but felt a surge of relief at seeing the stallion again.

“Hm? Yes, that's me, are you feeling alright?” Sombra asked.

“Where have you been? I came back after lunch and you were gone, I’ve been worrying myself sick-”

“Calm down.” Sombra said firmly. Page Assist blinked up at him.

“You can go now.” Sombra told the guard, who nodded and zoomed off out of the office. As the door clicked shut, Sombra turned back to Page Assist again.

“I went out for a while to meet some old friends. I am sorry I forgot to tell you, after the matter of this morning, it slipped my mind completely. I apologise for scaring you, but I was perfectly alright.”

Page Assist looked a mix of relieved and still scared.

At last he nodded.

“Please don’t scare me like that your majesty, I was about to send for a search party!”

“I'm sorry,” Sombra repeated as he sat down in the chair once it was vacated “tell you what, why don’t you have the afternoon off, by way of an apology?”

“Sire?”

Sombra smiled warmly “You’ve given me the schedule for today, I will manage. Go on, take a break. I hear there is a festival in town, there is bound to be nice food.”

Page Assist was too stunned to be given such a gift to notice what the King said. He nodded, trotting out the door head spinning. He hadn’t expected THAT. The King seemed happier lately, he mused...

That evening, after enduring a day concerning his outfit for the ball and what dances were required, Sombra finally had dinner with Fluttershy and Discord. Flutters was excited to see the girls again tomorrow when they arrived and Sombra realised how much he missed them. It had been ages since he had seen them all last, all at once at least.

As he was eating, Sombra felt something brush along the inside of his thigh, Somehow he kept his composure, glancing at Discord, who looked entirely too calm. Sombra looked back down at his food, interpreting the movement as a request. he simply nodded.

Discord grinned to himself. Looked like his evening was going to be spent with his precious Umbrum…

It'd been fun taking Sombra out for the day. He hoped Sombra would be able to relax about both his sexuality and how the public viewed it.

--If I can help him, all he has to do is name it..-- Discord vowed as he picked up his fork again.

Anything for his precious King...

Secret Love

After dinner, Sombra bid his friends goodnight and headed for his room. He flopped onto the bed as the door clicked shut behind him, uttering a heavy sigh. His back cramped and he winced, arching it and hearing it click whereupon he groaned softly. He let his eyes flutter closed, feeling comforted by the darkness a moment.

--That festival today..-- he had to admit that he envied those ponies their freedom and confidence. What would the reaction be, he wondered, if he were to openly declare his-

"Mmm, now THAT'S a view!"

Sombra didn't even jump, just smiled lazily as he opened his eyes. He'd been expecting this visit, after all. The request, spoken without a word passing between them, had made his heart race eagerly.

“Can I come up to see you?” it had asked of him and Sombra had forced himself to stay composed and simply nod.

"You've seen it all already!" he teased now, as Discord hovered in the balcony doorway.

"Yes but it's always a pleasure, shall we say, to see you lounging around like that." Discord drifted over to the bed, setting himself next to the Alicorn.

He leaned down and stole a quick kiss whilst moving one hand to rub the pony's belly, eliciting a soft moan and sigh of comfort from Sombra. His body was so soft, warm and Discord noted how good he smelled. Lingering traces of a familiar shampoo brought back memories of sharing a shower...

And now that he knew all the details of Sombra's mating heat, he could smell the faint aroma of pheromones. Sombra had the most delicious scent…

Sombra hooked a foreleg around Discord's shoulders, caressing his neck as he indulged in another kiss, then another...

“So how did today go?” Discord asked as they parted, their fond hello finally over “did you talk to your aide?”

"He more or less explained what you did. That this will not fade until my appetite is suitably satisfied." Sombra sighed as he spoke, flushing slightly. His ears twitched and Discord had to rely on his willpower holding steady, to let his lover finish talking before he snuggled him.

“Well, that wont be a problem!” Discord winked, but Sombra couldn’t quite meet his eyes.

--I'm not sure how to say this..-- the pony thought, as he felt a jab of guilt.

“What's wrong?” Discord frowned softly as Sombra winced and glanced away from him. “What is it, my King?”

“It's...” Sombra sighed, allowing Discord's gentle hand to guide his chin up so their eyes met once more “I cannot help but feel embarrassed that I cannot control my own biological urges, Discord.”

“Firstly, it's nothing you're responsible for. It's a part of you being an Infinitum, apparently they're all horndogs.” Discord rolled his eyes and Sombra uttered a brief snort of laughter.

“Secondly,” Discord continued with a cheeky grin “I already told you I’ll help you get off. Your Infinitum sex drive? Meet a Draconequui's, we're almost as bad! Feel free to insert a smart ass response here, my dear Sombra.”

He made a gesture of handing the reins over to the stallion, “I await your sarcasm, my liege~”

“My word, I would never have guessed!” Sombra said with mock surprise, a smile curving his lips.

“Oi, cheeky.” Discord dead-panned and Sombra bit his lip, smiling. Discord kissed the pony gently, then nuzzled his nose.

“Anyway, you've nothing to feel awkward about.” Discord soothed, rubbing the pony's stomach again, heart pounding at how cute Sombra looked lying on his back like this. He swallowed down the urge to forget the topic at hand and just lavish attention on him.

Sombra blinked, head tilting inquisitively to one side. Part of him seen and responded to the look on Discord's face, but the other half wasn’t done worrying and elected to speak up again before his body got too excited.

“But, what if I'm forcing others around me to feel aroused? Like those two guards I caught having sex in the storage closet.” he shook his head at the memory and the surreal questioning that'd followed. “I cannot stand the thought of, albeit accidentally, interfering with other ponies love lives!”

“That must've been an interesting discovery!” Discord chuckled and Sombra gave him a weary look.

“I didn't SEE them, I just smelled sweat mixed with sex and when I dropped the keys as I left, those two returned them and admitted to what they'd done. It was my fault the first guard started feeling that way, he was the one I noticed was spacing out in the hallway outside my office, that stared at me strangely when I spoke to him. He must have, well, gotten a muzzle-full of these “pheromones” of mine.”

“It's not your fault, cutie,” Discord said “those two guards, they were already dating, correct?”

“Yes, I gathered as much by their dalliance in the cupboard,” Sombra said “their body language confirmed it.”

“Well, then there's your answer! All you did was amplify feelings they already had-” as Sombra opened his mouth to object, Discord pressed a finger to his lips and carried on “yes, they were ogling YOU, given you're the one giving off the vibes, but they didn't hit on you, did they? Just wandered off for a quick shag that you unfortunately rumbled them for. I get the feeling YOU'D have to instigate anything for it to progress. Your scent just kind of...enthrals them. They clearly find you attractive, otherwise I’d gather they'd just shrug and wonder why they’re thinking about sex.”

Sombra raised an eyebrow and Discord removed his finger from the pony's lips.

“You’re right. I'm sure as long as I keep my appetite under control, it should be OK...” he sighed, frowning a little “one thing bothers me though-”

“Don't worry, I have plenty of that lube-”

“Not that!” Sombra shook his head laughing “what concerns me is; when will it end?”

Discord frowned, deep in thought.

Then he had an idea.

“You said you assumed that first night where you ordered me to screw you silly was what started it. Right?”

“That is the theory, yes.” Sombra blinked at him.

“Sooo...maybe we just need to find your limit and go past it and that'll satisfy your urge?” the Draconequus shrugged with a quirk of an eyebrow.

“Maybe...” Sombra blushed at the ideas this was conjuring up and Discord grinned knowingly.

“If you have any particular manoeuvres you wanna try, now is the time, handsome!”

Sombra flushed again, but the excitement Discord always caused was unfolding again. A tingle ran down his back and he fought not to fidget.

“Horizontal, vertical, is it possible to fuck someone sideways?” Discord mused, stroking his goatee.

Sombra started chuckling softly, the chains of worry going slack as the Draconequus' silly humour cut away at them.

Discord continued, unaware “What about backwards? How would that even work? Pretty sure you cant walk on your hind legs for THAT long-”

Sombra burst into loud, unabashed guffaws, his body shaking from the suppressed laughter as it bubbled up.

“What are you laughing at?” Discord mock-scolded “you’re gonna be on the receiving end of it, you know!”

“Oh, I eagerly await it.” Sombra grinned, kissing Discord and hearing him groan as he impatiently returned it.

“I'm holding you to that~” Discord finished with a grin and was rewarded with the pony laughing afresh, eyes twinkling with amusement and relief.

His Sombra was smiling again and a natural smile at that, not a forced “I’m OK” kind of smile. It made Discord's heart ache and only increased the longing he had to eradicate anything that darkened his stallion's sky.

“Feeling better?” Discord said gently as he watched him, and his precious King nodded, body language far more comfortable now. It showed in the way his ears stood up straight, as opposed to lying flat as they did when he was sad or scared.

“Up you come!” He said in a chirpy voice as he sat back, helping the pony sit up. Sombra's crown had slipped slightly from all the intimate snuggling, mane spilling over one ear, so Discord gently removed the regalia and set it aside. He raised both hands and rubbed behind both of the pony's ears simultaneously.

Sombra's wings fluffed up softly and the pony closed his eyes, leaning into the gentle ministrations. An almost lustful groan escaped him as Discord massaged at the base of his ears and they twitched softly against the chaos being's hands.

“Even your ears are freakin' adorable.” Discord sighed happily. Sombra opened his eyes, planting a kiss on Discord's nose.

“Well, so are yours. I keep wanting to nibble on them~” Sombra returned, raising an eyebrow. Discord flushed at the compliment and Sombra rubbed his cheek against the Draconequus', a sweet equine gesture of affection.

Discord closed his eyes and let the contentment he felt become his whole world for a second. The feel of Sombra's cheek pressed to his, the warmth of his coat. The knowledge he'd banished Sombra's nightmares by making love to him, it was all….so MUCH.

He uttered a soft sigh, feeling his heart beating rapidly.

“Hm?” Hearing the sigh, Sombra ceased snuggling and moved back to look at Discord. Seeing a funny sort of look on the Draconequus' face, he was a little puzzled.

“Is something wrong?” he asked, peering closely at the chaos lord's face. Discord had oft asked him this question then proceeded to swiftly untangle whatever strife Sombra was in. Now, it felt right that he endeavour to do the same in turn. But first, he needed to find out what was wrong!

Discord seen Sombra's worried face and immediately did his best to assure him he was fine.

“No need to worry cutie, I was just thinking about things. You see, I never expected a hodge-podge creature like me would appeal to a pony.” he said honestly, as Sombra sat back on his haunches. The pony studied him a moment, frowning a little.

“Why would you not appeal?” he asked, sounding stern.

Discord nudged Sombra's nose with his own, smiling thoughtfully. “In case you hadn’t noticed, I make no sense! I read a book that pointed out ponies prefer a kind of symmetry in their partners, certain features for example. None of me matches any other bit.”

He gestured to his mix-and-match body parts, from legs to arms to horns.

“You’re a creature of chaos. I would be disappointed if you weren’t a marvel of everything and anything!” Sombra said stoutly and Discord flushed a little.

“Marvel?” he asked, voice genuinely squeaky from surprise. He'd never been called that before. Weird, a nuisance and a threat to Equestria, sure. Even “friend”, in his more recent years of reformation. But never a “marvel” of any kind.

“Yes.” Sombra stated firmly “an absolute marvel. No pony is as intriguing as you are, Discord. Symmetry? Bah!”

The pony gave a grand shrug, dismissing the concept with a sweep of his hoof.

“I don't care about THAT. Besides-” he smiled seductively as he looked at the Draconequus, loving how cute his ears were, that sexy goatee and long curve of his body “I’ve always admired you.”

Discord blushed at this honest, gentle appraisal. He twisted his fingers together as he tried to think of a way to thank his precious Sombra, for he wasn’t used to this much kind words, in all honesty. Aside from Fluttershy, nopony really talked with him much, or he ended up irritating them so much that they shouted at him to go away. Tia and Luna were nice enough to him and Luna HAD helped him get over his fear of asking Sombra out, but they were still more like acquaintances.

Sombra's heart thudded in his chest as he seen how adorable Discord looked, shyly twiddling his fingers and blushing cutely at the praise. For all the chaos lord's bluster and confidence, the King realised Discord cherished the good things said to him more then he ever let on and Sombra understood how much power a kind word had from his own experiences, both past and present. Discord was a very unique creature and Sombra had found himself drawn to this quality alongside the Draconequus' clever, witty and very dirty mind. The fact that he was so different was part of what made Sombra's heart race so fast around him.

“I like you just the way you are, make no mistake. So don’t you dare lose that confidence in yourself,” Sombra said gently, catching Discord's attention again “need I remind you of everything you've done for ME?”

He wrapped his forelegs around Discord and sealed his words with a soft kiss. When he released the chaos lord from his hold, Discord looked very happy, his tail was swishing eagerly and his wings gave a little flap.

Sombra smiled, nuzzling at Discord's chest, harking back to that first time when Discord's heart had clanged loudly and Sombra had joked about kick-starting it with a kiss in that same spot.

Discord met the pony's eyes as he straightened up, a cute smile on his face “that was the single cutest thing you could have done back then, my precious King.”

“Yours was going to such lengths just to ask me out.” Sombra chuckled and Discord beamed, scratching under his stallion's chin.

“Thank you, my sweet King. Nobody has ever made me feel like I mean so much before...” Discord said honestly.

Sombra kissed him as he lowered his hand.

“Get used to it.” he said in a husky voice and Discord noted the excited way Sombra's ears shivered. His heart raced and while he yearned to take the stallion again, right that second he was too innocently captivated by the things his King was saying.

Sombra nuzzled his lover's nose, getting his attention again.

“Do you fancy a drink?” Out of the corner of his eye, Sombra had caught sight of the cabinet where he kept special gifts and bottles of alcohol. “I’ve been reserving one particular bottle for special occasions and none are more deserving than those spent with you.”

A simple offer of a drink, sure, but also another little gesture that made Discord smile happily. He nodded wordlessly, wishing he could express what Sombra was giving him. Sharing so much of another's life, being so desired, he hadn't dared hope for this all his life. Yet now he had everything he'd ever yearned for, in this kind, strong and regal stallion. His Sombra.

He let Sombra up and the pony walked to the cabinet and selected a particular bottle while Discord fetched the glasses from the lower shelf of a nearby cupboard.

They sat themselves atop the couch opposite the bed and Sombra poured them some of the rich, plum coloured wine.

“Here's to-” the stallion began grandly-

“-Orgasms!” Discord piped up, earning a withering look from Sombra, but the stallion clinked his glass against his partners regardless.

“Mmm, this is nice.” Discord murmured after taking a swig, eyeing the bottle and nodding his approval.

“Yes, it was a gift from Haydon and Vorak, they told me it is a popular beverage at parties.” Sombra explained.

“Excellent! How are those two these days?” Discord asked.

“They’re doing exceedingly well! The trade link their kingdom and mine share has encouraged many ponies to visit their kingdom for business and holidays. Vorak is thrilled to see such an improvement in both financial and trade sectors. But it is not just MY kingdom he's linking to, he's in talks with the Crystal Empire now!”

“Impressive! They really took a shine to you, didn't they?”

Sombra smiled almost sadly “I think they see the sons they lost, in me. They use familial titles for me when I visit and the King has shared much of his families history on our talks together. I am glad I can help ease their loss, it cannot be easy losing both children.”

Discord nodded and wondered if anybody in HIS family ever thought about him-? He shook his head quickly, shoving the thought away, he didn't care!

“Discord..?” Sombra sighed, took a deep breath and blurted out “If my “drive” becomes too much, you’ll tell me, won't you?”

Discord raised an eyebrow and stared at the pony as Sombra casually sipped at the wine again. The monarch flushed under this mute scrutiny and averted his gaze to focus on the light shining off the wine bottle.

More seconds passed and Sombra at last broke his stare to look back at Discord. Who was still staring.

“W-what?” he stammered, going even redder.

“Just to confirm; you’re suggesting I'd take one look at you with a hard-on and go “nah?” My dear Sombra-”

Discord suddenly stopped talking and began looking about everywhere, even poking his head under the couch.

“What are you looking for?” Sombra asked, glancing around too out of habit, despite not having a clue what it was that the Draconequus sought.

“Your royal marbles! For going by THAT suggestion, clearly you’ve lost them!” Discord announced, sitting back up with a smug grin. Sombra flushed, uttering a sigh as he faced the Draconequus again.

“What? I'm serious. I haven’t felt this excited in a long time and I cannot resist you, you know that.” Discord scolded “don’t worry about MY sex drive, it's more than capable of meeting yours blow-for-blow. Or should that be blowjob-”

He felt the warmth of Sombra's muzzle butt against his shoulder, heard the pony start giggling uncontrollably.

“Ladies and gentlemen, the most childish royal in Equestria!” Discord made confetti burst from the air as he indicated Sombra.

A loud snort was his answer, muffled by the ponys face being buried in his coat.

“Yeah, don’t fret it. I'll see your horizontal tango and raise it an arse-grab!” Discord declared, prompting more laughter. Sombra finally sat up straight, wiping at his eyes. His face was red as a tomato but he looked so damn happy it made Discord grin.

“Ha! Made you laugh, now you’re off the hook!” Discord declared.

“Ah yes, I have not forgotten that promise I made. Very well, you win.” Sombra said with a smile.

“Score!~” Discord took another sip and set the glass down, wrapping an arm around Sombra and pulling him close to his chest. Sombra set his own glass aside and lifted his head to meet Discord's gaze. Discord didn't know what to say next, so he just settled for kissing the stallion, the taste of the wine mingling with the deliciousness of the kiss. Sombra pressed against him as his tongue slipped into the pony's mouth.

--Mmm, this is pretty hot- hay I have an idea-!-- the Draconequus had a light-bulb moment as they kissed. When they parted, Discord took a deep swig of the wine then tilted the pony's chip up to place another kiss on him, slowly feeding him the fragrant wine bit by bit.

Sombra swallowed it eagerly, a faint rumbling in his chest telling the Draconequus his precious pony was quite enjoying this.

When the wine had been swallowed, they pulled apart, both breathing heavily.

“Tastes even better~” Sombra purred, licking his lips.

“The wine or the kiss?” Discord murmured, brushing his thumb over Sombra's lower lip.

“Both.” This time Sombra drained HIS glass and they repeated the intimate taster. When they finally pulled apart Sombra was flushed, but his eyes shone with an enjoyment Discord was glad to see.

Keeping an arm wrapped around the King's waist, Discord moved the other hand to the stallion's belly and began moving it in slow, soft circles. Sombra purred softly, pressing against the roaming hand. The belly rub sent pleasant tingles down all his nerve endings, making his heart jump.

Discord widened the rub radius, moving to his chest and Sombra uttered a deep growl of pleasure that tickled at Discord's ear, followed swiftly by Sombra's fangs tugging at it gently.

“You do like a belly rub, don't you my King?” Discord groaned as Sombra played with his ear. The pony knew his weak spot for snuggling and wasn't letting up.

“Immensely.” Sombra said huskily as he relinquished the ear and snared Discord with a kiss.

Discord let both of his hands slide round to Sombra's sides now, rubbing under his wings. They fluffed up and Discord caught a scent of Sombra's pheromones again, they were sweeter than any smell imaginable.

“What do you say we get comfortable?” Discord said seductively, scooting back, leaning against the armrest and holding his arms out to the pony sat opposite him on the couch. Sombra blushed, heat starting in his stomach, little butterflies made of need and electricity mingling with his bloodstream and giving him a sensual rush. He nodded, gently stepping over so he was astride Discord's long curvy body-

The Draconequus' hands reached up and pulled him into his arms, so that the pony landed straddling his stomach. Their chests pressed together and Sombra's muzzle brushed his. He could feel the warmth of the pony's breath brushing his lips, see the light reflected in those crimson eyes. The warmth of him made Discord's pulse race.

“My King.” Discord said almost possessively as he drank in every detail of the monarch and it sent a jolt up Sombra's back to be called HIS.

“My Lord.” Sombra responded, referring to Discord's title. The Draconequus blushed but his eyes gleamed. He was mesmerized by the grace and elegance of the stallion sitting on his lap, looking at him so adoringly.

--Thank Celestia, for giving me something so good!-- the Draconequus thought as he kissed the pony fiercely, hearing him moan softly. He pressed his tongue to Sombra's lips and the pony eagerly parted them.

Sombra wrapped his forelegs around Discord, nipping and sucking on his lower lip as their tongues explored each others mouths. Soft grunts and muffled groans filled the room, the only other sounds those of birds chirping outside.

“Sombra..” Discord moaned as their lips parted at last, so they could breathe. He let his hands slide down Sombra's sides, cupping the stallion's ass and squeezing it gently. Sombra uttered a low moan, squirming against Discord's body. It was pretty arousing, feeling him grinding gently against him...

-- He likes ears, belly AND his rump~-- Discord made a mental note as he kissed Sombra whilst he squeezed the pony's rump again, far more firmly this time. Sombra moaned eagerly against his mouth as Discord rubbed his rear with slow, tantalizing motions.

“Mm, such a nice firm bottom~” Discord teased and Sombra smirked before locking lips with him again, continuing to grind against the hands as they rubbed and squeezed.

When Discord's tongue parted his lips once more and pushed their kiss even deeper, Sombra shifted one hoof from around Discord's neck and moved it down, grasping the Draconequus' cock and squeezing it gently, letting his hoof run down it's length and feeling it grow fully erect under his touch.

Discord dug his fingers into the soft flesh of the pony's rump as Sombra stroked him, sending sharp shivers up Sombra's spine. Spurred on by the sensation, the pony stroked his hoof upwards again, curling around the chaos lord's tip and squeezing a little harder this time.

“Sombra-!” Discord moaned as he ceased kissing him and looked down at the stallion's hoof, where it rested around his member.

Sombra met his eyes, it was clear what he wanted and Discord longed for it just as bad. The thrill of lovemaking with his beloved stallion made his pulse race like nothing else, he was hooked on the excitement and lust they shared. The fact HE brought such feelings and pleasures to his precious King was like an addiction.

He let Sombra rest against his chest, snapping his fingers and making a familiar tube appear. Sombra felt a surge of anticipation, his body craved what this Draconequus did to him. Freedom, pleasure and the world shrinking to just the two of them...

Once his fingers were slick and slippery, Discord tossed the tube aside and curved one arm around Sombra's back to hold him steady as the lubed-up hand brushed over Sombra's bottom before thrusting two fingers into him.

“Ahh..” Sombra arched his back, biting his lip and feeling a surge of heat race from his stomach to between his legs. Discord lowered his head, using his curvy body to his advantage and swirling his tongue around the pony's tip. Sombra groaned and bucked his hips a little, between Discord's hands and his mouth he didn't know which was getting him harder, faster.

A third finger joined the first two inside the stallions body, exploring and stretching the equines body for a fresh round. Sombra moaned eagerly, body clamping tightly around the exploring fingers as they thrust and pushed. Once the pony’s inner walls had been coated with enough lubricant, Discord withdrew his fingers, causing Sombra to sigh urgently.

“Mmm, get ready my King..” Discord whispered as he squeezed Sombra's bottom again and manoeuvred the stallion's body so the pre-cum soaked tip of his shaft pushed into the pony. Slowly, almost tortuously, he lowered the pony onto his member, taking pleasure in the heat and tightness of Sombra's rear, pushing inch by inch until he was fully sheathed inside him.

Once he was fully inside his King, Discord leant back, hands settling at Sombra's middle. He kissed the heavily aroused stallion, nuzzling and nipping at his neck, listening to his rapid pulse.

“Mmm, that feels good-!” Sombra groaned, using his muscles to squeeze the hot shaft inside him, lifting his hips a little as he did. Discord growled lustily, running his tail up Sombra's back with a swish. Sombra shivered, bracing his hooves either side of Discord.

"Let's take care of you, my King." Discord said softly, loving that near feral look in Sombra's eyes. The one that said "regality ends here, you’re dealing with a beast."

With a faint hum of magic, the shield surrounded them and the couch, so they could call out as loudly as they liked and not have to worry about being discovered.

With a sweet, quick kiss on Discord's lips, Sombra began. He braced his legs as he moved his body up and down, enjoying the sensation of the member rubbing against his inner walls.

Discord gripped Sombra's body firmly, helping guide the stallion as he moved, so with every plunge up into Sombra's body, he hit that sweet spot that made Sombra call out in ecstasy. The way the pony was grinding those hips was driving the chaos being wild...

“Yes, Discord-!” Sombra panted, tilting his head back as he felt the pleasure begin to build. Thick splashes of his own pre-cum covered Discord's stomach, more trickling down his length with each movement.

He moaned sharply as Discord propped himself up so he could wrap a hand around Sombra's member and stroke it firmly.

Sombra picked up the pace, the hard, throbbing shaft inside him filling him so perfectly-

Discord waited until he KNEW Sombra was closing to coming, then he made his move. His tail pushed against Sombra's back, nudging the pony forward onto Discord's chest. The Draconequus thrust his hips up one last time, grabbing and squeezing Sombra's rear tightly as he did. The pony cried out sharply as his body clenched tightly around Discord's cock, bringing the Draconequus to climax.

“Discord-!” Sombra gasped as he felt the thick heavy rush of Draconequui cum flood into him as Discord climaxed and he could feel his own peak approaching rapidly. He arched his back, wings snapping back as heavy pre-orgasm spasms ran through his body.

“Yes-” the pony growled, a low snarl of lust rumbling through him.

“That’s it,” Discord whispered as he curled one hand around the pony's highly sensitive member and squeezed once more “cum for me, my Umbrum stud!”

As the words rang in his ears, Sombra felt his shaft disgorge it's load, soaking both their lower bodies and the couch. The Draconequus held him close as Sombra's seed splattered their coats, its musky, delectable scent making Discord groan. He swiped his fingers over his coat, scooping up thick drops of it.

“Mmm, magnificent..”

Sombra opened his eyes, panting loudly, chest rising and falling rapidly. He seen Discord slowly licking each finger clean and swallowing leisurely. The chaos lord’s hand involuntarily squeezed the pony's member again as he swallowed and Sombra felt his shaft throb anew as an after-shock of the initial orgasm kicked in, making him continue for a moment more, fresh ropes of seed soaking Discord's coat.

“My my, so generous~” Discord purred, releasing the pony's shaft from his grip and mopping the fresh cum up as Sombra finished.

“You have that effect on me..” Sombra quoted the chaos lord from their first kiss as he nuzzled Discord's neck, then captured his lovers lips before the Draconequus could speak. He picked up on a sweet, sticky taste and grinned inside. Discord tasted of Sombra's own juices and it only made him feel more charged.

“That...was amazing...” Discord spoke at last as he let Sombra go “I had an inkling you were flexible, but that-whoo~”

Sombra flushed, resting happily against Discord's chest, rather enjoying the mix of domination and submission they'd just shared. The chaos lord's hands guiding him as he'd taken control...it turned him on pretty heavy. His ears trembled from the echo of his orgasm and Discord rubbed his back gently.

“Mmm...up you get my sweet.” Discord waited a few satisfying seconds before he helped the pony to stand, freeing his member from the stallions snug rear. He heard Sombra moan softly, but found he couldn't refrain from staring as thick trickles of semen ran down the inside of the King's thighs.

Sombra felt it and flushed softly, he'd need to pop to the bathroom for a moment-

“Turn around my love..” Discord whispered, as the pony made to dismount from the plush couch.

Sombra opened his mouth to ask why, then realised what Discord was looking at and felt his heart pound, knowing what the Draconequus wanted. He lay on the couch on his belly, rear perked up in the air. Discord groaned, tangling his fingers in Sombra's tail and draping it over the pony's back, then he sat forward so he could lick the trickles of cum from his partners legs. He heard Sombra moan eagerly and gripped the pony’s flank with both hands as he took pleasure in slowly, teasingly cleaning his semen from Sombra's soft coat. His tongue licked up the pony's legs from hooves to his bottom, briefly teasing the pony's entrance. The stallion's muscles shifted in reflex as the physical grooming continued.

--Ah, this feels good. I never thought I would be doing something like this.--- Sombra thought dizzily. But he felt that same sense of liberation again and it made him feel a world apart from his regal self. Did it have to be over?

He pushed the thought aside, focusing on the feel of the tongue lapping at his hindquarters.

"All clean, my King." Discord murmured as he sat back at last, his job done.

“Ah- thank you..” Sombra groaned in satisfaction as Discord gave his bottom a little pat, then realsied he didn't feel quite complete yet, that odd beast desire was not fully quelled. What should he do-?

--I need more from him, more OF him.- He bit his lip, making a faint sound in the back of his throat. He should move, just sit down-

Discord was about to suggest that Sombra set that gorgeous bottom down, when he heard the worried noise the King made. On a hunch, he peeked at the pony's undercarriage and seen that the Alicorn was hard again, fresh puddles of pre glistening on the fancy fabric beneath his stomach.

“Do you need more, my King?” Discord asked, craning his neck to peer round at him. Sombra angled his head to meet his gaze, face flushed and his coat sheened with sweat. He swallowed anxiously…

“All you need do is ask, my dear Sombra.” Discord reminded him.

“Y-yes..” Sombra whispered, “It is getting stronger, Discord, I need you- ngh!”

He cut off as Discord pushed his fingers into him once more, flexing and spreading them. The pony's body shuddered in bliss, fresh waves of longing rippling out from those exploring fingers. Discord licked his lips, Sombra looked so tantalizing…

--You really are a sight to behold, my King.-- the Draconequus thought. He hadn’t been joking about the Draconequui sex drives. He'd mentioned it briefly in his talk with Fluttershy, how the chaos beasts were pretty amorous, often enjoying a good round or three a day during mating season!

Now his sweet stallion wanted another ploughing and he'd promised to cater to his pony's every whim~.

“Mmm, well, roll over and-” he began, but Sombra cut him off.

“Mount me.” Sombra panted and Discord felt his brain go into overdrive at those words. Sombra wanted to do it on all fours? The very idea made Discord hard again and he let one hand caress his freshly aroused member, biting his lip to muffle a moan. His most popular fantasy had come to life: the pony was presenting and asking Discord to dominate him in the ultimate way.

“Sombra, are you sure?” he asked, releasing his shaft and running the hand over Sombra's ass and onto his back as he stood up atop the couch. He flexed the fingers still inside the pony and Sombra squeezed his body tightly around them with a whimper of need.

“I mean it..” Sombra flushed “I want you to get up on me and do me...”

Discord couldn’t have refused him for the world and nodded. He stood fully upright, removing his fingers and grasping Sombra's hips as he slowly pushed his shaft into him once more. Sombra uttered a satisfied moan as his body got what it longed for.

This mating heat thing was driving him crazy, but his beloved Discord was making it bearable, his affections doused the fire...

Discord decided to use his tail to help satisfy Sombra faster, give it a little extra spice. As he thrust into his lover, his tail curled round to slip under the pony's body. The feathery tip caressed Sombra's length, making the stallion cry out sharply and push back into each thrust.

Discord pumped his hips hard and fast, hilting his member fully inside the pony each time. He could feel Sombra's body trembling in anticipation, so eager for the chaos lord's climax. Discord tangled his fingers in Sombra lustrous tail and tugged it gently, making the pony moan loudly and squeeze his tight rear around the cock inside him as Discord rutted him.

They both came a lot faster second time round, already running high from the initial orgasm. Discord collapsed atop his lover as he finished coming, overspill surging out around his member and staining Sombra's thighs and couch even more.

“Discord...mmm...” Sombra said raggedly, closing his eyes as the climax began to fade, his pulse thundering in his ears.

The Draconequus withdrew from Sombra and the pony slumped to the couch, breathing heavily. This time he just lay there in contented silence as Discord wiped away the excess semen.

When he felt the Draconequus' tongue move away from his coat for the second time, the stallion finally sat himself up and was swiftly pulled into an embrace, with his back to Discord's chest.

“How do you feel, my King?” Discord whispered in his ear.

“Much...better..” Sombra panted, throat dry.

“Twice in a row, I must say I’m impressed my dear Sombra!” Discord chuckled. Two rounds of hot, steamy sex? What a day!

Sombra flushed, smiling drowsily.

“To bed, or the shower?” Discord asked.

“Shower,” Sombra chuckled lazily “I’m covered in this.”

“Indeed you are, do you fancy a tongue bath instead?” Discord teased. Sombra gave him a look and the Draconequus chuckled, picking the pony up and carrying him to the shower.

They had a quick wash and wing massage for Sombra, then stumbled into bed. There was no question Discord was staying, he didn't want to leave and Sombra sure as heck wasn't going to let him.

"You," Discord whispered as the cosied up together "are enough to drive anyone crazy."

“I’ll take that as a compliment." Sombra said with a gleam in his eyes as Discord wrapped his arms around him. Sombra yawned softly and Discord kissed the Alicorn's forehead then magicked the lights off. In the comforting darkness, Sombra whispered;

“Discord?”

“Yes, my dear Sombra?”

“Thank you..” there was so much said in those two words that Discord didn’t know what to say, so he just kissed him and caressed his back until the pony dozed off, before falling asleep himself.

Sombra woke before Discord the next day and he could not resist taking a moment to watch the sleeping Draconequus. He looked so happy, curled up on his side with his tail draping over the edge of the bed. Sombra left a gentle kiss on his cheek then silently crept over to the balcony.

Sombra let the balcony door click softly behind him and let out a sigh.

Birds flew by like feathery speed demons, chasing one another through the dawn sky. Sombra sat with his forelegs draped over the railings, the faint morning breeze ruffling his mane.

He flashed back to yesterday and the hot, orgasmic rutting. When he'd felt Discord's tongue caressing his most intimate area, he'd felt a faint surge of desire for more. It hadn’t stayed faint for long, ramping up like an alarm when Discord said he was done.

Sombra hadn't wanted it to be over…

Just how bad was this mating season going to get and why was his own body so set on this?

--It's not like it can tell it the one I’m sleeping with isn’t female, thus incapable of an heir.-- Sombra thought wryly, shaking his head.

But those moments, those times where he could let go of everything and just allow his lover to pleasure him- they were moments he didn't want to give up.

--I can't tell anypony yet, I'm not ready.- he sighed –I don't want the one thing that's made my life feel so new and exciting to be judged by a bunch of newspapers and my own staff!--

He had to envy those two guards he'd had to lecture, they seemed entirely unafraid. Why was HE such a coward?

It was because he didn't want to lose this. As he had thought before, the times when he and Discord just threw duty and caution aside and just made love- those were moments when he felt free. He wanted them so badly, wanted Discord and what the chaos lord did to him...

“You make the cutest faces when you're thinking.” Discord piped up and Sombra looked round at him as the Draconequus joined him outside.

“You look worried, are you sore?” Discord asked the first thing he could think of.

“I am not hurting, I am just….worried.” Sombra said falteringly.

“About what?” Discord asked.

“This mating thing." Sombra said bluntly.

"Still?" Discord teased lightly.

"I know I am sounding like a fractured record, my sweet lord, but what if it doesn’t stop? What if I put somepony at risk? I wish I could apologise for what I'm doing but I cannot let anypony else know about this, it would cause an uproar!”

Discord shrugged and ruffled the pony's mane.

“I'm not sure what to tell you, handsome. I don't know why your Infinitum mating thing is so confusing, or how long it lasts. Or even why Infinitums are made to go through this...But what I DO know is this; I'm going to do all I can to help you. By doing you. All I can.”

“That is most reassuring, I can rest easy now.” Sombra chuckled softly, grateful for Discord's innuendo-laden brand of comfort.

But Discord could still see the worry written all over his stallion's face, despite the King's jovial tone.

“You’re a crap liar, silly Sombra.” he teased, a nickname he'd given Sombra back at the start of their friendship. Sombra smiled a little and Discord continued his assurances.

“Whatever you need, my King, I will give to you if it's within my power. Especially if it's my wang. Now, tell me what's making those ears droop.”

“It's that report,” Sombra confessed, actually missing the phallic joke on account of his worrying “I...I’m scared, Discord. If we cannot work out what it's after- What if I start to lose myself and just become obsessed with sex and doing whatever these drives want me to do!?”

“I don't think it’ll go that far,” Discord said softly “you're not that kind of pony. You have a gentle, patient heart and you don’t believe in forcing anything. I know you and this is why I would do anything for you. I know you’ll be alright, so please trust me my King.”

“I will. You've always been able to see what I cannot. Thank you, Discord.” Sombra smiled, nuzzling his cheek briefly.

“I'm serious cutie,” Discord scolded gently “I don't know why that first night together started up your urge to mate, but together we'll figure out this while Infinitum thing, what made it start and what will make it end. THEN, I will lock us in that bedroom and ravish you the way I’ve always done. I'll adore you the same, no matter how sex-driven you get. So don’t worry..”

Sombra nodded, feeling his brief crisis of confidence ease off for the time being, his head clearing.

This was what Discord did for him. He took the pain and damage of Sombra's past, damage that still made him doubt and blame himself and dismissed it. His affection and determination made Sombra feel grounded, safe.

“Good pony.” Discord whispered as he seen Sombra relax. With a snap of his fingers he teleported them back to the bed, where he pinned Sombra in place and kissed him gently.

“By the way;” Discord winked as he let him go “that whole “mounting you on the sofa” thing? HOT. AS. FUCK.”

Sombra blushed. It had felt so good, two climaxes in such close proximity...

They shared several more gentle kisses, just leisurely letting their tongues wrestle with one another as Discord rubbed Sombra's belly.

When they parted, Sombra looked over at the clock.

“If we are going to wash, we had best move.” he sighed.

Discord nodded, letting him get up. Sombra heard his back click and grunted softly, stretching atop the bed.

“Show-off.” Discord joked. "Totally not staring at your arse, by the way."

"Mm, just getting the kinks out of my back," Sombra chuckled "exercise can do that to you. Also, liar."

“You mean SEXercise!” Discord said gleefully.

“Yes, of course.” Sombra replied with an amused sigh.

In the shower, Discord once again admired Sombra as subtly as he could. He watched as the water coursed down over those gorgeous curves, the way his wet tail clung to his legs..

Sombra had been watching Discord out of the corner of his eye and now he moved swiftly, pushing the other gently against the tiled wall as he stood before him.

"Hm?" Discord raised an eyebrow "what's up cutie?”

“I have been thinking-”

“I thought I warned you about that!” Discord teased and Sombra rolled his eyes and snorted.

“I have been thinking-” he repeated “-about what we discussed earlier. You have been tending to MY every whim every time I get hot. Therefore, I have decided you deserve a little thank you present. Observe.”

Discord blushed as Sombra did something very unusual. He moved even closer then stood on his hind legs, showing off that impressive stomach and chest. He set his hooves either side of Discord's head.

“I do not know about screwing someone backwards, but this is close enough. Your theory about having sex in the shower interests me.”

“Sombra..” Discord whispered. His sweet little King wanted to thank him?

“May I?” The monarch said teasingly.

“Ohh, yes.” was the answer.

The shower took a little longer due to Sombra's decision to “thank” Discord with a little rutting.

--That stallion really knows how to get me off..-- the Draconequus thought. It'd been so arousing seeing Sombra stand like that, so dominant...

Once Sombra was dressed, Discord let his beloved have a minutes head start then “caught up” to him as he headed towards the dining hall.

As they travelled the halls, discussing the upcoming birthday celebrations, Discord noticed a few subtle things. Such as the odd guard or maid letting their gaze linger on the King's rear longer then was polite.

Discord felt a tug of pensiveness. How dare they ogle his precious pony?

"Don’t worry, I do not want anyone but you." Sombra whispered softly, seeing Discord's sulky expression.

"I know, but I’m the jealous type." Discord whispered back, making Sombra chuckle. He nudged his parter with one wing and they both laughed.

The same two guards that'd been making guesses whether these two would get it on a few days prior seen them approach, noticed how relaxed and even slightly flirtatious the King's body language was. The cheery monarch greeted them cordially and they bowed in return.

"Called it." one whispered to the other as the duo entered the dining hall. "he's totally nailing him!"

The door re-opened as the words left the guard's mouth, making them both jump as Sombra stuck his head back out.

"Double check with the cook that lunch will be ready on time, clear?"

“Yessir!" Both jumped to attention, praying he hadn't heard them.

Sombra nodded, seemingly cheerily oblivious. He shut the door behind him and the two guards heaved identical sighs of relief.

"I heard that, by the way." Sombra popped his head out again a split second later.

He heard the sound of both guards stumbling over and crashing to the floor and he shut the door, striding back over to the table. He was biting his lip to keep from laughing, Discord noticed.

"Is everything OK?" Fluttershy asked.

Sombra smiled "yes, just a couple of daydreamers. I merely suggested they pay attention was all."

He caught Discord's eye and seen a similar amusement in his friends expression.

Outside the doors, the two guards shared looks, deciding they'd just keep their mouths shut from now on until his majesty was out of earshot!

Fluttershy was planning to go back with her friends after the ball, but had the feeling Discord would stay longer. He seemed reluctant to discuss ending his stay there and she wondered if it had anything to do with Sombra? She wanted to ask, but it seemed like a rather personal matter. What to do..?

--I'm sure he'll tell me when he's ready-- she thought. She wondered if Discord and Sombra were in love? She hoped so, they'd been close ever since Discord had first befriended the monarch. They shared many similarities between them and Fluttershy had noticed that recently, Discord seemed even more excited then ever before to see Sombra.

“What are we doing today?” Discord asked.

“My outfit for the party is done, so I am free to go out to town with the two of you until this afternoon, when the other girls arrive. The Princesses and Prince Shining Armor, along with Vorak and Haydon, will be arriving later on."

"Talk about high society!" Discord raised an eyebrow "that much royalty in one place? That's quite a party.."

"The magazines are crazy for it according to Rarity!" Fluttershy piped up "she says everypony is talking about it, and they all want tickets."

Sombra knew it was partly political, attending events thrown by trade partners showed respect for the bond between kingdoms, some even used the event to request trading rights with the Umbrum empire, but that aside, he truly enjoyed having those he considered friends all gathered together for a night. Factor in a certain pink party pony and it was guaranteed to be fun!

Discord asked if they could go shopping, he had a few things he wanted to buy. Sombra was happy to go along and Fluttershy nodded too.

As they walked out, they seen a class of students grouped in the main foyer. Sombra spotted Striker, the little foal he'd instructed not to give in to his bullies. The kid was at the front of his group, trademark camera around his neck, looking excited. But two bigger ponies were snickering and nudging him subtly, trying to make him stumble and mess up the photos he was trying to take. Sombra seen the kid stand straight and ignore the pair, and nodded proudly.

Then one of the bullies shoved poor Striker a little too hard and he fell over, something bouncing from his saddlebags and rolling unnoticed across the floor towards the King and his two friends. Sombra grabbed it on reflex, seeing it was a small round box of erasers.

“Just a moment..” he asked his friends and they nodded.

Sombra walked over to the kids as Striker got up.

“Is this yours?” Sombra spoke and the foals and fillies all turned to see who had such a deep, commanding voice. It was his majesty! They and their teacher hurriedly bowed, even the bullies, although Sombra could see them gawking at him as he extended a hoof to Striker to shake.

His ears twitched as he heard the bully colts overcome their shock to whisper snidely;

“Dude...seriously? Why is his majesty paying attention to that little squirt?” one muttered to the other.

Sombra seen Striker wince as he handed him the box he'd dropped and had a sudden idea. He caught Striker's eye and smiled warmly as he spoke.

“Has your father talked with you about the idea proposal I gave him?”

Striker nodded “Yeah, I got a whole bunch of notes! Here..” he pulled some hoof written notes he'd made himself “I asked the whole class.”

Seeing proof that the project Striker had been bugging them about was real, the bullies fell silent. They'd treated it as a joke, posing for a photo was one thing, but why would King Sombra need a kid's help?

Sombra read the notes, nodded and made an approving noise.

“Excellent, I will be able to proceed with this.” he praised and Striker grinned.

“Hm- What's this, may I ask?” Sombra showed the paper to Striker, pointing to a doodle on the back. It was a loose pencil sketch of a royal guards helmet with little wings and horn decorating the top and sides.

“J-just a picture.” Striker stammered, he hadn't meant to leave that on there.

--I should have erased it!-- he groaned.

“It looks like a logo,” Sombra said, studying it once more “have your friends seen this?”

“No.” Striker whispered. He met the King's eyes and seen Sombra wasn’t laughing, he was looking genuinely interested.

“May I show them?” he asked softly, while the kids wondered what the two where whispering about. The King seemed so normal, just as casual as any other pony as he confided with Striker. The colts that'd been picking on the easily flustered young colt felt more than a little jealous, why couldn't THEY make friends with the King? He was seriously badass...

Striker nodded to the request and Sombra smiled warmly.

“Might I converse with them all for a moment?” Sombra asked the teacher, who nodded.

The other kids cooed in curiosity as Sombra magnified the image on the paper.

“My intent, as Striker has no doubt told you, is to start a junior guards training camp. I think this image sums it up perfectly, all three races, yet just starting out. Would this make a good logo?”

The kids nodded and waved their hooves in approval. Sombra closed his eyes and in a flash of crystal a small badge modelled on the logo appeared. He handed this to Striker, who stared in amazement.

“I want you to be the camp leader, you are already helping get it started. What do you say?”

“Yeah!” Striker clutched the badge tightly, eyes bright. His majesty thought HE could do it, heck yeah he was gonna do it!

Sombra smiled proudly. Striker's classmates crowded round him now, excited by what the King had announced. They were clamouring to join and Sombra promised he'd have details sent out to the school as soon as possible!

“Wow, he's really good with kids.” Discord mused, raising an eyebrow as he watched Sombra interacting with the little ones.

“Yes, they take to him so fast. I think they can see past his quietness and see the real him easier than the adults.” Fluttershy smiled.

The two that'd been teasing Striker out of sheer boredom looked at each other. His majesty thought Striker was smart, and they really admired the Alicorn king...

He clearly seen something they didn't, and they both wanted to join this camp thing. Striker was pretty cool, they decided. So they approached him now, shamefacedly offering apologies and saying they'd like to join his team, if he wasn't mad..

Striker faltered a moment, then recalled Sombra's story. He shrugged off the distrust and nodded, offering a hoof to them too.

Sombra smiled, sensing things were improving a little. In time, he was sure the kids would bond, maybe the camp would help with that?

Sombra bid the kids goodbye and returned to his friends. They left for town, wandering the streets and enjoying a leisurely chat under the warm sun...

Many ponies stopped to greet the King and wish him a pre-emptive happy birthday!

Discord squeed silently, hoping Sombra would like the gift he'd gotten for him. He'd put extra effort into this one...

Late afternoon and Sombra was more waiting in the entranceway to the palace with Fluttershy and Discord, as he heard carriage wheels come to a halt-

As expected, a pink blur zoomed through the door, knocked the guards over like bowling pins and locked onto Sombra, tackling him to the floor with a big hug.

"Hello, Pinkie Pie." Sombra wheezed as the pink pony let him go. He got to his hooves in time to greet the rest of the girls.

"Honestly darling, do you even know the meaning of restraint?" Rarity asked of Pinkie.

"Yeah, it's where you go for fancy food!" Pinkie Pie beamed.

"That’s a restaurant, sugarcube." Applejack groaned.

Sombra chuckled, he missed Pinkie Pie's insane humour.

"Ooh, I simply cannot wait for the ball!" Rarity cried in delight as she watched the palace staff carry in three massive suitcases "I brought all our dresses!"

“And enough fer our imaginary friends too!” Applejack kidded and Rarity just rolled her eyes patiently.

As they headed for the rooms they'd be staying in, she fell back to walk with Discord, who was hovering anxiously, waiting to talk to her.

“I'll bring it by your room later, it's made exactly to the specifications you gave!” Rarity whispered “I’m sure he'll love it!”

“Thank you, Rarity!” Discord said genuinely and Rarity was pleased to hear Discord be so polite, he was normally such a hooffull!

Discord managed to borrow Twilight Sparkle a little later on to ask her a big favour. She gave him a funny look, but eventually agreed when Discord explained that if he did the spell himself, it'd just unravel every time he got distracted!

Sombra listened to everything the friends had been up to since he'd seen them last, as they had some food together. Pinkie was inventing new cakes, Rarity had sold a new line of dresses, Rainbow was teaching her little protégé Scootaloo to fly and so on...

"Will y'all come visit us soon? Ponyville would like ta meet ya again!" Applejack asked.

Sombra nodded "I would like nothing better," he smiled "I shall arrange a visit once the celebrations have calmed down."

"Sweet!" Rainbow Dash kicked back in her chair with a grin.

Sombra smiled, it was so good to see them again..

Come evening time and he was stood in the entranceway again, this time awaiting the arrival of a set of royals. First were Haydon and Vorak, then Cadance and Shining Armor and last but not least, Celestia and Luna.

Before Celestia lowered the sun, Sombra arranged for them all to take a tour of the Empire and as the coach drove sedately through the streets, he showed them what'd changed.

"Why doth that statue of thee have a moustache?" Luna asked.

"Discord." Sombra sniggered. "He does it every time."

Celestia shook her head, then realised she hadn't seen him at all...

"Where is he?" she asked.

"I am not sure," Sombra frowned, he genuinely didn’t know. The Draconequus had vanished at one point during the meal with the harmony mares and he hadn't seen him since! Maybe he'd gone to his realm for something?

"Why am I suddenly worried?" Shining piped up.

"I’m sure everything is fine." Sombra chuckled. “A few guards may get pranked however, knowing Discord.”

Cadance noticed he seemed oddly unfazed by the idea of a troublemaking chaos lord running around unchecked.

--Then again, he's Sombra's best friend, he seems to trust him-- she mused.

She caught a brief movement from Fluttershy. The pegasus ducked her head slightly, her cheeks flushing. Cadance wondered what that was about?

Queen Haydon chatted with Sombra, asking how he was getting on, how was his mother? She and Lady Umbra had become fast friends, and King Vorak was glad to see his wife so cheerful now, after so long in sadness and grief.

While everypony else went to put away their shopping (Luna had stocked up on a LOT of sweets), Sombra bid his guests farewell for now and went to get ready for the party.

The fancy outfit Rarity had mailed to him took a few minutes to put on, but it was as regal, decorative and fashionable as you'd expect at a party!

He'd just finished putting the last of his shoes on when there was a knock on the door.

"Enter." he said idly, as he straightened his crown.

"Evening." Said a familiar voice that made Sombra's heart lift instinctively. He turned round, a smile on his face.

"Discor-huh?" he blinked. he wasn't looking at a Draconequus, but a PONY.

"Hi!” Discord grinned widely. He was a tall, slender Unicorn this time, with dark beige fur and his eyes were a pale yellow. His mane was spiked but swept back, coloured black with the occasional grey stripe.

"Whu....why are you a pony?" Sombra was confused. Why was the chaos being disguising himself?

Discord chuckled and placed a quick kiss on the King's lips before answering.

"Why not?" he grinned. Sombra looked sceptical.

"What's the phrase you taught me? "I am not buying that?"" Sombra said with a wry smile.

"OK, I have I have my reasons, but I wont tell you until later. Deal?"

Sombra rolled his eyes, but accepted this as just another one of Discord's odd whims.

"Excellent!" Discord sat down and pulled the King close for another kiss.

Sombra gave in for several long, passionate kisses, but reluctantly had to put an end to it as he needed to keep the fancy clothing neat. Also, he didn't want to get all "flustered" before the party. This Infinitum biology thing was causing enough trouble! Although he did have a plan in place, but he'd have to wait until the party started to enact it.

"Aww.." Discord pouted "is it so wrong to want to kiss you senseless?"

"While I’m stuck wearing a silly outfit for a ball, I’m afraid so." Sombra laughed. Then he added;

"Still, once the party’s over, all bets or articles of clothing are off."

“Let it be known, he walked right into that one!” Discord declared, throwing his hooves in the air and boasting. Sombra just shook his head as usual and chuckled.

"I blame you for teaching the art of the euphemism, you know that?" Sombra added as they left, heading for the ballroom.

"Proud of it." Discord nodded sagely. With a quick flash of magic he put himself in a fancy tux.

"Is that why you elected to be a unicorn, it is easier to use your magic?" Sombra was curious how the spell worked “Is this the same spell as last time?”

"Not quite, I had Twilight cast it, as my own magic tends to backfire if I get distracted. And that’s not why I chose a unicorn."

"I see. Wait, why then-?"

"Because I wanted my magic, yes, also because being a pegasi would’ve caused awkward wing-boner opportunities."

Sombra face-hoofed.

--Should have known...-- he thought, hearing Discord snicker.

Sombra was kept busy throughout the first half of the evening, with various royals and other important ponies vying for his attention. He danced with many of them, including the Princesses. Pinkie did an impressive power slide across the ballroom floor to Rarity's horror.

"Your dress!" she screeched in panic, fearing Pinkie would tear it. But the pink pony was too excited to pay attention, so Rarity just gave up and left her to it.

At every opportunity, Sombra tried to prise a reason out of Discord as to WHY he'd decided to be a pony. What logic, even by Discord’s standards, was driving this?

But Discord remained tight-lipped, merely shaking his head and smiling at the King.

At last, towards the party's half-way point, Sombra got his answer.

As he was watching the crowds fill the dance floor, he felt somepony tap his shoulder. He blinked, turning to see Discord standing there, looking pleased.

"There you are, have you been enjoying yourself?" Sombra asked.

"You certainly know how to throw a big celebration," Discord grinned "I’m not normally a party pony- er-not-a-pony, but this isn’t bad."

Sombra decided that was as close to a compliment as he could make sense and smiled softly.

Discord took a deep breath, this was the opportunity he'd been hoping for all evening.

"Fancy a dance?" the dracon-pony blurted while he nodded at the dancers already filling the floor as the music started. Sombra blinked, he didn’t think Discord liked dancing!

But he seen the rare look of nerves on his lovers face and nodded, seeing Discord flush in relief as he followed after him towards the centre of the floor.

They took their places, the other dancers eyeing them enviously.

“Is this why you're a pony?” Sombra asked again and this time Discord nodded.

"Yes, my dear King” he murmured amidst the privacy of the music “I've been teaching myself to dance on four hooves so I could dance with YOU for your birthday."

The seriousness in his words caught Sombra by surprise, but he felt his heart thud happily. As he and Discord began their dance, Sombra realised the draocnequus-pony had memorized it perfectly and all for the chance to be close to him in public.

--Maybe I should just announce it, it feels unfair he has to go so far just to be near me.-- Sombra thought as they stepped closer and the familiar scent of his lover brushed his nose, making his breath catch in his throat. Discord's eyes met his, making him struggle not to blush.

Many ponies wondered who Sombra was dancing with, none of them recognised him. They knew Discord as his Draconequus form, but he'd never shown up as a pony before, not to them anyway. All they seen was a pony dancing with their King, in what almost seemed to be a flirty manner.

Fluttershy knew, she could recognise Discord even with his disguise and she realised her suspicions were right. Discord WAS in love with Sombra.

"Is that who I think it is?" Princess Cadance appeared beside her. Fluttershy cast a glance at her and nodded.

"Huh, maybe I wasn't wrong all that time ago?" Cadance mused.

"I think you’re right." Fluttershy smiled "I thought I was imagining it too, but.."

"He's only got eyes for Sombra." Cadance finished. She watched the dance, finding herself being reminded of a courtship ritual from days gone by, for some reason.

“I wonder, does Sombra know?” the Princess said curiously.

“I'm not sure, all I’ve seen is Discord admiring him. I haven't seen Sombra respond at all.” Fluttershy sighed, wondering what the truth was? Did Sombra realise his best friend liked him?

“I have a funny feeling it's meant to be,” Cadance said very softly “something tells me they’re destined to be close.”

"Is that who we think it is, dancing with Sombra?" Celestia asked her sister, as she investigated the trays of canapés. “Those eyes..”

"Indeed." Luna took a swig of her drink, watching the intimacy of the royal dance, seeming worlds apart from the other couples on the floor. There was something unspoken in the way they moved together, muzzles within brushing distance, only to part again as the dance dictated. There was a longing there too...

"Why would Discord turn himself into a pony for a dance?" Celestia frowned in bewilderment, stuffing three canapés into her mouth and making her cheeks puff out.

"Think about it, Sister." Luna chuckled, watching her sister's face. Celestia studied the dance, chewed. Studied some more, finished chewing. Reached the conclusion and swallowed her food.

"Ohhh...." she said as the bits dropped "now we get it! He-"

Luna used her magic to stuff a cupcake into her older sister's mouth.

"Hush," she chuckled "not out loud!"

"Shorree..." Celestia mumbled as she swallowed the cake whole.

“Wait, didst thou eat the case too?” Luna asked. Celestia tapped her chest and politely coughed it up in one piece.

“Pinkie Pie.” she said, by way of an explanation.

The dance ended and it took all of Discord's willpower not to kiss Sombra as applause rang out from the crowd watching the dancers. Dressed in all that finery, the stallion looked damn tempting and Discord was already mentally undressing him, hearing the soft slither of the fabric-

He shook his head to disperse it and followed after Sombra as the King headed for the drinks table.

He hadn't been kidding, he'd been stuck as a pony so as to steal this private dance with his precious King. To get close enough to almost kiss, to flirt via body language and all under the noses of the others at the ball. After all, only Twilight would be guaranteed to recognise him, so it wouldn't draw attention to Sombra.

"I don’t know how you walk on all fours, I find it rather dizzying." he complained.

"You managed dancing extremely well." Sombra chuckled.

"It took a lot of practise, what do you think I was doing during my free time?" Discord grinned. Again Sombra was flattered by the length he had gone to, to do this...

"Few things have caught my interest the way you have Sombra," Discord added in a low voice "nothing has ever taken over my head and heart the way you have. You're something unique in all these long years since being awoken again."

Page Assist, who was across the other side of the room, couldn't hear this of course, but he did think he seen a brief flush of colour highlight the King's face. Could THIS be the one who'd captured the King's heart? He seemed oddly familiar somehow, like Page had met him before yet at the same time he didn't know who he was.

After that the two lovers parted again and Sombra found his way to King Vorak.

"Have you realised you have an admirer?" Vorak asked.

Sombra blinked, his brain taking a few seconds to suppress the guilty streak and put a blank look on his face.

“A what-now?" he said, sounding confused as possible. Inside his head, however, he was panicking silently.

Vorak chuckled "that pony you just shared a dance with. I have not seen adoration like that in some time, he looks ready to fall to his knees in front of you. Do you know him?"

--Probably so he can do something sexual- -- Sombra cut himself off hurriedly before THAT thought went too far and told himself to focus.

"I know him well enough, yes," Sombra said, the words concealing a myriad of facts "but he has never mentioned anything."

"It isn’t an easy thing, admitting you’re in love." The Centaur King nodded "it was the same with my dear Haydon. I admired her for a long time before I got the guts to ask her for a dance at a party myself. Even longer before I was dauntless enough to start courting her! I'd say that dance was as close as your friend ever expects to get."

Sombra felt swamped. This wasn't a conversation he expected to have and he wished he could just be honest.

He stared silently out at the dance floor, heart hammering loudly in his chest. That dance had felt like they were just another couple, free of scrutiny. But he was a prominent figure, every move he made would be picked apart and he wasn't ready to subject something so beautiful yet primal as his relationship with Discord to those imaginary vultures.

"Maybe I should talk to him." he muttered at last. Vorak read the Pony's face, seen the hesitation.

"Finding someone you want to settle down with is an arduous path, but the best way to do it is to just go on what feels right."

"I have seen many such sentiments from the history of my ponies." Sombra agreed "Yet it seems the expectations as being the only one of my kind are....picky."

Vorak knew Sombra referred to his Infinitum status. Sombra was a rare blend of magic and pony, the only known Alicorn of his type. The Umbrum myths spoke of an Infinitum reappearing at their most dark time, which referred to Sombra being the one to lead them out of the dark.

Sombra knew at some level he would be expected to someday have an heir. Nopony had brought it up directly, but somehow he just knew it was there. For the Infinitum's to die out again would be a tragedy. Although his lifespan was estimated to be lengthier than a normal Umbrum, a blessing of the Infinitum clause, he was unsure of how long it was exactly.

Even Umbra's dreams could not tell her that. Hearts and hooves Day had brought this realization crashing down on him once more. Unbeknownst to his aide, he had gotten his hooves on various magazines, some of which speculated whether their King would ever choose to love somepony?

--It is not a pony I want..-- he thought, heart sinking.

Vorak could see a heavy weight was burdening his fellow ruler. He knew how heavy expectations weighed, was Sombra's distress over his Kingdom's possible reaction to his beloved not being one he could bear a child with? Or was he aware his obligations would make it hard for him to get any closer to that mystery pony?

"It is nothing to be concerned over." Sombra said at last, downing the rest of his drink and forcing a cheerful expression. Vorak nodded as if he understood.

"You'll find a way. After all, I have seen you weather worse crisis’s then this, King Sombra."

This made Sombra feel a little better.

"That is most reassuring, my friend, thank you."

Haydon joined them and Sombra wound up spending quite some time talking to the couple. The link between the Gargoyle/centaur kingdom and the Umbrum empire was the first Vorak had forged in many long years. He'd always kept their kingdom as private as he could, but after seeing how much compassion Sombra had shown to them in the aftermath of Scorpan's torture, he'd felt an enormous respect for this being and his work.

Sombra had made remarkable progress as a diplomat, he'd established relations with the Crystal Empire, Ponyville and Canterlot too, on account of his friendly relationship with Celestia and Luna.

The King had a replica of the oath band Celestia had given him all that time ago on display in the palace, to remind him of everything she'd done. Alongside it was a blanket stitched with the emblems of sun and moon that had accompanied him the whole time he was working on the building site.

Discord pulled Twilight aside after the dance to undo the spell, then appeared in a blast of confetti as his real self to make a fuss of the birthday pony! This included grabbing him in a headlock and ruffling his mane so he laughed! Sombra greeted him with a happy smile that spoke of the privacy they'd just shared, their secret.

“Us old farts have to stick together, right girls?” Discord joked to Tia and Luna.

“We refuse to comment.” Luna stuck her tongue out and Celestia just laughed.

--I'm so confused..-- Twilight thought as she watched the scene –why did he ask to be a pony?--

Discord's behaviour made no sense, had he just wanted to sneak around unrecognised for a prank? She began to regret doing the spell, wondering what he may have done?

It never occurred to her it could be for romance and she hadn’t seen the dance, as she'd been too deep in conversation with her big brother about the empire. Had she seen it, it wouldn’t have taken long for her to put two and two together...

At the party’s end Sombra gave a speech, thanking them all for coming. It had been a wonderful night...

Corona called out "got any plans for tomorrows day off?" referring to Sombra's actual birthday being the one day Sombra was excused from doing Sweet Buck All.

"I am pretty sure it is expected I shall get utterly drunk, according to tradition." Sombra joked, making the crowd laugh.

"Just don't talk to any pot plants!" Corona retorted and Sombra made a sputtering noise.

"One of these days I am going to make it illegal to tell that story!" he mock-complained, creating more laughter, for everypony knew it by this point.

He wished them all a good night and the guests began to disperse. Sombra stationed himself by the door and said goodbye to each of his guests, fellow royals and the six ponies. He seen Discord saying goodbye to Fluttershy as he left the ballroom himself, seen her hug him tightly.

"I'll see you again soon, I do hope so!" Fluttershy said as she hugged the Umbrum King. Sombra returned the hug and promised he would sort out a visit to Ponyville as soon as possible. He watched the girls carriage leave, feeling content. It had been good to reunite with them all...

He had been given a whole load of birthday gifts and made a mental note to find places for them all! They were all just wonderful, although Discord had stated he wasn’t going to give him his present until his actual birthday, which Sombra had been happy with.

"Not a bad evening, huh?" Discord nudged him. Sombra smiled, turning towards his room. Soon as he wandered inside, his partner and lover beisde him, Discord nuzzled behind his ear then the back of his neck.

"Ahh..." Sombra gave a cute little shiver, wings fluffing up instantly. When he felt his partners hands massaging his his neck, moving to his shoulders, he sat down with a comfortable bump, leaning back into those warm hands. A kiss was pressed against the back of his left ear and Discord whispered;

"Want to see something amazing, it's timed for tonight?"

“What is it?" Sombra asked dazedly as Discord drifted round to face him again.

"You'll see..." Discord opened a portal to his chaos realm.

Sombra followed after him and they emerged standing on a cloud overlooking the cottage amidst the chaos.

"No homicidal clouds this time?" Sombra laughed. Discord snorted, shaking his head.

"That was the worst ever plan for telling a pony I want to kiss him, EVER."

“How many have you had?” Sombra chuckled and Discord glowered at him.

"Sorry.." Sombra kissed the sulky Draconequus, denting his sulk defence in one fell swoop "But it was the most unusual evening I'd had in quite some time."

Discord pulled him into his arms and nuzzled his neck playfully before kissing him and letting him go.

"So, what is it we are waiting for?" Sombra asked as Discord snapped his fingers and a picnic blanket, complete with some drinks, appeared before them.

"Watch." Discord nodded at the crazy sky. Right now it was a shifting blue/black, with just the clouds drifting by, glowing softly with an inner luminescence.

Once he was sure his precious pony was comfortable, Discord settled next to him, curving his long tail around Sombra's body. Sombra smiled and leant against him, draping a wing over the chaos lord's back.

It started off small, just a few sparks in the air, darting across it. Then more and more, soon an entire swarm of lights were zipping across the sky in an arc.

"It's like a whole parade of shooting stars!" Sombra whispered.

"Exactly, it happens every three months, on the same date. These things pass through the dimension and leave."

"Where do they come from?" Sombra asked, looking up at him but Discord just shrugged.

"Even I don't know. I just watch them go by. Who knows how big the universe really is?"

"It's stunning." Sombra watched the glittering lights, allowing a deeply guarded wish to bubble up, one he could speak silently in the childlike hope they'd help it come true.

He smiled, feeling a little less weighted down as he turned to look at the one with him. He seen Discord open his eyes, having done the same thing too. Without saying a word, Sombra kissed him on the lips. As they exchanged kisses, neither noticed a single light part from the swarm and zip over. It hovered above the twin-winged necklace around Sombra's neck, before disappearing into it just as the two lovers parted.

They watched the last of the lights disappear and Discord asked was Sombra hungry?

Sombra nodded and followed him over to the chaos lord's home.

“Ta-da!” Discord indicated the crazy house with a sweep of his hand. Sombra took in how choc-a-block it was, with the stairs going the wrong way up, photos upside down and a lampshade on the floor!.

Every surface was heaped with an assortment of random things. As Discord made some food in the cosy little kitchen, Sombra investigated the piles of random objects until something caught his eye. Atop a stack of old magazines and books was a framed photo, it had been cut from a newspaper published the day after his coronation.

It showed him with one hoof raised to wave to the crowds below, his crown shining in the sunlight. He was smiling, eyes bright...

Staring at the photo, Sombra seen the happiness in his own eyes. It had been an amazing coronation, the long awaited official one with his friends present, where he'd finally made a public vow to fulfil the Infinitum's prophecy. The cheering from not just his Umbrums but all the visiting ponies had been immense. He recalled his vision had been blurred by relieved, happy tears.

And a familiar hand that had held out a handkerchief, a grin on its owners face...

"Everyone was proud of you that day, including me.”

Sombra looked away from the photo as Discord drifted in, carrying a tray.

“I wasn't kidding when I said you were amazing. We're both oddities in this world, but we can do a whole lot with that, together." the Draconequus smiled.

“Indeed.” Sombra nodded, a warm smile gracing his features as he walked over to the couch to join his friend. They snuggled up together on the creaky, plush couch and started on the food.

Discord fed him little bites of dessert and Sombra cheekily licked his fingers clean, eyes gleaming mischievously. Discord blushed as he did, kissing him on the nose.

"I have a question?" Discord began as he sent the dishes away with a snap of his fingers. Sombra stared in amusement as the plates sprouted legs and duly trotted away. He loved this place, he decided.

He looked up at the Draconequus, head tilted to one side as Discord spoke.

"I was wondering what was eating you. Spill." the stallion smiled.

Discord heaved a sigh, then blurted.

"Your first shot at bonking me senseless was exceptional. How did you-" he cut off, making a vaguely rude gesture with his hands whilst simultaneously hoping Sombra wasn’t going to be offended.

Sombra chuckled "Oh, that? Well..."

He blushed a little, staring at his hooves as he flashed back.

"A while back I felt restless, not like this "heat", just the normal kind. I had previously come to the conclusion I preferred a stallions company, if you catch my drift. So I disguised who I was and went to a bar the guards often spoke about. I drunk quite a lot, fell into conversation and later BED with a stallion I met there. He wasn't looking for love, he just wanted somepony to rut him. That was the first time I had ever done it do I didn’t have much of a clue, but he taught me. Showed me how to get him off, even said I was good at it for a newbie."

Discord nodded, studying the look in Sombra's eyes.

"Afterwards, we got to talking over a bottle of wine and I asked was he not fussed by it just being sex, not love? He shrugged, said he'd know when he found the one he wanted and he didn't feel that for me. Then he mentioned he had a fantasy, of the ultimate stallion he'd love to screw."

“Who-?” Discord said hesitantly, already getting an idea though, from the look on Sombra's face.

Sure enough, the pony sighed.

"I asked who it was, and he said; “The King”. I nearly dropped my drink but he did not notice, just got a goofy grin on his face, saying he'd give anything to do sleep with him. I asked why and he looked at me like I was crazy. He said "Have you SEEN him? That body, that magic? He's a stud!"

"What did you say to that?" Discord asked curiously.

"I asked "How do you know he's not an egocentric jackass?". The pony looked at me like I was mad, then laughed and said I was obviously new here. He informed me at length that the "King" was known for being a stand-up guy, that his ponies loved him. Besides, the stallion said he wasn't in LOVE with him, he just wanted to screw him. Nopony really knew who the King was, he almost famous for being reclusive but that didn't stop him from imagining what the aforementioned King would be like in bed.

I wondered what was the point of it was if you did not know the pony, but I did not say anything. He told me to cheer up, I’d find someone who wanted a cute, genuine pony like me some day. We ended up going for a second round and that is the story. I got back to the palace and once back in my bedroom, I dropped the spell.”

He rubbed his forehead with a hoof, flushing slightly. He was oddly embarrassed by his cowardice back then, in accepting that he was gay.

“I realised they didn’t see the real me, they just seen this celebrity they idolized. They wanted my body, not my mind. After realizing that, I pretty much gave up on trying to figure out whether love was worth pursuing and just threw myself into work, figuring I would work it out later on. And that is how things went, until you." he smiled at last, kissing Discord's cheek.

He was kissed passionately in return, then pinned gently to the couch. He blinked, looking up into Discord's eyes as he sprawled there.

"That fool, he didn't know what he missed." Discord scowled "Sure, sex is great, but it gets dull when there's no connection. I did the same as you, disguised myself and bonked my way through a bar or two."

“Really?” Sombra asked. Discord blushed and nodded.

“I'm going to reveal a secret, cutie. Until you, I never felt truly satisfied with sex. Yeah, shagging my way around a bar was fun for a distraction, but it felt empty. Then I got to make love to YOU and I realised what was missing. Truly WANTING the one you’re sleeping with.”

He kissed Sombra deeply, his heart racing from saying such a thing out loud. On a whim, he placed one of the pony's hooves on his chest. Sombra blinked as he felt just how fast the Draconequus' heart was pounding.

“See what you do to me?” Discord smiled “no pony has ever made me feel this good, before you.”

Sombra felt a surge of gratitude to this gentle chaos being. He'd cheered Sombra up, brought laughter and happiness to his life and given him something he'd craved, affection. He wrapped his forelegs around Discord, pulling him in for several deep kisses.

“Sombra?” Discord asked as they parted.

“Mmm?”

“Can I take you upstairs to my bed?” the chaos being murmured, caressing Sombra's cheek. Sombra nuzzled against his hand with a surge of relief that Discord had spotted it.

He had been using spells to try and dampen his pheromone signature as the party had begun and it seemed to have worked. Nopony had been overly amorous at the event, meaning he'd been able to focus on his guests and his dancing. Downside was, he felt a little….fidgety.

“Drop the spell,” the Draconequus kissed Sombra's throat “let me take care of you.”

Sombra nodded and cut off the enchantment, feeling his body ache with a suppressed longing, the slightest movement making an intense shiver run up his back.

“Mmm..” he groaned, arching his back and stretching. Discord scooped him up and transported them to his bedroom, which was warm, cosy and had a big soft bed. They collapsed onto it in a heap, Discord nuzzling at Sombra's ears…

Sombra made to unclip his fancy party outfit but Discord's hands grasped his hooves a moment later.

"Allow me."

Sombra smiled and nodded, letting his hooves rest atop the bedspread as Discord unclipped his cloak.

Despite the fact ponies didn't normally wear clothes except as a fashion statement, or as protection like the guards, there was a delightful intimacy in letting Discord disrobe him this way. Those warm hands brushed over his coat as they removed each article...

Lamplight gleamed off fur, scales, tails and manes as the slower-paced, more leisurely lovemaking began. The inanimate objects in the room were the only witnesses to the couples passion, no need for magic to hide them here...

When they finished, Discord pulled the warm blankets over them, their combined warmth keeping them cosy.

“Did you enjoy the party?” Discord asked as Sombra snuggled into his arms and the stallion nodded.

“The best part was a dance with a mystery pony~” he teased “I wanted to kiss him.”

“He never could've resisted you.” Discord chuckled as his eyes started to close. He drifted asleep dreaming of dancing with Sombra...

When Sombra woke up, it was to find Discord had disappeared. He blinked, rubbing his eyes sleepily and sitting himself up. He spotted his party outfit and regalia scattered on the floor and smiled, recalling the lovemaking last night.

“Discord..?” he asked drowsily.

Footsteps made his ears perk up and Discord appeared a few seconds later in the doorway, bearing a big tray.

“Excellent, you're awake. Breakfast!” He floated over, sitting beside Sombra and setting the tray across their laps. Sombra snuggled up to the warmth of the Draconequus' body and started on the toast.

After stuffing themselves silly, Sombra gathered up the remnants of his party clothing and they hopped through the portal to Sombra's bedroom.

"Today’s your official birthday, right?" Discord asked. Sombra nodded.

"I'll see you at lunch, in the orchard, I have a surprise for you." Discord grinned.

Sombra smiled and kissed him once more before the Draconequus disappeared.

Sombra took a brief shower, put his usual neck-plate, shoes and crown on then ambled down to his office. He stuck his head around the door, seeing how Page Assist and his mother were getting on.

"We're fine, go relax!" his mother chuckled. Page Assist followed him out to the hall to ask a question, however.

"You weren't at breakfast, sire, the cook was concerned. Were you OK, you didn't answer a knock at your door either?"

"Oh, that?" Sombra laughed sheepishly "Discord and I went to the chaos realm and got a bit drunk, I passed out good and proper afterwards. Woke up on his couch not too hungover, which is impressive considering how much we drank."

Page Assist rolled his eyes. Of course, he'd been out boozing it up with his best friend, nothing to be concerned about, this wasn't the first time those two had gotten drunk, after all.

So he let his highness go, watching him trot away down the hall.

Sombra passed the time until lunch having a long, luxurious bath and writing a few letters. Then he headed for the orchard. The few guards he passed nodded to him, calling out greetings and a happy birthday!

The breeze brought the delicious scent of apples to his nose as he slipped between the orchard gates.

He shut them behind him, telling the guards not to disturb him, in fact, they could go on break. They didn’t question their King, just left him to it.

Sombra reached the biggest tree of all and sure enough, there was a familiar figure curled up at its base, reading a book. He tossed said book aside and greeted Sombra with a big grin. Sombra trotted over and kissed him lightly.

"I have a couple of presents for you, but this one-" he indicated a gift wrapped package "will need to wait, the first one would just get it all messy."

Sombra blushed, getting the hint that the first one was something of a sexual nature?

"Mm, today is a day for you to just lie back and let me do all the work~" Discord hinted. A snap of the fingers and a shield flickered into being around them, then turned fully invisible.

"They wont see a damn thing even if they stood right outside it," Discord assured the pony "won't hear a thing, either."

Sombra had to admit he was impressed by the lengths Discord had gone to, once again.

--Just as well, I do not want any interruptions and I sure as heck do not want to be quiet, whatever he's got planned!--

Sombra's thought process was disrupted as Discord kissed him and he happily pressed against his body, eager for this hinted present.

Hands brushed over his rear, supporting him there as Discord stood up, keeping the pony close as he turned back to the tree.

Discord set him down on the grass at its base so the pony's back was pressed against the tree trunk.

He nuzzled at Sombra's neck, then started leaving a trail of kisses further and further down. As he did, his hands settled on the pony’s cutie mark, digging his nails in just a fraction before he braced the pony's hind-legs on his shoulders to keep him in place as best he could. Sombra's wings pomf'd out, shivering in anticipation.

Discord kissed along the stallion's inner thighs, before setting his eyes on his prize. The kisses had already gotten Sombra partly aroused, his chest rising and falling with rapid breaths. That sweet musky scent filled Discord's nose as he grasped his lovers shaft with one hand, squeezing just a little and giving it a teasing, languid stroke. Sombra bucked his hips in the chaos lord's hold, moaning eagerly. Discord licked up the thick creamy fluid and took his time savouring the teaser.

Once the pony was fully aroused, the Draconequus let go of his cock and met the Pony's eyes.

"I’ve made you come with my tail, hands and shaft. Now I’m going to give you that blowjob I mentioned before~"

Sombra opened his mouth to talk, only for a surge of pleasure to cut him off as Discord took his precious stallion's hard-on into his mouth, moaning softly at the feel of him.

Sombra bit his hoof to stifle a groan as the warmth of Discord’s throat surrounded his arousal, the confined space squeezing his cock hotly. After giving him a moment to enjoy this new sensation, Discord pulled back up most of the way, swirling his tongue around the head and prompting more gushes of sweet stick pre-cum to flavour his mouth. Oh, his sweet stallion was very eager wasn't he?

"Mmmh..." Sombra closed his eyes as Discord sucked gently at the sizeable girth of his member, sending jolts of pleasure up his back. But the Draconequus wasn't done yet. Discord let his hand wander to the section of phallus his mouth wasn't attending to, gentle caresses along the base of Sombra's member making the pony squirm and buck his hips again.

"Discord-" he gasped " t-that feels good, so- nngh.."

--Good pony, that's it..-- Discord thought, taking his lover as far as he could, feeling the stallion's shaft throb and flare with every movement. He swallowed the generous helping of pre this latest movement drew forth and started moving faster, settling into a rhythm. One hand came to rest on the pony’s stomach while the other teased and fondled the base of his lover's shaft.

Sombra arched his back, feeling the rough bark of the tree poking into his back and catching in his mane as he tilted his head back. Another squeeze from the Draconequus' hand, another searing jolt of pleasure from between his legs. He heard himself moan lustily, begging Discord to let him come- he could feel the climax building, he couldn't hold on.

He was aware of Discord swallowing, his throat constricting and his tongue greedily slurping at his member as the chaos creature worked him.

--Let's tease you a little, my King.-- Discord thought, and began focusing his attention on the tip, while his hand curled around the base of Sombra's shaft and squeezed gently. He knew this would prevent the stallion from coming, yet he'd still feel every jolt of pleasure.

Next, he released Sombra's shaft from his mouth and lowered his head to tease the stallions balls with his tongue instead. Sombra bucked his hips and growled eagerly.

“Discord- nggh…” he felt light headed as his lover's teasing caresses continued, the hand curled around his cock squeezed and relaxed the pressure, but never enough to hit that sweet orgasm. All the while, Discord's mouth sucked and toyed with him.

Sombra was so close to coming it hurt, but in a way that he found he rather enjoyed. Every throb of his shaft reminded him of the hand wrapped around it, how warm and firm Discord's grip was.

Feeling the stallion's shaft throbbing heavily in his grasp, Discord decided to reward his lover. He returned his attentions to the pony's flared tip, licking it clean of the sticky pre-cum.

He looked up at the stallion and his heart stilled a moment. The sunshine filtered through the leaves, speckled light dappling Sombra's body and his gentle red eyes seemed to catch that same light and glow softly.

His mane was dishevelled, ears trembling eagerly, lips parted and face flushed. He looked so good, tangled up in lust and pleasure like that. The Alicorn's wings were spread out either side of him, feathers fluffed and shivering subtly. A sheen of sweat made his coat shimmer and the scent of him was intoxicating.

Discord took the pony's member into his mouth once more, releasing the stallion's base from his hand. He began going all out to bring Sombra to climax, using his hands to spur him on.

“Discord- I’m gonna-” Sombra cut off with a gasp as Discord gripped his hips firmly and took as much of the pony's shaft into his mouth as he could, the pony's tip hitting the back of his throat. The toying heat and tightness of the Draconequus' throat surrounded Sombra's member and the pony couldn't hold on. With a sharp cry and a thrust of his hips, he came.

The chaos lord closed his eyes in bliss as the hot, sticky semen hit the back of his throat. Sombra writhed and panted in the grip of orgasm, as he blew his load into his lovers throat. Discord eagerly swallowed every mouthful, feeling it run down his throat as he squeezed Sombra's flank.

At last the stream of cum slowed to a stop and Sombra slumped back against the tree, breathing heavily, eyes closed as he listened to the thud of his heart.

--That...was something else.-- He had thought Discord's hands were good at working him over, but what had just occurred...mind blowing.

Discord sat back, swallowing the last mouthful, licking his lips as Sombra opened his eyes.

"Mmm, you’re very generous, my King," Discord purred "Very glad I could accommodate you!"

Sombra smiled softly "My pleasure~" he panted, making Discord grin.

"I can see that!" he teased as he settled himself, leaning over the King. He kissed him deeply and Sombra moaned eagerly, again tasting himself on Discord's tongue.

"Mmm, you taste delicious Sombra," Discord praised, kissing the pony's forehead "I’ve been wanting to do that since the start."

"Anything else you want to do?" Sombra smirked sexily. He let one hind-leg move up to his lovers undercarriage, brushing it with astonishing dexterity along Discord's member. He could see the Draconequus was close to blowing his load, the chaos lord's penis was hot and hard under his hoof. How he'd held back during that intense blow-job was anypony's guess.

"Can't say I’d last long," Discord said, voice affecting an almost comedic wobble at the pulse of pleasure this action gave him. "All it'll take is the FEEL of you and I’ll explode."

"It's my birthday," Sombra sulked "can I not get away with ordering you about?"

"Well, it worked all the other times," Discord grinned " I-ooh, stop hoof-jobbing me you cheeky stallion!" he ordered as Sombra moved his hind-leg again "don't make me tie you up with the vines!"

He trailed off at Sombra's "oh really?" face then continued. "Well, I’m saving THAT for later, love. I left the plunder seeds at home."

"Very well, but I am holding you to that.." Sombra said hungrily, nuzzling at Discord's muzzle and whispering "now, one way or another you are going to come. It's either my hoof or my-ahh!"

He was cut of by a kiss of such fierce passion it took his breath away, then he was lifted up and braced against the tree, with Discord’s body supporting him. He wrapped his forelegs around the Draconequus' neck, their lips meeting for a quick kiss. Discord used his extensive tail to help prop him up as he pushed eagerly into the pony. The sheer amount of pre-cum coating Discord's shaft worked as lube, letting him slide into Sombra's hot, taut rump.

There was no need for the preamble this time and they both knew it. Sombra's body hugged his engorged shaft tightly, the heat of him almost making Discord lose control like he'd said. But he felt his precious pony deserved at least a quick rutting before he filled him. Sombra groaned eagerly, as the Draconequus thrust deeply up into him again and again, the friction on his insides making his own body stir once more. He clung on tightly with his forelegs, tugging Discord's ear with his teeth as the Draconequus thrust eagerly into him.

--Undoubtedly...the best birthday...-- Sombra thought absently, before throwing thought aside and giving in to the sensation building rapidly inside his body. The hot, heavy rutting was making his excitement build rapidly.

“Mm, yes...harder..” he begged the chaos lord. Discord sped up and heard Sombra moan eagerly.

“My King-” Discord gasped sharply as with one final push of his hips he let himself come hard and fast. The orgasm he'd somehow held in check could not be stopped now, the wait making it all the more potent. Sombra moaned as he felt the sticky fluids splash inside his body and Discord was rewarded with a fresh splash of semen splattering his coat as the stallion was brought to a second, albeit smaller scale orgasm.

“That….was intense..” Sombra panted.

“Indeed..” Discord grinned, moving back to kiss him.

Discord gently pulled out, lowering the pony to the grass whereupon he snapped his fingers, cleaning their coats off with a flash of magic.

“Fresh as a daisy.” Discord teased and Sombra chuckled, kissing him.

They lay there, snuggled up together, sharing slow, lazy kisses as the birds chirped in the trees around them.

"Feel better now?" the pony asked as they parted at last, smiling knowingly.

"Oh yes, that was a LOAD off!" Discord replied with a grin, nuzzling his neck and enjoying the scent of his coat.

Sombra chuckled at the joke, sighing happily.

While they were getting it on, they didn’t realise they had a watcher.

No doubt both parties would’ve been furious had they known, but the one watching hadn’t intended to find them.

After her defeat at Canterlot, Chrysalis had been searching for another way to fuel her hive. So far she'd made little to no progress, feeding herself and her hive on mere scraps.

Then she'd heard about this new empire being built and had figured it was worth a shot. She sent her changeling's in undercover to learn about it as it passed its first year. She had been surprised to find out who was at its helm, Sombra. She had thought him little more than a myth, but it seemed he was not only alive, but apparently an Alicorn.

So she'd sent some scouts out to investigate him personally, find out all they could. They'd gotten her detailed information on the King, how he was viewed by his subjects and several other useful facets.

Speaking of scouts, one had burrowed into the orchard, the latest attempt at getting closer to the King.

Hiding in the bushes, said changeling had crept around, following a strange scent on the air. He peeked through the leaves of a flowery bush and seen the King he recognised from the papers Chrysalis had shown him. He was intimately entangled with a being made of all sorts of animals.

They were doing something pretty intimate up against a tree. The changeling blushed and covered his eyes, but he could still smell the lust washing off them. At last, the sounds indicated they finished copulating or whatever was going on and he heard the deeper voice of the monarch teasing his lover about how good it'd felt?

The changeling chanced opening his eyes now. The chaotic being was laying down at the base of the tree, the Alicorn in his arms, where they shared several kisses. Both of them were breathing heavily, but they looked so happy.

That same scent brushed the changeling's nose and it made him shiver in the most sensual way possible. Oh, the love and lust radiating from that pony was so strong, he could almost taste it. He watched, body twitching as the King's partner lavished attention on him.

As he watched, the pony spoke;

"That...was the most invigorating present I have ever been given.." Sombra grinned. Discord kissed him once more, giving the pony’s flank a quick caress before letting go of him to reach for something. Sombra sat up, stretching his back and groaning contentedly. He folded his wings down, loving the aftershocks of tension that they retained.

"Oh, that was only half, here!" Discord handed him the wrapped present. Sombra opened it with his magic and smiled when he seen what was inside. He'd mentioned he needed a new summer cloak and Discord had suggested he ask Rarity. Sombra had since forgotten all about it. Discord hadn’t, it seemed.

It was a light silky fabric, made of a pale gold with white satin edging. It bore the cutie mark of the pony it was destined for, with slots for his impressive wingspan to fit through. Sombra sat still as Discord put it on him, easing his wings through.

"It suits you perfectly, Rarity really knows her stuff about this fashion business!" Discord sat back to admire the King and nodded.

"It's perfect." Sombra smiled.

"Happy birthday, my love." Discord whispered, kissing him.

--Love..-- the changeling whined to himself in the shrub. He wanted to absorb the love the couple were giving off, it was so delicious.

“Is your heat bothering you at all?” Discord asked. Sombra shook his head.

“No, you’ve taken care of it, my dearest Discord.”

“Good, I aim to satisfy, my sweet horny Umbrum~” the Draconequus teased.

– Are they mating?-- the changeling blinked. How did THAT work?

He crept away, to make his way back to the hive and his queen double speed!

Chrysalis wasn’t far away, she'd decided that if this King proved suitable for what she needed, she wasn’t going to hang about. She intended to capture him, replace him with a fake, then leave the kingdom to be ruled by one of hers.

It only needed to be for a few days, then she'd have taken what she wanted from Sombra and his citizens would never get their king back.

So she'd set up a temporary hideout in the depths of a cave, it didn’t seem to be used for much nowadays, although at one point it'd clearly been used to store equipment.

Her curiosity grew as she heard the changeling scout had returned.

--What have you for me this time?-- she pondered.

He was brought before her and she dismissed the guard so they were alone.

"Well, what do you have for your Queen?" she purred, green eyes glinting in the light of the torches.

"Interesting news, my Queen. I found out more about him."

"Oh?" Chrysalis motioned him to keep talking "do go on."

She sat and listened with curiosity as the changeling described how it'd followed that lustrous scent and discovered the two at it under the tree.

Chrysalis' eyebrows rose and she almost blushed at the description her soldier was giving her. It was actually rather titillating...

Although she did have a few questions;

"You stayed there and watched them finish?" she blurted.

"I did not wish to be discovered, my Queen and they were giving off such an aura I couldn’t ignore it. But I wasn’t watching them, I just listened."

"So let me get this straight." Chrysalis paused a moment "He's fucking the lord of chaos?"

"Is that what that was? The one he was trying to mate with?"

"You idiot, they weren’t mating!" Chrysalis face-hoofed.

"Well they were having sex-" the changeling blinked. “Also, the chaos one was asking if his “heat” was bothering him? He was indicating the male Alicorn has some sort of mating phase.”

“Oh he does, does he?” Chrysalis cackled evilly “oh-ho, this is TOO perfect! I get my hooves on him, warp his mind and he'll provide me with all the love I could want, lust too. Such a delectable treat.”

She licked her lips, imagining a brainwashed Alicorn she could feed from.

“So he is trying to conceive with the chaos one? I don’t understand.” The changeling scratched his head.

"You imbecile! They weren’t trying to have kids, they were just screwing for the fun of it!" Chrysalis groaned in exasperation.

The changeling blinked vacantly.

She wondered how to explain it to this dimwit.

"Think of the Canterlot wedding. Those two loved each other well enough that I was able to feed off him. This is the same, they’re both just GUYS. Get it??"

"I think so, my Queen." the bug nodded.

"Love is love and by the sounds of it Sombra is in a perfect state for me to capture him and create a brood as yet unmatched!"

"But...he's not interested in females my Queen-"

"I'm aware of that!" Chrysalis snapped "I’ll brainwash the big buffoon! He'll forget he ever fell for anypony but ME. Clear?"

"Y-yes, my Queen!" the bug stammered.

"Good," Chrysalis cooed "now, you run along and have the plans I drew up made reality. I will need to clip those wings of his to keep him with me. Once we have him secured, we move out back to the hive!"

As the bug nodded and raced away, all sorts of thoughts rumbling around his head, Chrysalis sat back in her makeshift throne and let out a satisfied cackle.

"Soon, Sombra, you’ll be MY King. And once we're wed and I have my brood, your precious kingdom becomes my feeding ground!"

Next she had another changeling, the one she'd picked to replace the King, come see her. She told him to follow that same changeling back and wait for an opportunity to kidnap the Umbrum.

"You have everything you need?" she asked and the changeling nodded.

"Don’t disappoint me." she said sharply.

The changeling nodded.

"Of course not, my Queen."

Battle Symphony

Author's Note

Thank you to LadyUmbra and Hail-King-Sombra, who gave me the confidence to keep going with this. You are both awesome, much love!

They've been wonderful supporters, please check them out if you'd like~

Enjoy, everypony!

Battle Symphony

The lovers dozed under the tree for awhile, just enjoying the peace and solitude without work or staff to bother them. Sombra felt the soft brush of his new cloak against his coat and he smiled, it was a very sweet present.

He tilted his head to watch the snoozing chaos lord. Discord truly was so cute when he was asleep, the way he smiled, the way he made those little snuffling sounds and the way his cheeks flushed faintly.

--I wonder what you’re dreaming about?-- Sombra smiled languidly. Probably something involving himself and a bed made of clouds perhaps?

Again Sombra had a surge of guilt over keeping their relationship private. He felt it more and more keenly with every intimate occasion they shared. He wanted to show this loving, loyal partner of his to the world, let them see the most magical thing he'd ever had...

Yet he kept on hesitating.

--It isn’t fair on Discord. I'm such a coward. I- I need to do something!-- he watched a bird sitting on a branch above his head, listened to it sing.

It was true that he liked to keep his private life- well, private. But there was also the fact he would at some point like to be able to kiss Discord whenever he felt like it and not care if the guards or staff seen him.

Eventually, he decided he'd try to make a decision by the end of the day, then ask Discord what HE wanted to do. He felt his burden lift a little as he finally made his choice.

Discord stirred, yawning softly and stretching then looking down at his lover. He seen Sombra looking content and cosy snuggled up to him and stroked the pony’s mane with one hand.

“Sleep well?” he asked, the pony nodded and Discord leaned down to kiss him softly.

“Happy birthday my sweet stallion.” he whispered.

Sombra smiled happily “thank you, my Discord.” he said, earning another kiss.

Discord's stomach gurgled and the King chuckled, nuzzling his cheek.

“Let us return to the palace, I will have the kitchen whip us up something sweet.” Sombra promised.

“It's a date!” Discord winked as he helped him up, kissed him once more, then they set off back to the palace.

The guards greeted them as they walked along through the royal gardens, offering birthday wishes to the monarch.

The cook greeted the King cheerfully, asking what he could do for him? Sombra smiled and asked him to make some of the dishes he knew both he and his secret lover enjoyed most. The cook saluted him and cheerily declared it was on its way!

Sombra watched the cook trot into the kitchen, but the swinging door stuck on open and thus he seen said cook planting a kiss on the cheek of another stallion sharing the kitchen with him. He blinked, he hadn’t realised-

Seeing the King watching them and the stuck door that had revealed it, the cook flushed but smiled a little. His majesty looked almost adorably clueless as he stood there. The cook knew a bit about the whole wing-emotions thing Sombra displayed, from watching his majesty as he served his meals and the way one wing was titled slightly up now was like a question.

“Your majesty, this is my colt-friend Grapevine.” he gestured to the other stallion. Sombra nodded, taking a moment to rifle through his memory for his knowledge of this pony.

“You started two weeks ago, right?” Sombra was finally able to place him.

“Yes, your majesty.” Grapevine nodded, smiling kindly and bowing.

--Does everypony have the courage I lack?-- Sombra pondered, feeling another guilty jab as he seen how easily these two displayed their affections.

Grapevine thought he seen something in the King's face as he straightened up from his bow, a strange sort of melancholy on the Alicorn's face. Then it was gone as the head cook asked what dessert Sombra fancied?

Sombra asked that they make the cake he knew Discord liked the most, the one with the berries...

“Coming right up, your majesty!” the cook promised and the King left, shutting the door as he did.

Sombra led Discord out to the balcony of the dining room. Below them was a lovely view of the kingdom, with the Rainboom stadium in the distance.

The peace and contentment was a rare but welcome break to Sombra. Having this day just for himself and his Draconequus lover, it was the best gift he could have asked for.

"My sweet stallion?" Discord began as they started in on the first dish.

"Yes, Discord?" Sombra smiled softly.

“Are you SURE you'll be OK without me tomorrow?”

Sombra chuckled at how worried Discord looked. They'd discussed this as they'd shared a drink at the party yesterday. Discord had always attended Flutters tea parties, but he was worried about leaving Sombra for the day, what with his “heat” and all. Sombra had insisted he was FINE, he could last a day.

Discord had vowed he'd be back asap. Flutters had a lot of new animals for him to meet and he wanted to drop by Rarity’s, to thank her for the cloak-

“I will be fine.” Sombra assured him “it's your tea with Fluttershy day, I do not want you to miss that! She's your friend and I have been keeping you to myself for many a day now. Take your time and relax.”

“I don’t mind being captured by you," Discord teased "imagine an interrogation, you could do that thing with the shadow fingers you did when you did me-" he was shut up with a kiss and Sombra gave him a coy smile as he let him go.

"I will do that, if you bring those vines next time!" he teased.

"Deal!" Discord smirked and they started to laugh happily at their attempts at one-upping each other.

"Oh you never cease to amaze me, my King," Discord said contentedly "you have quite an appetite!"

Sombra blushed, but could not deny the compliment made him feel good.

"Tell you what, I will have the cook bake some cakes, you can bring them as a gift." Sombra told his lover.

"You’re the best!" Discord grinned cheerily, hugging the pony tightly, making Sombra chuckle. He felt disappointed that he would be saying goodbye so soon, but told himself not to be so silly. The truth was, though, the freedom he had felt the last few days was pretty addictive.

They finished off the last of the food and took a trip into Discord's chaos realm to escape the palace altogether.

Once there, they started playing a game of “race the flying toasters” and “Crazy cloud ping-pong”.

Sombra laughed so hard he got cramps, but admitted it was the most fun he'd ever had.

As evening drew in, they curled up on a big fluffy cloud shaped like a hammock. Sombra was resting on Discord's stomach and chest, muzzle resting against the chaos lord's neck.

He did have one minor concern about being left alone for the day and nibbled on Discord's ear to get his attention.

“Yes, my King?” Discord smiled, scratching behind Sombra's ear in return.

"What am I supposed to while you're gone." Sombra blurted, then blushed at how farcical he sounded. What was he, a horny school colt?

Discord chuckled, kissing Sombra on the nose. Then the Draconequus leaned in close to the stallion and whispered a few suggestions.

"Wha-? Seriously?" Sombra gave him a suspicious look, head cocked to the side a little.

"Trust me, you'll like how it feels." Discord grinned.

"Mm-hm, if you say so. A bit cold though, surely?"

"Oh, your body heat will take care of that."

Sombra sighed as he tried to think this through "why am I letting you put ideas in my head?" he groaned, starting to laugh.

"Because it's either that or I start putting things in you. And by things, I mean my penis-" Discord quipped. Sombra burst out laughing, his gleeful giggles filling the sky.

"You're incorrigible!" Sombra snorted, jabbing Discord in the chest.

"Oi! Wait, that's a compliment, right?" Discord asked. He seen the answer written on his lover's face, the way those cute little fangs bit at his lower lip.

"Smart ass." he grumbled, kissing him and hearing Sombra's deep, contented laugh once more as he let him go.

“Hay, why don’t I demonstrate?” the Draconequus grinned. Sombra blushed, but the suggestion did give him a shiver. He wasn’t clueless, he knew such “toys” existed, but he just hadn’t given them any thought until Discord had brought them up.

He really HAD been throwing himself too much into his work, hadn’t he?

He blinked those thoughts away as Discord summoned a very sizeable object out of thin air.

“Before you ask, I modelled it on myself. So you should feel very comfortable~” Discord winked.

“I see,” Sombra admired it with a faint smirk “VERY realistic.”

“That's the point, cutie. When you cant get the real deal, this is used to stimulate yourself. Trust me, it'll feel good.”

“Oh, I trust you.” Sombra flushed, eyeing the thing as those same exciting butterflies in his stomach were back and gnawing at his nerve endings. He felt his heart racing as Discord propped him up against the back of the cloud hammock so he could get a good view of what was going on.

Discord summoned another tube from his seemingly endless supply of lubricant, slathering the toy in it.

He leaned over and kissed Sombra as he squeezed and stroked the pony's shaft until he was good and aroused.

The flustered King groaned softly as Discord ceased kissing him and sat back, holding the fabricated phallus in both hands.

“This may feel cold.” Discord said softly, then pressed it against his lover's rump.

Even though Discord had warned him, Sombra couldn’t refrain from uttering a yelp as it was pushed into him.

“Bit chilly, I know, but bear with me.” Discord teased.

“O-of course..” Sombra murmured softly.

Discord smiled as Sombra closed his eyes and uttered a low moan of enjoyment the further in the thing pushed. The chaos lord began by slowly pulling it back then plunging it deep into the stallion, watching his lover's reaction.

Sombra groaned and arched his back, much as he did when the real thing was ploughing him and Discord nodded in approval.

“See? Feels pretty authentic, don't you think?” he said airily as he began moving a little faster, watching the way his lovers body clamped tightly around the realistically modelled sex toy. The Alicorn's wings pomf'd out, shivering lightly.

--Excellent..-- Discord smiled, continuing for a few moments before snapping his fingers to get the pony's attention.

“I'll let YOU take this the rest of the way, so you’ll know how to handle it.”

Sombra flushed, but felt a jab of excitement as he focused his magic around the tool resting inside him. He braced himself with his forelegs, eyes half-closed from the pleasure already echoing through him.

Sombra began slow at first, but the more his mind believed this was in fact his REAL lover, the faster he began to go. He closed his eyes fully, letting his magic take over so he could enjoy the sensations as the false member teased his inner walls.

--Fuck me, this is pretty hot.-- Discord could feel his face heating up, amongst other things. Sombra's eager, pleasured moans only egged him on, the way the stallion shifted so as to fully hilt the toy inside his enticingly firm rear with every thrust had Discord's eyes glued to him.

At last Sombra hit orgasm and while he did miss the sensation of his lovers seed filling his insides, the rumble of pleasure was still pretty satisfying. He was faintly aware of his own semen splashing his coat, but paid it no heed as he flopped back against the clouds, breathing heavily.

He heard a squeak and opened his eyes.

Discord of course, had been watching the entire time. Sombra blushed hotly, yet didn't feel that embarrassed, had he really expected his lover to look away as he rutted himself with a toy based off the Draconequus' own member?

--I should just feel relieved that he did not use a memory spell to record it!-- he thought with a faint smile.

At any rate, going by the Draconequus' face and other body parts, he'd quite enjoyed the show.

“I think,” Sombra said after a moments pause “I can manage.”

A squeak and a nod.

Sombra smiled “did you-?”

A squeak and a shake of the head.

Sombra pulled the toy out from inside him with a small gasp of pleasure, setting it aside. He'd rather enjoyed that. He'd never expected to find himself doing himself with a sex toy, but that was the effect Discord had. He removed those sensibilities that dictated every working moment of the King's day.

“Then get over here before you explode,” the monarch ordered the Draconequus “your King demands it.”

“That was so damn arousing.” the chaos lord growled as he obeyed his King's request and sat in front of the stallion.

But as he prepared to do his precious King, Sombra shook his head and used his magic to sit Discord down.

“It is my turn~” he said seductively.

“Your turn to wha-ohhh….” Discord groaned deeply as Sombra ducked his head to run his tongue up the Draconequus' shaft, swallowing globs of pre that trickled down the chaos beings girth.

“Sombra.” he groaned and the pony grinned, raising his head to kiss Discord in a reversal of the act under the tree.

“Lie down.” the King said suddenly, a spark in his eyes. Discord nestled himself in the spot where Sombra had been propped up whilst enjoying his new toy. Sombra sat down in front of him, smiling, his tail swishing.

He held up a hoof, forming it into the solid-shadow fingers just like he had the first time he'd dominated the chaos lord.

He scooped up the tube of lubricant from the cloud, dispensed it onto the shadow-hand, then pushed two of its fingers into Discord.

“Mmm, thats good...” Discord groaned. He'd been hoping Sombra would treat him to this again...

Sombra did as he'd done last time and used his magic to thicken the shadowy tendrils, exploring and stretching his lover's insides.

Discord moaned loudly as the shadow fingers brushed the sweet-spot in his body while the bulk of them filled and stretched him to an insanely pleasurable degree.

Sombra smirked and angled his body so as to take the Draconequui's shaft fully into his mouth. Its warmth and size filled his muzzle and he gave a low groan as his curiosity was sparked. He hadn't done this before, but after watching Discord, he knew he could do his best to emulate the pleasure his lover had given him.

He ran his tongue along the throbbing member as he felt the tip hit the back of his throat. When he swallowed it squeezed the shaft and made its owner squirm eagerly.

“Sombra….mmm.” Discord's moans made the pony's ears twitch as Sombra pulled back up, sucking on the tip and swallowing once more. He alternated between the tip and the whole shaft, making the shadow fingers twitch and tease his partners sweet spot.

Discord groaned lustfully, nails digging into the cloud beneath him as Sombra's magic surrounded his lower body, keeping him still.

Sombra flexed the shadow hand and another of its fingers elongated and wrapped around the base of Discord's cock. It squeezed, keeping him from coming as the pony teased and licked the head.

Discord wanted to buck his hips, get his stallion to take more of him in, but Sombra was holding him in place. The pony's magic kept him utterly still, he couldn’t even reach forward to tangle his fingers in that mane, he was at Sombra's mercy. The King was controlling Discord's orgasm and it was one of the sexiest things Discord had ever felt.

The urge to cum was so strong, yet that tendril wrapped around his base meant he was denied until the pony saw fit.

“My King-" Discord panted.

“Mmm, yes?” Sombra paused in his ravishing of the chaos lord's member.

“Mm….please!” Discord groaned as the attention ceased.

“Please what?” Sombra smirked, drawing it out, raising a hoof to stroke the throbbing endowment in front of his face “Please take you all in?”.

Discord groaned, oh he was a tease-

“Y-yes, my King.”

“Mmm, I’d say you've earned your reward~” Sombra purred.

As he spoke, the shadow-fingers inside his lover began moving in unison, like a teasing form of rutting.

Once he had Discord truly lost in a haze of need and desire, the pony ceased teasing and went for the climax-

He consolidated the twin tendrils inside Discord into one, pushing and thrusting like he would if he was using his own member. Discord growled, moaning eagerly and clenching his body around the tendril. As he did this, the stallion took his lover's shaft into his mouth once more, letting its length fill his throat-

He gave one final thrust with the shadow tendril, working the close-to-errupting member in his mouth-

He heard Discord's voice calling his name a second before he felt the Draconequus' urgent load hit the back of his throat, the sticky fluid trickling down it as he swallowed rapidly.

When he'd savoured and swallowed every last drop, he sat back up, licking his lips. He released Discord from his magic and was instantly pulled into his arms and kissed hotly.

“Mm, very nice~” he praised, taking in the flushed and content Discord as the kiss ended. He snuggled his lover, heart racing.

“That was literally mind blowing, my King.” Discord groaned “I never expected you to be such a tease...” he kissed the pony fiercely “but I like it!”

They rested awhile, enjoying the time they had...

Even with the lesson on using a sex toy, Discord knew he couldn’t leave Sombra along for long until the pony was free from the very real issue of his sexual urges, amplified by the Infinitum's weird biology.

"It's only for a day, I promise I’ll be right back.." he repeated as he stood in front of a portal to Ponyville the next day.

"I'll be fine." Sombra insisted. He knew he was getting punch drunk off the love and affection he'd been swamped by since their first kiss, but he wasn't about to keep Discord from seeing his other friends. "Go, have fun! I will see you tomorrow."

“Thank you, my King.” Discord gave him a quick smooch, then vanished into the portal which closed behind him.

Already the room felt emptier without the Draconequus' larger-than-life personality to fill it.

--Heh, I do not want to be the possessive type.-- Sombra thought to himself --I am sure this urge will be manageable with nothing to arouse it. I just have to avoid letting my mind wander. And if it does, my hoof shall wander to that intriguing toy.--

Smiling to himself, he drifted over to the bed. Maybe he should practise again...

Discord's affections left Sombra all but oblivious to the changelings spying on him that day.

All he seen was his usual guards, nodding to him and greeting him as reverently as they always did. He thought he felt one of them staring at him however and stopped, glancing back over his shoulder.

Sure enough, one of them WAS staring and Sombra thought he seen a curious look in the pony's eyes. Sombra recalled he was still in heat, so he just gave a bland smile and walked away hurriedly. He didn’t want a repeat of the two guards from last time...

Alone in the hall, the guard smirked. He'd caught the King's scent and as the lower ranked bug had mentioned, the King radiated a needy and lustful aura. He wouldn’t have minded taking a go with the pony, but he was under strict orders to leave him untouched for his Queen.

--You should feel honoured, crystal King. My Queen desires you as her power source for the hive and it's my job to get you to her.--

It'd been easy enough to lure a dozen guards away and take their respective places. The Bug had determined from his prior incursions the guards that were loners or simply kept to themselves.

While having a late lunch, one of the spies observed Sombra enter the kitchen and thank the cook for the cakes he had made for Discord's trip. The cook asked where he had headed and Sombra cheerfully answered “Ponyville”.

The King's protective lover was absent that day, it seemed. The impact this could have ran through his brain as he watched the King leave, noting the way the monarchs body moved. He smirked, soon all that love and naïve desire would be fuelling their hive.

“Excellent,” was the mission leaders response when this news was ferried to him through the ranks of spies “this is a valuable opportunity. We must keep a close watch on his majesty.”

Thus the changeling guards made sure they were always within range of the King, waiting and hoping patiently for an ideal opportunity to steal him away.

The lead on the mission expected it could take days, there was guarantee they'd be able to nab the King this day, they may have to devise a plan to take care of Discord after all-

But barely had the thought crossed his mind then the King walked right into the guards office and unknowingly handed himself to them on a platter.

“I shall be taking dinner down in the orchard this evening and I wish to be left alone.” Sombra informed the guard captain.

The captain nodded, saluting the monarch.

“Yes, sire. The patrol shall remain outside the gates at a respectable distance if you should require us.”

“Thank you.” Sombra bowed his head in gratitude, then left the guards meeting room.

“You heard the King,” the head guard told all of them gathered there “keep an ear out but don't interrupt his majesty, clear?”

“Yes, sir.” all the guards said.

At the back, a quiet guard nodded to himself, a flicker in his eyes. Perfect.

So it went that very evening, as the oblivious King shut the orchard gate behind him, the capture plan was set in motion.

“Evening your majesty!”

The guards greeted Sombra as he walked over to the orchard gates, a covered tray floating alongside him.

“Evening.” Sombra greeted them with a soft smile, nodding in gratitude as one of them opened the gate for him.

He hummed to himself as he headed towards the same tree he and Discord had made love under just a day before. It was as close as he could be to his lover whilst he was away and it was a lovely warm evening, far too nice to spend inside...

The guards all shared glances as the gate swung shut, nodding in unison. They'd give his majesty time to relax, then they'd strike.

A half hour later, Sombra reclined back against the tree, full of food. The evening breeze rustled the leaves, bringing the scent of fresh apples to his nose. He flashed back once again to that wonderful birthday gift and flushed subtly in the light of the setting sun.

--Dammit Discord, you are invading everything in my head!-- but he knew he was grinning ear to ear even so.

The call of the birds and the warmth of his meal was making him feel drowsy and he was starting to doze off.

--Just for a moment.-- he thought.

He bolted awake a little while later, thinking he'd heard a sound like a branch snapping. It was almost full dark now and he lit his horn to light his path as he walked.

“Somepony there? Guards?” he asked, voice echoing around the orchard. It was so quiet.

Too quiet.

He felt a funny feeling grow in the back of his mind as he picked up the pace, trotting through the trees towards the main gate. But it wasn't there. Had he gotten turned around?

He shook his head, this was ludicrous. He knew his way around this orchard, the gate was supposed to be here. Somepony must be playing a prank!

“Discord, is that you?” he called. “If so, this is not as amusing as your other pranks, get down here right now.”

No answer and the stallion's unease grew even more.

Sombra faced the hedge in front of him, he was SURE this was where the gate was-

SNAP.

He whirled round, a snarl rising in the back of his throat-

But it was just three of his personal guard standing there, looking at him with perplexed, nervous expressions.

“We came to find you sire, your mother wishes to see you.”

“Of course.” Sombra shook his head, he was half asleep and overworked, that was it. He started to walk past them, running plans for a vacation through his head, maybe in Canterlot?

“This way Sombra, sir.” One guard indicated a left turn.

“Mm-hmm.” Sombra was just ahead of the guard when it hit him. His guards NEVER called him by his first name.

“What did you-” he turned round to look at the guard, just in time to see the façade drop and a bug-like pony launch at him. He danced aside just in time, swinging one wing up on impulse to bat the thing aside. The other two guards changed too, grinning darkly at him.

--What in blazes?!-- Sombra fired off a blinding spell and bolted through the trees, back towards where he knew the gate was. But more of those things waited in front of the hedge that blocked the gate.

Sombra spread his wings and flew up, sure they'd not be able to hamper him here-

He stopped dead as more appeared from the trees as he drew level, swarming around him in an instant and trying to tear at his wings, their weight pulling him down.

He roared in fury, swinging his body around and dislodging many of them. His glance turned to the castle, why was nopony seeing this?!

Sombra flung another one of his attackers back with a growl and a kick, watching it fly back only to to stop abruptly as it hit an invisible barrier, making it flicker for a split second. His stomach sank, there was a dome shield covering the orchard, the real guard probably couldn't hear or see a thing!

--Guess I’m on my own then!-- he grunted in anger, kicking another of his captors off with a hard push from his hind-legs. Another felt the King's teeth sink into his leg and let go with a howl of pain.

But for every one he stunned, kicked or shot with magic, more simply appeared out of the trees. He shook free from the deluge and turned to shadow, diving into the lengthening shadows of the orchard. He needed to get out and sound the alarm, but in order to do that, he had to first evade these things!

--They’re changelings, I recognise them from that book in Twilight's library!-- he swallowed down his sense of panic and tried to think of a plan.

He slunk from tree to tree, flinging off small bursts of magic to direct their attention elsewhere, even using the same spell he'd used to catch his aide spying on him that day in his office. Hearing more of them rush past his hiding place leaving silence behind, he opened his eyes and slunk forward, he was almost there…

But as he came within bolting distance of the spot where he knew the gate was, there was a flash of green light and he recoiled, squinting upwards. The changelings floated all around him, horns glowing with green magic. The sharp glare of it eradicated the shadows for him to run to, forcing him back to his solid form.

They dove for him again and were met by magic blasts that left searing cuts along their bodies, knocking many of them into the tree trunks or ground hard enough to stun. Another wave swarmed him, latching onto his legs and grabbing his wings to pull on them hard enough to stop him from using them as a weapon.

Sombra bucked and kicked, biting at whatever came within reach, be it wing or hoof or ear. With a feral roar he reared up on his hind-legs, eyes gleaming with fury.

Thwock. Thwock. Thwock.

He felt three sharp jabs to his chest and staggered back onto his hooves. Looking down at his chest, he seen three feather-tipped darts there and felt a numbing pain spreading through his body.

“Well well, you took far more effort than I anticipated.” an oily voice reached Sombra's ears a second before a weight slammed into his back, making the monarch collapse to the grass. Sombra gasped in pain as a sibilant voice whispered in his ear.

"That's right," the one pinning him laughed at the King's pointless struggles "You’re all alone and you wont be getting away."

"Get..off!" Sombra managed to gather enough strength to push the changeling off him, staggering forward but not making it very far before he collapsed back to the grass, his own shadow stretching ahead of him in the eerie green light. He tried to call out, but his throat was locking up-

--Move, you have to!-- He tried to make his body respond to his desperate pleas, gasping in panic as he heard his attacker speaking, heard him laugh.

"My Queen wishes you for a husband, you should feel honoured. There’s nothing you can do to stop her, so just give in." The changeling smirked as he observed his captive trying futilely to drag his body across the grass, legs failing as the drug flooded his system. It'd taken three doses to bring his majesty down, he was a powerful stallion.

Then again, he was an Alicorn and a dark magic one at that. The Queen had warned it would take many of them to wear him down and she hadn't been wrong. Glancing around he could see many of his fellows bore bite marks or scorch wounds from the King's magic and others snarked about broken bones from Sombra's kicks.

Sombra couldn't fight the big changeling as the buggy creature strode slowly over and pushed Sombra's body so he was lying on his back, then tilted the Umbrum's face to meet his.

“You're quite a prize, I believe now is the time to take my catchers fee from you, my Queen promised me.”

The other changelings cackled and nodded in agreement.

Sombra tried to pull his face away, but whatever he'd been injected with made it impossible to stop the changeling from kissing him.

It was creepy, slimy and rough, the changeling pushing his tongue forcefully into the King's mouth, grunting eagerly as he explored it.

--NO!-- Sombra felt a stab of fear, he couldn’t stand being trapped, handled against his will-!

The changeling released him at last, licking his lips perversely and uttering an eager groan.

"Such lustful feelings, oh my, you are tempting."

Sombra felt a shudder as the changeling spoke, his creepy voice sending shivers up the Alicorn's back.

He couldn’t help notice from this angle, that the one sneering at him was fully aroused.

The changeling seen him looking and smirked.

"That's right, I prefer to screw stallions when I take the form of a pony. A bit of rough sex, it gets me going." he laughed at the King's revolted expression.

"You, you're like a walking battery of desire. Were it not for my devotion to my Queen, I’d drain that delectable love energy from you now. Let you feel a changeling’s appetite."

"S-stay away from me...you sicko-" Sombra forced his vocal chords to move, spit out defiant words even as he grew light-headed. He bit back further insults as the changeling pinned him by the throat.

"Watch your mouth, lest I hurt you with more then just poison. Now sleep, King Sombra."

The last thing Sombra seen was that leering grin, then he blacked out.

The changeling gently removed the pony's priceless crown, holding it in one hoof.

"Bring him to the Queen and keep your filthy hooves to yourselves, none of you is to drain even an iota of energy from him. He is our Queen's."

The changeling’s nodded, aware of this ones wrath. Between them, they sealed the stallion inside a cocoon, slipping away into the deepening shadows with their prize.

Alone, the bigger changeling grinned and with a shimmer of green light there stood a perfect clone of the Umbrum Alicorn. He grinned, stretching and testing his new body before heading towards the palace.

He slept in the King's expansive bed that night, marvelling at how much finery this monarch lived in. He could feel the love of the subjects at the edge of his senses. They idolized this strange stallion, yet they knew little about him, truly. Oh, he was going to enjoy this.

The changeling had just gotten out of bed the next morning, when he was pounced upon by a blur of energy. Knocked onto his back in the most undignified way possible, he glowered up at a grinning, gleeful face.

"Morning handsome!" Discord grinned down at the pony.

False-Sombra sighed, it was the real King's lover of course, who else? He blinked dozily up at the chaos lord as he tried to think.

"What's the matter?" Discord ran a hand over Sombra's stomach. Normally this made the King laugh and fidget like a hyperactive foal, but now his Sombra just shifted, giving him an absent smile.

"Sorry," the pony sighed at last, smiling softly "after dinner yesterday, I haven't felt well."

The Draconequus kissed him gently and was relieved when his lover responded to that at least.

The changeling grinned to himself in his head as the chaos being kissed him. The connection, the LOVE that this odd creature attributed to Sombra, it would be enough to satisfy him for awhile.

"You look good enough to eat~" Discord purred.

"You hungry?" The pony teased after a milliseconds delay.

Discord cocked an eyebrow, somepony was being very blunt this morning! Not that Sombra wasn't usually straightforward, after all he'd pretty much demanded Discord stop stalling and screw him that first night, but something was off about this occasion.

"Very much so, but you've already missed breakfast, so I don’t want you being late. Oh, speaking of, did you take my suggestion while I was gone?"

Sombra looked blank, which made Discord chuckle, was he hiding something?

"You know," he nudged the pony's side "about the method of amusing yourself." he let a hand trail on down over that nice bottom, making Sombra squirm in that adorable fashion.

"I can assure you I managed perfectly well." Sombra scolded him as his brain clearly caught up, a smirk on his face "you needn't have worried."

"That's reassuring, but didn't you miss me at all? No way a TOY could take my place."

Discord pretended to sulk and the changeling rolled his eyes.

--These two are insane, but the energy this one produces, it's at an all time peak. He really adores that idiot King.-- the changeling thought, distracting the Draconequus with a kiss as he mulled things over.

"You, work. Go on." Discord set him on his hooves, then noticed something "wait, you wore your crown to bed?"

False-Sombra opened his mouth to conjure up an excuse, but Discord wasn't entirely paying attention.

"Never mind. Where’s the fun in making sense? I’ve taught you well!" Discord snickered.

False-Sombra rolled his eyes in a familiar fashion.

"So how was your trip?" he asked, guessing that was where this thing had been for the last day, leaving his beloved King so unguarded.

"Oh, wonderful! Fluttershy is as adorable as ever, she's fostering a whole clan of bunnies and dear little Angel's nose is put right out of joint!"

False-Sombra gave an amused snort, not knowing nor caring who that was.

"That bunny is a spoilt brat, still, Flutters loves him so." Discord chuckled and shrugged.

The changeling Sombra forced a smile but he was really having to wing this, since the only evidence he had to go on was what that lower ranked spy had given him. He'd only seen them under that tree, post-coitus.

But he got the impression they were pretty deeply involved, even though nopony at the palace seemed to know about this affair. The only clue he'd picked up was two guards betting how long it'd be before the King and his best friend did something that proved they were dating. It seemed the King kept his affections very private.

But it was abundantly clear to him that Discord adored Sombra.

As he rambled, the Draconequus watched his lover get dressed. He thought Sombra seemed a bit absent minded, staring off into space as he looked for his things. Then Discord realised something vital was missing.

"Where's that neckplate you were wearing? The one you were wearing under the tree?"

"Oh, that?" The fake swore inside, he'd forgotten to undress the pony before having him kidnapped. To busy gloating about kissing the paralysed monarch.

"-and your birthday cloak?"

That cloak the King had been wearing before had been something special? Blast it, why had that idiot bug not mentioned this?

Clearing his throat, he smiled seductively "It's in the wash. Also, I’m feeling cold, so I thought I’d wear something heavier." False-Sombra affected a shiver.

Discord frowned, studying his lover worriedly as he pulled the pony into his arms, thinking he did seem a bit pale. He nuzzled behind his stallion's ear, relishing in the scent, although it seemed a little different today. Maybe he was imagining things, Sombra had probably just changed shampoo or something.

---Don't be so ridiculous, Discord. Even if you are the champion at it!---

"You should look after yourself, I don’t want anything happening to you." he murmured at last.

--Too late you dimwitted fool!-- the changeling thought, but instead faked a sincere smile and kissed Discord instead.

"I'll be fine." he said simply.

Discord chuckled, distracted by his lover's smile.

"Well cutie, much as I’d love to bend you over that bed and bone you senseless, we both know you’ll just have to hold on until later, when we'll have more time."

He pulled a packet of seeds from his bag "I brought those plunder seeds I promised, these are a special variety, smooth but firm."

The changeling copped on that Discord had some sort of sexual conquest planned, involving a sex-focused plant. Insane, this creature was insane.

--Who'd have thought that stuck-up King was such a kinky thing?-- he mused.

"I'm sure they're perfect~." False-Sombra lied at last and was fiercely kissed a few more times, the energy from it was quite a rush. He grinned dizzily as he was let go, which must've pleased his partner, as he scratched behind the pony’s ears. It kinda tickled, the changeling noticed and couldn't resist a laugh.

"That’s my Sombra," Discord said fondly "now go, or you'll be late."

"Aren't you coming?" Sombra asked.

"I'll be down in a minute, it stops that pesky bunch of guards seeing us and running their mouths, you know?"

"Oh." Sombra scuffed the carpet with one hoof, scowling down at it then blurting "Well, it's none of their business, come with me!"

Discord was caught off guard by Sombra's sudden grump, but figured something had upset the King and he was feeling demanding. Sombra had been adorably private about their relationship so far, complaining when his aide dared ask if he was dating.

So Discord did as his lover asked. He floated after Sombra and a couple of guards that they passed took note of two things.

His majesty was hanging around with his best friend VERY early in the morning and that the King seemed in a grumpy sort of mood. He greeted them in the usual fashion, but with little of his usual effortless charm. He hadn’t gotten drunk again, had he?

As Discord was sneakily admiring Sombra out of the corner of his eye, he noticed the guards they passed didn't cast those same lustful looks the King's way, as they had before. Had the Infinitum's heat finally ended? Seemed a little abrupt, but the whole thing was technically still a mystery.

He shrugged to himself and escorted Sombra to the dining hall.

Page Assist noticed that the King seemed a bit out of sorts that morning when he arrived at his office. Also, his coat was back to normal, had something changed?

He brought this up to the King, asking had the "urges" finally calmed down? Sombra's response was a cold glare as he told him information of that nature was no longer up for discussion.

"B-but sire, we have to be careful, you remember what we discussed-" Page Assist bleated.

"I said enough!" the King barked, eyes blazing "You can take the rest of today off, I won't be requiring further assistance."

Page Assist was shocked. What had caused his majesty to react this way? Had his lover angered him in some way, putting him in this foul mood?

He hurriedly left, mind whirling.

Partway to his own office, he was startled by that infinitely annoying creature Discord popping out of a house plant and scaring him.

"Cut that out!" he snapped.

"Aw, party pooper. How does Sombra put up with you?" Discord sulked and Page Assist glared.

"Well he ISN'T putting up with me right now, he kicked me out of his office again!" he snapped and Discord paused, mid-retort.

"He did?" the chaos lord frowned.

"Yes, you imbecile!"

"Charming." Discord dead-panned, but continued anyway "that seems odd, I thought you two had gotten over that fight about that report?"

"Well, he's clearly changed his mind! Now, if you'll excuse me, I have to go to my office and pray I don't lose my job!" Page Assist stomped off.

It was only when he'd reached said office and shut the door behind him, that he realised something odd about the conversation he'd just had.

---How did he know about that report?---

Discord frowned to himself as Page stormed off, Sombra really was acting odd today.

An hour later and he still couldn’t get hold of the pony himself as Sombra seemed to be constantly busy, so he went to the next pony that knew the Alicorn well, Lady Umbra.

She was very pleased to see him drop by and they sat out on the balcony in her room, having some tea.

"What's the matter?" she asked, seeing his anxious face.

"Has Sombra seemed odd to you?"Discord asked at last. Umbra frowned, she hadn't seen him so far that morning, so she shook her head.

"What's happened?" she asked.

So Discord told her about how Sombra had seemed distant that morning, how grumpy he'd been at breakfast and finally how he'd turfed Page out of his office AGAIN over that report.

"This morning? Goodness you two get up early." Umbra chuckled.

Discord realised he may have just dumped himself in it, turned bright red all over and felt the floor vanish from under his feet.

Umbra grabbed Discord via her magic before he literally disappeared into a pit he'd somehow summoned and sat him back on the chair. The pit vanished and she smiled as she regarded the bright red Draconequus.

"Don't worry, I’m not saying it to be improper. I know what’s going on, I’ve seen how happy my son has been this last week. Your visits always cheered him up and now he seems even more content. Am I correct to assume you care about him?"

"That would be an understatement," Discord felt uncharacteristicly nervous. This was Sombra's MOTHER after all. But Umbra just beamed.

"I'm glad. You were the one who saved him back then, he spoke often about how he wouldn't have been able to take this second chance were it not for you."

Despite Sombra having told him this numerous times, hearing it from Umbra made Discord blush faintly.

"Well," he coughed and cleared his throat "besides Fluttershy, he's one of the few I truly care about. I didn't think he'd accept how I felt about him, but I figured it was better to confess than avoiding him because I kept thinking about planting one on him!"

Umbra chuckled, she liked how random yet honest Discord was.

"Yet when I told him, he wasn't angry. A bit surprised at first, I think." the chaos being smiled.

“Surprised? May I ask to hear this story?” Umbra asked, eyes twinkling.

Discord told her the tale of the homicidal cloud copy, the ensuing fight, the eventual the first kiss and she laughed until she got hiccups.

"That's quite an unusual way to go about it!" she wiped her eyes, the giggles finally gone.

"Tell me about it," Discord rolled his eyes, grinning gleefully at her "he was pretty ticked off when the clone copy attacked him. He thought it was some mean spirited trick and I had as hard a time convincing him it wasn't as I did battling the cloud clone!"

"But in the end, he listened?" Umbra asked and Discord nodded.

"We got interrupted before I could properly kiss him, that loopy clone dive bombed me! That was when I finally kicked that cloud copy's ass from here to madness! Afterwards, dear Sombra lands beside me, moves incredibly close and smug as you like he says "Quit stalling and kiss me!". Stopping at just a few kisses to begin with, it was almost impossible!" Discord gave a theatrical wave of his arms and sighed.

Umbra beamed, that sounded like her son in a nutshell. Confident, yet at the same time probably just as unsure!

"It makes me happy," she said seriously "to see he's finally opened up. I was worried he was still distancing himself from anypony's affections. He's had no shortage of wishful suitors, but has turned them all down. He never mentioned wanting to find someone and I think he didn't consider himself ready."

"That reminds me, how did that whole report business come about?" Discord asked.

"Oh, that?" she chuckled "yes, it has caused quite a stir as far as Page has told me. In one of my trances I found out that the Infinitums in the past had quite voracious appetites, if you'll pardon my phrasing, in the reproductive department."

Discord nodded. "They get a bit shag happy?" he asked.

Umbra did a double take, looking at his amused face then busting a gut laughing again.

"Anyway," she carried on between chuckles "I was torn between covering this subject with him myself, or asking a close acquaintance to do it. I thought if he heard it from a stallion, it'd make it less awkward. Sadly, that seems to have backfired."

"Yes, he did get quite mad at his aide," Discord mused "in the end, I read it and pointed out it wasn't his aide being a nosy git, it was just biology. HIS biology in fact. He was a bit less grumpy after that."

"I should have just asked you to begin with," Umbra smiled "I had pondered it, but felt it seemed a bit rude of me to drag you into this."

"To be fair, this whole thing only happened recently." Discord couldn’t help a smile.

"I seen the change in his coat, how much he seemed to be smiling lately. I was relieved to see him looking better, as he's been somewhat withdrawn in recent weeks."

“Yes, he had something on his mind that was dragging him down. I was worried by how miserable he seemed that one night-" he cut off, coughing.

"I wont ask what it was, if he wants to tell me, I’ll leave it up to him." Umbra assured Discord with a knowing smile "you don't need to worry, I wont ask you to betray his trust."

Discord was relieved and pulled a bunch of flowers from thin air as a present. Umbra chuckled, setting them in a vase atop the table.

"You and Sombra are very similar." she mused "you've both had to adapt to a whole new time and place."

“And we've both made colossal mistakes in our pasts. We flamingo'd up."

“Flamingo?"

“Yes! It's like a cock up, only much bigger!" Discord explained with a grin.

"Well, I’ll speak to Sombra myself later, see if everything's alright." Umbra came back to the original topic at hand.

“Thank you.” Discord sighed in relief that she hadn’t thought him crazy.

"I’m sure it's nothing to worry about." she smiled at last.

"I hope so. Maybe I’m just imagining things, but something just seems off today." Discord sighed.

Discord drifted around the Umbrum city, distracting himself until such a time as he could see his dear Sombra.

But as he wandered aimlessly around the main square, one thought above others bugged him about Sombra's responses that morning. Could that sluggish reaction REALLY have been down to bad food?

He decided to return to the palace and ask the cook.

"His highness, complaining about the food? Goodness me no, he seemed perfectly satisfied and the tray was picked clean. Heaven knows that stallion has an appetite. Why do you ask?"

"He was complaining of stomach ache." Discord told him.

The cook frowned uneasily "maybe he ate too much? He has an appetite to match his stature, I’ll say that much."

"Tell me about it.” Discord mumbled to himself, only he had a different appetite in mind.

“What’s that?" the cook asked.

"Nothing, carry on!" Discord declared before shooting out of there.

The cook shook his head, that Discord was an odd fellow.

While this was going on;

Sombra awoke and seen the world around him did not look like the last thing he seen. This wasn't the orchard, where was he?

His memory came back and he gasped, trying to get to his hooves. Something clanked and his blood ran cold. Looking down, he seen there was a chain attached to a collar around his neck. More chains limited his movement in any direction.

--No. not again, please!-- he began to panic, then forced himself to calm down. What was the last thing he could recall? He sat back down, ignoring his quailing stomach.

A changeling grinning evilly down at him, making no pretence of the fact the captive love-emitting King was making him hot. He'd forced a kiss-

Sombra's stomach sank and he whispered one word;

"Changelings."

"Ah, awake at last." a female voice interrupted.

Sombra leapt to his hooves again, backing up as far as the chains would allow. A creature he'd seen from photos in an archival newspaper strode into the dim light provided by a lantern overhead. A jet black body with holes in her legs like formations in rock. Gossamer wings and a curved horn with sharp angles and wicked green eyes. Said eyes fixed on him now, their unearthly glow mimicking his own when his magic flared up.

"Chrysalis." he hissed.

"QUEEN Chrysalis, if you'd be so kind," she smirked "and welcome to my home, my HIVE. Soon to be your home too."

"What are talking about-? Let me go this instant-!" Sombra snapped and tried to dredge his magic only to feel a shocking pain stab into his head.

"Oh silly me, did I forget to mention the suppressor? Can't have you escaping before the wedding."

"What are you talking about, you insane creature!" Sombra snarled.

Chrysalis chuckled merrily.

"What else? OUR wedding! You see, I want a husband but I also require a power source in order to restart my hive. I realised I could do both and all it took was you. After all, what's better for a Queen then a powerful, handsome King?" her eyes wandered over the Pony's muscular, well toned body.

Sombra shuddered at the look on her face.

"You are insane, I am not going near you." Sombra's mind was reeling, this was bad!

Chrysalis rolled her eyes "Yes, yes, I know your preferences lie with the other team, you pompous stallion stuffer! But I can fix that, so I’m not worried."

"What did you just call me-?! You come near me and I promise I shall rip your damn wings off!" Sombra snarled and Chrysalis felt a brief stab of unease at the very real level of fury in his voice. He was a powerful looking pony whose wings alone were able to break bones and those sharp predatory fangs could indeed tear her wings off.

--He's a deserving pony of becoming my King,-- she grinned –after all, a girl deserves the best!--

She took a step closer and Sombra lunged. The chains went taught, but he swung a massive wing around and she barely flew back in time to avoid being punched out by the big feathered appendages.

His wingspan was impressive and the air generated by them threatened to extinguish the lantern. With a flare of her magic she lit more of them so she could see properly.

She kept back out of his range, realising she was dealing with a creature that could overpower her if she didn't get him under control, fast. Taunting him with so little holding him back had been fun, but she had to stop playing around now. He needed to learn he couldn't escape.

She bellowed for her servants to get their asses in here and seconds later they came tearing in. Two of them were hiding something between them.

Chrysalis faced Sombra, smirking confidently again.

"Seems you can't be trusted with those things, so I’m afraid I’ll just have to "clip" them." She taunted.

Sombra growled, refusing to answer her.

"GO!" she yelled. The changeling's lunged for Sombra.

Sombra shot to one side, swinging the wings as a weapon once more. Even with the chains restricting his area of movement, he caught two of them, slinging them back against the wall with heavy thuds, stunning them. One drone shot back just in time to avoid having sharp teeth puncture its wing.

Chrysalis merely ordered more to join the fray, ordering them to get that pony under control!

It took several changeling's to subdue him in the end, but Chrysalis grinned as she heard Sombra cry out in pain amidst the scrum.

"Back it up, my pets." she cooed and the out of breath, battered changelings retreated, nursing various cuts and scrapes. The device they'd wrestled onto the Queen's captive was a restraint for his wings. Due to Sombra's large wingspan, Chrysalis had had a special one made from components stolen from the Umbrum town during earlier forays. She'd had her eyes on Sombra since learning he was alive and knew flat out he'd be a difficult one to contain, but it would be worth the wait to have such an ideal mate.

The device had a bar that lay across the pony’s back, with cables fed through it that clamped onto the wings. If he tried to stretch or flap them, the cables would go taut and spikes would dig in and cause serious pain. In short, he wouldn't be able to fly away without falling in agony.

Sombra soon realised this, as he seen blood bloom under his crystal feathers. He felt like being sick. Captured and tortured, he thought this nightmare was over...

Chrysalis smiled coldly, sensing his fear "you see, you can't escape so you may as well surrender and become my King."

"Only in your twisted dreams, you lunatic." Sombra snarled "you had best be prepared for what you will unleash by doing this."

"Oh, I’m an old hand at dealing with that sort of trouble. You’ve no hope and I’ve nothing to worry about. I have a replacement acting in for you, they'll never suspect. After all..."

She smirked as she walked closer "one thing I learned from my scouts was this; you are a mystery. You hide so much of yourself that your own staff don't know enough about you to assume you’re acting any different!"

This hit close to home and Sombra's mind flashed back, all those articles wondering would he ever love somepony? Who was he under the crown?

"You see? You've done this to yourself!" Chrysalis cackled "they go on and on about you, about the reportedly hidden heart of their great King Sombra! All it would take was seeing you step out with a partner at last and they'd love you even more!"

"You're forgetting someone." Sombra choked out at last.

"You mean that little mistake of a chaos god you seem to insist on screwing? I instructed my changeling to screw with him in more ways than one, so he won't notice you're not you. By the sound of what my spies told me, he's drunk off your bedroom antics, off your heat-"

"Cease your lies, you foul witch!" Sombra spat.

"You know I’m right. Nopony will notice you’re missing and your little plaything doesn’t have the attention span! You’re mine now, dear Sombra, just give up."

"You will regret this soon enough." Sombra said coldly, his gaze never leaving her face.

Something about his words chilled her a moment and she fought to put them aside. She gathered her magic and stared calmly at the King.

"Now, just give up any hope of escaping and we can be very happy." she chuckled as she launched the spell, her glowing green eyes locking onto his. Green slime locked his hooves in place and rapidly encroached on his body the more he struggled.

"Unhand me this instant!" The king roared and for a moment she seen a funny flicker in his eyes, the remnants of what he'd once been.

--I have to lock him down, for as enticing as he is when he's got a mean streak, I won't have him upstaging me. Say goodnight, Sombra!--

As the King snarled threats and swore he'd make her pay, all the while fighting pointlessly against the substance holding him in place as it covered his body, she reached into a bag by her hooves. This was the crowning achievement of her plan...

Finally Sombra's whole body was completely immobilised and she strode over to him. From one hoof hung a pitch black collar with jagged green symbols on it.

"You know what this is?" Chrysalis asked. Sombra glared, but with the slime holding him hostage, he couldn't even open his mouth.

Chrysalis heard the growl rumbling deep in his body and chuckled.

"Its very old, but very, shall we say potent?" She admired the thing, turning it this way and that. "The longer you're exposed to it, the more it buries your true self. Obedience through pain, it's an old method passed down through the hive. You'll be my obedient little power supply and more importantly you'll be my slave."

Sombra growled something that might've been "fuck you", but she didn't care. She watched him try to move away to no avail as she clipped the collar around his neck, the slime moving back to allow it. Soon as the collar clicked closed, she stepped back. Sombra roared futilely, the sound muffled by his restraints as it shocked him brutally.

She waited as he withstood a level of pain that'd fell most changelings, let alone an equestrian. His eyes met hers and she seen that stubborn nature fighting the collar at every step. She even caught a glimpse of fury, of that darker side of him that was so much like hers. Pity he seemed resigned to becoming a docile slave, what with his foolish refusal of her generous offer, perhaps had he been more cooperative she could've had him as an equal.

--You abandoned your real nature, didn't you Sombra? Tamed by the arrogant Celestia, you're no more than a pet, like your foolish lover. Thus it's fitting you become my pet..--

Sombra gave everything he had, but eventually the fight left him and his body went slack, the slime the only thing keeping him on his feet.

The Alicorn had fought her admirably and she had to applaud him for it, but in the end he'd lost.

Chrysalis released him from the cocoon slime and he crumpled to the floor, the collar pulsing gently as the Queen stood over him, checking his breathing was OK. Yes, he'd survived and he'd wake once the pain faded.

She dismissed the changelings and smirked in glee as Sombra stirred several minutes later.

"Wake up." she said sweetly, watching as he sat up, taking in his surroundings. Soon enough his gaze returned to her and she pressed a hoof to his face, seeing he didn't flinch away. Didn't react at all, but she didn't care. It wasn't as if she felt anything for him, he was just there to serve her needs.

Unable to resist the way he was so blank, her willing pet, she kissed him. Taking this from him with his will suppressed was rather enticing. His warmth was quite pleasant, the softness of his crystal coat tempting. Her scouts had not kidded, he really did have such a wellspring of power within him. She pushed the kiss even deeper, slipping her tongue into his mouth. He didn't react save for his body's innate physical instinct and she groaned happily, the taste of his love-!

Unknown to her, the little changeling who'd first spied upon Sombra and Discord as they cuddled under the tree in the orchard, watched the kiss from the doorway. He felt bad for tearing this pony away from the one he loved, something felt wrong about it, doubly so the way the Queen looked at him as if he was hers.

Chrysalis gazed at the pretty cloak Sombra wore and those fine shoes. He wouldn't need those, he'd look much better in black and green after all.

She unclipped the cloak, watching how he shivered as it brushed lightly over his back as it crumpled to the floor. Next came that gleaming regalia band around his neck.

"Discard those old clothes, my pet." She commanded and Sombra merely blinked, unwavering gaze seeing nothing as he discarded the shoes. He ruffled his wings, but made no move to lift them. He looked GOOD, such a fine coat.

"It's late, we should eat." Chrysalis toyed with Sombra's mane, kissing him for another little jolt of those emotions "this way, my prize."

The little Bug hid as the Queen strode by, the mind controlled King alongside her. Sombra didn’t speak, merely responded by nodding as the Queen spoke.

The changelings gathered around her as she entered the hall she held her dinner in. They chittered excitedly as they examined the emotionless stallion by their Queen's side.

"Yes, my pets. He's mine at last." She looked triumphantly up at Sombra, who just stared blankly ahead. She was pleased by how well the collar was working, he was a blank slate.

"Prepare for a new lease on life, we will soon have the ultimate hybrid! A magic hidden for so long and MY power, mixed together. We will be unstoppable."

The changelings cheered, admiring their new King.

"Since we need to hurry, the wedding will be the day after tomorrow. Then we will begin."

More loud cheers met this announcement. She marched her enslaved King with her to the dining table and sat him at her side while her servants brought some real food. Changelings still liked to eat, after all.

She noted however that Sombra would not eat a single bite, merely shaking his head and staring ahead of him, crimson eyes dulled. She wasn't concerned, the foolish pony would be forced to eat if needed, she couldn't have him collapsing on her.

She escorted him to a room of his own and took perverse pleasure in teasingly kissing him before having him locked in the room for the night.

When she came to find him the next morning, he was as distant as ever, proving the spell had taken root. There was slim chance of his true self resurfacing, she could mould him into a true ally for her cause.

"Oh, this is working perfectly." she giggled giddily "you truly have become MY King now, Sombra."

He nodded mutely. She was a little perplexed by his lack of speech, but it wasn't as if she needed him to speak, the wedding ceremony was just for her own childlike dreams of a perfect wedding like those lovey-dovey Equestrians.

"I want to show you something, my King." she purred, beckoning him to follow her. He nodded numbly, plodding along at a sedate pace beside her, only ever responding when she commanded him to look at her.

She led him to a big room she'd had set aside just for her. They stepped out onto on a balcony overlooking it, their hoof-steps echoing around the currently empty cavern.

"Look my King, this is where I'll raise my enhanced brood. Once you offer me your complete power on our wedding night, I will create the ultimate changeling. Magnificent, isn't it?" she pressed against his chest as he sat there, feeling how soft his fur was. He had a delicious scent, one of longing and desire that was almost enough to get her drunk!

Stealing another kiss from the emotionless stallion, Chrysalis silently celebrated her plan. It was all coming true, soon she'd have a hybrid breed of changelings that could defeat those blasted Princesses and take care of those six girls into the bargain.

She looked down at the room, imagining how strong her hive would become with this fresh infusion of magic. Delicious, lust filled dark magic at that.

"This plan has worked just perfect," she sang softly "I’ve found the King I’ve dreamed of since bug-hood."

Had she looked back at her captive she'd have seen a brief, flickering look of darkness in Sombra's eyes. But the only one who seen it was the small Bug that’d been following them ever since helping capture Sombra.

He crept away again, the doubt only growing.

While she canoodled with her captive King, Discord was discovering something was definitely up with his precious Sombra on his return.

While Discord spoke with Umbra, the real Sombra was sitting by Chrysalis' side, his mind blank and unfocused.

While she had him measured for a wedding outfit, Discord was searching for Page Assist.

Umbra spoke to her son at dinner and realised Discord was right. Although Sombra seemed as cheerful as ever, it felt fake somehow. He also refused to discuss the Page/Report situation.

Discord tried sweeping his tail up the back of Sombra's thighs as they walked towards the stallion's room but instead of making his wings go POMF, it seemed to genuinely startle him, making him jump.

"Discord!” he barked, looking flustered "don't startle me like that!"

--I know this isn't right, that always got you worked up.-- Discord felt his unease grow as Sombra stalked ahead, scowling.

Even more suspect was Sombra changing his tune from earlier in that day, feigning tiredness so he could slip into his room un-boned, even after several deep hint-filled kisses from Discord.

--OK, now I’m really suspicious. No way my Sombra would be able to resist being sarcastic about that. This is just too strange.--

He knew there could be a chance Sombra was just having a bad day, but part of him was angry.

--I'm not jealous or bitter at him. This just doesn't seem like the kind, gentle Sombra I’ve known. You've never shut me out this coldly before, my King.--

Part of him did wonder was it because Sombra's heat was over? Did he not feel as strongly now he'd been satisfied?

He was ashamed the thought brought tears to his eyes, but the prospect just made his heart ache. All those nights together, they'd been so magical, he didn’t have to give that up, did he?

The changeling lay back on the bed, sighing contentedly. He'd absorbed enough of that weird creatures love for Sombra to feed him for the day. So much sexual tension as well, it added a nice taste.

It'd rebuked the idea of sexual contact simply because the being did not interest him. Although he would have to settle for letting Discord screw him eventually, if only to avoid suspicion.

Across the room, he spotted some bottles of expensive liquor. Maybe this wouldn’t be so dull after all.

Once he was sure Sombra was fast asleep, Discord snuck into his room. He opened the stallion's closet door and his suspicions were confirmed. The cloak was missing along with the neckplate and shoes Sombra had been wearing the day before.

Stealthily, he drifted across to the bed and hovered as close to the sleeping pony as he dared and discovered he smelt like booze.

--Is he trying to make himself ill?-- Discord couldn't shake the fact this didn't seem like the same pony he'd made love to so often. Sombra was rarely this bull-headed.

As he flew back out the balcony window, Discord had another realisation.

His lover's scent had changed.

Back in his own cottage, he wondered if he was going crazy. He recalled Twilight saying she'd felt like that during the whole Cadance-was-a-changeling incident.

"What will it take my King, to make you look at me that way again?" he asked the silence in his home.

It hit him like a ton of bricks after that thought.

No way.

It COULDN'T be.

--It's true they’ve not been seen since then, but surely not..-- yet the more he thought about it, the more concerned he got.

Part of him wanted to fly to Ponyville and wake Twilight, but he knew she'd go bananas. Also, he'd tried that before and that Princess slept like a log, even Spike hadn't been able to wake her. No, he'd have to do this alone. If he was wrong, he'd let the King go if he asked. But he'd rather know this was truly his old friend than feel this way.

He decided to test Sombra, preferably in a public place where the guard would be able to restrain him if his theory was correct and Sombra WAS a changeling.

What scared him the most was the fact that if this Sombra was a fake, where was his beloved Umbrum?

It occurred to him then that he wasn't alone, what about Lady Umbra?

The next day, Discord pretended to be as happy-go-lucky as ever, flirting with his precious pony. But now the theory was in his head, he couldn't shake it, this was NOT his Sombra. He followed the King down the hall and into the throne room.

He'd asked Sombra if he could sit in on it, as he was bored and Sombra had simply shrugged as if he didn't care.

So Discord watched as his precious Sombra sat through a bunch of complaints, seeming entirely uninterested, then set his plan in motion.

He'd gone to Umbra of course and she was as suspicious as he was, stating Sombra had seemed unlike his usual gentle self. So she'd agreed to help him and approached her son now, pretending to look surprised.

"Oh, where did that pretty necklace go, child?"

"What necklace?" Sombra said idly.

"The one you got for your birthday, the one with the two wings crossed!"

"It's in the bedroom." Sombra responded with a shrug.

Discord chuckled abruptly.

Strike one.

"What?" Sombra looked up from his scroll, frowning angrily "what is it?"

"Nice try, but you weren't given that for your BIRTHDAY. It was another occasion entirely. Can't you remember, silly Sombra?" The Draconequus giggled.

"What are you babbling about?" Sombra snapped "I don't have time for your shenanigans!"

Discord reached up and scratched behind Sombra's ear and the pony snarled, batting him away.

"Cease that!" he snapped.

The guards at the back of the room, the same two that'd been joking about these two bonking, now shared looks of concern. In all the time they'd known him, they'd never seen the King react to his best friend that way.

"See now I KNOW you're not yourself. That's always worked, ever since Canterlot."

“What, Canterlot?" Sombra snapped with a frown. Discord's hands clenched, out of sight of the King.

Strike two.

"The same Canterlot where Tia looked after you," the Draconequus said "you can't have forgotten, that incident nearly killed you."

"Do you have some motive for wasting my time, Discord?!" Sombra snapped "i'm asking you to leave, now."

The guards strode over.

"Problem, sire?"

"Yes, I want to deal with my work, alone." Sombra snapped.

"Uh." The guards shot Umbra a confused look. They didn't understand the Kings mood.

"Oh, I almost forgot, child! Page Assist wants to discuss that Infinitum Clause report," Umbra added and Sombra snarled.

"What report? I told him to take a vacation from his job. There is no report."

"Yes there is, we spoke about it," Discord said calmly "you were concerned about apologising to your aide."

"I have done nothing to apologise for, now leave me in peace, both of you!"

"We must ask you to leave," the guard got Discord's attention "It's his majesty's orders."

On cue, Umbra leaned against Discord and made a fake sniffling noise as the Draconequus turned to guide them both towards the door, then they stopped.

Discord glared over his shoulder at Sombra now, full fury in his eyes. Sombra got up and walked away, turning his back to them as he picked up another scroll.

"You're a real piece of work, Sombra. You haven't been that rude to your mother since you were a child! Grow up!" the chaos lord snapped coldly.

"You expect me to remember every incident of my childhood? Don't be stupid." The fake snarked. Dead silence fell and Discord began to laugh softly.

Strike three.

"Now what?" Sombra snapped.

"Drop the charade." Discord folded his arms smugly and even Umbra looked triumphant as they turned back to face him. Sombra frowned.

"You were separated from your mother right after your birth. You were raised in the Crystal Empire until the time when you became your darker self. You never met her until two years ago."

The changeling swore silently, frozen. How had he fallen into that?

"Now, why don't you show us who you really are," Umbra said "you're not my child!"

The guards exchanged looks, what was going on here?

Sombra lowered his head slightly, then began to laugh. It started off softly, then got louder until it echoed around the room, a cold blooded cackle like his tyrant side had once uttered. There was an explosion of brilliant green light and when it faded a changeling stood there.

"You just had to ruin the fun, didn't you? So sentimental. Ah well, it's too late anyway!"

"Where's my son?!" Umbra cried.

"He's with my Queen. Soon he will become her betrothed and the changelings will become more powerful than ever!"

Discord gave a furious snarl, hands clenching.

"If that bitch lays one hoof on him, I’ll destroy her personally-"

"Your precious King is much better off with a powerful being like my Queen. Besides, you're too late to stop her now. In no time, she will make him forget you ever existed. ALL of you."

What happened next scared even the guard. The room darkened and coils of black chain lashed around the changelings body. It tried to break free but more snapped out of the darkness, trapping him in place. Discord appeared in front of him, eyes blazing with a hatred and fury that scared the changeling a little.

"I don't care if I have to rip you limb from limb, you're giving me back that pony."

"I'm not telling you anything. You've lost, accept it!" the changeling laughed.

Discord chuckled and jabbed the changeling in the forehead.

"You don't know who I am. Do you? There's a reason I was locked away so long, I can cause such delightful misery..."

He disappeared bit by bit until all that remained was a grin. Than that too vanished.

"Stop these games you accursed creature!" the changeling snapped, trying to wriggle free. At last, he was able to contort his body to slip free of the chains. He hit the ground, peering into the darkness. The door was ahead, right? He flapped his wings and headed for that.

Out of the gloom lunged a giant, familiar face. Chrysalis.

"M-my Queen!" he stammered.

"You disappoint me!" she sneered "to think I once considered you worthy of me. You're nothing but a failure."

"I brought you the pony, my Queen, what more can I do? He's yours now...you need me!"

"On the contrary, I don't. I have my King now, let those equestrians deal with you! You're a liability." she faded into the black.

Desperate and freaked out, the changeling leapt for where she'd been, crying "my queen!" But in a flash, he was suddenly in a room surrounded by a dozen pony guards with spears. All of them aimed at HIM.

No matter where he turned, spears pressed in on him, threatening to tear holes in his wings. Above it all, he heard his Queen's mocking laugh, seen her cosying up to that bastard pony. The stallion smirked, as if goading him.

As the nightmares closed in, he covered his eyes and shouted;

"Stop! I-i'll tell you!"

The illusion vanished and he was back in chains, a smug Discord standing there.

"Smart move. Now where's the hive, or whatever you call it?" Discord ordered. Babbling, the mind-addled changeling told him how to fly there, willing to tell him anything for the nightmares to end! In a show of mercy, Discord knocked the changeling out.

Watching this unfold and seeing the changeling flail and panic as he fought whatever Discord was showing him, Umbra was startled by what the chaos being could do. It was quite unlike anything she'd imagined.

"Illusions are my forte," Discord sighed as he seen her watching him "at times like this, I can use them to get information. I know it looks awful."

But to his surprise, she shook her head.

"We have a chance to find somepony we both care about," she said gently "I know my son would stop at nothing if it were you in his place."

This comforted Discord, who nodded, taking a deep breath.

Page Assist came in, staring in shock.

"W-what is that?" he squawked, staring at the changeling "where is his majesty?"

"Kidnapped," Discord said. "by that pest of a Queen, Chrysalis."

Page Assist looked about to faint at the news as Discord grabbed him by the scruff of the neck.

"We need to talk." he said.

Page Assist paced back and forth in Sombra's office.

"It explains everything. Why he suddenly became so surly-"

"I knew something was off, but I thought maybe he'd just had a bad day." Discord shook his head.

"We have to get him back, if that changeling Queen took him to create a hybrid, we are in big trouble-"

“I know." Discord pointed out but Page Assist didn't hear it.

"You don't get it, his majesty is in some serious trouble-"

"I'm aware of that."

"He's a very different type of Umbrum-"

"I'm AWARE of what he is!!" Discord shook him and glared. Page Assist blinked vacantly.

"You do?" he asked.

Discord face-palmed "who do you think explained it so he wouldn't be so pissed at you?"

Page Assist ran this through his head. Sombra had said "I had a helping hand".

HAND.

Only one creature Sombra had ever spoken about had those.

At last the penny dropped and Page's jaw dropped along with it.

"And the last hamster crosses the finish line." Discord drawled.

"It was YOU all along?"

"Of course it was, you nincompoop!" Discord snapped "and before you ask, yes I disguised myself as pony for that party. I wanted to dance with my King."

Page Assist had to think a moment. Was he really that surprised? This WAS the King's closest friend after all. He thought about the way Sombra had been smiling, how he'd seemed happier since this whole affair began. He shut his mouth, finally looking up. The Draconequus was waiting impatiently, arms folded, tapping one foot against the floor.

"I see." Page Assist didn’t have anything smart to say about that fact.

Discord glared at him again.

"Save whatever presumptions and judgement for someone who gives a damn. All I care about is getting him back safe and sound! And I know a faster way to find him. The guard wont reach him in time if she's already got a wedding in mind."

"If she tricks him into bed, oh geez." Page Assist looked aghast "as you're aware, h-he's-"

"In heat? Yeah, I got the idea pretty quickly." Discord said bluntly "Even though it's against his wishes, it'll play into those urges. That pony has a body that wont quit and I mean that seriously."

"We have to stop her." Page Assist wailed.

Discord closed his eyes "it's gonna use up a lot of my power, but I can track Sombra's magic through the chaos realm."

"Good! Open a portal, I’ll get the guard-!"

"You don't get it, in order to travel that far, I’ll only be able to go by myself. I can't transport that many ponies." Discord shook his head "especially if I’m to have any chance of tearing Chrysalis' little army apart. I'll get him out, but chances are she'll send reinforcements here. You need to wake the whole ARMY. Get Captain Corona and tell him to get every available soldier he can!"

Page Assist nodded.

Umbra came in and Discord told her the plan. She gave him a brief hug, whispering;

"Bring him home, please."

"I promise." Discord vowed "that fugly bug wont lay a hoof on him if I have anything to say about it!"

Then he was gone, leaving the two behind.

"My lady, did you know about them? I mean-" Page Assist coughed and Umbra rolled her eyes.

"Yes, I’ve had an idea those two would grow beyond friendship at some point or another. He's always cared for my son. Now stop freaking out."

"Buh.." Page blinked.

Umbra shook her head "you really need to go on a date, remind me to look for one for you. Now lets MOVE."

The aide nodded mutely.

Discord tore holes in reality as he honed in on the familiar signature of his lover's magic. As he worked, he recalled the wonderful nights that he and his King had had together. The way Sombra smiled, the way his eyes caught the light and that cute way he squirmed when Discord nuzzled his stomach-

The way he gave Discord pleasure beyond anything he'd dreamt of, how he allowed the Draconequus to take him...

He felt the trace grow stronger and headed in a new direction. Looking down at the map he'd grabbed from his house, he tallied what the changeling had said against what his instincts said. He was close, he could feel it.

--Chrysalis, you insane over-sized cricket, I am going to make you regret existing if you've hurt my Sombra.-- the thought of that bug Queen even so much as kissing Sombra made his temper spike. The air around him crackled ominously as he felt a his old malicious self returning. Magic surged, eager to be unleashed.

He was getting his Sombra back, one way or another and Celestia help anything that got in his way.

Back in the Umbrum kingdom, messengers were sent out to the nearest source of help, the Crystal Empire. Begging them to come at once-!

Umbra sent them via that long-distance spell Celestia had given her, then paced her room anxiously as she awaited a reply.

Unaware of the force of vengeance headed towards her, Chrysalis was busy checking her future husband out. She'd had special clothes made just for him, that shiny cloak and regalia he'd worn before had been disposed of. He wouldn't need those old reminders any more.

One thing had survived however.

The little bug that’d first chanced upon Sombra and Discord snuggling had found a discarded object on the floor whilst skulking around the room Sombra had been held in. It was a necklace, comprising of two different wings crossed one over the other.

He'd looped it around his neck, concealing it as best he could. Given changelings often scavenged things they found out and about, it wouldn't be considered too unusual, unless the Queen recognised it as belonging to her soon-to-be-husband.

The little Bug frowned as he mooched around the corridors of the hive. He didn't like this situation.

The love he'd felt emanating from the pony and chaos creatures had been so delicious, yet now it was fading. The pony wasn't eating and he hadn't spoken a single word since the brainwashing.

"Ah, little bug, I require you!" He jumped as he heard his Queen's voice. She was standing in the doorway a few rooms down, looking impatient.

"Yes my Queen?" he snapped to attention and ran over to her.

"Stay here and make sure my groom-to-be doesn't wander off. Also, try to persuade him to at least eat something, I don't want him fainting in the middle of the ceremony!" she barked.

The bug nodded and trotted into the room as the Queen left, the door shutting behind her.

The bug looked up at the imposing pony, who was staring out of a window, his expression distant.

“Hello?” he said timidly “w-would you like some food?”

Sombra didn’t answer, didn’t even seem to react. The only sign he was even listening was a minor shift in his bound wings.

The small changeling scuffed the floor with one hoof, brow furrowed. The more he stood in silence, the guiltier he grew. He felt around his neck for the scavenged necklace and buzzed over to sit by the pony, seeing how melancholy he looked.

"You miss him, don't you?" he asked. The pony didn't respond, just blinked, staring at the dismal view out the window of the hive.

"I'm sorry," the bug whispered "you were happy before and because of me you were torn away from that. This isn't right, I don't want the hive to fade away, but this cant be the right way to save it. I wish I lived in a place as bright as your palace."

Still no answer.

Bug studied the green and black attire the King now wore, flinching at the barbaric restraints keeping his wings and magic prisoner. He made his mind up, he was going to do the little he could to help this pony break free from the Queen's spell.

He took the necklace off and looped it around its original owners neck. The necklace gave off a soft shimmer as it reunited with its owners skin and the little Bug stared in fascination, did that mean it was magical?

“That's new." he whispered, it looked like a star to him.

He watched as the light faded, then tucked the necklace into the neckline of the King's outfit. It clinked against the collar keeping the monarchs mind enslaved, burying his real self.

"I'm guessing your loved one gave you that. The wings kinda remind me of yours and his."

"Discord."

Bug jumped, almost slipping off the windowsill in shock. Had the pony just spoken?

He looked up at the equine's face, seeing the look of longing had sharpened into one of acute loss. Those steely red eyes focused now on the small changeling.

Sombra looked about to speak again, then he fell silent and the dullness swept over his eyes once more.

Bug made a decision. He buzzed his wings to lift himself up and alighted on the pony's back. This was going to hurt, but it was all he could think of. He grasped the pony's wings and whispered in his ear;

"This is what her lies have done, mister King. If you want to break free, just remember how much it hurts."

Muttering an apology, he tugged at the Alicorn's wings, stretching the suppressing strap so that it bit into the pony's wing. Sombra bucked sharply, throwing the changeling off. Around his neck, the collar sparked for a moment, as if it'd encountered opposition...

Sombra canted sideways, a pained and startled gaze fixing on the changeling as he extracted himself from a nearby vase.

“W-who?” he rasped.

"You understand me?" the Bug whispered. Sombra managed a nod, body shaking a little as he fought to keep his mind straight. The hypnosis spell on that collar was so strong.

The collar sparked now and he gasped, body shuddering from the pain.

“Stretch your wings. Think of your beloved and flap them, please!” the changeling whispered, seeing the hypnosis already sweeping back in “remember your love-!”

But it was too late, the collar flared brightly again and in a second Sombra had gone blank again, back to being unemotional.

Nothing Bug did after that got any response and he didn’t dare try the wing trick again. If Sombra's wings bled, the Queen would suspect something was wrong and might re-enforce the spell, ruining any chance of escape.

The Bug tried to get him to eat, but the pony turned his head away. It was like a subconscious protest, Bug thought, against the loss of the one he'd adored.

Discord felt a shiver run up his spine and seconds later hit a see-through wall. Of course, that bug Queen had set up a shield. He hovered in mid-air, recalling how he'd unravelled Sombra's shield that time.

But THIS would require more power then he usually allowed himself to use. Chaos magic, like dark magic, was very easy to run wild on. You could really lose yourself in it...

But without it, he'd never get his love back.

He imagined his beloved stallion in cahoots with Chrysalis, kissing HER, imagined her duping the Alicorn king into bed-

His heart become a roiling ball of fury, his chest about to burst as red sparks made his coat bristle all over.

--She took away the one I fell for, she must pay.-- he felt his limits break and with a surge of adrenaline and a roar of anger, he let it flood his veins with liquid fire.

He was unleashed, and angry...

Some time later, the door creaked open and two higher ranked changeling guards stood there. Bug blinked up at them, was it time already?

"Our Queen awaits." they intoned and the captive Sombra merely nodded as they gestured for him to follow them.

“Mmm, smell those pheromones.” The first changeling leaned close to Sombra's neck as they walked, teeth glinting. The pony didn't respond, just kept his eyes ahead of him.

“I know,” the other took a deep breath “our Queen is most fortunate. I want a taste.”

“Unless you want to be hiveless, keep your hooves to yourself.” the first guard said “Chrysalis will not tolerate any attempted besmirching of her new husband.”

“Fine, fine.” the second guard snorted.

Bug looked from one to the next, then at the King. Could he hear this?

The two guards escorted Sombra to the massive main chamber where hundreds of changelings were gathered to see their new King.

Chrysalis, wearing an outfit made to match Sombra's, smirked smugly as she ordered him to see her and the pony's gaze went straight to her face, she could get to like this!

The changelings cheered as their new King ascended the steps to the rocky outcropping that served as an altar of sorts.

"Today, we usher in a new era for all changelings!" Chrysalis boasted as she caressed her new partners cheek with one hoof, smirking then stealing a kiss, licking her lips as she let him go. Such valuable love...

"At last, I have found a worthy guardian and power source for our new brood. Magic unlike anything seen before combined with my own! We will not fall to those pathetic elements of harmony, nor that bratty pink Princess!"

The changelings booed and hissed at the reminder. Such was their excitement and fervour that none noticed something move within the shadows, deep down at the bottom of the crevasse beyond the altar.

One of the higher ranked changelings stepped forward and began intoning the ceremony for a changeling wedding. Chrysalis felt like a giddy little bug again, she'd finally done it, finally secured her hive's future! She had a powerful King all her own and he was a magnificent specimen, made of living crystal with delectable love stored within him. He shimmered in the myriad of green and yellow lights in the cavern.

Chrysalis chuckled as the overseer of the wedding recited the line about “any who could prove the bond was not sacred, step forward now”. Who was there to object? Sombra would never realise he'd had a life before her. He'd be a husk she could admire like a trophy, a source of power.

"Speak now or be cast aside-!" the changeling cut off as he heard a sharp voice pierce the attentive silence.

"Sounds like my cue!" the voice echoed eerily around the walls.

Chrysalis whirled, baring her fangs.

"Who dares?" she spat.

"Take a guess, Chrissy." a swirling shadow lit from within by red lighting rose up now from the bottom of the pit. Changelings scattered, frightened by this intruder.

"How?" Chrysalis gaped, how had her guards not spotted this thing?

"Oh, I didn't bother using the door, I just ripped a hole in reality." the shadow took definite form.

"You!" Chrysalis scowled "well, you're too late, your little screw-toy is mine now!"

Her degrading words only made Discord more furious. How dare she-

"You took something very important from me, Chrysalis. I may have promised Celestia I wouldn't cause trouble, but even she will not stand between me and getting back what I want."

It pained him to see the way Sombra wouldn't even look up, just stared dully at something nopony else could fathom.

--What did she do to you, my love?-- he wondered, snarling deep in his chest.

"Get him!" Chrysalis screamed, pointing a hoof at Discord.

The swarm leapt as one, even as jagged bolts of black lightning swatted many aside, leaving them unconscious and drained. But where one lot fell, more took their place.

The chaos lord roared and launched into the swarm of attackers. Chrysalis laughed, how deluded could Discord be, did he think he had a chance against so many?

"What an admirable effort, wouldn’t you say, my King?" she chuckled.

No answer, of course not. He hadn't spoken since she'd collared him.

“We needn’t fret, they will keep him busy. Let the wedding continue!” she laughed, glancing over at the changeling overseeing their wedding. He was staring at Sombra in panic, mouth opening and shutting with nothing coming out.

“My Queen.” he croaked in shock at last, lifting a hoof to point at the stallion.

"What-?!" She looked at him, then back at Sombra. What she seen made her feel the first prickle of unease.

Sombra was staring up at the formidable figure his lover had become and his expression was one of gut-wrenching hope.

Even as Discord's form shifted more and more into a fanged, shadowy coil of fury and vengeance, his looming presence filling the cavern, Sombra only saw the being that had treasured him so sincerely. Who loved him and made love to him night after night, saving him from himself.

Who was he marrying? It was not the one he wanted to be with, he was sure. The feeling grew as his vision blurred from the beautiful heartache his memories were giving him.

He'd been betrayed, lied to.

Tricked.

--This cant be!!-- Chrysalis stood frozen, the battle around her forgotten as she watched her former captive actually responding. The collar flickered, as if labouring under an immense backlash...

She shook her head, mind clanging alarms yet she couldn’t move a muscle.

--Impossible.-- she thought numbly –he can't have broken my spell! He doesn’t have love magic, he's a creature of darkness!--

Time seemed to slow, the sounds of the fight phasing out. Little Bug, hidden behind an outcropping, watched as the tears that filled the pony's eyes fell down his face now and one splashed onto the necklace hidden below the collar of his outfit, absorbing into it and stirring it to wake.

A faint light began to shine from within the necklace. A light that quickly spread to the collar, leeching its magic. It seemed to calcify, turning brittle and grey-

"What's that?!" Chrysalis lunged urgently for it, mind breaking free of its stun lock as her disbelief became real panic.

But little Bug wasn't going to let her do it.

He gathered up any and all bravery he had and tackled her at a run, his small weight cannonballing into her chest and knocking her on her ass. She screamed and lashed out with her forelegs, blows striking Bug's head and back as he did his best to stop her from reaching the King.

Despite his bravery, Bug didn't last long against the bigger changeling. She wrestled him off, striking him once more across the face with her hoof. He mewled in pain as she threw him to the ground, her hoof raising to stamp him out for good.

--Please run away, King.-- the changeling thought, closing his eyes and readying himself for a killing blow.

But as Chrysalis' hoof descended, a bubble popped into existence around the small Bug, throwing her back several feet. The stunned overseer changeling helped his Queen to her feet as he snapped out of his own trance and they looked at what had thwarted the Queen.

Images filled Sombra's head as he witnessed the fight above him. It was all so clear now, this was the one he loved, not that Queen! His love had come to get him back. The sharp pain of seeing him again, mixed with his true feelings, fought the spell around his mind.

A soft glow filled his vision and he looked down. Something was draped around his neck.

Sombra pressed a hoof to it and felt a familiar warmth as more memories flashed through his mind. Glimpses of that first night and how passionate it had been, the nights that had followed and the kisses shared. He remembered a birthday gift, lovemaking in the orchard under an apple tree, the sound of a shower running, hands caressing his wings-

--Get this spell out of my head!-- he screamed inside. No sooner had the words formed in his head then he experienced a piercing pain so bad he almost blacked out. His pulse roared in his ears, heart pounding in anger and defiance.

--Remember how much her lies hurt.-- words stitched together from hazy memories jabbed into his head, stabbing like knives. The light grew brighter, he couldn't see-

With a sickening lurch of adrenaline, his head cleared. He found he could see properly, THINK for himself again. Something brushed his coat and he looked down to see grey cracked metal falling in rusted chunks. A collar?

He heard a scream of fury and whipped round in time to see Queen Chrysalis about to hurt a smaller changeling.

The words he'd heard in his head, they belonged to this changeling. He recognised his face, instinctively knew this small Bug had tried to help him and he felt sorry for him. This Bug had given him the necklace back then and in turn his freedom NOW.

He begged the necklace and whatever was in it to protect the little Bug, even as he forced his aching body forward to reach the battered changeling in time to stop the Queen-

To his relief, a shield swirled up around himself and the Bug, sending Chrysalis flying. Sombra glared at her and the changeling helping her up, as he stood over the innocent Bug.

"You witch." Sombra spat out as they stared at him in surprise "Princess Cadance was right about you!"

Chrysalis hissed in fury at that name.

"You can't hide in there forever, or did you forget you have no magic?" she laughed, he couldn’t keep this up, sooner or later he'd run out of power!

Sombra merely glared at her, remaining silent. He could feel the suppressor locked around his horn, not the strongest type but more than he had strength to shatter right now.

"That little trinket cant protect you for much longer." Chrysalis grinned widely “then we will finish what we started.”

Sombra looked to the side, where he could see Discord appeared to be beating back the swarm of changelings. But he could also hear the chaos lord roaring in pain as he was hit and scratched, bitten and bruised.

He could not fall now, not after Discord had risked his life to save him, this was ending here!

Bug whimpered, opening his eyes as the noise of the fight muffled a little. He seen a shield surrounding him and hooves braced either side of his body, realising mister King was protecting him.

The dazed changeling looked up at him, his eyes meeting tired crimson ones. He was free from the hypnosis, Bug noted with relief. Had his words helped?

He buzzed one wing, for his throat hurt too much to talk. Mister King needed to break his shackles!

Sombra stared down at the Bug, seeing a desperate attempt to communicate there. Then it clicked, the changeling was telling him to use his wings. He looked at them now, a swell of nausea rising up as he seen and felt the wing brace locking them in place.

"If you want to break free, remember how much it hurts."

Those were the words this little Bug had pleaded with the Alicorn to remember, even as the spell retook his mind. This would hurt, might even cause serious damage, but it was his only chance.

Sombra closed his eyes, gritted his teeth and began moving his wings. Pain bit into them and he gasped out loud, but dug his hooves in regardless, putting his strength into the powerful wings. The apparatus restraining them began to creak, the components fracturing against the Alicorn's might.

"What"? Chrysalis stammered, eyes widening "is he insane-?!"

She cut off as with a feral roar, Sombra shattered the restraints, wings unfolding to maximum. Blood splattered the floor as he did and he was in obvious pain for fresh tears gathered in his eyes. But when he lifted his head up, Chrysalis seen only triumph there and it sent a cold chill into her.

"You will never have me, nor my empire!" the Umbrum vowed, then grabbed Bug by the scruff of his neck, slinging him atop his back and telling him to hold on.

Then he turned to look up at his lover, now a raging whirlwind of shadow and called his name.

Discord heard Sombra's voice through the static of his rage like a light in the fog and came back to himself a moment. He looked beyond the swarm he battled against and his eyes locked with Sombra's. He seen the pony he adored, seen those same emotions mirrored in those garnet red eyes.

Even though distance separated them and the roar and fury of the fight drowned out all sound, Discord read the movement of those lips.

"I need you to catch me, one more time."

Then the shield dropped and Sombra took off at a run.

Chrysalis snapped out of her daze and dove after him, firing off a searing bolt of magic that sliced across Sombra's hind leg. Normally this would be enough to cripple any normal opponent but Sombra didn’t stop running.

Bug clung to Sombra's neck as the pony dove off the ledge, his injured wings unable to fly. He shut his eyes, convinced they were going to die.

The immense Discorded shadow gave an ear-shattering roar, batting a fresh wave of changelings aside long enough to get free and dive down, arms reaching for the plummeting pony.

Chrysalis shrieked in fury as Discord caught Sombra before she could intercept, cradling the pony's body in his hands. The the shadow being then folded into himself, his shadow swirling around the lover he'd come to reclaim.

With a blast of icy air, they disappeared.

Silence fell as the changelings realised what had happened. They looked at chrysalis, who stood stock still and seething in anger.

"You’ll pay for this, Discord!" the jilted Queen screamed. How dare that screwed up chaos lord take what she wanted?!

She turned to her generals "that kingdom will BURN! We fly!"

They nodded and began to gather the swarm, fetching weapons and forming squadrons behind their queen as she tore away the fancy wedding gown she wore, eyes blazing. She seen the collar, now looking like it'd aged a thousand years, lying scattered in pieces on the rocky floor...

"You won't get away with this, Sombra!"

Discord shot through several portals as he escaped, finally coming to a stop as he ejected from the chaos realm and crashed into a forest. Sombra fell from his arms, rolling across the forest floor, Bug clinging to him still.

Coughing, the King lifted his head, blurting the Draconequus' name, where was he?

There! Discord was still part shadow and lightning, sparks racing over his coat as he writhed and twisted, howling in anger as he searched blindly for someone or something to punish. Sombra set the injured changeling aside and half scrambled, half staggered over to Discord.

The chaos being roared again and Sombra felt the pain he was in. Couldn’t he sense him, or was his anger too great?

Seeing Discord about to take off in search of a target for his vengeance, Sombra threw himself at him, using his body weight to pin the upper half of Discord's form to the leaf strewn floor.

But his precious Draconequus was still so angry, his actual form seeming to warp and shift as he fought back against the very pony he'd gone so far to save.

"Discord, please!" Sombra gasped. His heart cramped up as Discord only roared in reply. How could he stop him? His magic was locked up behind this suppressor...

His vision began to blur and he nuzzled against Discord's neck. A choked sob tore from his throat, his heart felt ready to break from the thought of losing Discord. The Draconequus had given everything to rescue him, it wasn’t fair he should be stuck this way-!

"Please listen to me," he choked out "do you remember that night when we first made love? You said you would protect me from those nightmares, you promised you wouldn't let me suffer all alone. I need you Discord, I need you by my side-”

The pain in his voice was clear and it finally stood a chance. The furious beast of chaos, once fixated on pursuing the scent of every changeling he could find, now heard a voice pierce through the howl of anger in his head. A voice that tied to intense feelings, nights of passion. He knew that voice now, it was the one he fought for-.

Discord stilled abruptly, body tensed like a coil of energy and Sombra didn’t dare raise his head, afraid this was the calm before the storm.

“You gave me something I refuse to live without, your HEART. You showed me a world where I laugh and see myself as you do. Please come back to me, Discord-”

He cut off again as his chest was cramped so tight he could hardly breathe, gasping sobs tearing their way from his throat. Discord's heartbeat pounded close in his ear as he lay pressed to his body, tears soaking into the chaos creatures fur. Remembering something they'd shared a smile over one evening in his chambers, Sombra pressed a trembling kiss over the Draconequus' heart.

--Beat with mine again..-- the pony pleaded, the scent of his lover’s fur filling his muzzle.

The haze cleared even further as Discord felt the kiss to his chest. It was the sweetest thing his love had ever done-

"I’m not going back without you." Sombra croaked out loud, closing his eyes as the tears stung.

The silence seemed to stretch forever and his heart felt ready to break, then he felt a warm hand settle on his back. His breath caught in his throat, heart freezing as fear and hope tugged brutally at it. Was Discord back to his senses or was he about to throw Sombra aside? He pleaded silently for it to be the former.

"Sombra." Discord's voice was a croak, but it held a lot of emotion. "Look up."

Sombra raised his head, meeting tired eyes he knew so well.

"Hey," Discord chided gently, although his voice trembled "no need to be upset, I’m here."

Sombra struggled to speak, fresh tears welling up. He looked heartbreakingly relieved, ears shivering against his head.

"You nearly weren’t!" Sombra finally blurted as he pushed himself up a little so he could peer down at the Draconequus.

"Sombra." Discord said softly, gently brushing Sombra's cheek with one hand.

"If you ended up lost, what would be the point in saving me-?" Sombra began, but was cut off by Discord pressing a finger to his lips.

"Hush up. There is every point in the WORLD to saving you, my precious Sombra. Your ponies need you, Equestria needs you. If you got hurt because I was too afraid to do what’s right, what was needed, I’d never forgive myself. I knew unleashing that much magic at once was dangerous, but if I didn't, I knew you'd be still looking at HER with those kind eyes. I couldn’t stand seeing what she'd done to you."

Discord fell silent as he studied his precious stallion, seen the fear, panic, pain and worry in his eyes. He knew he couldn't childishly hope to shield Sombra from these feelings, but he COULD do his best to get him through it.

"Discord." Sombra spoke at last, his heart rate calming enough to let him breathe.

Their eyes met and Sombra found himself swept up in an adoring kiss that made his heart race in longing and relief.

He was free and his beloved was here. They were safe.

Discord sat them up, pressing the pony against his chest in a fierce embrace.

“Sombra, my precious King.” he whispered “don’t fret, it's alright. We're together.”

“I-I know,” Sombra choked out “but I feared we may not have been.”

“I'm sorry I scared you, please forgive me.” Discord soothed, rubbing his stallions back. Sombra was shaking in relief, joy and probably a half dozen other emotions. Discord nuzzled behind the pony's ears, which were trembling just a little. He had to be in shock from all that'd happened, that spell breaking would have hurt.

"Sombra..." He got his lovers attention and the pony blinked up at him. Discord kissed him lightly, then said what he'd been thinking for a while now.

"I love you." he said firmly.

Sombra flushed, heartbeat picking up a notch.

"Discord.." he said in a hushed voice, heart lifting. Discord smiled.

"I mean it. I love you so damn much, Sombra." he said bluntly. Sombra blushed softly, then quickly closed the gap between them and kissed Discord in lieu of words. He couldn't seem to speak.

“You've given me something I longed for all my life. Acceptance,” the chaos lord whispered as the kiss ended “you looked at me and seen someone worth caring for, not just a nuisance prankster. I realised as I flew to the hive that I would give up anything fate could ask of me as long as I got you back!”

Sombra was about to say something of his own, when Discord suddenly went tense. Sombra felt a jab of panic, what was happening?

"Sombra." Discord suddenly set him down, shielding him with his body "run."

"What?" Sombra now seen what Discord was so on edge about. The Draconequus had spotted the lone changeling that'd helped Sombra break free. In his efforts to return his beloved Draconequus to normal, he'd forgotten about his other rescuer!

Discord lunged for the Bug with an angry roar and Sombra bolted unsteadily to his feet. His injured wings cramped up and he bit back a cry of pain but he managed to close the gap in a second, getting between Discord and the changeling.

"Discord, stop!" he cried. But he found himself scooped up by Discord's tail and lifted out of reach of him.

"Where there's one, there'll be more-" Discord began.

"HE IS NOT THE ENEMY!" Sombra cried as loud as he could.

Discord looked at him, looking confused and hurt. Then something dawned on him.

"The hypnosis, it's still active." he said, horror sinking in.

"No it s not." Sombra glared. "it is just me!"

"Prove it." Discord said coldly, even as he began to panic "what did I say the morning after our first night together, when you fobbed the staff pony off saying you'd had a rough night?"

Sombra smiled despite the pain in his chest.

"”Rough, hm? That's not what you were saying last night! As I recall, it wasn't really words, orgasmic moans maybe". Then you said I was hotter than the damn shower water and if I wanted to make it to breakfast on time, I-"

He was cut off as Discord brought him close enough to kiss him.

"And what a stunning voice you had, my love." the chaos lord said, relief coursing through him "I’m sorry."

"It is alright," Sombra whispered "just please trust me."

Discord nodded and set Sombra down. The monarch moved so he stood between Discord and the changeling and stood up on his hind legs to nudge Discord's muzzle with his own. His hooves came to rest on his lover's chest.

"It was while you were fighting her minions. That necklace you gave me, it began to glow."

Discord seen it now, hanging around his pony's neck. It held many sweet memories, Sombra had been wearing it when they'd slept together that first time.

"It snapped me out of that daze she had me in. I seen you, that was what triggered it. Chrysalis tried to attack me, stop me from getting free from her hold. But that little changeling bought me enough time to survive. I seen her getting ready to stomp him out Discord, I couldn't let it happen. He saved me, just like you did. Please, hear him out."

He looked into eyes that had always shown him such kindness and devotion as he prayed Discord would follow his request. His legs were shaking, his back throbbing and he was so tired. Sensing Sombra's discomfort, Discord wrapped his arms around the stallion's middle, supporting the pony's body against his own.

"For you, my precious Sombra. Always for you."

Sombra gave a relieved, shaky sigh. He was let go and settled back onto all fours.

He looked over now at the changeling, who was watching this with wide, slightly starry eyes.

"Why is he spaced out, just how hard did Chrysalis hit him?" Discord asked.

"Sorry," the changeling stammered, shaking his head to dispel the haze "you two have such a strong aura, the sensation of your bond is extremely powerful. It's delicious."

"He cannot help it." Sombra surmised, looking at Discord.

"...Fine." Discord grumbled "he does know I’m the jealous type, right?"

Sombra chuckled softly, nuzzling his neck.

Discord glanced at the Bug, seen it's right cheek was swollen really badly and it looked pretty downcast.

"She must've been super pissed." he surmised, eyebrow raised.

Sombra looked at the Bug "do you have a name?" he asked.

The Bug shook his head "I’m too low ranking, so I’m just..Bug. I have a pheromone signature, but no name."

Sombra looked at the way the changeling bug had a soft, almost feathery texture to his wings.

"What about Feather?" he suggested and the Bug's eyes lit up.

"I can have a name?" he asked breathlessly.

"Why shouldn't you?" Sombra asked. This set off poor Feather, who began to cry once more as he bowed before the stallion.

"Thank you, King. Nopony has ever been so kind to me before."

"Bit of an oddity, isn't he?" Discord muttered and Feather stopped bowing to look up at him now.

"I am a "runt", according to my nest mates. They pushed me around a lot. I didn't like seeing what the Queen was doing to the King. When I seen you before, you were so happy together."

"What do you mean, when you seen us before?" Sombra asked and the changeling blushed bright red, bowing once more into the grass.

"W-well, I was scouting the gardens when I seen you both, you were doing what you were doing over there, but under a tree."

Sombra proceeded to go beet red as the realisation sunk in.

"Little pervert-!" Discord snapped and Sombra had to move quickly to stop him from trying to strangle Feather.

"How long was he watching us for?" the Draconequus snapped.

"I-I didn't see you doing anything. I just seen you kiss a few times, you were so content together."

Sombra flushed as he recalled that moment, the afterglow of their passionate coupling.

"You two have a very powerful bond, it's nearly overwhelming." Feather sniffled "I’d never seen anything like it."

"I see." Sombra understood the tears now.

Feather sniffled.

"What are you going to do with me? I can't go back, I betrayed the hive by attacking the Queen. I have no home now."

Sombra frowned, mind whirring. At last he sighed and Discord looked at him.

"Let me guess, you want to keep him?" he sighed. Sombra looked up at him, a pleading look in his eyes.

"I owe him a debt for helping get me back to YOU," he said "I seen Chrysalis try to kill him. He is right, he will not be safe if the hive catches him."

"Oh..fine!" Discord groaned "but I swear, if I catch him peeping ever again, he's out on his ear!"

"I wont do that, I p-promise!" Feather stammered, hope rising.

"We need to get back." Sombra said now the matter was settled. He tried to flap his wings and intense pain jabbed through his back.

"Sombra!" Discord cried as he peered at his lover's wings, seeing the blood from the suppressor seeping through the feathers. Now he looked closer, he also seen the magic suppressor on his lover's horn.

"How do I get this thing off?" he panicked. Feather bit his lip and coughed nervously, nearly bolting when Discord whirled on him.

"What do you know?" the Draconequus threatened, picking the changeling up under his forelegs and bringing him close to his face.

"L-let me try." Feather begged.

Discord brought him over to Sombra and kept a stern eye on him as the changeling balanced on Sombra's back, angled his head and used his sharp little fangs to gnaw at the suppressor. Within a few seconds, there was a click and it emitted a bright flash before falling to the grass. One of Feather's fangs was missing a chip from it, but he said it didn't hurt.

"How?" Sombra said woozily as his magic flooded his senses.

"I have thinner teeth then the others, I learnt to pick locks to gather food. The Queen had the key around her neck, it had thin spikes like my teeth." Feather blushed.

"Huh, that's almost impressive." Discord had to admit.

Feather figured this was as kind as Discord likely felt towards him and gladly took it.

Before they could ascertain where they were and how far they had to go, there was a sudden rumble overhead. Feather cried for them to hide and the trio hid beneath a heavy cover of trees. The sound of many wings buzzing zoomed above them.

“What is going on?" Sombra whispered.

"They're attacking, those are the sounds of the squadrons." Feather realised what would require so many changelings "she's furious."

"She's heading for my home." Sombra's heart sank.

"She's going to get her ass kicked." Discord vowed.

He looked at Sombra now "I can try get us as close via portal as I can, but I used up quite a lot back there against that psycho bug-"

"My magic will assert itself," Sombra nodded "let's go!"

Discord settled Sombra atop his back and Feather clung onto his tail as he ripped open a portal.

They zoomed through patches of clear air and chaos space, Sombra clinging on for dear life. It was like a rock skimming over a pond, each little skip making his stomach flop and flutter. It was quite a weird sensation.

"Is your magic any better?" Discord asked as they neared the city. Sombra managed a reassuring voice.

"Almost. I am sorry if I am heavy, my wing's cannot-"

"Pah, you don't weigh that much. Besides, not like this is the first time you've ridden me, after all." Discord caught Sombra's eye and waggled his eyebrows rudely.

The crude sexual innuendo made Sombra laugh for a brief moment despite his fear for his kingdom. It made him remember why he fell for this crazy being and how much much he loved him. He nuzzled against his lover's back, memorizing the scent of his fur, feeling relief beyond measure to be back with him once more.

Once this was over, he taking a holiday and he was dragging Discord along with him. Even if all they did was stay in bed and snuggle, he would happily settle for that.

"Discord?" he mumbled softly.

"Mmm?"

"Once this is over, can we just tell our friends? Heck, I wish to inform the entire empire and beyond its borders! I am tired of hiding and sneaking around, I want free right to kiss you whenever the buck I feel like and if anypony does not like it, they can kiss my flank."

"First off, your flank? That's my department. Secondly," the Draconequus wished they had time to stop and let him kiss Sombra until he got dizzy "if it makes you happy, I’ll put an advert in the paper!"

Sombra laughed softly, heart cramping up in happiness "I’m glad to hear that."

Feather heard the emotion in their voices, again felt that bond between them that the Queen had attempted to manipulate for her own ends. He knew that had she succeeded, she would've created a breed of changelings that combined her power and that of the Umbrum.

When they cleared the next portal, Sombra seen the Umbrum city ahead. His stomach sank, the sky was swarming with changelings.

"No-" Sombra felt his blood run cold in his veins.

"Hang on, handsome. You too, you little escapee." Discord said sharply. He felt Sombra's forelegs tighten around his neck, heard the worried hitch of breath in his ear.

He took off at speed, hearing Feather shriek in surprise. The changelings spotted them and tried to charge them, but Discord put his agility into overdrive, darting this way and that. He knew the city inside and out, having spent so much time in it by himself and with it's King. Sombra deflected many of them as they flew, bursts of magic shattering crystal left and right. It made him furious to see his city crawling with these bugs.

As he fought, he noted they seemed drawn to the magic blasts he was using to throw them off their tail. The magic was like-

"Like moths to a flame." he whispered, an idea tentatively blooming. He spoke as loudly to Discord as he could over the racket surrounding them.

"Get to the top of the place, I have a plan."

Discord nodded and flew as close to the palace as he could then banked sharply upwards, almost hugging the walls as they headed for the top. The glittering walls of the palace shot by, their reflections distorted by the fractal patterns. Feather felt about to be sick, this was a little much for a creature who had barely ventured out of his hive until recently!

They landed on the top of the palace where Sombra summoned a bubble shield to protect them as the changelings tried to catch up.

"Whatever your plan is, my dear Sombra, you may need to hurry it up!" Discord said urgently.

Sombra dismounted from his back, stumbling onto shaky hooves. He sat down at the towers centre and took the twin-winged necklace from around his neck. He looked down at it, seeing there was still a faint glow within. Whatever had saved him back in that cave at the fake wedding was still hanging on.

--Can you help me? There’s so many changelings.-- he seen a faint glimmer and took a deep breath.

He extended his forelegs, the necklace floating just above them. Spell markings writ themselves into the crystal of the roof around him as he closed his eyes. They rapidly expanded, sketching out what appeared to be a labyrinthine shape.

"What are you doing?” Feather asked.

"Discord, could you keep a grip on Feather in a minute, this may mess with his head a little."

Sombra opened his eyes and looked over at the Draconequus as he spoke. Discord nodded and Feather looked blankly between the two.

"What's gonna happen?" he asked, concerned by this request.

"In order to expel them all from the city, I need to gather them together." Sombra stated.

"If they're all in one spot..." Discord and Feather both realised the logic of Sombra's plan. They exchanged looks, Discord worried and Feather confused.

"Then what?" he asked, his insect-like wings buzzing.

"I can teleport them out, but I cannot guarantee how far away it will go." Sombra sighed sadly "I am sorry Feather, but you will witness me scattering them far from you and their hive. I bear no hate for your species, only Chrysalis' way of saving it. I hope someday you'll forgive me but I must do this, for the safety of my own people."

Feather nodded, seeing the sincerity in his eyes. Sombra looked at Discord, asking he come sit beside him a moment.

"What do you need my precious King?" Discord asked. Sombra smiled and said two words.

"A kiss."

He got one that made his wings go pomf and sent familiar delicious shivers up his spine. He smiled, nuzzling Discord's nose before asking him and Feather to stay as far away as possible, this was going to get crazy.

He closed his eyes, keeping the feeling of that wonderful kiss in the forefront of his mind.

"You want love? Then come and get it!" he whispered, feeding everything he could feel into the necklace. All those wonderful nights with Discord, the sense of safety and comfort, pleasure and anticipation. Hearing those three words from Discord after the rescue.

Discord felt a strange shiver run through both himself and the changeling. Feather squirmed anxiously, trying to get free.

"What's gotten into you?" Discord snapped.

"The love," the changeling whined "i-it's so delicious!"

He was gazing starry-eyed at the King.

Discord heard a thud and seen a changeling pressing itself to the shield and drooling, followed swiftly by more.

He realised what his beloved was doing, he was drawing them all to one one place. How? By offering them the love and lust they desired so badly.

The amulet pulsed, then grew to almost ten times it's size. Sombra began feeding the magic into it. It began to glow brighter, until it was almost obscured. The changeling's were gnashing and drooling at the shield, sensing such delicious energy, nothing down below could compete!

"What?" Chrysalis stared as her minions all turned to face the light blazing from the top of the tower, it was like a beacon. "Ignore the light, you fools! It's that King's treachery!"

But they didn’t listen, their eyes were fixed on the glowing light. She flew from one to the next, trying to haul them back, but they slipped through her grasp.

Then she got a taste of it herself and felt her mind go slack. It was so tempting, love both emotional and sexual.

She shook her head and her anger returned.

"No! I won't have it! I’ll kill you Sombra!" she screamed. She flew towards the light and that was when everything changed.

Cadance and Shining Armor had received a magic scroll delivery via an emergency spell cast by Lady Umbra, pleading for aid.

They didn't wait, summoning their guards and setting off immediately for the Umbrum kingdom.

One of the advancements made to the empire was new railways, one of which headed straight for the Umbrum kingdom. The driver put the train into full speed and they tore through the wastes separating their kingdoms. Unlike the cargo trains, this one had a magic-powered engine that could match a speeding pegasi for mph!

"I hope we can get there in time!" Cadance fretted. The train was carrying as many soldiers as they could fit, already to fight.

As they approached, they seen the sky was filled with changelings.

"It's like the wedding all over again!" Shining Armor paled.

"Umbra's letter said they kidnapped Sombra, I hope Discord was able to get him back." Cadance had been surprised when she read that Discord had gone after Chrysalis solo.

"Cadie honey, I have to ask." Shining Armor piped up, curiosity gnawing at his mind "Is- are those two?"

Cadance rolled her eyes "Yes, Shining, they're in a relationship."

"Huh." Shining thought back to their recent visit "explains why Sombra wasn't phased by Discord sticking moustaches on statues and running loose on his own!"

"The dance at the party gave it away for me," Cadance smiled softly "I don't think many realised the pony doing that flirty dance was in fact Discord."

"I thought he was some dignitary with a crush on Sombra."

Cadance smiled softly at him "I can't explain it, but I sensed Sombra was happier then I’d ever picked up on."

A shout from the driver told them they were there. The two royals exchanged looks and nodded.

They disembarked and raced alongside the guards, heading towards the heart of the city.

“There’s so many..!” Shining Armor growled “We have to reach the palace!”

They began pushing back the changelings attacking the citizens, slowly making their way towards the palace block by block.

Then there was an audible boom and they felt a sudden vibration in the air.

"Look!" Cadance pointed to the castle, where a blinding light was drawing the changelings to it, their expressions dazed.

"What's going on?" Shining asked "who's doing that?"

The whole group picked up the pace, eyes fixed on the palace.

But soon as they got close enough, Cadance suddenly seemed to go blank, floored by the sheer adoration and love within the blast of magic and she stopped mid-sentence, mid-stride, her eyes shrinking to pinpricks as she seen a flash of images and sensations.

A grey hoof, being held in two mismatched hands, the sense of warmth on her cheek, from a kiss. A sense of safety, amidst nightmares so dark. The simple joy of having a loved one nearby…

These were Sombra's memories, his emotions. They were strong enough to make her heart ache. A reclusive King, his heart finally feeling free all thanks to the love of his best friend.

“Cadie?” she came back to herself to find tears in her eyes.

Discord kept an iron grip on the fidgeting changeling as the light enveloped his precious Umbrum.

"Sombra!" he yelled, panic clawing at his heart. The light expanded, shooting up into the sky. As it faded, Discord stared at what emerged from it.

A crystal illusion was the best way he could describe it.

It was big, appearing first as a pair of wings enclosing a body. They unfolded, their impressive span seeming to envelop the palace and unveiling the ponies beneath. The winged necklace, now more like an artefact, was held in his hooves.

Sombra's mane was made of shifting light, seeming to reflect and refract many different colours. Only the top half of his body was visible, the rest disappearing into the corona of light surrounding the tower.

Chrysalis screeched to a halt mid-flight and tried to back-peddle, but the big crystal illusion flickered and a pulse of light flashed across the sky. Every changeling froze in place, held aloft by a purple, shining magic.

The apparition spoke, even though its mouth never moved, it's voice was heard loud and clear by all.

"You claim love is what feeds you, yet you are undone by the very thing you seek. Love is not about force, about manipulation. Your plan failed because it is not your right to tear down that which is not yours. I will not tolerate your actions against my kingdom, against myself, against who I love. Do not dare cross these borders again, or it will be the last action you take. I will protect the citizens of this empire, no matter what it takes."

The former necklace began to glow once more. It disappeared into the pony's body, which began to glow and become significantly more solid.

The massive crystal King closed his eyes, magic making his horn glow brightly.

Chrysalis realised what was coming and felt a terrifying sense of deja vu, coupled with a fresh fear. What WAS Sombra? She'd never thought he had this kind of power.

The immense crystal monarch emitted a pulse of light and her musings were cut off as an energy wave punched into her, catapulting not just her but all her minions across the sky. A teleport spell tingled over her skin and the world went white.

The next thing she seen was a big empty expanse. No kingdom in sight, only dry, scrubby looking trees and rocky caves. Wherever they were, it was nowhere near home, again.

"Sombra..?" Cadance stared at the crystallized pony that dominated the sky. She heard Sombra's voice, spelling out what would happen if Chrysalis should harm him, his loved one, or any citizen of his empire ever again.

"OK, that’s new." Shining sputtered out, seeing shock and awe on the faces of the ponies around them "he never mentioned having a THIRD form!"

"I doubt he knew before now!" they turned as they heard a familiar voice. It was Captain Corona, a gargoyle guard who stood at the head of Sombra's army.

"Greetings your highnesses," he said hurriedly "good to see you!"

There was a big kaboom of a spell going off and they looked up in time to see the changelings be catapulted back then teleported en masse, the trails of the teleport spells as they flew away from the empire looked like shooting stars. Ponies cheered, dancing and hugging as the invading changelings were banished from the kingdom.

"Look!" One of the crystal guards pointed at the palace. The giant Alicorn illusion was starting to fade, disintegrating into the wind, sparkles of light scattering like fireworks over the sky. They seen a faint light fall from the centre of it, landing atop the towers top.

"Let's go!" Cadance cried. Corona nodded, and they raced to the palace.

Discord felt his brain short circuit as he took in the vision of a pony that loomed above them now.

He kept a tight grip on Feather, even covering his eyes as the rest of the changelings were ejected from the kingdom's skies.

Then the giant illusion faded and a glowing shape fell to the floor.

"Sombra!" Discord hurriedly set the changeling down on the ground, running across the shimmery tiles to where the light faded to show his precious King. But Sombra was very still...

"Don't you dare." Discord felt his throat lock up in fear as he seen the pony lying there so lifeless. He knelt beside him, placing a paw on his cheek.

"C'mon Sombra, wake up."

Feather came over, eyes filled with worried tears. He sensed something was wrong. The love in that blast had made his heart ache and it was all from this pony's feelings. How much he loved the being now franticly trying to rouse him.

Discord panicked even more as he seen Sombra's wings begin to fuse to his body.

"No you don't, you're not going through that again, my love." he muttered, wiping his eyes.

He closed his eyes, dredging as deep into his magic as he could so as to give the pony everything he had. He felt a hoof settle over his and he opened his eyes to see Feather there.

"I absorbed some of your King's magic when he unleashed that blast. Please, take it."

"Thank you." Discord said hoarsely, petting Feather's head. The changeling closed his eyes, giving his power to the Draconequus, who in turn fed it into Sombra's body.

It worked, to their gut-wrenching relief. The chaos magic plus the return of some of his own power made Sombra's crystal coma fusion judder and stop, then go into reverse.

The pony's wings shivered, rising slightly then falling as the stasis was halted and undone. Some colour returned to Sombra's face and Discord seen him draw breath.

"Sombra." he whispered, caressing the pony's cheek, hoping for a word, for his eyes to open.

Sombra wheezed, coughed and began hyperventilating as he believed he couldn't breathe, his lungs straining for air-

"It's alright!" Discord scooped him up in his arms, cradling the pony to his chest "breathe, my precious Sombra, it's OK!"

Sombra coughed, shivered and still struggled to breathe deeply.

Discord kissed him softly, massaging the base of his ear with one hand. Sombra relaxed, the comfort of the kiss snapping him back to reality and thus, when Discord released him, he took a deep breath at last.

"Dis...cor...d.." he croaked, trying to talk only for Discord to shush him.

"It's over, you did it." The Draconequus whispered.

Sombra smiled, although it seemed to take immense effort. He managed to find enough strength to weakly raise his head and nuzzle Discord's cheek lovingly.

"Discord, I love you." he whispered as he lost grip on consciousness and passed out. Discord laid him down very gently, stroking his mane.

"Is he OK?" Feather asked.

Discord listened to his Umbrum's breathing and nodded shakily.

"He's exhausted and barely there. He needs help, but I have nothing left to give him, even MY magic has its limits-"

The door to the tower was thrown open and Discord protectively crouched over the unconscious King, snarling ferociously. Feather hid behind Discord, clinging to his back.

But it wasn't changelings, it was a familiar Prince, Princess, and many guards.

"Discord!" Cadance pelted over, Corona beside her.

Discord stepped back, still casting protective glances at his unconscious beloved as he did.

"Your majesty-?" Corona knelt by Sombra, checking his pulse.

"Is he?” Shining Armor dared to ask, then sighed as Corona relaxed visibly.

"He has a pulse, but its erratic. I'd guess he's severely drained, we need to get him to his bed. Fetch the doctor and send him to his highness room!" the Gargoyle bellowed to a trio of Umbrum guards. They nodded, running back down the stairs.

"It's over." Cadance said to Discord, but the Draconequus didn’t seem to hear her, he was focused only on Sombra.

"We need to move his highness-" Corona began.

Discord didn't speak, just moved over to the King. As he'd done before when Sombra had been hurt, he gently picked up the Alicorn, cradling him carefully.

Sombra didn't even move, only his regular breathing assuring them all he was alive. Without a word, Discord flew down the stairway, heading for the King's bedroom.

The chaos lord lovingly laid his stallion down on his stomach atop the bed, so the injured wings could be reached. In the seconds before the doctor entered the room, he placed a kiss at the base of Sombra's horn. Sombra shifted softly, making a barely audible sighing sound.

"That's my Sombra. Keep fighting." Discord whispered, moving back as the doctor ran in.

Even he was shooed outside the door, as the doctor tended to Sombra...

Far Away

Author's Note

I tried to make this chapter shorter. I failed. :twilightblush:

Oops, my bad! :derpytongue2:

Thanks to LadyUmbra for helping with the pre-reading!

Far Away

Cadance, Shining, Corona and Discord were left to wait out in the hall, anxiously pacing or staring at the walls. As the minutes ticked by, staff ponies moved amongst the group, offering hot drinks or food for the shock.

Cadance noticed Discord was ignoring everything around him, staring stonily at the door, unmoving. A staff pony turned away from him with a shrug to her fellows, he just wouldn’t respond. Her worried gaze met the Princesses' and she trotted over.

“Princess, I’m concerned that he's not responding at all.” she whispered. She'd seen Discord around the palace plenty of times, but she'd never seen be him this distant and silent.

“He gets like this when he's worried.” Cadance said smoothly “I’ll talk to him.”

The staff pony nodded, casting a sympathetic look at Discord once more as she turned to go.

“He must be very close to his majesty.” she said softly.

--VERY…-- Cadance thought, wondering if the maid had guessed the truth? Ignoring that thought for now, she walked over to the Draconequus.

"Discord?” she asked, her voice soft.

He didn't answer.

"Discord." She said a little more sharply and he at last snapped out of his rigid stance and glanced at her, tension written all over his face. He took in the pink Princess peering up at him, seeing his worry echoed in her expression.

"It's over now, he's going to be OK." she tried to reassure him.

Discord tried to speak, but could only shake his head subtly.

“He isn’t in a crystal-coma, that's good, right-” Cadance began, but Discord intercepted her.

"I stopped him falling into stasis, so he wouldn’t be lost in that lonely, empty realm."

Cadance blinked, seeing Discord sigh. Wasn’t that a good thing?

“Then he'll be able to recover here in the normal world with us. That’s good, isn’t it? You did a wonderful thing for him..”

Discord flinched guiltily, shutting his eyes as he spoke "I kept him from stasis, but I couldn’t keep him awake. What if he doesn’t wake up, what if I left him stuck in limbo?!”

“Discord, don’t do this to yourself!” Cadance said with real concern, why was he blaming himself?

“If I’d been more careful when I attacked the hive I might have had more power left to give him.” Discord opened his eyes, recalling his fury “I was so furious that bug dared take him away like she did, I didn’t think beyond just reclaiming him. Celestia was right when she referred to me as selfish all that time ago, I didn’t even think about everypony else Sombra cared for-”

Cadance cut into his rant, shaking her head emphatically. “I don’t know all of what happened, by the time I got here the fight was already underway, but I know this much; what you did saved not just Sombra, but everypony. I’ve seen how happy you two are together since I first seen Sombra alive again. I’ve also seen how content you’ve been since you started looking after the Umbrums while Sombra was away. They adore you, they trust you without hesitation and so do many others in Ponyville, Canterlot and my home. I don’t know if you’ve realised it, but you have a pretty good reputation with a LOT of ponies across Equestria now.”

Discord felt his heart ache a little less, these words did make him happy. He HAD been trying and looking after Sombra's ponies back at the start of thier return by teaching them about himself as well as the outside world, had been a lot of fun. He'd gotten to do something for the Umbrums as well as express his own unique brand of silliness in helping them learn.

“I wasn't able to restore the sheer power he expended. I tried my best but..." he looked angry at himself, hands clenched at his sides as if he should have been able to stop this somehow.

Cadance shook her head once again.

"You saved him, Discord, don’t ever doubt that. I've never felt magic like that, or love like that. It will take awhile, but his magic will regrow and he will waken once he's strong enough.”

"He saved an entire kingdom and I couldn't help him at all!" Discord glanced away from her "I failed him Princess, at a time when I should've been able to help him."

"You're wrong." Cadance insisted and Discord looked at her, practically on the verge of tears.

"How can you be so sure?" the Draconequus croaked miserably.

"He wouldn't abandon you. I can't explain how I know, save that love is my cutie mark I know it when I see it. Love was what fuelled that blast, cleared the skies of those bugs. I was able to feel just how strong your bond was within that energy surge. He wouldn't do something like that only to abandon those he fought for. He knew you'd be able to help him, for you know him best after all."

Discord hesitated, but finally nodded sadly but he looked a bit more hopeful then before their talk.

"I just hope he wakes up soon." he said softly, some of the tension leeching from his body. He slumped to the floor, still looking pretty downcast.

"We'll help run the kingdom until he's well, won't we dear?" Cadance looked over her shoulder at Shining Armor, who was hovering nearby, half listening to them and half staring at the door.

"Of course, no problem." he nodded, seeing how worried sick Discord looked. Knowing now that it was because of the Draconequus' love for Sombra, he understood how much harder this was for the chaos lord. He'd feel exactly the same way if it was his Cadie in Sombra's position.

"Thank you, both of you, I’m sure he'll feel better when he hears that." Discord said weakly.

"Discord!" they all turned as they heard a mare's voice approaching and Umbra came racing up out of breath, with a flustered and worried Page Assist close behind her.

“My son-?” she blurted.

“The doc's checking him out, ma'am.” Shining Armor assured her “hopefully it won't be long now.”

“That child, he saved us all.” Umbra sighed worriedly “I've never felt power like that before! Gave me chills.”

“He's sleeping.” Discord said softly and Umbra felt a surge of sympathy as she looked at him. Poor Discord, he had to be as scared as she was, he certainly looked pretty bereft.

She trotted over and hugged Discord tightly. He returned the gesture, the hug making him feel a little better as he let her go.

"I seen that spell, the tremendous Infinitum vision. I don’t know how that child did it, how he knew what to do, nothing like that has turned up in any of my visions!” she shook her head in amazement “is he in stasis now?”

"No, but he's used up every last scrap of magic that he had." Discord sighed, heart tearing at his chest "I stopped the stasis so he wouldn't be alone again, but I wasn't able to to do anything more. He barely had the strength to speak a few words before he fell unconscious."

--Nevermind that those words were….'I love you'.-- Discord thought silently.

"Then I have you to thank for saving him.” Umbra said firmly and Cadance smiled gently in agreement.

"He knew you'd find a way,” Umbra continued “he spoke a lot about how you and Celestia revived him all that time ago. If he's in any stable state, I know that it is thanks to you."

Discord looked at the floor, then at Umbra. She raised a hoof to pat his shoulder, her eyes meeting his despondent ones.

“So please don't blame yourself. Even if we'd all been present I doubt we could've done anything to stop that child doing what he does best, protecting his world.”

The door clicked open at last and a hush fell over the group and they all held their breath as the doctor trotted over, shutting the door behind him.

"Is he-?" Discords heart was in his stomach, he felt sick with worry.

"He’s magically and physically exhausted," the doctor said with a sigh "he's going to need some serious R&R for a couple of days once he wakes, then at least two to three weeks off. No work, no nothing, save for rest and proper meals. I have given him an emergency drip to help his body recover, but he'll be in a severely weakened state for awhile."

"But he..?" the Draconequus said impatiently.

"He'll be fine," the doctor assured them all and they sighed in unanimous relief "it's likely going to be a long recovery based on the circumstances, but he's strong. I haven’t seen a case like this before so I am somewhat in the dark here, all I can do is guess for his majesty is quite complex in a medical sense. He'll fight back to health, I have faith."

Discord looked about to collapse with relief.

“He's not comatose then?” the chaos being squeaked.

“Far from it,” the doctor told him “all tests show the correct responses to outside stimuli and his breathing isn't as slow as it would be. I'm aware there was a previous incident in Canterlot where he slept for three days straight?”

“That's right!” Cadance recalled it now “after the Scorpan fight, he was freed from stasis and slept for ages.”

Discord nodded, he hadn't thought about that incident in well over a year. Sombra had slept then, too. He began to feel a little better...

"Can I see him?" he asked at last.

“Yes, of course.” the doctor caught Lady Umbra's subtle nod.

Cadance and Shining stood in the doorway as Sombra's mother and Discord went to stand beside the bed. Umbra stroked Sombra's mane away from his face, whispering a few words to him in the Umbrum language.

"Your beloved is here, he's waiting. I love you my child and I know you'll be back with us soon."

She stepped back, motioning a very stressed Discord to settle himself by the side of the bed.

Umbra opened the windows to let in some fresh air, then she moved over to Cadance and Shining, the doctor along with her.

"Let's leave them in peace," she said simply.

“But-” the doctor frowned, only for Umbra to cut him off.

“I said, let's go.”

The doctor was baffled but didn't argue with the mare, she was the King's mother after all.

"We need to implement emergency measures." Page Assist began as the group shut the door behind them.

"Relax, Page-" Umbra began, then spotted a face peeping out from a big plant pot.

Feather squeaked as the mare looked at him, busted!

"Changeling!" Page Assist shrieked, prompting Corona to shoot over and grab the critter by the scruff of its neck. Cadance and Shining Armor instantly tensed up, readying their magic-

"Wait, please!" Feather cried "I’m not an enemy-"

"Likely story!" Corona snarled.

The door to Sombra's room opened and Discord swooped out, looking for the cause of the racket.

"Feather?” he blurted, as he recognised the skinny bug, he'd honestly forgotten about him in the chaos of making sure Sombra was going to be alright.

"Who?" Umbra asked, blinking at Feather.

Discord sighed.

"That's Feather. He did the unthinkable and tackled the bitch Queen to help Sombra. She tried to stamp him out for it and Sombra asked that I protect him from the blast, in gratitude for his help."

"The nice King gave me a name, I never had a name." Feather whimpered, sacred he was going to get blasted by the angry figure gripping the scruff of his neck like an iron vice.

“I've got names for you.” his captor snarled.

"I didn’t like what the Queen was doing to him, taking him away from his home, from his loved one!”

“So you tried to take a chunk out of her.” Corona said coldly, arching one eyebrow.

Cadance and Shining shared glances, then shut their magic off. If Discord was willing to defend this stray changeling, they should reserve judgement for now.

“Yes, I had to delay her so the magic in that necklace could work. It was glowing...”

“What necklace?” Page asked, he couldn't recall seeing one.

“I gave it to him,” Discord said softly “it was a gift on Hearts and Hooves Day.”

Corona glanced at him then, putting the pieces together with what he'd heard the apparition say; 'my loved one'.

--Go figure,-- he thought –his majesty’s best friend, makes sense. Those two have always been close.--

“I gave him his necklace back in the hopes it'd help him remember who he was,” Feather elaborated “The Queen had rendered him blank and mute. He wouldn't eat, wouldn't talk, he barely seemed to function. I just wanted to make things less horrible." he stared at the floor, feeling himself blush "I wanted to help him."

Umbra realised this little changeling likely had developed a crush on her son after being shown such kindness and took pity on him.

"Let him go, Captain." she asked. Corona gave the changeling a glare and dropped him onto the carpet, face-first.

"What are we to do with him?" he muttered to Umbra "we will require his majesty's approval and backing before anyone outside knows about this."

"I'm not too keen either, or at least I wasn't." Discord sighed "but the magic Feather absorbed from the blast Sombra set off played a big part in stopping him from ending up stuck in stasis. I seen Sombra protecting him from the Queen during the recapture, I trust he knew what he was doing." he shot Feather a look.

Feather nodded, wincing as his cheek stung "the others called me a runt, said I was worthless. I didn't like my hive much, I envied the warmth and friends the pony King had when I first seen him. The hive is cold and lonely."

"Bit of an outcast aren't you, little one?" Umbra asked.

Feather nodded, staring at this kind pony as she spoke so gently to him.

"You look like him!" he blurted curiously.

"I'm his mother, Umbra." she approached Feather as she spoke, sitting herself down to peer at the changeling's injuries and wincing at the sight of his swollen face "your Queen did this?"

Feather nodded "I knew she'd hurt me or have me hunted by the rest of the hive for defying her, but I didn't like what she was doing, it felt wrong. I want love as much as every other in the hive, but not like that.."

Umbra felt sorry for the little guy.

"Where do I go?" Feather whispered to her "I can't go home."

He sniffled and began crying softly as it sunk in. He was stranded, saved by the King's mercy but with the monarch now being trapped in slumber, Sombra was unable to convince the fluffy creature (he later found out he was a Gargoyle), not to make a kebab out of him.

Corona rolled his eyes, he wasn't buying it.

Discord spotted this and walked over to the Gargoyle. Corona was a good captain and a loyal supporter of the King, he had been ever since the early days. But he was generally very cynical, preferring clear cut proof before trusting anything.

"I know it seems unlikely, but I seen it for myself and Sombra wouldn't have asked me to save him if he didn't have good reason. The little squirt threw it all away in your King's defence." the chaos being pointed out.

"Yeah, I get it, the bug's a good guy." Corona realised he was outvoted and if Discord of all beings was telling him this, it had to be worth trusting. "I trust his majesty's choices, but it's going to take some explaining to persuade the rest of the kingdom to buy this."

"I'm sure once my son is well, he will do what the matter calls for." Umbra pointed out "for now, let's find a room so this poor thing can get some peace and quiet. I will look after him for the time being."

Feather looked about to cry with relief at these words. He stuck like glue to Umbra as she shepherded him down the hall, her soft voice asking questions and Feather stammering responses.

"He's a weird one, even for a changeling." Shining Armor muttered.

"I get the feeling he found the kindness that the Queen never showed him in Sombra and that's why he's so enamoured with him. He sees Sombra as a direct opposite to the harshness of the Queen. That's probably why he broke protocol to try and help him." Cadance guessed.

"So, he's got a crush on Sombra too? How does he DO that?" Shining was weirdly impressed. Sombra knew how to get the, well, guys in this case! That pony had to be a smooth talker...

Cadance rolled her eyes at her goof-ball husband.

Feather quickly became very fond of Sombra's mother that first evening. She was kind and patched him up, even finding a nice warm bed for him to sleep in. The changeling was in love with the mere idea of cosy blankets.

Feather talked to Umbra about her son, talking about how Sombra had been so kind and Umbra in turn asked how changelings fed?

"Well, we can eat food, but we do still need to feed off love or lust to keep us going."

"I'm not sure how we're going to do that, it wouldn't be right to interrupt someone's relationship for feeding. We'll find something, don’t fret."

Feather nodded, reassured.

Umbra left him to sleep and he happily curled up and passed out not long after.

News soon reached the rest of the empire that Sombra's miraculous defeat of Chrysalis and her cronies had come at a price, he was very ill. The populace feared their King was at deaths door and panic began to spread.

With this in mind, Umbra made the decision to hold a press conference the very next morning at the Rainboom Stadium. They needed to put the public’s mind at rest about Sombra's condition and assure them he wouldn’t be out of action forever.

The place was packed as Umbra ascended the stage with Page Assist, Discord, Cadance and Shining Armor alongside her.

“Ladies and Gentlecolts!” She spoke clearly into the microphone “I know this has been a trying time for you all and I understand you’re all worried about my son, your King. But I’m here to tell you not to worry.

When he set off that spell, it required all of his magic be used up in one massive blast. Those of you who know about the battle of Canterlot will recognise this condition. As it was then, my son used up every last scrap of magic he had in the fight against Chrysalis and as a result his body shut down to protect him. He will sleep for a few days, but he WILL regain consciousness.”

A sigh of relief whipped around the stadium, many ponies looking about to cry from relief as they processed this. Their monarch would recover, thank Celestia...

“As it was, he was saved from being trapped in a far deeper crystal stasis with far worse magic loss, by the actions of his friend.” Umbra smiled and through the magnification spell on the stage, the crowd seen her eyes brighten.

“My son would've been in a much worse condition had Discord not given him what little power he had left, this after rescuing him from Chrysalis-”

The crowds cheered loudly on hearing of this noble sacrifice. Discord actually blushed quite deeply, he wasn't used to this much praise and thus found himself twiddling his fingers the way he had when Sombra had called him an absolute marvel and he hadn’t known how to express his thanks.

“Not only did he rescue my child from his prison, he kept him awake long enough for him to lapse into a natural sleep to repair his lost magic. My son was spared a longer stasis by his hands.”

More happy cheering and when Discord stopped staring at his mismatched feet long enough to glance at the crowd, he seen them waving and hollering at him. They were looking at him with such kindness it was almost overwhelming.

Umbra smiled happily up at him, then turned back to the mic.

“I know you're all curious about what that spell was, but unfortunately I do not know, nothing like that has been seen before. I'm sure my son will explain once he is well and I ask you to remain strong while the city is repaired. The empire's affairs will be managed by myself, Princess Cadance and Prince Shining Armor.”

The two royals stepped forward to outline their plan for supporting the clean up, where to go if you needed help and so on.

“I thought you deserved their praise for saving my son.” Umbra said softly to Discord.

“He wants me to tell everyone.” Discord whispered back.

“Tell- oh! You mean about the two of you?” Umbra asked and Discord nodded.

“This would be the biggest possible gathering, I’m just not sure I can. What if- what if it ends up hurting him?”

Umbra thought a moment before speaking. “If he wants you to do it, then you shouldn’t worry, he won't get cross. But it's up to you, do it when it feels right.”

Discord nodded, sighing softly as Umbra took the mic once more. This was a golden opportunity, he owed it to his beloved...

“Can the members of the press please gather in front of the stage please? It's time for questions.” Umbra asked.

The reporters, hailing from Umbrum papers, Canterlot Gazettes and the Crystal Empire Times arranged themselves in front of the stage, sharing curious looks. Was Lady umbra going to give a speech? Pose for pictures?

Umbra nodded to the first reporter, indicating she could ask her question.

“That vision of his majesty, he said “that one I love”, everypony wants to know who it was-?” her eyes were filled with curiosity, cheeks blushing faintly.

“That's good-” Discord piped up, stepping up next to Umbra before his courage failed him “because he was hoping I would deal with that for him.”

“Why would he ask YOU to do that?” the clueless reporter asked, then an idea sparked in her head as Discord promptly face-palmed.

“Oh for- do I need to draw you a diagram? Because according to Princess Luna, I have a very unusual imagination-”

“Then you two-?”

“YES, I LOVE HIM! Sheesh...” Discord cried nervously, flinging his arms in the air. This caused a ripple of laughter to fly around the stadium, one mixed with coos and smiles of admiration.

“How long have you two been dating?” The reporter asked, staring enviously at the chaos lord. So the rumours were true in this case; his majesty's best friend was way more than just a friend.

“Since Hearts and Hooves Day.” Discord said softly, remembering that cloud clone incident. “That necklace the vision was holding? That was a gift I gave him.”

A series of “d'awwws” raced around the stadium as they all seen how Discord flushed subtly, but didn’t look away from the reporters. He was a little defensive, but it was clear he was telling the truth.

“So then the changelings kidnapped him because-” the reporter was filling in the blanks from what she was hearing from Discord.

“Because he was exuding the sort of emotion Chrysalis could take advantage of to feed her hive.” Discord confirmed. He thought about the spell Sombra had cast to remove the changelings, maybe he could explain it?

“That’s what he used to fuel that spell. He gave them love they couldn’t ignore, thus luring them into his trap. Then he blasted them away!”

The gathered reporters shared curious murmurs, love was what had fuelled that spell? Sombra's feelings for this being?

“How long until he wakes up, you helped save him, do you have any clue?”

Discord sighed “I don’t, I’m sorry. I did everything I could, all we can do now is wait. But don’t worry, he'll be back to fussing over his empire soon.” he managed a reassuring smile.

The reporters clamoured for his attention, asking all sorts of questions, from “do you have plans to make a commitment?” to “are there others like you?”

Discord ignored the questions, he had one more titbit to impart.

“Originally, he wanted an advert put in the paper, but with so many papers represented here now, I figure his wish will be fulfilled much faster and with further reach.” Discord said to the reporters, who were taking notes as fast as they could.

“So make a note: I. Love. Sombra. Put that in big letters,” Discord advised “I want to tell him I kept my promise when he wakes.”

The stadium EXPLODED with cheering once he finished talking. Some in the crowds had already guessed it from the way Sombra had been smiling to Discord over the course of the festival and in general just how close Discord and the King were known to be.

The reporters were back to asking a million questions as the noise died down. How had he first approached the King? What had made his majesty suddenly decide to reveal his feelings to all of them?

“After Chrysalis kidnapped him and tried to brainwash him, he said he was sick of hiding behind his silence. Chrysalis targeted him for the strength of his love and I think that shocked him into realising he doesn’t need to keep his cards quite so close to his chest.” The Draconequus chuckled “he also said and I quote “and if anypony doesn’t like it, they can kiss my-” he cut off there, prompting laughter from the press.

“His majesty doesn’t give a flying toss then?” one reporter chuckled.

“Not even one.” Discord surmised “he's faced worse things in the last few years than differing opinions.”

He listened to their questions and nodded.

“Yes, I do love him. More than you can imagine. He gave me a chance, first to be a proper friend to him and then to be even more. He was the first to see me as someone worthy of affection, especially his. In short he's the most amazing thing I’ve ever been given.” he recalled Sombra calling him a marvel and smiled softly.

More clapping and loud cheering from the crowd. Some were startled, some didn’t know what to think, but most of them were excited to hear such news!

“That's enough details!” Umbra beamed and hugged Discord so tightly he squeaked “we will keep you updated on my son's recovery!”

The next day:

"All jokes aside," Corona sat back in his chair "his highness is still asleep?"

Cadance nodded. "I'm aware he slept for close to three days after emerging from stasis, it seems to be another facet of his unusual biology. Umbra has mentioned the Infinitums from legends supposedly displayed similar traits. Information is still being added on a daily basis, even this far on.”

"I still wanna know how he pulled off that giant crystal illusion thing!" Shining Armor raised his eyebrows "I didn't think things like that even existed!"

"This kingdom would be a bugs feeding ground were it not for his majesty and while I am eternally grateful, I just hope his wish to protect his home can someday be countered with some sense of self-preservation, as currently he appears to lack any!" Page Assist sighed.

"He did pick a lot of fights during the construction phase. Timberwolves, wraiths." Corona shrugged and Page Assist shuddered.

"Running around with sharp implements, cement dust, grout." the Gargoyle continued.

Corona knew Page Assist was a fastidious pony and had been baffled by the King's enthusiasm about getting dirty while working on the site. Any time he was forced to get his hooves dirty following his majesty around, Corona had seen Page Assist look utterly revolted.

"Ugh, stop it you brutish creature!" Page Assist shuddered and glowered at Corona, who smirked. This was a regular occurrence and the rest of the staff usually just watched in amusement, including the King himself.

"Anyway." Cadance stepped in before a full scale sarcasta-war could begin "the damage reports are in. Good news, your empire fared better than Canterlot. The crystal appears better at weathering the damage then just brick and mortar alone."

"His majesty made it a specific point that the buildings be toughened wherever possible. I think he was still having flashbacks to the battle of Canterlot." Corona piped up.

"Well it was certainly a good idea," Shining Armor nodded "damage was minimized thanks to the tough outer shells of the buildings. Clean up crews are making pretty good headway with the broken windows and other ornaments."

"So who’s looking after your Empire while you’re here?" Umbra enquired of Cadance and Shining Armor "we're not inconveniencing you at all, are we?"

"Not to worry," Cadance assured him "We have advisors plus Twilight Sparkle. If anypony can balance the books while we're gone, Shining's sister can!"

"Go Twily!" Shining Armor grinned proudly.

The doctor unlocked the room and trotted in, carrying a fresh drip bag. The King was still asleep, it had been over three days already. He was looking a bit better though, more colour had returned to his face as his body painstakingly recovered. But if he didn't wake up soon, his body would become even weaker, the Alicorn needed decent food to help his body recuperate.

He looked over at the couch that sat opposite the bed as he set the drip in its stand, spotting a familiar figure curled up on it. Discord had spent almost all of his time by the King's bedside since the fight and any attempts to shoo him away and make him sleep in his own bed had been met with refusal. Given he could teleport through the doors, they soon gave up trying to turf him out. The only one he would listen to was Lady Umbra.

The whole kingdom knew about these two by now, it’d been all over the papers. There’d been a few outcry’s of “doesn’t he care about producing an heir?”, but they were few and far between, mostly from places and ponies unfamiliar with the Umbrums very open views on sex and marriage.

Today's paper had been full of supportive letters, including one from the King and Queen of the Gargoyle/Centaur empire. Not only them, but Princesses Luna and Celestia amongst many others. Lady Umbra was sending detailed letters to the papers outside of her kingdom, to give them the opportunity to base their articles on facts taken from Umbrum history.

The doctor wondered how the King would react to this nationwide publicity, would he care?

Unlikely, as he'd gone all-bets-are-off to defeat Chrysalis over his feelings for the being he loved. Feelings that invading Queen had tried to capitalize on.

"Mmeh?" Discord heard movement and sat up "who's there?"

“Just me." the doctor said calmly.

Discord slithered off the couch, staggering to the side of his King's bed. He looked tired out and had bags under his eyes.

"Anything?" he asked, but the doc shook his head.

"I'm sorry, he's still in a very deep sleep, but I'm sure it wont be long now. Have you eaten at all today?"

Discord shook his head. "He seemed to be making sounds in his sleep earlier, I didn’t..." he trailed off, looking stressed and close to tears.

"Go, I’ll remain here to keep an eye on him, since I know you wont leave him alone."

Discord looked torn between eating and keeping a protective watch over his beloved. The devotion he showed had captured the imaginations of many of the female staff in the palace and they fussed over the worried chaos being, trying to make him feel better.

"Trust me, he'll be OK. He'll be cross if he finds out I let you just sit there for hours at a time without eating." the doctor added.

Discord chuckled faintly, imagining Sombra telling him off with that sexy smile of his. So he let himself be pushed out the door and drifted languidly off towards the kitchen.

"Oh, hello!" the head cook looked at Discord as the yawning Draconequus rifted in "get kicked outta bed again?"

Discord managed a faint smile "by the doctor." he said heavily.

The cook nodded and switched on the stove to begin making a decent meal for his guest.

"He wont sleep forever, I’m sure of it." he said decisively as the kitchen filled with delicious smells. Discord's stomach made the traditional gurgling noise along with several other bumps and bangs.

“You must be starving, your guts inventing noises to make!” the Cook chuckled.

“Sombra always laughed when it did that, you should've seen his face the first time. I suggested it was something I ate.”

Sombra had stared at him in abject horror, then asked did he eat a whole live gaggle of geese by chance? So Discord had pulled off an illusion of coughing up feathers, which had severely alarmed the Umbrum King.

He chuckled now as he remembered it.

"What did he say to that?” the Cook asked, so Discord described the whole scene.

When Sombra had realised it was a joke he'd been cross, at least until Discord exploited the weakness of his ears...

“I wonder was that why he looked so melancholy?” Grapevine piped up, setting a tray down on the counter beside his partner.

“When was this?” Discord asked.

“When you two came in for food on his birthday. I introduced him to my snuggle-bun here,” the Cook winked at Grapevine, who face-hoofed but blushed happily.

“Anyway,” Grapevine took up the tale, “I seen him watching us with an almost sad look. I think he was watching how open we were. Makes sense now, he must've been thinking of a way to do the same.”

“Did he really ask you to announce it to the papers?” The Cook asked.

“He certainly did.” Discord chuckled “as we were flying back, he honestly said he wants the whole world to know. I just hope he wont get mad I said it to an entire stadium full of reporters.”

“He'll be OK, I’m sure of it. Far as I can see, his decision hasn't just caught the worlds attention, it's inspired many to come out themselves. We announced it to our families just yesterday.”

“How'd it go?” Discord asked.

“My mother was kinda shocked,” Grapevine sighed “but my dad says she'll come round once she has time to think about it. He said he's surprised but if I’m happy, he'll back my choices.”

“My parents have known since I was a kid that I was secretive and I think they were relieved to finally find out why. Once they finished squealing and asking where we'd met, they pretty much just accepted it.”

“That’s wonderful,” Discord smiled.

“Do you have family?” the Cook asked. Discord winced, rubbing the back of his neck.

“I do, but saying we don't get along wins the understatement of the century award.” Discord snorted “I don't need them, I have Sombra and Umbra's a dear, she was grinning ear to ear when she found out.”

The doctor was starting to nod off, it had been a long day at work already, so he was feeling more than a bit dozy.

That was how he missed the first muffled grunt the King made and the faint cough that followed was muffled by sounds drifting in from outside.

He didn't even stir from his stupor until he seen the blankets falling halfway off the bed. He reached for them automatically, then looked up properly.

King Sombra was sat up, staring fuzzily into space, but he was AWAKE.

"Eyah!" The doctor was so startled when this finally sunk in that he shrieked in an ungainly manner and fell off his chair by the bed. Sombra blinked at him slowly.

"Hm-? Doctor?"

"Y-yes your majesty! Oh thank Celestia you're awake, we've all been worried sick, it's been three days-"

"We? Wait," Sombra blinked fuzzily "was I-?"

"Asleep, yes. For three days, sire." the doc stressed "you defeated that Queen-"

"Discord...w-where is he?" Sombra stammered, mind scrambling and grasping for the most immediate thing he could recall.

"He’s not here at present. I need you to hold still sire, I must check you over- sire, PLEASE!!"

He blurted this in a panic as Sombra tried to get down from the bed, but his legs were trembling heavily and the Alicorn almost fell face-first into the carpet. The doc pushed back against him, nudging him safely back onto the bed.

"What are you doing, sire?! You can't move-"

"I want to see Discord." Sombra said stubbornly, glowering sleepily at the young doctor.

"I simply cannot let you leave your bed sire, I need to do my job and give you a check-up- oh for, your majesty!!" he ended with a frustrated yelp as Sombra glowered at him and simply began making an escape attempt from the other side of the bed.

"If you will not assist me, I will locate him myself!" Sombra mumbled "I can't- what happened to him and Feather?"

"Who?" the doctor couldn't remember who on Equestria Feather was and right that second he honestly didn't care. His duty lay with this stubborn, powerful monarch and his inability to listen!

"Alright, your majesty! Enough." the doctor cried at last.

Sombra stopped, one hoof raised to dismount from the bed.

"Please, sire, if it's your wish, I’ll send a guard to fetch him, but you simply MUST stay put!"

Sombra seemed dazed and shaky and it was obviously hard for him to focus, but he nodded.

The doctor summoned a guard and told him to fetch Discord asap, he was likely still in the kitchen!

The guard did a double take as this sunk in and annoyed the doc by sticking his head past him to catch a glimpse of the King. If the doc needed Discord fetched so urgently, chances were-!

He grinned as he got a brief glimpse of the ruler sat up on the bed, sleepily preening one wing, eyes half closed. The sunlight caught his mane, making it shimmer subtly, reminding him of the massive illusion that'd chased the changelings out.

Then he was shoved out and told to go fetch the Draconequus. The guard trotted down the hall, relieved his highness was up, everypony was going to be so relieved!

Discord sat back, feeling pretty full. He had to admit, it felt good to eat.

The door was flung open and both he and the Cook nearly jumped out of their skin.

"Ahem, Discord? The doctor sent me to find you, his highness is-MEEP." for the poor messenger was almost run over by a blur of Draconequus as Discord shot by him.

Left behind, the guard blinked, somewhat stunned.

"So his majesty woke up, that's a relief." the Cook smiled "I’ll prepare some soup, he'll need decent food."

"How can you tell, I didn't even finish the sentence?" the guard blinked.

The cook chuckled "only one thing could make that mopey Draconequus brighten up that much and that's news the King is awake."

Discord could barely think straight as he pelted along the halls, scattering guards and staff like skittles.

"Well, I’m guessing his majesty is awake!" One maid said, straightening her cap.

"Thank Celestia," her work partner sighed in relief as she extracted herself from a potted plant "I was worried about them both. Oh, I bet it's going to be such a sweet reunion!"

They both sighed dreamily at the sheer romantic power of the King's love story. Five seconds later a guard passed and seen them staring moonily into space.

Wisely, he kept on walking.

The doctor checked Sombra over, noting he'd lost a bit of weight and his magic seemed non-existent. He recommended the King have something to eat, just a small amount to start-

The door was flung open with a thump. Both turned and the doctor seen the King's tired eyes light up.

There was a heavy pause, laden with so much unsaid and Sombra looked likely to make a bid for the door and the one standing in it, regardless of his condition.

The doctor face-hoofed at Discord's timing, telling himself he should've done the check-up BEFORE sending for Discord, because it was obvious he'd never stand a chance with the King's beloved here.

"I'll uh, I have to fetch- oh, who am I kidding. Just come find me when you're finished!" the doctor threw his hooves in the air and strode out, barging past the motionless Draconequus.

Discord didn't make a sarcastic comment, didn't even seem to see him. All he seen was a finally conscious pony, looking at him over his shoulder with tired eyes and a sweet smile.

The door clicked shut as Discord shot over and around the bed to land face to face with his Sombra. He gently cradled the pony's face with his hands, taking in the details of the stallion he adored, the warmth of him and that soft scent.

"You're awake, I can't believe it, I was so scared." he said at last, not even bothering to disguise how much his voice stumbled over itself.

"I'm sorry." Sombra croaked, as he took in the emotions on Discord's face. He reached a hoof up to rest it on Discord's chest, feeling his familiar warm coat and the beat of his heart.

"Don't apologise," The Draconequus shook his head "you saved us all by doing what you did. Just warn me next time you're gonna be the hero and I’ll help you."

Sombra didn’t know what to say, so Discord wrapped his arms around the pony's body and held him tightly. He felt the pony's forelegs wrap around him in as tight a hug as the weakened stallion could manage. It was such an overwhelming relief to feel the heat of Sombra's body so close to his own, he couldn't keep a lid on how he was feeling.

Sombra felt something splash onto his fur and drew back, nudging Discord's muzzle worriedly with his own.

"Gave me the fright of my life, you big doofus." Discord said sulkily, trying to appear nonchalant.

Sombra lifted a neatly folded napkin from the bedside table with one hoof and used it to brush away the Draconequus' tears, just like how Discord had always done for him.

Their eyes met and Sombra smiled, the importance of the gesture not needing words and the napkin fluttered to the bed between them as Discord kissed Sombra gently.

"My Sombra." he murmured as they parted and he wrapped him in his arms again. Sombra nestled against him, resting his head on Discord's shoulder.

"The kingdom?" Sombra croaked as he took in the blue sky showing through the open windows behind the couch "is everypony-?"

"They're fine, everypony's fine." Discord assured him, gently rubbing his back "you booted the changelings out at Mach 5 and created a myth in the process. That thing you turned into, it was beautiful. I've seen a lot in my line of crazy work, but I’ve never seen anything so breathtaking."

Sombra nuzzled into his neck, feeling his heart ache in gratitude. His kingdom was safe and his lover was right here with him. Relief hit like a tidal wave and he felt himself start to shake as he realised the battle was over for good.

"Sombra?" Discord felt the gentle tremors and tilted his lover's face up to get a look at him "it's alright, it's over."

"I know, I’m just so relieved." Sombra croaked, joy battling with exhaustion "I don’t know how I did that spell, I just knew it had to be done. I had to evolve what I was to be strong enough to beat her."

"And did it in style!" Discord massaged the base of his ears, making Sombra smile gently.

"Oh, I am going to give you the most mind blowing night of your life soon as you are well. And we can lock your physician in a storage closet so he cant tell us not to!" Discord teased, making Sombra flush happily.

The Draconequus' hands came to rest on Sombra's shoulders and he toyed absently with the stallion's mane.

"I'm sorry I made you wait, again." Sombra whispered, nuzzling Discord's nose with his "it was you that saved me from stasis, wasn't it?"

"With a little help from Feather. I only wish I could've given you more."

"You've given me everything," Sombra shushed him with a gentle smile "more than I thought I could ever have. So stop feeling guilty."

"I meant what I said, my precious Sombra," Discord said seriously, studying his lover's face "I’ve never been more sure my whole long life, that I love you."

The doctor had gone to the bathroom, thus wasn't there to deter Page Assist as he nudged at the door, to check in on his highness.

The aide stopped short, the door was only open a few inches, but it was enough for him to take in the scene. The King was awake, that fact sunk in first and was followed by the observation that he was currently sitting very close to Discord.

As Page Assist watched them, Discord said something that made a look of such contentment settle on the King's face that Page was struck by the fact he'd never seen Sombra smile this way, not before now. Sombra said something to Discord that the aide was able to catch, it sounded like "I love you."

Then the Draconequus pulled the King into his arms and kissed him deeply. Sombra gave a little shiver, his wings fluffing up a little as he returned the kiss, pressing close to Discord's body.

They eventually pulled apart, the King flushing softly at something Discord said, then another kiss was shared. Sombra nestled against Discord, his head facing at an angle that allowed Page to catch a glimpse of his expression. His Majesty looked so very content..

Page Assist stepped back from the door, mind awhirl. Discord truly did love his majesty didn't he? Sombra clearly felt the same with equal passion, for his feelings had triggered the mating desires the Infinitum's were notable for.

Back in the room, the unaware Sombra was starting to get sleepy again. He yawned softly and Discord chuckled gently.

"Sleeping all this time, yet you yawn, my love?"

"Shush you, you know that there is a recovery sleep and a normal sleep." Sombra grumbled half-assedly, laughing softly. Discord laid him down on the bed, wrapping him up in the covers.

"You like sleeping so much you invented a new variety. I am in awe of your weirdness, my King!" Discord chuckled as Sombra gave him a sarcastic look, so he kissed him gently in apology.

"Stay?" Sombra asked, those beautiful red eyes looking hopefully up at him.

"Your doctor-"

"I don't care," Sombra grumbled, untangling one hoof from the blankets to place it over Discord's hand "stay with me."

"As you wish, my King." Discord couldn't deny his lover and wouldn't have even tried. He settled down atop the covers so Sombra's back was pressed to his stomach, his long tail curling around the pony.

Sombra relaxed, feeling the security and warmth of Discord's presence. He drifted asleep, hearing the reassuring sound of Discord's breathing.

"What are you doing?" the doctor's voice startled Page Assist, who jumped and spun round to confront him.

"I uh.."

“His majesty is awake, but he cannot handle any work at present-"

"I know, I just came by to see how he was doing!" Page Assist stayed blocking the doorway.

"What are you doing?" the doctor shook his head "I need to check on his highness, this little lovers reunion has gone on long enough."

With an annoyed sigh, Page Assist grabbed him by the collar of his coat and towed him away. In hushed whispers he explained Sombra had requested Discord stay with him alone until he could fall asleep, for bad memories of the fight were troubling him.

The doctor sighed, thwarted again.

"Fine, but I’m going to need to tend to his majesty sooner or later, tell him he has an hour!"

Then he strode off down the hall. Page sighed in relief, then moved back to the door and raised a hoof to knock.

"Come in, but be quiet.” the Draconequus' voice spoke up. Page Assist crept in as silently as he could. Discord was curled protectively around the King, but he sat up enough to look over at the aide.

"I assume you heard-" Page Assist began and Discord nodded.

"He is fast asleep already, but it is a regular sleep with far better dreams. I could at least give him that much."

Page Assist nodded, understanding a little of Discord's powers involved hypnotism and dream planting. Sombra looked better, his expression was one of peace as he slept.

"Thank Celestia he's awake..." Page Assist sighed at last "it's been days."

"It's similar to what happened after the battle of Canterlot. I thought I’d lost him then too, but Celestia and I were able to waken him." Discord recalled the relief of freeing Sombra from that crystal.

"He'll be alright, wont he?" Page Assist asked.

Discord nodded "his magic will regrow, and he'll be back to booting you out of his office in no time."

Page Assist gave a quiet, ironic laugh.

"I don't know how I didn't see it. He's always talked about you, always cheered up when you visited. It was arrogant of me to assume it was a pony that'd made him fall in love."

Discord smiled softly, but his expression was mostly unreadable.

"Whatever keeps his majesty happy." Page Assist said "that's my job, to make sure he has what he needs. Clearly that's YOU."

Sombra shifted in his sleep, making a faint, uneasy sound. Discord gently settled a hand on the pony's shoulder and Sombra relaxed a second later, expression softening.

"I'll leave you be." the King's aide said, he was in awe of just how close these two were, he sort of envied them.

Discord stayed with Sombra until the doctor returned, at which point he finally decided to go see Cadance and Shining Armor.

But first, Umbra.

Umbra jumped as Discord suddenly appeared in her office, his face flushed.

“Discord, what's-?”

“He's awake!” Discord blurted in a rush and Umbra opened and shut her mouth a few times, then sat down in the middle of the room with a choked cry.

“He's awake, he's OK.” she looked up as Discord's voice wobbled. She seen how he was hunched up on the couch, eyes full of tears. He blinked and they splashed to the floor where they became bouncy balls, boinging around the office.

“It's OK,” Umbra sat down beside him, wrapping a hoof around him and pulling him against her.

“I was scared he'd sleep forever,” Discord choked out “that I’d never get to hold him again or kiss him.”

“Well, you two will be back to snuggling in no time, because I’m counting on you to make sure he rests and doesn't try to work.”

“Count on it!” Discord wiped his eyes, causing more bouncy balls to ping off the floor and roll around the room.

“This is different.” Umbra giggled as she watched him.

“Sorry, crazy biology right here.” Discord thumped his chest proudly and this made Umbra hug him once more.

“Thank you,” she said softly “for taking care of my son. He's deserved this happiness all his life.”

As she sorted that days mail with Shining Armor, Cadance heard footsteps and looked up, spotting Discord hovering in the doorway.

"Hay," she said "any news?"

Discord nodded, relief written all over his face as he spoke "He's awake."

"Awake-? Oh thank Celestia." Cadance whispered, feeling a dizzy surge of relief.

"I'll say," Shining Armor looked relieved "how is he?"

“His magic’s not back yet, but he's awake at least. The doctor said he'll make sure he eats properly and recovers-”

The Draconequus yawned abruptly, curling up on top of the couch. He toyed with the end of his tail as he talked.

"He woke up about an hour ago, a guard came to find me. I'm pretty sure I ran over several servants on my way back."

Cadance smiled at the mental image this conjured. It didn't surprise her one bit that hearing his beloved King was awake was the best news Discord had heard all week.

"He's in a lighter, normal sleep." the chaos being continued “He's pretty weak, so he's gonna be sleeping a lot and staying in bed.”

"Like when he came out of stasis last time?" Shining Armor guessed.

Discord nodded, then chuckled. "I teased him about being so fond of sleeping that he'd invented a whole new kind. He told me to shut up."

Cadance couldn't help laughing, imagining the withering look Sombra wore as he spoke.

"Yup, he's back!" Shining Armor declared, grinning at Discord who actually smiled back.

"You must be so relieved." Cadance said softly to Discord.

Discord pulled a piece of paper from thin air, on which was written; "Things that are huge understatements." He pretended to read it, nodded and went "definitely" before throwing the list over his shoulder where it vanished with a pop.

"Hopefully we can speak with him once he's strong enough." Shining Armor said to Cadance, who nodded.

“We can update him on the kingdom, plus there’s that trade meeting coming up we need to discuss.”

Discord felt a yawn sneak up on him as he listened to them confer, his eyes were growing so heavy...

The two royals blinked in surprise as Discord abruptly flopped onto the couch face-first and promptly fell asleep.

"Wow. He must've been more tired then he thought." Cadance mused, smiling softly.

"All this waiting has been hard on him," Shining Armor said "I can only imagine how awful it must've felt not knowing if Sombra would be alright, day after day."

"Let's let him sleep, we can take a break." Cadance smiled as she stood up. Shining nodded and they crept quietly out of the room, closing the door behind them so Discord could get some rest.

Thus they left the fast asleep Draconequus to snooze in peace.

Discord was persuaded to sleep in his own bed that night, now that Sombra was recovering properly.

He had noticed how much it had seemed to tire Sombra to speak of how he'd felt, but surely that was just because of that spell he'd unleashed. It'd held so much power in it that it was no surprise if Sombra was a little dazed...

So he decided he wouldn't do anything to get his lover too excited, or anxious. His job was to make sure his King rested.

He was still thinking of ways to help his beloved relax when he went to see him the next day. He knocked on the door and heard the King's voice asking him to enter.

“Hay handsome!” Discord shut the door behind him with a grin.

“Discord!” Sombra sat up in bed with a momentary wince, tired red eyes meeting his. Discord noticed, with a worried flip-flop of his stomach, that Sombra's normally vibrant red eyes looked more a washed out reddish grey now. He couldn’t remember if they seemed that way yesterday, he'd been too busy celebrating his beloveds return. All he could recall was the softness of Sombra's coat, the warmth of his lips...

“How are you feeling?” The chaos lord asked as he stroked Sombra's face gently with one hand. He seen a brief flicker over Sombra's face, the stallion tilting his muzzle to rub against his hand for a moment, then the dulled look was back and the most the pony could muster was a wan smile.

“I am alright.” Sombra said softly, but as with yesterday, he seemed kind of distant.

“You sure, cutie?” Discord asked, anxiety clawing at his gut as he studied Sombra's expression closely. Sombra just nodded again, then patted the bed beside him, hopeful eyes locked on Discord.

The chaos lord snuggled up next to him, letting the King's body rest against his side as he wrapped an arm around the pony. Sombra nuzzled into his hold, eyes closing with a soft, content sigh. He'd missed the feel of Discord's embrace.

Discord attempted to start up conversations as they lay there, but the King seemed very slow to respond, like any emotion he possessed had been used up in their reunion the day before.

Half the time Sombra just drifted off mid-sentence and closed his eyes again, sighing softly as he snuggled deeper into his lover's embrace, his words forgotten.

--He's just tired from his sleep.-- Discord thought over and over. But even last time after escaping stasis, Sombra hadn’t been THIS out of it.

The Draconequus asked the doctor about it when he came to check on the King. The stallion was deeply asleep again and thus oblivious to his love's concern.

“Unresponsive?” the doctor frowned “yes, he did seem a little sluggish, but I reasoned it was just after effects of stasis sleep.”

“This wasn’t stasis sleep, this was the lighter stage. I remember last time even with all his fear and pain, he was still responsive, even if all he did was fret. Something is wrong.” the Draconequus insisted.

“Look, I know you two are close, but I think you’re overreacting.” the doctor sighed, Discord really was very overprotective.

Discord glared at him, but said nothing more.

Umbra came by to see her son later on and she too noticed that Sombra seemed spacey.

“Are you feeling alright, child?” she asked, patting his hoof gently.

“What? Yes.” Sombra forced his attention span to respond “I’m fine mother, truly.”

But in truth he felt...off. The world was moving as if it was in slow motion. He'd found himself staring absently into the sink in the bathroom just that very morning, unable to recall what he had been thinking, if anything at all.

And his magic hadn’t returned either, it worried him but…..well.

His focus drifted and he felt himself disconnecting again, yet made no move to stop it, it was so easy to just drift.

Umbra tapped his hoof again and her son blinked, then after a seconds delay, looked at her again.

“Have you been eating?” she asked.

Sombra nodded, he was getting his appetite back more and more every day but he didn’t taste the food as much as he thought he should. He just ate because he had to.

Umbra hugged him gently, then left him to sleep.

She took her concerns to the doctor, where she found Discord already arguing with him.

She told the doctor what she'd seen and he sighed, recalling Discord's lecture.

“See? I told you!” Discord snapped.

The doctor set his notes down and sighed, rubbing his forehead with one hoof.

“Look, I don’t know what to tell you two. This could be for any number of reasons, he could’ve endured trauma in that brief time he was gone. He hasn’t spoken a word about the ordeal and I dare say you two haven’t brought it up either?”

“I didn’t want him to get stressed,” Discord said curtly “but, maybe we should.”

“Right, we'll talk to him together this evening.” Umbra said to the chaos lord.

They left the doctor's office, whereupon he sighed loudly in relief. Those two were scary when they were mad!

“Child, can we come in?” Umbra asked as she stuck her head around the door to Sombra's bedroom.

“Yes, of course.” Sombra smiled languidly but his eyes brightened a little as he seen not just his mother but his lover walk in.

Discord greeted him with a quick smooch and Sombra felt his heart start to pound, but all too rapidly the same emotional fatigue seeped in. Discord watched him with barely concealed worry as he and Umbra sat on chairs by the bedside.

“I know it's a lot to ask cutie,” Discord spoke at last “but what happened in the cave that you can remember?”

“I...” Sombra tried to think back to that day when he'd been rescued and reunited with his love and his kingdom, but his memories slipped out of his grasp like they were made of silly putty “I do not know.”

“Think, child.” Umbra patted his hoof encouragingly, but her son just shook his head sadly, he seemed to be struggling to dredge up the energy to respond properly.

“I am sorry mother, Discord,” his eyes dropped to the bed-covers beneath his hooves “I cannot remember anything.”

“It's alright child,” Umbra soothed, but she and Discord shared worried looks for a moment before she spoke again “how about your magic?”

Another mute shake of the head, that same dulled look in his eyes.

“I am sorry.” he repeated.

“Nothing to be sorry for, my King. Please don't push yourself,” Discord rubbed behind Sombra's ear. This gesture raised a soft smile from the monarch, but it soon faded and Sombra looked sleepy once again.

“Get some rest.” his mother began, but Sombra seemed to recover a moment-.

“The empire?” Sombra blurted, as if he'd just had a burst of energy “is everything alright?”

“Yes, it's fine handsome.” Discord assured him “Cadance and her husband are here, remember? They're helping your mother run things.”

“Ah.” Sombra nodded, settling back into the dull comfort of his fugue “I’m glad.”

Discord urged him to rest, he'd be back in a bit to see him. Sombra smiled again, thanked them both then curled up and drifted asleep.

“Something is very wrong.” Umbra said as they traversed the halls.

“Tell me about it,” Discord sighed “that ear thing? Normally makes him turn to jelly. He loves having his ears petted!”

Umbra smiled at how cute Discord looked when he spoke of her son, the way he blushed softly and smiled so brightly. Such a sweet pair, they’d been friends so long that the transition to lovers didn’t seem unusual at all.

“We'll help him, somehow.” she promised and Discord nodded, determination in his eyes.

But as the days passed, Sombra showed no more signs of snapping out of his daze. The doctor tried getting the King's aide to bring up something that would normally annoy the King, but Sombra barely reacted save for a perplexed frown.

“What's wrong with him?” Page Assist asked urgently as they left, but the doctor only shook his head and sighed.

“I have no idea. Physically he's fine, but it's as if he's missing something, some key part of him.”

They had to fix this and fast, the kingdom needed it's ruler!

Alone in his room, Sombra sighed and stared out the window. What had those two been so up in arms about, he was fine, wasn't he?

Yet something felt missing, something vital.

He drifted asleep before he could ponder it any further.

Discord was starting to get really scared as the third day of Sombra's space-case syndrome dragged on. Even when he kissed the stallion, Sombra seemed worryingly slow to respond. Yet he seen small bursts of emotion, as if his beloved was locked away within his own mind.

The stallion seemed to want comfort, as he spent most of their time encased in Discord's embrace, drifting in and out of sleep.

After making sure his beloved was asleep and had everything he needed should he wake, the Draconequus went to find Cadance.

She was in the King's office and Shining Armor was out at the barracks checking on the guard.

“What’s the matter?” she asked as soon as she seen him.

“Is it that obvious?” Discord sighed.

“You've turned grey all over.” Cadance motioned him to take the seat next to her “what's wrong?”

“Something's wrong with Sombra.” Discord said at last.

“Wrong, how?” Cadance queried. She and Shining had been up to see him and aside from appearing very tired he seemed to be recovering well. Albeit a bit slow to respond, but who knew what side effects he'd suffer from what he'd been through?

Discord described the things he seen, the little facets of his beloved King that seemed missing.

Cadance frowned “that is odd. But now you mention it, he should be a lot more responsive by this point, I’ve been busy so it didn’t cross my mind. But of course you and Umbra would see it.”

Discord nodded, looking about to start crying from worry.

“What if this is my fault? Did I cause this?” he whispered in a hushed tone.

“What? No, you can't think that.” Cadance was worried by how the Draconequus still blamed himself.

“Maybe if I’d done things differently, he'd be his usual self?” Discord whispered.

“You did everything right, Discord, I know it. We'll find an answer somehow, but please don’t place the blame on yourself, Discord.”

“I don’t know how to help him.” Discord sniffled.

Silence rang a moment, with Cadance patting Discord's back as she floundered for something to say to make him feel better. But what could she say without sounding insincere? It was a tricky situation.

“What're those letters?” Discord asked suddenly, pointing at a stack of unopened ones.

“Oh, today’s mail. Ponies have taken to addressing them to us in the hopes we'll let Sombra know they support him. It's very sweet how proud they are of him, I wonder if he realises it?”

“I hope so.” Discord sighed.

Cadance gave him some of the letters, asking did he want to help her?

Grateful for the distraction, Discord opened each letter, reading them and alternating between smiling or chuckling at the contents.

“This one just says “hey Discord dude, you're lucky. I'd so hit that. Signed, a fan.”” the Draconequus laughed, shaking his head in amusement.

Cadance shook her head and chuckled.

“Oh my sanity-” Discord cracked up giggling “listen to this; its from his majesty's fanclub- for his REAR.”

“Oh, I have one of those. It's weird.” Cadance shook her head. “my face is up here, you know!”

Discord opened the last one, which was directly addressed to him and soon found himself absorbed in its contents.

–

Dear Mr. Discord.

You showed us just how strong your love was for our King, and we're grateful to you. We hope he will come to the next pride festival when we host it. In the meantime, all of us here at Pride have put together a tribute to the both of you. We don’t know if his majesty is well enough to come down and see it, but we'll be hosting a party in his honour tomorrow evening at sunset.

Bets wishes,

Umbrum Pride group.”

Discord felt touched they thought so kindly of himself and Sombra. Then he had an idea, one so brilliant it just had to work-!

“I gotta go, I have an idea!” Cadance blinked as Discord gave her a thank you hug and ruffled her mane before he sped off at a hundred miles an hour.

Straightening her mane, Cadance wondered what had gotten into him?

The leader of the pride group was about to start the “party planning” meeting when there was a rapid knock at the front door.

“Excuse me a moment,” she told the group. She trotted into the foyer of their meeting place, opening the double doors as she wondered who needed their attention so urgently?

“Yes-oh, hello Discord!” she said brightly.

“Hi, I got your letter!” Discord showed it to her “and I think you can help me, all of you!”

Seeing the urgency in his eyes, she nodded and beckoned him in.

They went to the meeting room, where Discord explained his situation and asked for their help.

“Come on cutie!” Discord grinned as he appeared in his kings room the next evening “we're taking a trip!”

“What? Ah, I don’t feel so well.” Sombra shook his head. Discord sat on the bed in front of him, pulling the saddest face he could.

“Please, my King?” the Draconequus begged.

Sombra took in his anxious expression and stirred enough from his stupor to realise this was important and nodded. Discord kissed him gently, which made his heart ache before the malaise that'd ensnared him since waking crept back in like a malignant shadow. He felt as if he was broken somehow, like something was unplugged, but he couldn’t find the words to identify it.

His aide and doctor had kept asking did he recall what Chrysalis had done to him, but he couldn’t reach the memories, they slipped away like fish in a pond..

Discord watched as Sombra put on his cloak, ignoring his usual regalia, save for his crown.

“I'll just leave a little note in case your staff come looking.” he set a folded note atop the bed, then snapped his fingers and they appeared outside in a flash, far away from the guards patrol.

Discord dropped to all fours to walk alongside his love, who studied the quiet streets they walked down with a blank expression.

Discord watched him worriedly, genuinely saddened by the state of his beloved. Sombra had always been so vibrant, so lively, yet now that all seemed lost. What had that Queen done to him? What might he, Discord, have done with his efforts to reverse Sombra's stasis?

“Where are we going?” Sombra asked Discord after a few minutes.

“Not far now.” Discord assured him.

“Why the back streets, are we avoiding the press?”

“You could say that, it’ll make sense soon, my love.” the chaos lord vowed. Sombra nodded silently, emotions short circuiting again and leaving him feeling empty.

As they got closer, Discord asked his love to close his eyes now.

“Discord?” the dazed pony said softly, tilting his head to one side.

“Trust me, my love.” Discord asked and Sombra accepted it. Even through the strange fog occupying his mind, he knew this kind, loving chaos being was trying to help him. Maybe he could fix the broken part?

The stallion felt a kiss brush his lips as he closed his eyes, then Discord took his left fore-hoof in his hand and began guiding him.

Sombra heard his footsteps echo, meaning they were in a wide open place. But just where were they and what was Discord planning?

“OK, you can open them now, my King.” Discord said softly.

Sombra opened his eyes and stared as the world came into focus.

They were in the part of town that housed the sculpture of him, the one Discord usually stuck a moustache on, built to commemorate his rule. It showed him rearing on his hind legs, head raised proudly, wings outspread as if to take flight. But that wasn’t what his eyes were drawn to.

Resting at the base of the statue was a massive floral arrangement. Lovingly wrought from wire with hundreds of flowers woven into it, it was simply stunning.

It was in the shape of his cutie mark, but where his mark had two Alicorn wings, this one bore one equine wing and one bat wing either side of the horn. The crown around the base of the three symbols was made of pure white roses. The rest of it started red at the centre, then flooded out into every colour of the rainbow, with violet and black flowers at the outer edges. Around the base were more flowers, again in all colours of the rainbow.

“Do you remember the festival I took you to? Where we disguised ourselves and kissed by the fountain?” Discord asked.

He seen Sombra struggle to think, but eventually the pony tore his eyes away from the statue to look at Discord, nodding once.

“I got a letter from the group that organises that festival.” the Draconequus continued “In it, they told me how touched they were by your request that I let the world know about us. They admire your bravery in taking that big step and wanted to show it, so they put a notice in the paper asking the ponies in the kingdom to donate a rose to this display in support of you, in support of US. They love you so much and they're happy because you're happy. You're free my love, WE'RE free, just like those girls said to us that day. Free to love and-”

“-love being free.” Sombra spoke, his voice catching in his throat as he stared back at the display.

Discord was right, he realised. They loved him for choosing to love someone he picked, regardless of gender and his strict upbringing. This whole time he'd been fearing a backlash when in fact the citizens had been celebrating him finding the love he desired.

Discord's heart cramped anxiously when he seen tears well up in Sombra's eyes, but this was soon forgotten as he seen a wash of light seem to run across his King's eyes, their colour deepening to crimson as the spark returned to them.

Sombra made a choked noise of relief and the tears overspilled as he finally felt able to move, to feel. The tears balanced on his lashes a moment before splashing to the sun-warmed stone beneath his hooves.

“Sombra?”

He turned as he heard a familiar voice, one that had been trying to get through to him over and over without ends. A voice who's owner had held him in his arms without a word, even when he had barely seemed to respond.

The pony turned his whole body to face Discord now, so many backlogged sensations and emotions fighting for attention he didn't know where to start thanking his precious Draconequus.

“Sombra, love?” Discord asked “are you alright?”

Sombra nodded, tears blurring his vision in lieu of words. He didn't know what to say, but at least his head felt clear, for the first time since waking.

“Don’t cry,” Discord said softly, framing the pony's face with his hands, thumbs brushing the tears away tenderly “I’m here.”

“I know,” Sombra whispered huskily “you have been here all this time. I am so sorry, Discord, I was far away for far too long and I left you all alone.”

“Hush, it's forgotten.” Discord whispered, drawing the monarch's face closer to his.

Sombra closed his eyes as Discord's lips met his and it was like their first kiss all over again. Jolts ran down his spine and his wings pomf'd out with a fwoosh of air.

Discord released him, not wanting to go too fast for the recovered pony but Sombra looped a foreleg around his neck and pulled him close to return the kiss regardless, a hoof coming to rest on his lover's chest.

At last Discord let him go, looking adoringly at him with relief in his eyes as he spoke;

“I'm so glad you’re alright, my King. I don’t want to think what I’d do without you. Well, probably just mas-”

Sombra nuzzled him softly, laughing as he cut the Draconequus off mid-innuendo “neither do I, so let us not dwell on that. We're here, you and I, we're free.”

“I'm under orders from your mother to keep watch over you to make sure you rest up. So no sneaking off to work, okay?”

Sombra laughed, opening his mouth to respond when he felt a sudden stabbing pain in his head. He put a hoof to his head, uttering a soft gasp. He closed his eyes and drew in a few shaky deep breaths.

“Sombra-?! What's wrong?” Discord asked, his eyes roaming over the pony, searching for physical injury.

“I- my head just felt like an ice pick stabbed it.” Sombra cautiously opened his eyes as his heart rate steadied at last. The world looked fuzzy for a moment, then it sharpened into focus.

Discord seen the familiar glow of magic swirl up around Sombra's horn, eyes radiating the familiar green glow.

“It's back! You're all better.” Discord realised what this meant and grinned at his stallion.

“I can feel it.” Sombra looked relieved, if a little shaken. He looked over at the display of flowers once more and his voice shook a little “I'M back, my dear Discord. I don’t know where I was, but it was as if I could not reach my own heart.”

Hearing those words, Discord realised in a surge of brilliance what had happened.

“That blast.” he whispered, clasping the pony's fore-hooves in his hands.

“What about it?” Sombra asked, blinking at him.

“That’s why you felt distant! You gave so much love that your mind believed that it had none left. That was why you felt so empty and couldn't respond, you just needed a spark to reignite it and what’s more powerful than the love of an entire empire?”

“Thank you.” Sombra whispered, kissing Discord softly and nuzzling his nose “you knew this would snap me out of it. I truly could not be luckier to have you with me.”

Discord didn’t know what to say, so he just nuzzled the stallion's cheek, mimicking the way Sombra did it.

Sombra's ears perked up as he heard a sound halfway between a squee and a sob.

“What was that?” he asked, glancing around him.

“Ah, yes.” Discord coughed “this is going to be the site of a party, dear Sombra. For us.”

“A party?” Sombra blinked, looking at the empty plaza “by whom and where is everypony?”

“Hiding.” Discord cleared his throat and spoke loudly “OK, the jigs up!”

Sombra did a double take as ponies poured out of every nook and cranny as Discord called out, trotting out of hiding from behind corners, statues and large potted plants. Had they been watching all this time?!

He felt himself flush as the crowds streamed over to gather around the royal couple, there were so many ponies waving and smiling at him. But he seen kindness and their acceptance reflected in all the faces around him.

“Your majesty.” a mare's voice caught his ear and he looked over in its direction, seeing it belonged to a blue mare with green and pink striped mane who bowed to him now.

“You made that wreath?” he asked the pony as she straightened up from her bow.

“Yes, your majesty. I'm Fairchild, the leader of Pride here in the Umbrum kingdom. We wanted to celebrate your act of bravery in giving everything you had to protect your home, to protect your special someone. You didn’t care who knew, you told your love it was what you wanted.”

“Ah!” Sombra recalled his request to Discord and looked at the chaos lord now “the paper-?”

“Every paper. That I could get hold of.” Discord said “I told them to put in it big capital letters that I. Love. YOU.” he tapped Sombra's nose at the end, making the King go cross-eyed.

The crowd cheered and Sombra heard the squee-squeak sound again. Why did it sound so familiar?

“Who is that?” Discord asked in bewilderment and a mare stepped sheepishly forward, one hoof raised.

“Sorry, I can't help myself.”

“Who?” like the King, Discord thought she seemed familiar. Something about her mannerisms?

He got his answer a second later when the mare, with a whoosh of magic, revealed herself as Princess Cadance. She scratched at her cheek, blushing as the crowds did double takes.

“Sorry, I sensed so much love in that letter you left on the bed when I came by to see Sombra, I couldn't resist following my instincts.”

Sombra blushed, but figured Cadance was the Princess of love, she'd have seen it a mile away anyway. His eyes met the Princess' and she gave him a supportive wink. He smiled, buoyed by her presence.

“Shall we start the party?” Discord asked the crowd and they cheered in unison.

“Ready to party, my King?” the Draconequus winked to the King.

Sombra smiled, nodding to the crowd who cheered even louder.

The ponies brought out cosy chairs for the royals and chaos lord and began setting up stalls and cooking snack foods.

Ponies came to talk to the King and his lover, mostly to congratulate him, but also to say just how cute they thought it was!

“See?” Discord murmured as he rubbed behind Sombra's ear, making the pony sigh happily “they're cool with it. So now you can indeed kiss me whenever you feel like and tell everyone to kiss your flank.”

Sombra chuckled “That is true, I confess I am looking forward to surprise-kissing you when you least expect it!”

Discord grinned and planted a kiss on his lovers cheek as reward. A squee noise issued from Cadance and when the duo looked at her, she had a hoof clapped over her mouth.

“Sorry,” she apologised “I have a compulsion to do that whenever I see something genuinely loving. I swear I can't control it.”

Sombra chuckled, assuring her it was fine.

The group put on a show for the honoured guests, including a song performance!

Shining Armor went looking for his wife, couldn't find her. Went looking for Sombra, couldn't find him either. But at least Sombra or possibly Discord had left a note, saying he'd gone down to the plaza where his statue was.

Shining grabbed Captain Corona and Page Assist and the trio went in search of the missing royals.

The closer they got to the plaza, the louder the noise became.

“Is this a party?” Shining Armor wondered, as they tried to edge their way through the crowd to the front.

Coronas ears twitched as he heard a song

“The King is back, dark Queen is gone,
Our eternal shadow has come home...”

Breaching the front of the huge crowd, they seen ponies dancing to a song being performed live by a group of mare's and stallion's atop a makeshift stage.

At the centre of all the dancing was the empire's ruler, currently enjoying a dance with his beloved chaos lord.

As they watched, the song drew to a close and Discord spun his partner round, hooking an arm around his back and dipping him backward towards the floor. Sombra's face was flushed, eyes sparkling. He laughed happily and nuzzled his muzzle against Discord's as he was set upright.

The crowds around them cheered and clapped.

“Well, there goes his majesty's reservation!” Page Assist huffed, rolling his eyes “first he's keeping it state-secret, now he's showing off.”

“Oh, quit griping,” Corona gave him a noogie, making Page Assist glare daggers at him “you need to go out, meet somepony. RELAX already!”

Page Assist gave a loud huff “well I never-!” he harrumphed. He backed off to escape Corona, but so was fixated on keeping an eye on the Gargoyle that he tripped over his own hooves and bumped into somepony else as he righted himself.

“You OK?” he seen the mare talking to him was a pretty pegasus, with sky blue eyes. He nodded. “Yes, sorry for barging into you.”

“No worries, hon.” She smiled warmly and nodded towards where the King was chattering to some ponies, no doubt about the relationship they celebrated.

“It's wonderful, isn’t it? We've all hoped for his majesty to find happiness, he's been working so hard for all of us that it's about time he had a break."

“That's true, I’ve seen him do nothing but work since day one.” Page Assist realised she had a point, Sombra did deserve the time to fall in love, he himself shouldn’t be so critical.

“Do you know him?” his conversation partner asked.

“Yes, I’m his aide.” Page Assist said proudly, puffing his chest out.

“Wow, that must be interesting.” her nose crinkled adorably as she whispered “does he ever do anything goofy? Like, really silly?”

Her cheeky manners made Page actually chuckle and he couldn’t resist letting one titbit slip “he opens doors with his face when he's caffeine-deprived.”

She let out a snort of laughter and Page found himself laughing too.

“I'm a genius.” Corona grinned smugly as he observed the pompous aide being made to laugh by the pony he'd tripped into.

Shining Armor rolled his eyes, looking at the crowds “where’s Cadie-?”

“Shining!” she popped up behind him as the words left his mouth, calling his name loud enough to make him shriek and fall over.

“Sorry honey.” She giggled, helping him up.

“Well, that answers that question.” Corona chuckled.

“Corona?” He and Shining Armor looked up as they heard Sombra's voice. He'd spotted them and was making his way through the crowd to their position. When he reached them Shining noticed how animated Sombra was, a drastic improvement over his near vegetative state from earlier.

“Hay, your majesty!” the Gargoyle grinned “enjoying yourself?”

Sombra nodded, stepping back to gesture at the floral tribute “the ponies donated flowers to build this!”

Shining's eyebrows rose and he gave an impressed whistle.

“Nice,” he said, understanding what it symbolised “everypony read the papers then!”

“So I have heard.” Sombra flushed a little, but honestly looked so happy that his nerves didn’t seem as obvious.

“Excellent news, sire!” Corona clapped him on the back “glad to see you looking back to normal, you've been asleep on and off for a while.”

“Yes I, I think that spell I pulled off scrambled my head a little, I couldn’t process anything fully. I just needed to be reminded of who I was. A task Discord has always known how to do.”

“Where is he?” Corona asked.

Sombra glanced about, then spotted him over by the stalls.

“Ah, food. He is a stomach on legs.”

“You’re one to talk!” Shining Armor snorted “according to the cook you metabolise like there’s no tomorrow!”

Sombra tried and failed to look innocent, further ruining the façade by sniggering.

“Join the party!” he said to Shining and Corona, then spotted Page Assist walking alongside a mare as they headed to the drinks tables “is that my aide?”

“Eyup,” Corona grinned “somepony's got a marefriend~!”

“Ah,” Sombra nodded wisely “I shall not intrude then, we can talk another time.”

They stayed at the party until late into the night, until Sombra finally had to leave. He walked up onto the stage to thank the crowds for coming, for donating the flowers and most importantly, for throwing this party in his honour.

They walked back to the palace, Sombra and Discord striding ahead of the others, heads close together as they talked.

Discord said something that made the King laugh softly and Page Assist seen how happy he looked.

“I've never seen such a drastic change in him,” he muttered “he was always so reserved before.”

“He's been keeping himself away from these feelings in order to work on the kingdom from what I heard,” Cadance piped up “this is new to him.”

Page Assist nodded, he figured Sombra would settle down once he was back at work…

Sombra and Discord walked off together, just enjoying the freedom to stick as close to each other as they could. Discord seen many a guard casting envious glances his way and grinned to himself.

“Ooh...” Sombra made a funny noise, coming to a sudden stop in the middle of the hallway, one hoof pressed to his stomach.

“What's wrong?” Discord asked “tummy ache?”

“No, it is not my stomach, this is originating-” he shivered again, flushing slightly.

--Oh no, it cannot be..-- Sombra groaned as his stomach ached as if in longing for something. He felt a familiar urge budding in the back of his mind and took off in a moment of panic, throwing himself into the bathroom down the hall. He locked the door with his magic and flung up a shield around the room.

He closed his eyes, working hurriedly to put a stopgap spell in place, anything to calm himself down-

“Cutie, what are you doing?”

“Your majesty?”

The two voices made Sombra yelp loudly and spin around to look at them, almost tripping on the long cloak as he did.

“W-what?” he stammered. Discord folded his arms and frowned sceptically.

“You’re not fooling me, my King, I know when something is wrong. Now what's so wrong you felt the need to lock yourself in here?”

“N-nothing, you two can wait outside, I am fine!” Sombra waved a hoof at them, forcing a smile.

“You’re a crap liar, silly Sombra.” Discord dead-panned, but then he vanished abruptly and Sombra blinked, had he actually left?

Then he felt familiar hands begin to massage the base of his ears.

“Ah-” he blushed, ears twitching. That felt so good...

“Spit it out, what's the matter!” Discord's disembodied voice said as he continued to massage Sombra's ears. He made his body reappear so Page wouldn’t get the wrong idea, but kept rubbing the pony's ears even as Sombra tried to object.

“Alright- let me go then-!” Sombra blurted and Discord released his ears, settling down in front of the pony and peering at him.

“OK then, out with it.” he ordered.

“Must you play dirty?” Sombra flushed.

“Dirty is practically my middle name, you know that!” Discord joked, winking at the King.

Page Assist went red as he observed Discord's technique for getting the King to answer, there was something very intimate about the scene and he felt like he was intruding.

“It is-” Sombra sighed “it is the heat Discord. It's back.”

“Back?” Discord frowned “how?”

Page Assist heard this and put it together with the return of Sombra's magic and emotions.

“I think it is more a case of it never finished, sire.”

“How do you mean?” Discord asked “he hasn’t exactly been in the mood lately, or didn’t you notice?”

“How would I notice, you filthy minded cretin!” Page Assist blushed at the insinuation and Discord sniggered.

“Because you wouldn’t be able to get in the door to Sombra's room if he had!” Discord teased, riling Page up even more.

“That’s enough you two, play nice!” Sombra cried in exasperation.

“As I was saying,” Page continued snootily, ignoring Discord “my guess is your urges were suppressed by the incident in the cave. You were pretty shook up, but with your magic and cognisance now restored, your heat must have finally reinstated itself since it wasn’t finished before you were abducted.”

Sombra thought about it, coming to the realisation his aide was right.

“Oh dear.” he whispered softly “will it never stop?”

“Have you not made the choice?” Page Assist asked.

“What choice?” Sombra asked.

Page blinked “the choice in the report I gave you.”

Receiving only two blank stares as he talked, he face-hoofed and sighed.

“Did you two even read any of it? Besides the one bit you alluded to in your apology, sire?”

The lovers shared guilty glances, Sombra going red and Discord looking amused.

“That’s a no, then.” Page deduced.

He sighed, running a hoof through his mane “well, I'll give you the short version. The heat is designed to further the Infinitum race by mating. This period only occurs at a certain point, when the Infinitum is most potent.”

Sombra blushed.

“Anyway,” Page continued unflappably “as I said, the main goal is to mate.”

“I gathered that, but I think you’re missing one vital point, neither of us is female.” Discord pointed out patiently.

“You don’t have to be!” Page Assist groaned “his majesty is the Infinitum. Infinitum are capable of generating one of our kind, much like how his mother had him.”

“I understand that,” Sombra stammered “b-but, what does that have to do with-?”

“If you wished to have a child, your body can do so much more accurately if it absorbs genetic data from your partner, be it female or MALE. As the child is born from crystal, gender makes no difference.”

Silence rang as this sunk in.

“So that’s why you wanted such a ploughing.” Discord whispered to Sombra, who went beet red.

“Not just that!” the King objected in hushed tones “as I mentioned, I rather enjoy-”

“Ahem,” Page Assist cleared his throat to get them to stop whispering. “my point remains valid, your majesty. Your body is actively looking for source material and it wont stop until you either choose to let the process go ahead or deny it.”

Sombra closed his eyes, feeling Discord nuzzling his cheek.

“I am in no way ready for kids.” Sombra said, laughing at just how crazy the phrase sounded. Discord chuckled and kissed his nose softly.

“Me neither, I only just told you I love you!”

This made Sombra smile and he leant against Discord's side, his heat temporarily forgotten.

“So all you need to do your majesty, is focus on making the process stop and it'll end.” Page finished.

“So, that first night triggered it by accident after all?” Discord looked at Sombra.

“Seems that way, my body must have misconstrued my desires. Mistook one thing for another...”

“It was still fun~” Discord winked, making the King chuckle again.

“Well, we'll take care of this, don’t you fret!” Discord grinned at Page, who face-hoofed and groaned.

“I'll see you tomorrow, your majesty.” he said resignedly.

As they turned to go, Sombra asked “how did you two get in here anyway?”

Discord spoke up with a grin “This isn’t the first time I’ve unpicked your shields, remember?”

“Heh, I do indeed.” the King chuckled as they stood in the hallway.

Page Assist left them to it, walking off down the hall- Then he stopped, remembering the reason he'd chased after the King and run into Discord to begin with.

“Sire, the trade agreement meeting is tomorrow. The Prince and Princess want to know if you're well enough to attend, or shall they go?”

“That’s the one with that old blow-hard, Lord Shield, isn’t it?”

“Yes, sire.”

“Crap,” Sombra sighed “he always insists on seeing me personally. I had better attend alongside the Prince and Princess.”

“Very well, sire.” Page Assist trotted away.

“Great.” Sombra sighed.

“Can't you just blow him off?” Discord asked and giggled when Sombra glared at him “for once that WASNT a sexual innuendo. I'm serious, can't you just delegate?”

“Sadly no,” Sombra sighed “Lord Shield is very old fashioned, he insists on only dealing with me, as the highest ranking individual. It is easier to just go along and get it over with.”

“OK, fine, but I’m holding you prisoner after that. You’re not doing any work, okay?” Discord said sternly.

“Agreed.” Sombra smiled softly.

They teleported back to Sombra's bedroom, where Discord immediately summoned a shield to block the noise. Sombra smiled, his lover had read his signals.

“Lie down, cutie.” Discord said softly. Sombra blinked, wondering what the chaos lord had planned?

But he clambered onto the bed, lying on his back with the pillows propping him up. Discord leaned over him, kissing him softly while his hands rubbed Sombra's belly. The pony groaned happily, arching his back against the soft hands caressing him.

Discord snapped his fingers and Sombra let out a surprised yelp as his forelegs were suddenly bound above his head. Blinking up, he seen dark green vines securing them in place. He blushed even more as he felt one slither up the inside of his thigh, then the other side.

“S-so this is what you meant!" he groaned.

“Mm-hmm~” Discord grinned “these ones are very soft, they’ll just keep you from fidgeting while I take care of you.”

The vines wound around Sombra's hind legs, keeping them apart while others roamed across his chest like teasing fingertips.

“Mmmm,” Sombra moaned softly “that tickles..”

He felt the bed shift and opened his eyes, seeing his precious Discord leaning over him, nuzzling and kissing him gently. As he did so, one of the vines wrapped around the trussed-up stallion's shaft and squeezed firmly. Sombra tried to buck his hips but the vines holding his legs and midsection meant he couldn’t budge an inch.

“Drop the spell cutie,” Discord whispered and Sombra nodded. He'd set the same spell he'd used at the party, to try dampen his desires while Page talked with him and Discord. Now, without the spell, the teasing touch of both the vines and his lover had him fully aroused and hard in seconds.

Discord brushed a finger over his stallion's tip, mopping up a thick drop of pre-cum. With a wave of his hand the vines squeezed again, making more thick creamy fluid bead up and trickle down the pony's shaft. Discord lapped it up with his tongue, hearing Sombra panting eagerly.

“I have a special treat for you, love.” he grinned to the pony.

Sombra tried to assemble the words needed to enquire what this new surprise was, when he felt Discord's talented tongue probing a most intimate spot. It sent a bolt of pleasure up Sombra's spine, and he moaned loudly, trying to wriggle. But the vines just tightened, keeping him in place.

He closed his eyes, breathing rapidly as Discord's agile tongue pushed into him, teasing the inside of his entrance. It was playful but very pleasurable.

The vines around his legs kept a firm grip on his hips while the one wrapped around his member moved in a languid stroke. Another traced a line down his belly, then back up, roaming across his chest as it rose and fell rapidly.

Discord groaned softly when Sombra clenched his body tightly as the Draconequus' tongue explored him. Discord squeezed and rubbed the stallions firm bottom as he picked up speed, ears twitching as Sombra moaned his name.

--I promised I’d ravish you senseless my King and I aim to keep it!-- Discord thought as he continued to work the stallion's firm ass.

“Discord- sweet sanity I cannot hold back-” Sombra gasped, as he wriggled futilely within his restraints. His wings flapped eagerly and brushed the scent of pheromones around the area within the shield.

Seconds later Sombra could keep going no longer, gasping Discord's name sharply as he felt himself hit orgasm. Globs of fluid splashed onto his chest and he felt the teasing tongue withdraw from him.

Discord sat up, looking at the pony before him. Sombra looked beyond tempting as he lay there, bound and spattered with cum, spread-eagled by the vines hold. He began cleaning his partner up, using fingers and tongue to clean up every glob while the pony groaned his name urgently.

“Delicious,” Discord spoke at last, snapping his fingers to summon a glass of water. Once he'd chugged it down he tossed the glass over his shoulder where it disappeared.

“That’s just the start..” he teased as he caressed Sombra's still-hard member. “Mm, you look good.”

The way Discord was crouching over him, Sombra could guess what was next and he caught Discord's eyes, grinning.

“Great minds think alike, my King. I cannot let a second load go to waste….”

As he spoke, he slowly lowered himself onto his majesty’s cock, making the pony groan urgently. Discord was so hot and tight it drove Sombra crazy.

Bracing his arms either side of Sombra's chest, the Draconequus began manoeuvring his curvy elegant form to lift himself up and down on the stallion's member.

“Mmm, yes-” the chaos lord groaned eagerly, licking his lips as he met Sombra's eyes “you feel amazing my dear Sombra.” He tensed the muscles in his rear, squeezing the pony’s shaft, which made Sombra moan loudly, licking his lips.

Sombra closed his eyes, revelling in the feeling of the chaos being riding him. Discord was moving hard and fast, taking it every last inch of his lover's shaft with every push downwards.

“Yes, that’s the spot-” Discord purred, swishing his tail as he felt the climax begin to build. Sombra moved one wing, brushing it along his lover's member, which made Discord gasp lustily.

The chaos being came first and the way he tensed his body brought Sombra over the edge too. His wing was mid-stroke as they came, so it was soon spattered with most of the Draconequus' load, the rest splattering onto Sombra's chest.

“Whew,” Discord looked down at the pony, blushing when he seen he'd made a bit of a mess of the pony’s wing.

“Okay, time to release you, my captive~” he teased, snapping his fingers, which made the vines release Sombra at last. The stallion sat up, pulling the wing towards him. Discord stared in aroused curiosity as he watched Sombra preen the wings, tongue mopping up the sticky liquid mussing them up.

“Mmm, all clean~” the King smiled, folding his wings down.

“How are you feeling cutie?” Discord asked.

“Good.” Sombra purred “but I have one task left.”

“What’s that?” Discord asked. Sombra grinned evilly and with a swirl of his magic he was suddenly in control of the vines and had them pin Discord in place, belly down on the bed. Other vines were used to keep the Draconequus' legs and tail in a position that gave the King full access.

“Ooh, what’re you up to, my King?” Discord groaned.

“Remember our conversation? Wherein I promised I would do something involving the shadow tendrils if you brought those seeds? Well, it is time for my end of the deal.”

“Oh I like your end, very much so.” Discord groaned in excitement. He couldn’t see Sombra from this position and it was pretty hot that he couldn't anticipate what his King had planned.

Sombra formed the shadow tendrils, teasing them around his lovers entrance, withdrawing then moving them back in. Discord squirmed in his bonds, begging the stallion to do more..

“As you wish.” Sombra said with a smirk. He began as he usually did, using the tendrils to stretch and tease his lover, getting him worked up pretty fast. Discord moaned deeply, relishing in the thrust of the shadow tendrils.

“Mm, ready.” Sombra grinned. He'd been idly toying with himself as he watched the shadow tendrils. For now he moved them and his hoof, he had other plans.

Discord squeaked in surprise as the tendrils moved under him, twining around his member and rubbing it gently. As they squeezed his tip he was aware of Sombra entering him, the familiar heat of his lovers endowment filling him..

“Mm, yes! Work it, my King.” the chaos being said breathily.

“I intend to.” Sombra grinned, then began. Every time he pushed all the way into his lover, the tendrils squeezed the Draconequus' shaft. They moved from the top to the base, keeping him from coming too early yet driving him crazy at the same time. All the while Sombra was unrelentingly pounding him from behind, hitting that sweet spot with each thrust.

The tendrils were wrapped around his entire shaft by this point, the faint thrum of the magic used to create them sending constant pulses of pleasure along the organ.

With one final, hard thrust he felt his King come inside him, the thick sticky seed coating him inside.

He was so close to coming but the tendrils were keeping it in check, just as it was on the verge..

Sombra pulled out and instructed the vines to lift his lovers body up enough from the bed for the tendrils to freely move and stroke the member they'd been playing with. It wasn’t long before Discord came, body shivering from the force of his orgasm for several long seconds until it finally tailed off…

Sombra let the chaos lord go from the vines and Discord sat himself up, facing his King.

“That was outstanding, my dear Sombra. You learn fast!” The Draconequus kissed the stallion, then they looked at the mess they’d made of the bed.

“Whoops.” Sombra said absently.

“Easily fixed.” Discord snapped his fingers and it was all swept away, the vines disappearing too.

“Those were quite stimulating, I must admit.” Sombra grinned as Discord pulled him into his arms.

“I thought I'd make this time extra special. After all, when you’re in heat, you seem to quite enjoy the domination.”

“What is to say I wont when I am off heat?” Sombra teased “forget not, I told you it is quite a thrill being at somepony else's mercy, if that one is special. And you have me at your mercy in that regard.”

Discord kissed him hotly, then ushered the sexy pony to the bathroom, they both needed to bathe!

The next morning, Sombra felt something was a bit off when he woke. Then he came to the realisation it wasn't something wrong, it was something right.

“Discord!” he shook the Draconequus' shoulder gently.

“What is it, love?” Discord asked.

“My heats stopped!” Sombra was flush with relief.

“Ah, that's good news. Now we know how to control it, simply satisfy every urge you have as many times as your body can take!”

Sombra flushed, biting his lip and smiling.

“You are so damn cute.” Discord growled, pulling the stallion down for a round of deep kisses. They spent as much time as they could making out until it was time to wash…

“I'll be around the palace if you need me, my King. Just use your magic.” Discord said as they walked down to the foyer where Sombra was going to met the dignitary.

“Of course,” Sombra smiled “have fun.”

“I will, my King.” Discord said softly. As they reached the corridor where Discord would separate from his love, Sombra pulled him in for a kiss. He smiled knowingly as he released his precious Draconequus.

“Until later." he purred. Then he was gone, tail swishing over his rear as he vanished around the corner.

“Boing.” Discord said out loud.

“I'll say.” the closest guard remarked.

Sombra sighed softly as the guards announced the arrival of Lord Shield and his son. This part caught Sombra by surprise, for Shield never usually brought his kid along. Although technically he was an adult now, a grown up colt who looked more like his mother than his father.

“King Sombra.” Shield said stiffly. Sombra blinked, wondering was something amiss? He greeted the Lord politely and his son too, setting these doubts aside.

The son, named Fracture, stared at the King as he spoke to him. He couldn’t help blush a little, the stallion was pretty good looking in the photos, but even better up close.

Then his father's hoof clipped his ear.

“Stop staring like a buffoon!” his father snapped. Sombra frowned, it seemed a bit harsh, but it wasn’t his place to intrude.

“This is Fracture, correct?” he said, distracting the Lord.

“Yes, your majesty.” the colt said, bowing deeply.

“I thought it best he accompany me, to learn about situations like this if he is ever to make something of himself and stop fooling around.” Shield said bluntly as he stared at Sombra.

“I see.” Sombra couldn’t put his hoof on it, but something was off about Lord Shield. Dismissing it for now, he motioned them to follow him to the rooms they'd be staying in.

Dinner was a fancy affair, but Sombra noted that Fracture didn't say much, didn't eat much either, but Shield didn't seem to care.

Sombra tried repeatedly to talk to the colt, but Shield always answered for him and the answers he gave made the colt wince. As if they weren’t what he'd truly like to say if the choice were in his hooves.

Shield retired to bed after dinner, saying he felt tired and needed to rest. He icily told his son not to be a nuisance and not to leave the palace. After bidding him goodnight, Sombra realised he had left his book in the lounge where he greeted guests for tea. He trotted down there, drifting over to beside the fireplace and scooping the misplaced tome up.

He heard a cough and whipped round, relaxing when he seen Fracture trying to sneak out of the room.

“Are you alright?” he asked, walking over to the pony “you seem very quiet.”

“I-it's nothing,” Fracture mumbled “father will only scold me if I talk.”

“Your father is in bed now, you can relax.” Sombra gestured to the seats by the fire “would you like to sit and talk awhile?”

Fracture looked scared, then tired, then he nodded gratefully. Sombra had the staff bring them some drinks and asked the kid what was on his mind.

“Is it your father?” he asked and Fracture winced.

“Yeah, it is,” he sighed “he's so upset with me.”

“For what reason, if I may be so bold as to enquire?” Sombra asked. Fracture bit his lip, as if weighing the pro's and con's.

“I seen the papers about you and your partner!” he blurted and Sombra flushed lightly but kept his composure “and I foolishly decided to come out to my family. My mother was a little shocked, but my father, he-”

“Did not take it well?” Sombra finished this sentence, seeing Fracture nod in acknowledgement.

“He hit the roof.” he said heavily “said I was a disgrace, that he was going to train me out of such behaviour.”

Sombra frowned “it is not a behaviour, it is a way of life.”

“That's what I tried to tell him!” Fracture cried “but he wont believe it. His family, my granddad and grandma, they’re so strict. They’re from super-rich super-old fashioned stock, so they don’t approve of a lot of modern practises.”

“Is there no way he would hear you out?” Sombra asked.

“No, I tried.” Fracture sighed “I’ll never be allowed to have a colt-friend, he'll no doubt force me to marry for money or for the business empire. It's not fair, why don’t my choices matter? Am I a mistake-”

“Stop right there.” Sombra said sternly “you are not a mistake of any sort. You have every right to choose your own life, but proving this to your father is the hard part. Maybe there is some way I can help-?”

But Fracture only shook his head rapidly “that's nice, your majesty, but he wont listen. You know why he smacked me earlier?”

Sombra shook his head and Fracture ducked his head, blushing softly.

“I was admiring you and he seen it. He clipped me across the head so I'd know he knew. That’s why he answered for me at dinner, he did not want me disgracing him any further.”

Sombra flushed a little at the compliment, but he was still very concerned for the colt.

“I doubt I could ever find somepony as good looking as your Discord has. He's lucky..” Fracture sighed “I wish I had someone like you, somepony who understood and would love me for who I am.”

“There is no telling where you may find that pony, but I am confident you will.” Sombra said “there'll be a way to sway your father's opinion somewhere. Are you sure I could not try my hoof at a mediation?”

“That'd be awesome, but he wont listen. I'm sorry for how he's acting.” Fracture sighed and set his empty mug down “thanks for the hot chocolate, your majesty. I'm going to go to bed.”

“Goodnight, sleep well.” Sombra said softly and the other stallion nodded before trotting out of the room, head bowed and ears drooping.

--Poor kid-- Sombra thought as he finished his drink –will his father really not see how much things have changed?--

The next day he met Shining Armor and Cadance in the office, where they set out the paperwork while they waited for Shield to turn up.

When the two arrived, Sombra noticed Fracture wouldn't meet his eyes, instead wincing and avoiding looking at the King. Sombra wondered if Lord Shield had found out about the colt spilling the beans in their chat last night.

“Shall we begin?” Cadance said, but Shield held up a hoof and all three royals paused, looking confused.

“I confess I had an ulterior motive in coming here, your majesty.” he directed this at Sombra “put away that paperwork, I will not be requiring it.”

“What do you mean?” Sombra asked, frowning softly.

“I came here to make a point. My son needs to learn what will happen if he doesn’t stop this charade!” he stared levelly at the King “I cannot continue trade relations with you or your empire after reading that débâcle in the papers.”

“Débâcle?” Shining Armor asked, unease growing in his gut.

“Yes. If you will persist in this cross-species dalliance you flaunt so readily, then contact will cease permanently. I have overlooked your kingdom's lax sexual ethics out of respect for your work, King Sombra, but you yourself should be above such things.”

Sombra honestly felt like he'd been punched in the gut. He caught sight of Fracture looking about to cry and the pieces all fell into place. Shield was doing this to show his son what would happen to him if he didn’t change his tune. This made a cold anger settle in his stomach yet he felt oddly calm, keeping his face unreadable.

“Is this some sort of joke?” Shining Armor spoke up. He honestly couldn’t believe it. Beside him, Cadance looked just as appalled.

Lord Shield ignored them, looking at Sombra “so you do not defend your decision, King?”

Sombra chuckled softly, then burst out laughing in full for several seconds.

“W-what? How dare you laugh?” Shield fumed, thumping a hoof down onto the table, this wasn’t going to plan at all!

“My amusement is at two things Lord Shield; your ignorance and your disrespect. That you can be so oblivious is strange. All this time we have worked together, I can assure you I have not changed. I was so inclined when I first met you and I will remain that way regardless. But let me ask this; is treating those trying to live their lives, well within their right I might add, really the best way to teach your son how to take your place someday? Do you wish him to trample on a pony's rights also?”

Shield was speechless, Sombra didn't seem deterred at all and Fracture was looking at the stallion as if hoping he would rescue him.

“I will not sit here and be insulted!” Shield snapped, getting to his hooves. “I will be leaving tomorrow once my other matters in this kingdom are settled. It's a shame you would place your bedroom politics above genuine ones.”

Then he stormed out of the room, barking for Fracture to follow.

Fracture cast a look at Sombra, mouthing “I’m so sorry.” then he ran after his dad. Sombra could hear him barking orders at the young stallion as they faded away out of earshot.

“What the buck just happened?” Shining Armor bleated, looking at Sombra, who was frowning softly.

“He used me as an example to his son. It seems he could not tolerate his son's sexuality being otherwise inclined.”

“He's gay.” Cadance realised the motive Shield had alluded to and Sombra nodded.

“I had the chance to speak with Fracture last night, he was miserable. He said his father was bringing him along to teach him. I see now he was trying to tell me what his father had planned for him, and for this meeting.”

The Alicorn sighed hevaily, walking over to the window “Fracture said his father's family was very strict on such matters, thus his father has inherited their way of thinking. He will not see his son's right to have a life of his choice.”

“I can't believe he would be so insulting,” Shining Armor shook his head “using everything you’ve been through as a battering ram and making bravery out to be abhorrent cowardice.”

“It is alright,” Sombra smiled sadly “I expect there will be those with such views and that is their right. What concerns me is Fracture, that kid deserves to feel free to choose, but with his father being stuck in his mindset, such hope seems slim. I wish that I could do more.”

“I don’t think there's much you can do.” Cadance tried to make him feel better.

Sombra sighed “I am fortunate, my kingdom and many outside of it have been accepting of my choice. Fracture does not have that luxury or support it seems.”

They decided to just deal with other matters since Shield had called the meeting off so abruptly.

Sombra went to Discord, who was curled up in Sombra's room. The chaos lord took one look at his lover’s depressed expression and asked what had happened?

When Sombra told him, he nearly exploded.

“That disrespectful little-” the Draconequus growled “I’d like to kick his ass-!”

“Discord!” Sombra cried “please calm down.”

“But he insulted you, my love.” Discord frowned. Sombra looked up from his desk where he was writing out an account of the kidnapping incident. With his memories back and his heat disabled, he was able to concentrate on what he could recall. He set his pen down and crossed the room to snuggle up to the angry Draconequus on the bed.

“It is fine, I am not insulted. Just worried about the son.”

“Yeah, the kids got it rough with his father having such a rod up his butt!” Discord snorted and Sombra kissed him gently.

“I just want to spend this evening with you..” the stallion whispered. They were about to kiss when there was a thumping on the door.

“Oh for-” Sombra sighed, getting off the bed and walking over to the door. Opening it, he was confronted by a very anxious guard.

“Sire, you're needed downstairs, right away!”

Sombra sighed, dismissed the guard then looked back at Discord.

“I will be back swiftly as I can, my lord.”

“You'd better~” Discord teased and Sombra cast him a brief smile as he ran out the door.

“What was that about?” Discord pondered as he settled on the bed to await his lover's return.

Sombra raced downstairs, emerging in the main foyer.

“What is going on?” he said sharply.

Guards turned to face him and Sombra seen Lord Shield was with them. What was he planning now, the King thought with a barely suppressed sigh.

“My son is missing!!” Shield yelled “where is he?”

“I do not know.” Sombra said “I have been in my private quarters drafting a report since you called off the meeting. I am sure he is within the palace walls-”

“I already looked!” Shield snapped “I asked your guards here to comb it top to bottom but they found only THIS:” he stomped over to Sombra and held up a note he'd found in his son's room.

“Dad-

I don't like what you did and said to King Sombra. You treat him like you do me and i'm sick of it. I'm not coming back-

Fracture.”

“He ran away?” Sombra frowned.

“Of course he did and it's all because of you!” Shield yelled. Sombra set the note aside and regarded Shield coolly.

“Because I dared show him respect, or because he took the courage to reveal his true self and you demeaned him for it? Yes, I can see why that would unnerve you. Soon as he realised he had rights that you so easily deny him, his anger was more than justified.”

“Justified-” Shield began but Sombra cut him off, he'd had enough now.

“Yes,” he barked “FULLY justified. I am aware you were raised with ideals that might conflict with the way the world is now and while it is your right to live by those rules, you have no right to force it upon your own son!”

He advanced on Shield now, snarling angrily

“Look across Equestria, being homosexual is no longer a shock nor a disgrace in a majority of cities and cultures. Even if it IS in your mind, there is no reason you cannot tolerate those who do not do what you do. A pony's sexuality makes no difference to who they are.”

Lord Shield backed up a step as Sombra raised his voice even higher. His own servants looked at each other, unsure how to act in an argument between two high-ranking forces.

“I am not a father, but even I understand how a child's biggest source of approval is from their parents. Your son no doubt looks up to you in one way or another and to have what should be his hero rip apart who he is, it was one more insult than he could take. THAT is why he ran. Do you love your son?”

“O-of course I do!” Shield stammered.

“Really? Yet you would demean me to teach him a lesson. That lesson being that his being gay makes him a disgrace? That is no love I have ever seen.” Sombra said coldly.

Shield panicked, Sombra's tirade had shaken him a little and he was torn between rage and panic. He did not want his son to disappear, he just-

“I just wanted him to make his family proud.” he said dully.

“And I am sure that with the right help, he can do just that. But you have to give him freedom and respect his choices. If he makes mistakes then so be it, they are his to make, he will learn about himself and what he wants from life from those mistakes and in turn successes. You have seen how the world can view those of a homosexual persuasion. You said you had read the papers about me, therefore you must have seen the letters printed within. I read them all and I have copies preserved to remind me of the true decency of not just my ponies, but those all across the land.”

Sombra's guards nodded and made sounds to signify their agreement. Sombra smiled kindly at them, bowing his head in respect. Shield watched this, how the King's servants still adored him after his public display of such wanton sexuality. Would the world really be so kind to his son? He didn’t believe it, Sombra was a King and a hero to many, of course they loved him! His prestige afforded him that safety.

“I have to find my son!” he said sharply, which made Sombra look back over at him.

“Then follow me, we need to have a talk.”

Sombra led Lord Shield to the same room where he'd had his conversation with Fracture, he displayed the memories of their talk, showing flashes of how miserable Fracture truly was. Shield was silent as Sombra finished.

“I hope he will forgive my telling you this, but I feel it vital you see his side of this affair.” Sombra said calmly “now, what hobbies or interests does your son have at home? Think of anything you would likely scold him for?”

Shield thought it over, then sighed “the clubs.”

“Clubs? Like dancing?” Sombra asked, a thought occurring.

“Yes, he likes to sneak out and go to these underground clubs. Ones that cater to..” he trailed off.

“Gay ponies.” Sombra said it bluntly, gaze unflinching as Shield grimaced “I would start adjusting fast. Once we get your son back, you owe him a good talk.”

Shield didn’t argue there, he just nodded to the King.

“That will be the best place to start,” Sombra gave it some thought “I know from the guards that there are several clubs in the kingdom, but of those that cater more to those of a stallions sway, I am unsure. I will need to talk to them.”

His mind instantly went to those two guards he'd busted for having sex in his private storage closet. He motioned Shield to follow him and they went to check the rota.

Luckily for them, the two in question were on break and didn’t mind stepping into a private room to talk to the King.

“What can we help you with your majesty?” the first asked. Sombra explained the situation and asked about the most likely club for a newly openly-gay pony to visit.

“Hmm, what about-” the first guard gave a name Sombra recognised to the second, who nodded.

“That’s where we met.” The other guard explained to Shield, who did a double take. Sombra allowed guards to date? One glance at the King made him shut up before he voiced the thought however. He was already worried enough about his son without adding Sombra's temper to the mix!

“Right, I shall go track him down-” Sombra began but Shield interrupted.

“You? With all due respect-” he paused as Sombra snorted in amusement “your majesty, you're not the most subtle of ponies, they'll see a big Alicorn nosing around and if anything has happened to my son they may clam up!”

“Do not worry, I know how to disguise myself and I am not going alone!”

Sombra closed his eyes and used a quick spell. In a puff of magic Discord appeared next to the King, scratching behind his ear.

“You rang, my King?” he said casually.

Sombra smiled softly “I need your help locating Lord Shield's missing son.”

“Shield-?” Discord spotted the older pony and glowered “was he the one with his head stuck up his-”

“Discord!” Sombra barked “that can wait, we have an urgent matter on our hooves.”

“Of course. So what's the plan?” the Draconequus asked.

“We are going to need to disguise ourselves again, go to this club and start our search there.” Sombra stated.

With a flash of magic he selected the memory of when he'd been to that club and met that pony he'd first slept with. Discord followed suit, donning the same cover as when they'd been at the festival.

“Let's go.” Sombra stated. He told Shield to stay with the guards and he'd be back asap.

Seeing Lord Shield looking so utterly depressed, one of the two guards spoke to him.

“Don’t worry, if anypony can find him, his majesty can.”

“I hope so.” Shield whispered.

“So let me get this straight,” Discord said as they headed down-town “were helping the same guy that treated you like dirt because of your sexuality?”

“Yes, Discord. I cannot stand by and see Fracture get hurt, I want to help him. To that end, we must find him first!”

They headed into the club, the noise and crowds surrounding them in an instant. Sombra went up to the bar, getting the bartender ponies attention.

When the stallion turned round, Sombra did a double take.

“Well, hello you!” it was the same pony Sombra had slept with, in this SAME disguise all that time ago.

“Hello again.” Sombra cleared his throat and smiled.

The bartender looked at the disguised Discord “you finally met the guy of your dreams, eh?”

Sombra felt himself flush “mm-hmm.” he said.

“Nice, told you so, eh!” the pony grinned “so what can I do you for?”

“I'm looking for- a friend of mine.” Sombra corrected himself before he gave his identity away, he held out a photo generated by his magic from his memory of Fracture.

“Oh yeah, I seen that kid.” The bartender nodded “he was drinking quite a lot.”

Sombra winced “where did he go?”

“Upstairs with a guy,” the bartender bobbed his head at the stairs “room three, but you didn’t hear it from me.”

“Thank you.” Sombra said in relief and the bartender winked at him before returning to serving drinks.

“Spill.” Discord said as they headed upstairs.

“Remember that night at the bar we talked about?”

“Yeah?”

“That was him.” Sombra said and Discord's eyes widened.

“Seriously? Wow, wasn’t expecting to meet the guy you boned before me.”

Sombra chuckled “well now you have, so hush.”

They approached the door, the riot of the club below muffled by the thick carpeting. Sombra noticed the door to the room the Bartender had told them Fracture had rented was slightly ajar. There was no sound coming from within. Taking the chance Sombra crept up to the door, peeking in. What he seen made him draw back in a panic.

“What?” Discord asked him “they bumping uglies?”

Sombra gave him a look that said “what in-?” then pushed the door open as Discord joined him in the doorway.

The room was a shambles, the night-stand overturned and there was a smidge of blood on the floor.

“Oh no.” Discord winced.

“Something very bad happened here.” Sombra swallowed nervously as he ventured in. Something gleaming caught his eye and he lifted it up with his magic.

It was a crudely made necklace in the shape of dagger.

“That looks hand-made.” Discord remarked.

“Yes, but I do not think it is Fracture's. He was wearing nothing of this sort when I seen him. It is possible that this belongs to whomever caused this mess.” Sombra put it in his saddlebags and turned to go.

The Bartender looked up as Sombra approached him again, this time asking to speak to him quietly, alone.

“I'm on break handsome, better make it swift. What do you have in mind?” He flashed the duo a wink as he shut the office door behind them.

“I am afraid this is not a matter of any sexual nature.” Sombra fell back into his natural speech pattern and the other pony cocked his head at him.

“Since when did you speak so formally? You knew some far more common-use words when I met you!”

“Ah, my apologies,” Sombra sighed “this is very urgent business, from...”

“From his majesty!” Discord put in, flashing a grin “he asked us to find this guy.”

“Oh so you finally met him, huh??” The Bartender chuckled “so, was he a jackass?”

Sombra went red as his foolish ramblings from back then returned to nip him in the butt. He made a noise that could’ve been agreement, then held up the necklace he'd recovered.

Discord sniggered at Sombra's face, that silly King! Sombra gave him a dirty look so he stopped giggling and paid attention.

“Where did you get this?” the Bartender asked Sombra.

“It was in the room you said my missing friend was last seen in.” the pony stated. The bartender shook his head, looking grave.

“Then I’m afraid your friend is in big doo-doo. That's the Crimson Dagger gang, they operate a LOT in these parts.”

"Gangs?” Sombra was floored “in my city-ack!” he shut up, but it was too late.

“What did you just say?” the Bartender blinked, he must’ve heard wrong.

“Crap.” Sombra groaned. Beside him, the disguised Discord shrugged.

“We may as well be honest.” he said casually.

“Honest with what?” the Bartender asked.

Discord used his magic to lock and shield the room and before the bewildered Bartender could object, there was a flash.

His jaw about hit the floor at the sight of the majestic Alicorn in front of him.

“Sweet merciful crap- your majesty?!” he blurted, then put two and tow together “no. bucking. WAY.”

“Yes, yes,” Sombra huffed theatrically “it was me all that time ago. I was curious to see what the kingdom was like when everypony wasn’t constantly bowing and offering me things.”

The bartender thought about it. He'd been boned by a disguised King Sombra, he'd done the horizontal tango with his fantasy fuck.

“Oh heck yes,” he grinned. “wait until the guys hear about-”

He trailed off as Sombra fixed a stern glare on him.

“The pony I am searching for is the son of a noble, I would prefer this not be blown out of proportion. So, please?”

“Right, of course.” the bartender coughed, realising the down side. You didn’t mess with his majesty, that much was clear.

“So, who're you then?” he asked the other pony and was startled when Discord appeared.

“Who do you think?” the Draconequus grinned “I’m not letting him get into any trouble~”

Sombra rolled his eyes when the Bartender held a hoof up for a high five.

“Dude, you're lucky, you’re dating the hottest piece of ass in-”

“I am right here, the both of you!!” Sombra barked, making them both jump. They sheepishly faced the irate King again.

“What do you know about this “gang”?” Sombra asked.

“Just that they're a fairly recent thing, moved in from Canterlot I think.”

“Well they wont be staying long, if I can help it!” Sombra fumed.

“Cool your jets, boss man,” the Bartender said “you cant go running off half-cocked. I'll tell you what little I know, but you need to be careful and for pity's sake don’t let on who you really are, because they will go for you. What bigger ransom than a Kings?”

Sombra swore, but changed back into his disguised self along with Discord.

The Bartender told them where the gang were rumoured to frequent, as he'd listened in on enough conversations to have a pretty good clue.

Bartender looked at the way the King kept glancing at him, his body posture so stiff and uptight. He could guess why, too. He'd read the papers, seen how his majesty had given everything to protect the relationship he had with this Discord guy, now he undoubtedly feared Bartender's history with him would be flaunted all over the papers.

“Look man, you can relax. I'm not going to the press about...you know, that thing.” he shrugged, grinning “I can be smug by myself, knowing I was boinked by a disguised King.”

Sombra went beet red and looked slightly less annoyed, but still uneasy.

“Hay, we all experiment out of curiosity. Don’t sweat it,” Bartender shrugged “it's obvious you got the thing you dreamed of right here, I’m not such a dick I’d ruin that, so we're cool. Just drop by every now and again with that disguise and I’ll give you both a discount!” he winked at the King, who actually smiled a little.

Sombra thanked him for his time and his consideration. He was grateful..

“Like I said, no sweat. I'll let you know if I ever find the guy I'm looking for.” Bartender chuckled “I’m not giving up hope yet!”

Sombra felt a bit dizzy as they exited the club and Discord asked was he alright?

“It was strange, rehashing the past like that. I am grateful he was so accommodating.”

“I know, decent feller. We must go out drinking sometime,” Discord smiled at him “We can talk about it later, for now we have to catch up to those guys.”

Sombra nodded, kissed him softly then they set off towards the place Bartender had mentioned. As they walked down an empty street, Sombra got a funny feeling up his spine. He stopped, looking round.

“What is it?” Discord asked.

“I thought I- nevermind.” Sombra sighed “let us carry on.”

From the shadows, a pony watched them silently, then he spoke into a radio and waited for orders.

Sombra's ears pricked up as he heard a sound ahead of them. Crouching down, he crept closer-

A rat sprang out from behind a bin and he back-peddled with a yelp. Discord caught him in his hooves and chuckled. “it's a rat, my precious. Calm down.”

“Hush you.” Sombra grumbled. But he could see a street sign at the alleys other end and headed towards it. He could heard Discord's hoof-steps behind him as they made their way in silence.

Behind Discord, something melted out of the shadows and sneaked up behind the chaos lord. Discord was so focused on guarding his King he didn't hear the approach. The pegasus was able to float up behind Discord and clamp a rag soaked in knock-out drugs over his muzzle.

The last thing Discord seen was Sombra turning back and another shadow looming behind him, then nothing.

“Where is his majesty?! How long can this take?!” Shield paced back and forth. The guards shrugged, unsure what to say…

They hoped his majesty was alright.

Sombra opened his eyes to see a familiar muzzle close to his. It wasn't Discord, but Fracture.

“Ah-” Sombra sat up, only for his head to pound. He winced, putting a hoof to his head.

“Careful, that stuff packs a punch.”

“Oww, w-where am I?” Sombra stammered, relieved his spell had kept his disguise in check.

“No idea, so we're in the same boat. I'm Fracture.”

“I know I-” Sombra coughed “I was tasked to find you by your father.”

“Great, so even if I get out I’m going to get yelled at.” Fracture sighed “why can't the old coot just leave me be?”

“He's worried-” Sombra began.

“He was NEVER worried. He brought me all the way here just to insult his majesty, King Sombra. All to teach me it's not fitting for any son of his to be gay!”

Fracture shook his head, tears welling up “I just wanted freedom, so I came to that club, had a few drinks. I'm guessing these guys recognised me from some publication, because soon as one of them invited me to take him to a private room I was jumped and knocked out. I punched one of them pretty hard though.”

--That explains the blood.-- Sombra thought, but more urgently he had to get them out and find Discord.

“They hauled another pony off to a different cell, was he your partner?” Fracture asked.

“Yes, I hope he's unhurt.” Sombra sighed.

“They said they were going to hold me for ransom. They’re preparing some camera to take a photo as proof I’m alive and it's not a fake.”

“Scumbags.” Sombra growled.

Just then there was the sound of a key rattling in the lock. Sombra instinctively placed himself between Fracture and the door. The goons standing in the doorway laughed to each other as they watched this.

“How cute, you two are already hot for each other, maybe your dad'll pay ransom for your friend too? Bring both of them.”

Sombra gritted his teeth as he was frogmarched down a blank empty hallway to a sparsely painted but big room. By the looks of it this place was a warehouse, converted into a hiding place of sorts. He counted multiple guards, it was well guarded.

--What can I do..?-- he wondered.

Then the boss stepped forward and Sombra steeled himself for whatever threats this guy made.

“What’s this?” the boss demanded.

“This is his “friend”” one of the goons cackled “figure we can demand extra for the both, unless his father wants more blood on his hooves.”

“Not bad.” the leader accepted this deviation to his plan and snickered as he stepped up to Sombra.

“You little fool. You shouldn’t stick your nose anywhere but between your colt-friends legs!”

The goons all burst out laughing and Sombra seethed silently. He was past furious, these fools would pay, one way or another.

“Wondering where your other friend is? He's still out cold, seems my boys used a little too much knock out serum..” the boss answered Sombra's glare with a smug smirk, then ordered the goons to drag both stallions in front of the camera.

They were made to stand still under threat of severe injury while the gang took pictures to send to Lord Shield.

“Can we take some better pictures, boss?” one cackled. He grabbed Fracture and forced a kiss on the stallion, laughing when Fracture pushed him away. Sombra's blood rose and he threw his weight at the goon as he made to grope Fracture again, standing protectively over the scared nobles son as he curled up in a ball n the floor.

“Did you just hit me, you worthless punk?!” the goon wiped blood off his muzzle and looked at the boss.

“Let me take him out boss, wont matter as long as we keep the cash pony alive!”

“Fine, I could use some entertainment.”

The goon lunged for Sombra, who realised this had to end here.

The group all looked away instinctively as there was a blinding flash of light.

“Who are you calling worthless, you scum?”

The boss stared as he seen who was now standing over Fracture. It was his majesty, magic in full gear, wings raised to attack.

“You-?!” he blurted, then laughed “well well, looks like it's pay day boys. You made a big mistake coming here, your majesty. You see, I've dealt with unicorns before-do it!”

One of the goons flicked a switch and Sombra felt a familiar pain in head. A Suppressor field.

--No. I will NOT be put through this again.-- His determination made him raise his head against the pain, glaring at the boss.

“Now we have the biggest prize of all, his majesty! Imagine what his own empire will pay for his safe return..” the boss laughed.

Sombra closed his eyes, letting the make-up of the suppression field wash over him, picking up on the loopholes in the spell.

--A controlled blast should knock it out.-- he thought. His mind flashed back to the fight against Chrysalis. That blast he had emitted but on a smaller scale, specially to target the field generator.

He opened his eyes, slowly building his magic inside his body as he snapped at the boss.

“You really think it’ll be that easy?” he laughed.

“From where I’m standing, yes. You're trapped in there and my boys are fetching the dart gun. Soon you’ll be as helpless as the fool you tried to rescue. And don’t think well go easy on your friend either, you’ll be minus one guard if you try anything!”

--Okay, he thinks Discord is a guard, that may protect him for now..-- Sombra thought. He was struggling to not let his magic show, he had to keep it hidden.

“What makes you think I brought just one?” he smirked.

“You upper class types are so blind. You think you’re unbeatable because you’re an Alicorn. Well they can fall to, you’re going to make us very rich, your majesty!” he laughed loudly as did the goons nearby.

--NOW!-- Sombra thought, and let his magic show around his horn now.

“You’re wasting your time, it wont work, this baby is built to take just about anything-”

He cut off as Sombra fired the spell, the purple light seeming to pulse out from his entire body. The generator next to him sputtered and exploded with enough force to leave a hole in the floor. Ears ringing, the boss was helped to his hooves by one of the goons.

He seen the destroyed generator and stared at it in shock, then at his majesty.

“You left a loophole in it.” Sombra laughed.

“Get him!” The boss decided to take him by force “knock him out!!”

Sombra glanced to either side of him as the stallions charged. He could feel something else, a new power welling up inside. He closed his eyes, dropping the magic he'd been using to hold it at bay. Bright light obscured his vision and he had a sense of deja vu..

The ponies aiming for him were suddenly thrown back against the wall. There was a pulse of white light and they were all frozen in place.

“How?!” the boss snarled, but no matter how he fidgeted, the spell was not wearing off. He stared at the King and almost went into shock.

He'd seen the papers, seen pictures of the giant illusion the King had turned into to repel the changelings. This was the same sparkling illusion, only on a more normal scale. Sombra's mane shifted and sparkled like thousands of tiny crystals. The only splash of colour was his eyes and that signature magic.

“You have committed crimes against me and my empire. Stay here and reflect on the failure of your operation. I will return with the means to your destruction.” The King's voice boomed around the room.

Then with a flash of magic he was gone, taking Fracture with him.

Fracture stared at Sombra as they reappeared in the same empty hallway again.

“Your majesty?” he croaked. Sombra helped him to stand, asking was he OK?

“Yes, I’m alright. Just scared.” Fracture hiccuped.

“Relax, it is going to be alright.” Sombra smiled softly. Fracture stared at how stunning this version of Sombra looked and blushed uncontrollably.

“Come on we must find Discord.” the King looked around him, frowning.

“He's with you? Then-”

“That is correct, he is the other pony.” Sombra went from cell to cell, ripping each one off its hinges with the sheer force of his magic. At least he located the out cold Discord. He leaned down and kissed the sleeping pony, transferring a dose of his power as he did. Fracture blushed as he witnessed this intimate moment first-hoof.

The Discord-pony stirred, seen the glimmery Sombra and sat up fast.

“You’re doing that again!” he blurted. Sombra looked down at himself.

“Seems that way, although I have no idea how, it just went off. Anyway-”

“Oh good, you found him!” Discord waved a hoof at Fracture “home to daddy now?”

“I need you to go to the guard and bring them down here, pronto. That spell wont last forever and I will be powering it remotely...”

“Got it, I'll get the cavalry and you take this poor guy home. On it!” Discord changed back to himself, pausing only to kiss his beloved on the lips before vanishing, flying directly for the closest guard/police station.

“Let us get you home.” Sombra wrapped a wing around the shivering Fracture.

Lord Shield was close to wearing tracks in the carpeting in the foyer, about ready to run out and look for the missing Royal and his son, when there was a flash.

He opened his mouth but nothing came out. He didn’t know how to process what he was seeing. It was King Sombra, but he looked like a fully crystallized spectre.

Sombra looked over at Shield, then silently raised his wing. Shield seen Fracture pressing close to the King's side, looking dishevelled and shocked. He started over towards him but got a shock when Fracture ducked behind Sombra's wing and held it between himself and his approaching father like a shield.

Both Sombra and Shield looked surprised.

“Fracture?” Shield asked.

“NO.” Fracture sounded about ready to break down “just leave me alone!”

“I'm not-”

“You’re right, you’re not- not there, not caring, not willing to trust me at all!” Fracture shouted angrily. “You pulled this stunt to try and convince me his majesty is wrong somehow, yet all you’ve done is shown how cold hearted you really are. At least his majesty didn’t laugh at me, didn’t make me feel like I was worthless-”

“Fracture.” Sombra said softly, angling his head to meet the young stallions eyes “he's your father, you should give him a chance.”

“No!” Fracture hiccuped “I gave him every chance I had and I'm sick of him treating me like I’m a mistake. I don’t care what anypony says, I’m never going home. I will be on the run for the rest of my life, but at least I'll be living it!!”

Tears splashed onto Sombra's delicate shimmering wing and fell to the floor.

“You’re right, I should be ashamed.” Shield realised after seeing this display, that some things were more important than societal standing. Part of him had wished he'd rebelled when he was Fracture's age, but his parents had punished him mercilessly if he put a hoof out of line. His son didn’t deserve that, times had changed as the King had pointed out.

“You’re not a business commodity, you’re my flesh and blood. I’ve missed a lot of times when you undoubtedly needed me and I just hope I’m not too late. I thought teaching you to take over would be my grand legacy, but you're already that just by being born.”

Fracture squeezed the wing closer to his body, glancing up very briefly at his father. He was surprised to see tears in his father's eyes.

“Your mother always said I should think of you as a son first and partner second, but I didn’t listen. I hope you'll give me another chance. Let me try make it up to you and if you still want to lead your own life, I will give you your inheritance and whatever you need to start out on your own. You can make whatever choice you want, whether you stay or leave the money is yours. But you'll always have your home, your mother and me.”

Sombra looked at Fracture, then at Shield. He seen the tiredness in the older pony's eyes, seen a very genuine regret there. This was all new to Shield, he'd never given anypony else such consideration, but that he was willing to get down off his high podium for his son gave Sombra hope.

Fracture looked up at Sombra, as if asking what he thought.

“He's telling the truth,” Sombra said softly “what do you want to do?”

“I don’t know when I'll forgive you, dad. Right now I don't know what to think. But do you promise to hear me out?”

“I'll sign a contract in front of his majesty if that's what it takes.” Shield promised but Fracture shook his head.

“I don’t want a contract, I want you to treat me as a son, not a business asset. I want you to take a day off work and just LOOK at me, see what I’ve been showing you for years.”

“I promise.” Shield said softly “that’s the least you deserve. I cant promise I’ll understand straight away, but I’ll do my best.”

“That’s all I wanted.” Fracture released Sombra's wing and the Alicorn folded it down, motioning the shaken young stallion to go to his father.

Fracture staggered unsteadily across the floor, he had always wished his father would show more affection- would he?

Shield seen the look in his son's eyes, the way he reached out a hoof, asking soundlessly for a simple embrace. He stepped forward and enveloped his son in his forelegs, hugging him to his chest. He felt Fracture tense up, and couldn't blame him for it.

“I'm sorry.” he said softly and Fracture hesitantly raised a hoof to brush his father's back, patting it uncertainly. The longer Shield held him and the more he apologised, the firmer Fracture’s grip became, until he was almost returning the hug.

They were interrupted by a soft thud and the guards calling out in dismay.

“Your majesty!”

The father and son parted, turning to look over at Sombra. He had crumpled to the plush carpeting, reverting to his normal form, mane spilling like ink across the carpet around his face. He was very pale, breathing raggedly-

“Your majesty- fetch the doctor!” The first guard ordered the second. He crouched beside his majesty, checking him over.

“Oh no.” Fracture felt sick “what’s wrong?”

“I don’t know.” Lord Shield said shakily “he was fine a minute ago...”

Just then, Sombra stirred, uttering a low groan.

“Your majesty, thank goodness!” the guard stepped back as Sombra's eyes slowly opened and the King sat himself up with a wince.

“What happened, your majesty?” the guard asked “were you attacked?”

“No, I-” Sombra felt woolly headed “I think that spell somewhat burned me out. I am alright.”

He got to his hooves, but he looked pale still, with strands of mane sticking to his forehead. He looked over at Fracture and Lord Shield, looking relieved to see them closer then when they’d arrived. He walked over to them, smiling at the younger of the two.

“How are you feeling?” he asked.

“I'm...I’m not sure.” Fracture looked at his father, then Sombra “but I’m going to give him another chance. You did when that mayor yelled at you when you tried to save them, I read your book.”

“That was a tough scenario, but if you hang onto your anger, it'll only hurt you more. I hope you two can reunite in time. If you wish to return home Lord Shield, I shall call the carriage now-”

“No, your majesty.” Lord Shield looked at the monarch, seen how tired Sombra was and what he'd done to help him and his son “You must rest. I will stay here awhile longer. I have a promise to keep. And I offer my most sincere apologies for how I acted towards you. I have no right to ask, but I hope we can renew a link between our kingdoms someday in the future.”

“It is a relief to hear you say that,” Sombra said kindly as Shield bowed deeply before him “it would be a lamentable loss if the good standing we have accrued were to go to waste. We will discuss the matter tomorrow once you are free.”

“Thank you, your majesty.” Shield stood up, looking ready to faint from relief “your kindness is vastly appreciated.”

“Rest,” Sombra told them both “It has been a long day for us all-” he broke off with a cough as his head pounded and he winced, pressing a hoof to his head, ears flattening down.

“Your majesty!” the concerned guard stepped up beside the King “you must lie down.”

“Y-yes I, I am sorry but I must take my leave.” Sombra said to the two before him.

“Thank you,” Fracture said “for saving me.”

“It's not a problem, I am glad you are safe and sound, I will see you both tomorrow.” he bowed his head politely, but it was obvious he was extremely tired. As he headed for the stairs there was a poof of magic and the Draconequus appeared directly in front of the Alicorn.

“They’re all locked up in the most secure jail in the city! Your guards are there too, keeping watch-” he spotted Sombra's pale, exhausted state and frowned, brushing his nose against the pony's and frowning at how cold he was.

“Sombra-?” he pressed a hand to the King's forehead and pulled it away with a frown “you’re burning up!”

“I am quite alright, it is just a little dizziness from that transformation. That spell is untested still-”

“Yes, yes, enough scientific guff. You, bed. Now.” Discord dropped down onto all fours and fell in beside his King as Sombra started up the stairs…

Set Your Heart On Me

But when Sombra woke the next morning, he was far from alright. He had a mercilessly high fever and Discord forbade him to leave his bed. He called the doctor and had him check the King over.

“Well your majesty, I’m afraid you have a temperature I find rather alarming, I’ll have some medicine made up but I must insist you take it easy.”

“I need to see Shield and Fracture.” Sombra sat up with a dizzy hiccup.

“Just goes in one ear and out the other with you, doesn’t it, your majesty?” the doctor remarked, rolling his eyes. He turned to Discord instead and reissued his advice.

“You can get through to him, therefore I simply must insist that you make sure he goes right back to bed, even if you have to knock him out in the process.”

“Don’t worry, I’m an expert at getting him into bed-mmh!” a cushion lifted up from the couch and bounced off Discord's face at speed, cutting him off.

“Hush, you.” Sombra grumbled, but with a soft smile. The doctor seen a flush to the monarch's face that he was sure wasn’t solely to blame on the fever.

“My point still stands.” Discord snickered, but he nonetheless helped Sombra to stand and get dressed. The doctor left them to it, merely hoping that the stubborn King would at least heed his lovers advice, if not that of his doctor!

Discord walked together with Sombra downstairs to the breakfast room, padding along on all fours and keeping close to Sombra's side in case of collapse. Sombra smiled as he observed Discord studying him so closely, a look of concentrated concern on his face. Wordlessly, he nuzzled the chaos lord's cheek and this, coupled with the soft smile and the look of affection in his tired red eyes, made Discord feel a little better amidst his worry.

Luckily for the fretting Sombra, Lord Shield and Fracture were still at breakfast, busy tucking into fried toast and actually talking civilly. They looked up, the meal forgotten as the guards by the door announced his majesty’s presence.

“King Sombra!” Shield got down from his chair, his son close behind him. They bowed deeply as the King trotted over to them. Discord drifted alongside, grinning at Fracture by way of greeting.

“I hope you are both faring well this morning,” Sombra said “I'm afraid that I may have neglected to have the doctor check master Fracture for any injuries-”

“I'm alright, they didn’t hurt me.” Fracture assured him.

Lord Shield nodded, he'd gotten all the details last night, before his son had crawled into bed.

“He told me what happened, what you did to save him, both of you.” the stallion nodded to Discord as well “I owe you both a great debt.”

“Oh really? Maybe you could be nicer to those of a certain persuasion?” Discord said in a drawl, his ego still smarting from Shield's original offence.

“Discord!” Sombra frowned, hating to see him angry and also worried about pushing Shield too far “don’t be rash-”

“No, he’s right,” Shield stopped the King mid-scold and actually chuckled, making Sombra blink in surprise at him “It's true, your majesty and I’d be saying the same if I were in his place. I may not have acted like it last night, but I am indebted to you two for opening my eyes.”

Discord looked at Shield a moment, expression still doubtful, then he nodded just slightly. Shield hoped that meant he wasn’t as angry, as it was obvious this chaotic being loved King Sombra dearly.

Sombra started coughing again as this exchange went on and all eyes swiftly returned to the ailing King. He was muffling the cough with one hoof, but he was flushed and clearly labouring under a bad fever.

“Please your majesty, you should rest yourself!” Shield panicked “I will ask your stand-ins the Prince and Princess, if I need anything. You're in no fit state to be moving around.”

“O-of course.” Sombra took a deep breath, fighting the urge to keep coughing.

“You heard him, bed.” Discord nudged the stallion towards the door “the doctor ordered you to get some sleep.”

Fracture watched Discord fussing over Sombra as he escorted the monarch to the door and he smiled.

“They’re really happy.” he said softly.

“Indeed they are,” Shield sighed “I still don’t know what to start making of all this, but he's a good fella that King. That chaotic partner of his seems quirky, but dependable.”

“Yeah, he's been by King Sombra's side since his return,” Fracture looked at his father “I have the book at home, if you want to read it?”

“You know what, that’s a sound idea, but I’d much rather like to hear it from you. You clearly know all about his majesty.” Shield said and felt a jab of relief as his son actually smiled.

“Hay, do you fancy going out for lunch later?” he asked his son on impulse as they walked the halls “you pick.”

Fracture felt a little happier his dad was making an effort. He could see this was all pretty big to the old fashioned stallion, he certainly looked swamped by it all. But despite this, he was still trying and that meant a lot to the colt.

“Sure, dad.” he smiled.

Upstairs in his cosy bedroom, Sombra was being tucked back into his bed by Discord.

“I feel terrible that I am unable to assist them,” Sombra groaned, but Discord shushed him gently.

“You did plenty last night, by saving the kid. They understand, you heard mr. head-up-own-butt, Cadance and her husband will help him if he needs anything. Now you rest up cutie, clear?”

“As you wish.” Sombra chuckled and nodded, burrowing under the covers. They felt blissfully comforting against his aching body, the cool pillow drawing him rapidly into sleep...

He was faintly aware of Discord's presence, a soft hand brushing his mane out of his face with a damp cloth, the chaos being was humming softly...

Discord watched his King slip into a light doze as he fussed over him. He laid the cold compress he'd summoned on the pony's forehead, hoping it'd help even a little.

Sombra awoke later on that day with the fever having finally broken, but found himself aching all over something chronic as his muscles cramped up. He curled up in a ball with a low groan that brought Discord zooming out of the bathroom, eyes full of worry.

“What’s wrong?” he asked, gently rubbing Sombra's back.

“My ah- my whole body hurts!” Sombra hissed between clenched teeth as he futilely tried to ease the stiffness in his body. But it felt like it was just asking too much of him and he gave up, closing his eyes with a groan.

Seeing his King's pain, Discord fetched the doctor, who recommended that the stallion have a nice hot soak to start with. In anticipation of the scenario that a bath provided no real relief, he sent Discord out to fetch some massage oil from a chemist. Such oil would help the tense muscles ease up if rubbed into the pony's coat.

At said chemists, having disguised himself as a pony to cut down on anypony delaying him with questions, Discord asked for something to help his lover relax? The shop assistant had to think a moment before realising just what he meant, something to ease things a bit, eh? That was easy to recommend!

“This is our most popular product of that nature sir,” he winked at Discord as he handed it over “he'll be more than relaxed after a round of massage with this.”

“Perfect!” Discord grinned cheerily and paid him before heading straight back to the palace. He was so preoccupied with helping his beloved feel better that he missed what would’ve been a pretty obvious hint from the shop assistant.

Left alone with his King, Discord helped him to the bathroom where he filled the bath and helped the dizzy Sombra settle into it. The bath was sunk into the floor, and more resembled a small pool then a typical bath.

“That’s nice.” Sombra sighed loudly as the heat sunk into his aching body. It reminded him of the spa he'd used back when he'd first been recovered. It had helped him relax then, too...

Discord settled nearby in case Sombra got dizzy and fainted, which the doctor had warned him about before he'd left.

“Hay, Discord?” Sombra asked as he reclined in the tub, closing his eyes and sighing. Thoughts floated across his mind, so he seized upon one and spoke it aloud..

“Yes, my dear Sombra?”

“Do you have any family?” Sombra asked sleepily. He'd wondered this for awhile, where had the chaos lord come from?

“Family? Well,” Discord winced “I DO, but...”

He trailed off, really not willing to discuss it, even with his beloved Sombra. The topic was just...ugh.

Sombra opened his eyes when his lover fell silent, blinking up at him and seeing the Draconequus looked conflicted. He was fidgeting, twiddling his fingers again and wincing as he tapped a hoof against the tiled floor.

“What is it?” the Alicorn asked, sitting up in the water as concern pooled in his stomach “I’m sorry, did I bring up a bad memory?”

He ducked his head to nuzzle the Draconequus' nose and Discord seen the worry written all over Sombra's face. He felt bad for making Sombra feel guilty and did his best to backtrack.

“Hush, don’t fret love.” Discord leaned in to kiss the pony, smiling faintly as he did “it's been a long time since I last seen them and I don’t even know if they’re awake or in a hibernation cycle. With any luck I’ll be left in peace to lead my own life, now I’ve got one that's worth so much.”

“I see...” Sombra nodded. He nuzzled Discord's morose face, saying he didn’t have to talk about it if he didn’t want to. As much as he longed to know more about his partner, he didn’t want it to be at a painful cost to his love.

“Thank you, my King,” Discord smiled gratefully “maybe someday I’ll be able to tell you all of it.”

“That settles that then, now-” Sombra kissed him and began hauling himself out of the bath, only to slip just as he stood on all four hooves. His forelegs slipped out from under him and sent him bowling into Discord, thus he ended up pinning the Draconequus to the tiled floor.

“Hm, how direct. I Like it!” Discord chuckled.

“Sorry!” Sombra groaned. How elegant of him...he face-hoofed.

Discord chuckled and scooped the pony up, slinging him over one shoulder and marching back out to the bedroom. He set the pony on his hooves and received a dizzy nuzzle as a thank you.

Sombra dried himself off with a spell and tried to stretch his back. But pain quickly zigzagged along it and he cursed, stopping mid-excercise.

“Hmm...plan B then.” Discord picked up the bottle.

“What is that?” Sombra asked as he slowly straightened up.

“Massage oil. The doctor suggested I buy it. He said to call one of the staff to use it on you if the bath didn’t ease the pains.”

“My staff? Can you not do it, you massage my wings all the time!” Sombra grumbled, childishly not wanting anypony else giving him a rubdown right then. Discord chuckled, kissing the King's cheek before motioning him to lie on the bed on his stomach.

“As you wish my King.” he purred happily, pouring the sweet scented oil onto his palm. It smelled lovely, with a hint of something almost spiced about it. He started by placing his hands on the spot between the Alicorn's wings...

“Mmm.” Sombra gave a low groan as Discord's hands roamed over his back, rubbing the spot between his wings with firm, slow strokes. The warmth of the chaos lord's hands plus the oil sent delicious shivers down his back and wings. They fluffed and lifted a little, happily displaying their bearers comfort state.

He was acutely aware of the heat of Discord's body, so close to his own as the Draconequus moved onto the stallion's shoulders next.

“Hows that so far?” Discord purred.

“Mmm, I like it, very much so..” Sombra chuckled happily as he felt Discord plant a kiss behind his right ear. This sent a nice jolt up Sombra's back and he spoke before he had time to check himself.

“Ah- nibble.” the pony groaned.

“What’s that?” Discord blinked, tilting his head curiously.

“My ear.” Sombra said dozily.

--Oh, he wants me to play with his ears!-- Discord chuckled –so cute!--

“Right away, my love.” he said softly, gripping the pony's left ear with his teeth and tugging on it gently. This prompted a groan of enjoyment from the King, so Discord did it again, then moved to the other ear, lightly nipping and nuzzling. While he was doing this, he continued working on loosening the muscles in his lovers shoulders and chest, their bodies close enough now that the oil was rubbing off onto his fur too. His stomach was pressed close to the pony's broad back.

Discord could feel Sombra's chest rising and falling rapidly as his hands brushed over the pony’s body. He moved back, roaming over the Alicorn's wing joints once more, then shifting down to his lower back.

Sombra let his head rest atop his forelegs as Discord worked his magic, this was total bliss. His body felt warm and eased up in every place Discord had touched. The oil sunk into his skin, making him feel a soft buzz that washed away the pain.

Unable to resist, Discord briefly let his hands rub the pony's bottom, prompting the King to squirm adorably and actually lift his rump a little. Oh, the temptation…

Discord pushed that thought away, why did all his urges crop up when he really wasn’t supposed to be thinking of such things?

“Mm, very good my King. Now, roll over.” he said in an effort to banish those images.

Discord sat back as Sombra blinked sleepily, nodded, then promptly did as he was told.

The enjoyment the stallion had felt earlier only increased when Discord rubbed his chest and stomach. It was like a deliciously sensual belly rub and Sombra arched his back with a gentle sigh, enjoying the intimacy of the chaos lord’s touch. His wings were shivering in delight at the luxury of such caresses.

Discord's hands moved from forelegs to hind legs, lavishing attention on the aching limbs, planting kisses on the sole of each hoof as he finished it. The soft moans that his King uttered were starting to make him feel pretty turned on. The scent of the oil wasn’t helping one bit, the smell of it combined with his Kings body heat-? It was pretty tempting.

When he'd rubbed the massage oil all over his lovers body he moved in to kiss the pony, whereupon Sombra snared him in his forelegs and kissed him with such passion it took the Draconequus' breath away.

“My King,” he whispered as he was released “a-are you feeling better?”

“Yes, my Discord.” Sombra said huskily, eyes gleaming “MUCH better.”

He nibbled at Discord's neck as he spoke, prompting the Draconequus to groan softly.

“In fact, I feel exceptionally good. Do you catch my drift?” the monarch purred in his partner's ear as he bit it gently with his fangs, pulling on it in the way he knew Discord loved.

“Ohhh I do, my King. But are you sure you’re recovered enough?” Discord asked, pulling back as Sombra relinquished his ear.

Sombra smiled seductively up at him, a knowing look on his face. He curled his hoof around one of Discord’s hands and placed it on his chest, letting him feel his heartbeat and how fast it raced.

“Yes, I am.” he said with a teasing smile “I think you missed a few muscles.”

“That counts as a muscle?-mmm..” Discord was cut off by a kiss again and any token hesitation he'd had promptly went down the drain.

“You have done such a good job with those hands, but I want you to do a little more.” Sombra said, nuzzling Discord's muzzle.

Discord kissed him then sat back, eyeing his handsome lover. Looking at the oil bottle, he noticed the jar had a label declaring “suited for internal and external use only”.

--As opposed to what, exactly?-- was his first thought, followed shortly by;

--The perfect lubricant, methinks.-- he felt a grin spread across his face.

Spilling more oil onto his palm, he began rubbing Sombra's shaft with it, hearing the pony moan eagerly as he grew hard. With a grin, Discord slipped three oil-slicked fingers into his lover's entrance and gave them a flex. At the same time, he took the stallion's member into his mouth.

“Mmm, yes, that’s-” Sombra groaned sharply, squeezing his muscles around those warm fingers as they explored him. All the while, Discord was sucking on the pony’s flared tip, swallowing the generous doses of pre-cum his actions were causing.

Once his King was properly prepared, he ceased ravishing the pony’s shaft and positioned himself so he could kiss Sombra as he pressed the tip of his member against Sombra's entrance.

Memories of that first night together rushed through Sombra's mind as the chaos lord's lips brushed his, the taste of himself melting onto his tongue. As he had in those memories, he wrapped his forelegs around Discord, entrusting his body to the Draconequus.

One quick thrust and he felt the majority of Discord's member fill him, his wings flaring wide, shivering eagerly as Sombra growled deeply.

To cease kissing him was an affront to Discord's mind right then, so he claimed the King's lips again, parting them with his tongue. He pushed his shaft in as he did, until his entire length was snug inside the pony, feeling Sombra moaning into the passionate kisses.

He nipped and snuggled Sombra's ears and jaw as he began teasingly thrusting in and out of his lover, quickly finding that sweet spot that made the stallion's wings twitch in that revealing way every time he bottomed out inside him.

Hearing Sombra entreating him to go faster, he braced himself properly and gave in to his urge, moving his hips hard and fast.

His eyes met the monarch's and seeing the lust and contentment there just made his heart pound like crazy. The most exquisite tremor ran through him, how could he not crave this pony?

“I love you.” Sombra whispered huskily, nuzzling Discord's muzzle.

“I love you too, my precious Sombra...” Discord whispered in his ear as he nuzzled at it.

Sombra's words about Discord being the sole being allowed to assert dominance over him ran through his head and made him flush happily. It'd been a dream come true to have the privilege to claim him that first time, never mind the ensuing occasions!

He thrust hard enough with his next movement to press the pony's body into the springy mattress.

“Fuck yes, Discord-!” Sombra gasped sharply.

Sensing his lover's impending orgasm, Discord withdrew as far as he could then thrust in again, plunging his cock deep into the stallion's rump.

Sombra growled like a feral beast, swearing lustily in the Umbrum language as he climaxed, seminal fluid splashing onto their coats. He moaned eagerly as he felt the Draconequus' fluid surge into him, the sensation heightened to a crystal clarity by his own body.

Silence fell, save for their ragged breathing as they let their respective climaxes fade.

Wiping sweat from his face, Discord sat back, admiring the stallion as he lay there. He ducked his head, casually licking up the stray spatters of cum on his lovers coat. He felt Sombra's chest rise and fall languidly as the pony took a few deep breaths. He finished his attentions with a gentle kiss as he sat back enough to meet his King's gaze.

“How do you feel, my love? Did I service you well?” he asked with a wink. By way of an answer, Sombra used his magic to pull Discord down and kiss him passionately.

“Oh yes, you served your King very well.” he purred. Discord kissed him back then slowly, tenderly withdrew from his stallion's nice firm rear.

“Got you off, gave you a massage to boot. Am I not a genius?” he smirked, tracing a pattern over Sombra's belly.

“Yes, you certainly are.” Sombra smiled sleepily “now, lay with me awhile?”

“I'd like nothing better, my King.” Discord whispered, snapping his fingers and settling them both under the covers. Sombra fell asleep in his arms pretty fast, the little energy he had all used up by their coupling. Not being tired, Discord just lay there, idly daydreaming and watching his lover sleep.

It truly was such a relief to have his King back to normal again, after that terrifying emotionless stretch.

He looked at the stallion in his arms now, marvelling at what this one pony had accomplished. Sombra had shown Discord he was indeed loveable and had made him feel special in ways the Draconequus had never anticipated. Discord had never been one to settle in any one way of life, even with Fluttershy's guidance he'd occasionally felt a longing for his old life. But now he had a lover who didn’t instruct him to be good, to comply. Sombra appealed to his wild side, welcoming it into his life and encouraging the chaos lord's most fantastical sexual daydreams.

--Not many ponies that could match a Draconequus' sex drive.-- Discord mused –his stamina is as high as his magical ability. I dare say I should have expected nothing less from a stallion as powerful as you, Sombra. You are far from ordinary.--

Sombra sighed in his sleep, making a grumbling noise before lapsing back into slumber.

--You gave me freedom, my precious King.-- Discord thought with a smile, it was the greatest gift in the world.

Discord was on the verge of dozing off when there was a knock on the door and he stirred with a groan. He untangled himself carefully from his King, ensuring he didn't waken him and tucked the blankets back around him. He cleaned the oil off his coat with a snap out of his fingers as his feet touched the floor and paused only to open the window before he padded over to the door.

“I'm here to check on his majesty.” it was the doctor, of course.

Discord let him in, following him back to the bed. The doc took in the sleepy King, who didn’t budge an inch towards waking as the doc took his temperature.

“Hm, he's very tired.” he noted.

“Hm? Oh, yes. Completely shagged out.” Discord said, then realised his slip up and froze. Oops.

The doctor turned very slowly, to give him such a look that Discord wanted to giggle.

“Why is it,” the doctor said with a groan “that everything you say, somehow has a sexual bent to it?”

“Natural talent?” Discord shrugged with a snicker. Inwardly he sighed in relief, as it appeared the doc hadn't caught on just how literal Discord's statement had been.

The doctor rolled his eyes with a practised ease and finished checking Sombra's temperature and heart rate. He sighed in relief that the ruler was recovering nicely with the fever gone now, bar being somewhat drained.

“He'll likely sleep it off.” he mused, then spotted the half-full bottle of oil on the bedside table from the corner of his eye.

“Is his majesty's muscle pain feeling better?” he asked absently, draping the bedcovers back over the monarch. This reminded Discord of Sombra's sultry intonations and he suppressed the urge to blush as he nodded, somehow keeping a straight face.

“I see and-hm?” The doctor did a double take at the oil now “wait, you used THIS?”

“Yes, you said to.” Discord frowned, very confused now.

“I said muscle relaxant, not aphrodisiac oil.”

“Aphro-? Wait, that’s what that is?” Discord did a double take, actually blushing “explains why he seemed so blissed out, plus it did smell nice.”

The doctor put this together with Discord's slip up about Sombra being “shagged out”, and pretty much wished he hadn't. He glared at Discord for several long seconds, making the chaos being fidget guiltily.

“If it's any help, he started it-” Discord bleated, face beet red.

The doctor just face-hoofed “of course he would've, you used this on him!”

“Oh, of course. Duh.” Discord sighed.

“I really must advise against any further strenuous activity until he's fully recovered.” the annoyed doctor said stiffly.

--Dang. That wont be easy to adhere to, he does know how sexy that pony is?-- Discord thought.

But he nodded anyway and the doctor left, promising he'd be back later and making a thinly veiled threat if Discord tired the patient out one more time...

The doctor now gone, Discord chuckled as he picked up the oil bottle, realising now why the shop assistant had been grinning. He must have thought Discord, in his disguise, wanted to get it on but his lover was too nervous, hence the “relaxation” property of the oil.

--Sombra's going to flip his royal lid when I tell him. Hopefully he wont be too cross.--

He cuddled back up to his lover, slipping into a light doze minutes later.

Discord was woken by Sombra nuzzling him gently. He opened his eyes and snared the pony in a kiss, rubbing his back gently.

“Mm, you smell good.” he said with a grin as he breathed in the scent of Sombra's coat.

“That would be thanks to you and that massage oil.” Sombra smiled, then frowned as Discord snickered softly “what?”

“Nothing, love,” Discord tried to keep a straight face, but he wasn’t doing a very good job. The King frowned as he felt the suppressed laugh vibrate through his lovers body, which was intimately close to his own. Discord wasn’t meeting his eyes, so Sombra pulled an annoyed face, cheeks puffed out in annoyance as he butted Discord’s muzzle with his own.

“Tell me this instant!” the pony said in tones of exasperation and frustration, letting out a loud sigh after several more seconds of eye-balling Discord failed to garner any further details.

“OK, handsome, keep your tail on. You have to promise not to be mad...” Discord said placatingly.

“Why would I be mad at you?” Sombra asked, his frown deepening. This was making little sense- oh, wait, this was Discord.

“It turns out that oil was an aphrodisiac, not a massage oil. Obviously the shop keeper misconstrued my words when I asked for something to help you relax. Probably should've specifically mentioned muscle pains.”

The silence stretched into several seconds and he grinned sheepishly “Oops?”

Sombra blinked, one corner of his mouth twitching as this processed.

“Sombra?” Discord asked hesitantly, seeing him twitch.

He was startled when Sombra promptly burst into peals of laughter that echoed around the fancy room.

“My King?” Discord wasn’t sure how to react. Sombra was laughing, therefore this wasn’t a scolding, right?

The Alicorn was giggling fit to bust, forelegs wrapped around his sides as Discord watched him in puzzled amusement.

“That's...pfft..” Sombra wiped his eyes at last as the giggles ceased “no wonder I felt so riled up!”

“Sorry, love-” Discord began, but was pounced on and kissed into silence.

“First off,” Sombra drew back to smile at him “you did the task, my muscles were VERY relaxed by the time you finished. Second off; I greatly enjoyed your work.”

Discord grinned happily, nuzzling Sombra's neck and replying “well then, I’ll make a note to do it again some time then. If my King enjoys it, he can have it.”

“Mmm, that is very generous~” Sombra said huskily, nipping at the Draconequus' ear as a thank you. Discord moaned happily, he loved it when the stallion nibbled his ears like that.

“Care to join me for a shower?” the monarch asked as he released said ear, being greeted with Discord eagerly agreeing. Half the fun of their sexual encounters was washing up afterwards, as it often held as much snuggling and kissing as the foreplay did.

They were just having a finishing snuggle under the spray when there was a knock on the door.

“It's probably the doctor again!” Discord groaned, rolling his eyes “I need you to tell him I didn’t bonk you a second time after he dropped by.”

“I am not sure that is information he will be gad to hear, but if he should ask..” the King trailed off with a chuckle. “I shall answer it, you finish up here.”

He dried himself, pulled on a bathrobe and wandered over to the door as another, more impatient knock rang out.

Opening it, he appraised the surprised doctor.

“Yes?” he asked gently.

“Your majesty! Didn’t expect you to be on your hooves so soon, are you feeling better?”

“Yes, vastly.” Sombra turned and walked back into the room with the doc not far behind him. He sat himself atop the couch while the doctor checked his temperature and listened to his heartbeat.

“Your partner out at the moment?” the doctor asked, not seeing Discord anywhere. As the words left his mouth, he heard the shower running and caught the tail end of a smirk on the King's face as it passed quickly by.

It was now that he noticed Sombra's mane was damp, fur fluffed up from the heat. It didn't take a genius to work THAT one out.

“He's here.” Sombra smiled languidly in confirmation “that fever made me sweat so, therefore I decided a shower was in order once I woke and he expressed a wish to join me.”

“Of course, sire.” the doctor had to admit that he partly admired, partly envied the King's confidence. Discord too, for that matter, as those two seemed to give exactly zero fucks about what anypony thought of them. He'd overheard the guards gossiping about the Lord Shield business, with Sombra reportedly giving the Lord a dressing down over his treatment of his own son!

It was widely believed that whatever Sombra had suffered at the hooves of Queen Chrysalis was what had driven him to suddenly drop the secrecy over his love life. The threat of nearly losing his lover for good had reportedly spurred the King to desire to form a better emotional connection with his populace and what better to bring ponies together than a love story?

Along with this connection came a surge of confidence in the King's mannerisms. He was far more open now, in comparison to his previous manner of remaining clammed up regarding just about everything bar his ruling matters.

“Well your majesty, you’re looking much better. Your fever's gone and your breathing sounds fine. I'll warrant that you’ll be right as rain by tomorrow.”

“Who decided that anyway? How do we know rain isn’t a pathological liar?” Discord emerged from the shower at that moment, dry as a bone. His phrasing made Sombra chuckle softly.

“It is a figure of speech, it is not meant to be literal.” he said in amusement as Discord settled himself down beside him on the couch.

“I know, I just find it amusing that so many of Equestria's phrases and sayings make so little sense!” Discord grinned, settling a hand on Sombra's back, steadfastly ignoring the laser-beam glare from the doctor.

“I'd suggest you get something to eat your majesty, your body will need food to fuel its recovery.”

“Of course.” Sombra nodded.

“Right, take it easy, your majesty. Try to avoid any overexertion to yourself.” he gave Discord a very stern look as he said this, then left.

This didn’t slip past Sombra, who blinked as his mind processed this, then he fixed a stern look at Discord.

“Why was he looking at you, does he-?”

“I think he guessed, yes.” Discord grinned sheepishly.

“How?” Sombra queried.

“He spotted the oil bottle, but not just that, I may have accidentally used the words “a bit shagged out”. You should have seen the look he gave me!”

“I can imagine well enough!” Sombra shook his head in despair “what am I going to do with you, hm?”

“Anything you fancy~” Discord waggled his eyebrows cheekily, prompting more laughter from the King. One eyebrow fell off, landing on the pony's muzzle. Sombra laughed, lifting it with his magic and sticking it back on his partners face. That little gag never failed to amuse him, along with bringing back a host of fun memories.

They were about to kiss again when there was another knock on the door. Discord groaned in exasperation.

“Now who- come in!” Sombra raised his voice on the last two words. The door opened and Page Assist trotted in, holding some paperwork.

“Just need a few signatures, your majesty.” he said stiffly, looking off to Sombra's left instead of directly at his boss like he usually did, as he felt Sombra's magic take the papers from his grasp.

“Is something the matter, Page?” Sombra asked as he read over the papers.

“No, sire.” Page Assist said, trying to push the memory from his mind, but he blushed as it popped right back in with a stubborn determination.

“Then why is your face so red?” Discord asked, raising an eyebrow.

“Nothing you need to be concerned over,” Page Assist said, hurriedly taking the papers back once his majesty was finished signing them. “I need to get these back to the Prince and Princess, they were supposed to have been signed earlier.”

“Then why did you not come by?” Sombra asked, arching one eyebrow at his aide's weird behaviour “If I was asleep, I am sure Discord could have woken me.”

“I did, I even knocked. But you were 'occupied'.” Page Assist said, face at maximum beet redness. Sombra stared at him blankly as it took a few seconds to process this.

“Oh.” he said softly as the pieces clicked into place.

“Got it, love?” Discord asked, struggling not to grin.

“OH.” Sombra flushed a little, glancing at Discord “I, ah- did you instate the shield?”

“Nope.” Discord snorted “forgot completely.”

“I do apologise for uh...anything inappropriate you may have heard.” Sombra rubbed the back of his neck sheepishly as he looked at his assistant.

“I can certainly say I’ve never heard swear words used in such a polite yet crude setting, your majesty.” Page couldn’t resist being a little sarcastic, although the apology did seem to have mollified him somewhat. He was a bit less red-faced now.

Discord snickered and Page glared at him. As thankful as he was that Discord made his majesty so happy, part of him still got annoyed by the Draconequus' overly carefree attitude. Did he even have a single serious bone in his body?

He bid his majesty and Discord a good day and left, shaking his head subtly. Those two needed to get whatever was going on out of their system before his majesty was due back at work.

Soon as they were sure Page Assist was long gone, the two lovers laughed their asses off. It was both very embarrassing and hugely funny how the aide had stumbled across them.

“Oh sweet sanity,” Sombra hiccuped, wiping his eyes “that was, oh good grief-!”

“Tell me about it, you WERE saying some pretty inventive things!” Discord nudged the King's side, causing fresh laughter to erupt.

“What was it-? Fuck yes?” Sombra snorted, shoulders shaking again.

“Fuck yes!” Discord enthused, giggling anew.

“My sides ache.” Sombra groaned.

“Need another massage?” Discord joked and Sombra just shook his head, snickering as he face-hoofed.

Later on, they went down for some food as well as to see how Shield and Fracture were doing. They found them in the library, where Fracture was, oddly enough talking about the King;

“And it turned out wraiths were a real thing, dad!”

“Nasty tempered things, and dangerous to boot!” Sombra piped up. The two ponies jumped slightly, but relaxed when they seen the Alicorn striding towards them, Discord alongside.

“Hay!” Fracture sprang up to greet him, follow more sedately by his father. The two ponies bowed reverently to the King and his partner. Sombra motioned them to relax, and seated himself in a spare chair. Discord draped himself over the back of the chair like a fluffy draught excluder.

“Are you feeling better, your majesty?” Shield asked. Sombra nodded, explaining the fever had soon burnt out and all he'd needed was a little sleep.

“I found myself to be rather hungry so I thought I would make my way to the kitchen and check on yourself and your son, Lord Shield.”

Discord caught Fracture's eye and raised an eyebrow in a way that said “how's things?”

Fracture gave a brighter smile then the chaos being had noticed before, which was a relief.

Sombra's stomach gurgled loudly, making Discord giggle.

“I would advise that I head for the dining hall. Would you like to dine with me?” Sombra asked, and the other two nodded.

Fracture and Sombra fell into discussion as they headed to the dining hall, but midway across the library, Shield asked if he could speak privately...to Discord. Sombra blinked, wondering what was the matter, but Discord gave him a subtle nod so he ushered Fracture out with him.

“They’re not gonna fight are they?” Fracture panicked “I know your partner doesn’t like my dad much, he said Discord was close to biting his head off, that and something about him having his head up his-”

“Yes, I was there when he made that remark.” Sombra smiled gently “he's protective. He was angry because he cannot stand to see me hurt and it is part of what I love about him, even if he can be a little brash.”

“I thinks it's sweet,” Fracture said “and my dad did kinda have his head up his...ya know.”

“How have things been going?” Sombra asked.

“Good,” Fracture sighed loudly in relief “Dad's really trying. He even asked some really awkward questions about what “type” I preferred, I think he's been reading too many glossy magazines!”

Sombra chuckled “he is probably just nervous, give him time.”

“What's this about?” Discord asked warily. Why did this guy want to talk to him?

To his surprise, Shield wasn’t preparing a rant, rather a request.

“I just want to say something, please, hear me out.”

“Hmph...fine.” Discord grumbled.

“I am fully aware of how insulting my actions were, towards both his majesty and yourself by extension. But Fracture has been telling me the story about you two. It was the decision you two made to go public, that spurred my son to face his greatest obstacle to freedom. Me.”

Discord said nothing, but did seem to relax a little.

“It's obvious how strong the bond between you is, which is why I'd like to say I’m sorry. His majesty is lucky that he has someone who’d defend him as staunchly as you did. I only hope my son will find a special stallion for him.”

“Give the kid space and I’m sure he'll bring home a colt-friend you can attempt to show awkward baby pictures to.” Discord snickered.

“I'm pretty sure I’d never see him again if I did that.” Shield chuckled at the thought.

Discord chuckled then trailed off, sighing as he came to a decision.

“Alright, we're good. I trust you and I know my dear Sombra will be happy to know the matter has been cleared, so consider it over.”

Shield sighed in relief “Thank you.” he said honestly. Discord shrugged nonchalantly but Shield could see he looked pleased.

Sombra looked over at Discord as the Draconequus and Shield wandered in, a minute shift of one eyebrow asking if everything was OK?

Discord drifted over, planting a quick kiss on his cheek and whispering “it's fine”, in his ear.

--They look so good together..-- Fracture thought, wondering if he'd find a guy as nice.

The next day seen Shield and Fracture heading home, with Lord Shield having re-secured his connections to the Umbrum Kingdom with Sombra. Discord had told his lover about Shield's unexpected apology and Sombra had thanked him for accepting, nuzzling the Draconequus and beaming.

It also heralded the arrival of Princess Twilight and the other harmony mares. They’d read about the incident and Sombra's brief stint in a coma and came by with presents!

As Sombra talked with the others about the chrysalis incident, Discord stole Fluttershy away so they could have a private talk in the garden.

“Is everything OK?” the shy yellow pegasus asked, seeing discord looking pensive.

“Hm? Oh, yes. It's- I’m sorry I didn’t tell you about Sombra and I first, dearest Fluttershy. I wanted to, I just didn’t know where to start.”

“It's alright Discord,” Fluttershy assured him “I kind of guessed you were getting attached and I had a feeling you would want privacy for awhile. I knew you'd tell me when you were ready.”

“Thank you.” Discord felt a dizzying surge of relief as she smiled at him and hugged her tightly.

She patted his back kindly as he let her go, wiping his eyes. She didn’t know when she'd last seen him so lively or so laid back.

“I'm ever so delighted to see Sombra and you so happy together. The girls are just SO pleased to hear you two making it public! All the papers are talking about is what are you two going to do next?”

“That's a secret!” Discord winked, but grinned merrily. He was pleased to bursting that Flutters was happy for him, her opinion mattered a great deal to him.

They went back inside, in time to hear Rarity clamouring to hear the story about how they'd first gotten together!

“Mind if I-?” Discord caught Sombra's eye and the stallion nodded, smiling warmly.

So Discord described the whole cloud clone incident and the end result after the apologies and kicking the cloud clone up the ass.

Rainbow laughed her head off at the mental image.

“And then I seen a cloud with an imprint of-” whump.

A cushion, held in Sombra's magic, whacked him upside the head.

“That’s quite enough out of you!” Sombra declared primly.

“Classy as ever, aren't I?” Discord winked as the girls giggled at Sombra's flushed face “thankfully he wasn't too mad. He found it rather amusing once we'd finished the first kiss.”

Sombra glanced at him, a smile softening his annoyed expression.

“That is just adorable, darlings!” Rarity clapped her hooves in glee “once again, love saved the day!”

“Bleegh.” Rainbow Dash wasn’t a romance fan.

“In all seriousness,” Sombra trailed off, frowning at his memories “I’m not like Cadance, love magic isn’t a speciality. I expended so much magic I nearly scrambled my brain. I was catatonic for awhile, like the old days.”

“But y'all came back to yerself, right?” Applejack asked. Sombra brightened, nodding to the earth pony.

“Thanks to Discord and some very kind ponies.”

“Oh!” Twilight Sparkle's eyes brightened “is that to do with that wreath around your statue?”

“Indeed.” Sombra nodded.

“That was so super duper nice!” Pinkie Pie bounced in her seat, shoving a cake into her mouth before continuing. “Those nice Pride ponies making that huge wreath and throwing a party! Wish I could've been there- was it amazing?” she asked the couple eagerly.

“It was outstanding,” Discord grinned “They had a band and singers, plus more food than even I could eat. Best of all, Cadance followed her lovey-dovey instincts and found us, so she hung around until her husband and Sombra's guards came searching!”

“Wahoo!” Pinkie Pie cheered “you guys gotta let me throw you a party sometime, okay?”

“I'd like nothing better.” Sombra assured her, prompting a squee of delight.

“So Chrysalis has had her butt whooped again, good riddance!” Rainbow Dash said. Sombra winced slightly.

“What’s wrong?” Fluttershy asked.

“It is about- I’ll be right back.” Sombra got up and teleported out.

“Is he alright?” Applejack looked at Discord “he seems worried.”

“He has some things on his mind, it’ll make sense when he comes back.” Discord promised.

Sombra teleported back in a few minutes later with a flash of magic. One wing was wrapped around something that huddled close to his side.

“What’s..?” Twilight asked, but Sombra intercepted her.

“I must ask all of you to keep this a very solemn secret for the time being. It is vital.”

“Of course, sugarcube.” Applejack assured him “together, girls!”

They recited a familiar oath to the stallion;

“Cross my heart and hope to fly,
stick a cupcake in my eye!”

“Thank you..” Sombra said softly. He met Discord's eye and got a nod in return.

With a deep breath, Sombra lifted the protective wing, revealing a shy, nervous changeling huddling close to him.

“Waugh!” Rarity shrieked, scrambling to hide behind Twilight Sparkle's wing “one of them's here!!”

“It is- He is not a threat!” Sombra said urgently.

Feather huddled closer to the king's side, whimpering in alarm. He tugged Sombra's wing back around him, as if it could shield him from their panic.

“Then why is he here?” Rainbow Dash asked.

Sombra closed his eyes, taking a deep breath.

“He saved me.” he said bluntly.

Their jaws all dropped.

Sombra explained how he'd been trapped by Chrysalis' collar, virtually unreachable. The changeling, now named Feather, had given him back his necklace, a treasured memento from Discord. Said necklace had been what had helped snap him free of the spells control.

“He did not approve of what Chrysalis was doing to the hive, or to me.” Sombra shivered, paling slightly as he recalled how close he'd come to being changeling chow.

“I...”

He stopped, feeling the memories of the fight overloading him, causing his wings to shiver and press close to his sides as if seeking to give comfort.

“Seriously, it's impressive he can do that.” Rainbow Dash whispered to the other two winged ponies.

“I know, I’ve read all the papers and theories on it!” Twilight Sparkle enthused, making Rainbow roll her eyes. Of course Twi had read everything she could get her hoofs on.

Discord got off the couch and went to Sombra's side, placing a reassuring hand on his shoulder. Feather, sensing the King's sadness, looked regretfully up at him with ears drooped.

“He shoved Queen prissy on her ass and she nearly beat him to death for it.” Discord continued the tale “Sombra shielded him from her and took him with us when we escaped. The little guy confessed he couldn’t stand seeing the Queen do that to Sombra, so he risked everything to help me get him back.”

“Wow.” Twilight Sparkle was stunned “that’s...”

“Not what ah was expectin'.” Applejack finished and the rest all nodded in agreement.

“Aw, he's scared of us.” Pinkie Pie looked sad, creeping over to sit beside the wing Feather was huddling behind “it's alright. We know you're a good guy now. Come say hello!”

“It is safe, I promise.” Sombra murmured to Feather “these are the mares who helped ME back when I first woke up. My mother no doubt told you the story?”

A faint “mm-hmm” was heard from within the feathery shield.

“You can trust them, I promise.”

Feather nodded and slowly, nervously, lifted the wing so Sombra could fold it back up.

“There you are!” Pinkie beamed warmly “nice to meet you, I’m Pinkie Pie!”

“H-hello..” Feather mumbled softly “I’m Feather.”

“Well ah'm Applejack. This here is Rainbow Dash, Twilight, Fluttershy and Rarity.”

Each pony waved or smiled as they were introduced. Rarity looked a little nervous, but she'd calmed down and was now admiring Feather's distinctive wings.

“They’re ever so pretty.” She complimented, which made Feather cheer up quite a bit.

“I've never been treated so nicely before,” he felt brave enough to talk now, seeing these ponies were indeed friendly as the King had said.

“Aw, that's no fair!” Pinkie Pie sulked.

“The Queen didn’t go for niceness,” Feather sighed “we were just drones to her.”

“Why am I not surprised?” Rainbow Dash rolled her eyes.

“I never even had a name until I met Mr. Sombra.” the changeling looked briefly at the King, finding comfort in the familiar stallions presence, then looked back at the girls. He fought to keep from blushing as he spoke “I’ve been given a whole bedroom to myself! And so much nice food. I never had so many lovely things before!”

“Everypony deserves kindness,” Fluttershy said firmly “no matter who they are.”

“That's nice of you to say,” Feather smiled at the pegasus “you ponies are all so nice. I can feel how much love surrounds you all. Some is friendship love, the other is..” he looked back at Sombra, going red this time as he wondered how to explain it.

“Se-” Discord began, only to be walloped upside the head by another couch cushion, courtesy of the King.

“Hush, you.” Sombra grumbled, trying so hard not to laugh and failing, uttering an amused snort a second later and somewhat ruining the façade.

“Is he always like that?” Twilight Sparkle asked, eyebrow raised.

“Indeed he is,” Sombra shook his head and sighed “I place all blame for my knowledge of innuendo and inventive jokes mainly on Discord. The rest is on the building site ponies, they had quite a wealth of vulgarities they wanted to impart.”

Feather giggled, he'd heard a few of Sombra's more colourful curses and had found them pretty hilarious.

Discord looked pretty proud of himself, as always.

Rarity watched them, noticing how much more lively Sombra seemed now. Even with the incident concerning Chrysalis still weighing on his mind, he still seemed more confident then when she'd last seen him.

--It's amazing what love can do..-- she thought happily.

“Does everypony in the kingdom know about him?” Fluttershy asked, but Sombra shook his head.

“I am searching for a way to make it as easy a transition as possible. I understand the citizens' only impression of changelings is that of the attack and what they have read about the Canterlot incident and I do not want Feather being at risk because of this. I owe him and Discord both for saving me back there and I cannot stand the thought of him being hurt, solely because of the behaviour of Chrysalis.”

“Fair do's,” Applejack nodded “I’m sure y'all will think of something.”

“We're working on it.” Discord added, serious for once. His hand had moved to the spot between Sombra's wings, subtly rubbing his back the whole time. His touch made Sombra feel much better, he caught Discord's eye and smiled softly.

They all spent some more time with Feather that day, including at dinner. The shy changeling was encouraged to speak more and more, telling them about both the hive and what he'd been learning about ponies from Sombra and Umbra. He was on the verge of telling a rude joke Discord taught him, when he caught Umbra's eye and seen her shake her head, smiling in amusement. So he stopped- to Rainbow's disappointment.

That night, Sombra fell asleep in Discord's arms as he was fast becoming used to doing, expecting as dreamless sleep.

But he was wrong.

In the stranglehold of his fear, the dream turned into a nightmare. Chains held him in place as the spectre of Chrysalis gloated that he'd never see his love again. The chains began to burn like fire, and he thrashed franticly about, shouting for help-

-He woke abruptly, bolting up in bed with a cry of primal fear. His chest was so tight he could barely breathe and he hunched over in bed, gasping raggedly.

“Sombra?” Discord was awake in seconds and just as quickly cradling his precious stallion in his arms, his warmth piercing the icy chill that had taken over Sombra's body.

Sombra uttered a choked cry, burying his head in Discords chest. The side effects of the incident had been long overdue. Part of his mind had connected how he'd been chained and hurt once more, comparing it to the Scorpan torture memories. Being held prisoner was a deep set primal fear for the monarch...

Sombra's yell had been loud enough to attract two of the night guard who were patrolling nearby and as Discord rubbed the King's back, there was a knock on the door.

“Your majesty? Is everything alright? We heard yelling.” the first guard asked.

Sombra struggled to speak for a moment, then the words finally came blurting out.

“It is alright, it- t-the memory spell I used to review the kidnapping incident broke down. It fair gave me a headache and some nasty hallucinations. It is disabled now, you can relax.”

“Would you like us to call the doctor sire? Or Discord?”

“Yo.” Discord piped up, to neither guards real surprise. Of course he was sharing the King's bed, duh.

“The doctor then-?”

“No need,” Sombra let out a loud sigh “the spell has broken down now, it will have eradicated itself from my system by the morning. The backlash was more than I expected, yet I should have foreseen it. That spell is untested.”

“Understood sire. We will not discuss this without your express permission.” Sombra's waffling about a spell hadn’t been very convincing, they had a feeling they knew why he'd woken up in a blind panic. And they didn’t blame him one bit, after what he'd endured...

“Sleep well sire, don’t hesitate to call us if you need something.”

“Thank you, good night.” Sombra said gratefully. He heard them moving away down the hall and let out a shuddery breath.

“What they must think of me?” he whispered “even with their promise, they will fear I am unfit for duty.”

The thought sent daggers of panic deep into his heart.

“Don’t be silly.” Discord whispered as he kissed Sombra softly “you heard them, they’ll keep it secret. I'm sure they wont break an oath to their King and hay, the whole kingdom knows you've been through hell and back. What makes them believe in you is your refusal to be defeated by it. You're still just a pony, albeit a very powerful one. You have your weaknesses as you do your strength, they know that. So relax.”

Sombra nodded, nuzzling against Discord “thank you.”

“C'mon, lie down.” Discord coaxed, kissing the pony gently as he persuaded him to settle down once more.

But Sombra found he couldn't sleep, still afraid of the nightmares returning. Discord noticed his fidgeting several minutes later and opened his eyes, kissing Sombra on the nose.

“What bothers you, my King?”

“I..I do not wish to sleep.” Sombra admitted and Discord nodded.

“Because of the bad memories?”

“Yes.” Sombra sighed guiltily, ears folded down against his head.

“Well then, we need to go over a familiar lesson.”

“Lesson?” Sombra asked, ears shivering in curiosity now.

Discord nodded, gently caressing Sombra's cheek with one hand.

“You need to take control.” Discord said simply “I know I’ve taught you well.”

At last Sombra understood.

“That first night.” he whispered.

“Exactly. We need to make a better memory. So, what is your wish, my King?”

Sombra thought a moment then had an idea. He kissed the chaos lord, shifting how they lay so he was pinning Discord to the bed. Moonlight flooded into the room, just like that first time together…

“Take control.” Sombra smiled, the moonlight reflecting in deep red eyes. Discord nodded, lifting his body to kiss Sombra's lips.

“Take it, my King.” he whispered. With a snap of his fingers the shield surrounded them, shielding the sounds to come.

Memories flitted through Sombra's mind and he found himself mimicking Discord's actions from the first night. Forming the shadow hand from one hoof and lathering it in the glistening lubricant, letting said shadow tendrils prepare his beloved while he laid a trail of kisses from Discord's jaw to his stomach.

“Mmh, my dear Sombra...ahh, that’s it...” Discord groaned dizzily. Was this how Sombra had felt that first night? Like he meant the world to the one taking him?

Every movement the pony made was like a sweet thank you in memory of that first night where the pony's trauma had been rendered powerless by Discord's kindness.

Discord would never forget how beautiful Sombra looked in the moonlight as the monarch took him, the way his wings shivered and flexed with every thrust.

The climax was every bit as sweet as it had been that first night, the significance of the act making it all the more important. The shield dissipated with a pop as they caught their breath and Sombra gently pulled out.

“That was amazing.” Discord panted as his lover settled down beside him, bestowing a kiss upon the stallions muzzle.

“Just like you then?” Sombra purred, looking satisfied and content.

“You flatter me, my King.” Discord grinned, kissing him again as they snuggled together under the sheets, their combined warmth from the afterglow lulling them towards sleep. Sombra rapidly fell asleep, looking much more happy then before their coupling…

The next morning, when Sombra awoke, Discord had one very specific question for him;

“Sleep well, my love?”

Sombra nodded, kissing him deeply “indeed I did. I dreamt of many memories, of you and I.”

“Good.” Discord said proudly. He kissed the base of Sombra's horn, then ushered him towards the shower, where he would fuss over him anew..

A couple of days later, the Harmony mares along with Cadance and Shining were preparing to travel back. Now that Sombra was fully back on his hooves, they felt confident in letting him resume his tasks.

The Prince and Princess stood, with Sombra next to them, watching as their cases were loaded onto the train.

“Thank you both for everything you’ve done, I greatly appreciate your help in helping the kingdom and myself.” the Alicorn stallion said in obvious gratitude.

“Not a problem at all, Sombra.” Cadance smiled.

“Yeah, any time.” Shining Armor grinned.

Sombra bowed his head “If I can ever return the favour, simply call.”

The Crystal empire rulers happily agreed and boarded the train along with Twilight and friends. In the luggage car were boxes of gifts, more thank you's from the Umbrum Kingdom. Pinkie Pie waved out the window as long as she could as the train vanished out of sight…

A week later saw Sombra back to work and fit as a fiddle (another phrase that made Discord snigger at how nonsensical it was), to the relief of his staff and citizens. He made a speech from the balcony of his palace, informing everypony who attended of the fact that he was fine and he appreciated their concern. He also took the time to thank them all for the mass amount of cards, gifts and sweets they’d sent.

“By now, Discord has no doubt demolished most of them-”

Right on cue, a huge belch was heard from somewhere within the palace, loud enough for the mic Sombra was using to pick it up and amplify it. The crowd began giggling and chuckling as Sombra rolled his eyes and shook his head, followed by a face-hoof.

“Undoubtedly the winning bet in a belching contest with the captain of the guard. I regret to say this is not the first time.”

More amused laughter, Sombra shaking his head even as he chuckled in obvious enjoyment.

“Thank you all for attending!” he finished with a smile, trotting back inside...

Later on that same day, as he set aside the final scroll he'd signed-

“Hello~ handsome!” Discord barrelled in the door, making Sombra jump. Seeing it was just his partner, in his usual state of high enthusiasm, he relaxed his wings and set his quill aside.

“Hello to you too,” the stallion smiled as he reclined in his cushy chair “what’s on your mind?”

“You about done for the day?” Discord asked, hovering eagerly in front of the desk.

Seeing his barely constrained excitement, Sombra tilted his head to the side slightly and smiled.

“If it has you this eager, then I will make myself available.” he said with a seductive yet teasing smile.

“Good!” Discord grinned as Sombra filed away his paperwork and trotted out from behind the desk. He kissed the stallion briefly, still grinning ear to ear.

“So, what has you so excited?” Sombra asked as they walked down the hall together.

“There's a food festival going on all evening down in the central plaza.”

“Where those flowers were?” Sombra asked. He'd requested the flowers be left there until they needed to be removed. The display had been magically enhanced to last a while longer than flowers traditionally would, in honour of the monarch and his partner.

“Exactly! I thought you and me could go, you know, together. Openly.” Discord said, voice edged with hope and Sombra instantly understood his fidgeting. The chaos lord wanted to take him out in public and have a fun evening. He nodded, seeing Discord's eyes light up. Literally.

“Sorry.” Discord rapped himself on the head and his eyes quit glowing like headlamps. Sombra couldn't restrain a chuckle, Discord's crazy biology always amused him. The chaos lord caught his eye and winked, making Sombra smile contentedly.

The two guards who had been making the bets on those two being together greeted the duo now, as they walked by. They seen the way Discord nudged Sombra's muzzle gently, a smile on his face. The King's ears twitched gently and he was heard laughing at whatever Discord was telling him.

“Lucky guy,” One guard remarked “got the love of a lifetime in that chaos creature.”

“He really loves him, no two ways about it. Pretty damn amazing to see, his majesty smiles more than he used to.”

Having dumped Sombra's paperwork in his room, the duo headed down to where Sombra's royal carriage waited.

Discord instructed the driver on where to go and the pair settled themselves into the carriages plush interior. The guards pulling it set off at a moderate trot, following the drivers instructions.

Sombra looked out the windows as they travelled down the glimmering streets of his kingdom. He was relieved to see the damage had almost completely been fixed. The tough crystal used in its construction had put it at a good advantage in the face of the changeling invasions sheer and wanton destruction.

“What’s eating you? Its not me, so I’m concerned.” Discord dead-panned. Sombra blinked at him, then the innuendo hit him in the face.

“Discord!” he sighed in amused exasperation. Discord snickered, leaning over to snare the King sitting next to him in a kiss.

“Sorry, I couldn’t help myself.” the chaos lord nuzzled his King's muzzle, “now, what’s up?”

“I was thinking about the changelings. The damage they did and so forth and that got me thinking about Feather.”

“OK, I’m following you. What’s worrying you about him?”

“I want to find a way to show the kingdom what he did. I know many will trust my word at face value, but that doesn’t feel enough to me. I want to have it set in stone what he did for me. I wish I could just...” he trailed off as a new thought occurred.

“Wish you could what?” Discord asked after a beat “eat? Sleep? Go to the bathroom?”

No answer.

“Orgas-”

“I've got it!” Sombra snapped out of his daze.

“What? An orgasm? You could've told me!” Discord griped.

Sombra looked at him like he'd sprouted another limb.

“What? No, this matter does not involve orgasms.” the pony halted a moment, then face-hoofed “Cannot believe that sentence just came out of my mouth.”

“Sorry. You weren’t answering so I just said whatever came to mind.” Discord grinned cheekily.

“Things are always coming around you.” the King said sarcastically and Discord, who had been looking incredibly smug, did a double take and flushed.

--Was that an innuendo, my dear Sombra? Impressive..-- he grinned.

“Did you just insinuate something?” he said to the stallion now, pressing a hand to his chest, his voice layered with mock-outrage. “Well I never!”

Sombra snorted in amusement, pulling Discord in for a deep kiss to shut him up.

“I am only basing my statements on my own personal experience.” he almost purred as he let Discord go, eyes gleaming craftily. Discord angled for another kiss, his queries about the sudden revelation Sombra had been having temporarily forgotten as he wrapped Sombra in his arms, pulling him as close as their bodies allowed.

More then just kissing would've ensued had the driver not a minute later, announced that they were almost at their destination. The lovers pulled apart, flushed but smiling. Sombra checked his cloak wasn’t creased as he waited as the carriage to roll to a complete stop. The sound of a big crowd filtered in as the door was opened by one of the guards. The driver and remaining guards all bowed deeply as the King stepped out onto the ground, Discord floating along behind.

The ponies milling about were surprised when the royal carriage appeared, coming to a halt not far from them. The driver opened the door, revealing the one inside to be none other than his majesty. But not just him, they noticed with smiles of delight and calls of greeting, but his majesty's beloved too!

“Good evening everypony!” Sombra spoke loud enough so his voice could be heard “I hope I am not imposing?”

“Of course not, your majesty!” one of the event organisers wriggled her way through the crowds to reach the front, stepping clear of the huddle of ponies and bowing deeply. The rest of the crowd wasn’t far behind, greeting the King politely.

“You honour us with your presence, sire!” she said in delight as she stood up straight.

“Thank you,” Sombra said warmly and she felt herself blush. He really was very handsome, she looked almost enviously at the Draconequus hovering behind the King.

Seeing her glance, Sombra beckoned him forward and Discord found out that when he greeted the big gathering of ponies, they cheered just as loudly for him! He blushed a little, which caught Sombra's eye and the pony smiled softly.

Part of Discord's mind was still surprised by just how much kindness and acceptance he'd been granted. Starting from when he'd simply been Sombra's confidant and best friend, ponies had been opening their hearts to him and welcoming him. Now, with his announcement that he was the source of Sombra's love-fuelled spell, that attention and fascination had only increased.

He'd never been the centre of attention like this, at least not without causing trouble and being punished for it shortly after and he found he very much liked it. Sure, winding ponies up did make him laugh, but so did using his crazy magic to make them laugh in a more joyful way, encouraging them to cut loose and give chaos a try themselves.

The thrill of their royal guest sunk in, the crowds dispersed a little, giving his majesty room to wander around the stalls.

Discord floated alongside Sombra as they travelled through the stalls, trying all sorts of food from savoury to sweet. He spotted Sombra's ears perk up when he tried the sweeter cakes, seen how he licked his lips...

He distracted himself before that thought grew legs and ran away with him, stuffing the rest of the cake he was holding into his mouth in one go.

“Mmh, thesh ish goodf..” he mumbled thickly.

“Do not talk with your mouth full.” Sombra chided gently. Discord swallowed his food and opened his mouth-

“If you say “that’s what he said” one more time, I solemnly vow that I will pop you one.” Sombra warned, with a wry grin.

“Ok, ok...” Discord rolled his eyes and pretended to sulk. Then Sombra's muzzle brushed his and he turned his head so their noses touched. Sombra grinned at him then snatched a quick kiss that made Discord's fur go floof, before sauntering on ahead. The surrounding crowds cheered and made cooing noises. One even caught Discords eye and winked at him.

“Boing.” Discord said softly and the pony chuckled, grinning.

“I heard that!” the Draconequus jumped as Sombra spoke without even turning round.

Shaking his head he floated after Sombra. He could see the way the stallions eyes were bright and happy, an easy smile curving his lips. He seemed to be taking pretty well to public displays of snuggling. That made Discord happier than he could express, to be able to fuss over him as he'd desired.

They stayed until late, talking to the citizens and even entertaining the foals and fillies. Discord pulled out every magic trick he knew, including the “pulling an Alicorn out of a hat” one he'd been working on, even if the Alicorn in question was a bit miffed. But Sombra couldn’t stay mad at him for long, if anything his and Discord's sarcastic bickering made the kids giggle even harder. So they played it up, acting as theatrically as they could, complete with silly voices.

As the kids applauded at the end, Sombra caught Discords eye and grinned widely. Oh, that grin…

Discord grinned back, loving the happiness he seen in Sombra now, it was a relief to see him so free. Something had changed inside, Sombra was less restrained then he'd been once before, and going by his citizens faces, they loved this new change!

They ran into Lady Umbra as they walked in the main doors. She was just heading upstairs, but instead came back down the steps to greet her son and his lover.

“Where have you two been?” she teased, seeing how both looked pretty flush, with smiles on their faces and bags of cakes and sweets cradled in Discord's arms..

“Food festival!” Discord indicated the bags “there was some good stuff there!”

Umbra chuckled at his enthusiasm, Discord sure loved his food! “sounds delightful!”

“If a little filling.” Sombra let out a heavy sigh “I ate far too much. At this rate I shall no longer be in shape-”

“Hey, round is a shape!” Discord pointed out, making Sombra do a double take and sputter indignantly.

Umbra chuckled and looked at her son as he shook his head in mock despair “have you thought any further regarding what to do about Feather?”

She blinked, stopping abruptly as both her son and Discord face-palmed/hoofed at the same time “What’s wrong? What on Equestria are you boys doing?”

“I forgot.” Sombra groaned.

“You certainly did! Didn’t even finish your sentence!” Discord retorted.

“And whose fault, pray tell, was that?” Sombra said, scrunching his nose almost childishly as he looked up at Discord.

“Yours! You forgot.” Discord retorted, tapping his nose lightly.

“Yes, because YOU somehow managed to shoehorn orgasms into it-”

“I’m not even going to ask, consider the enquiry closed!” Umbra was shaking with barely suppressed laughter as they argued.

“Argh!” Sombra went red and face-hoofed again as Discord snickered, patting his head almost sympathetically.

“Keep doing that and you'll have a concussion~” Discord teased the stallion gently. He winked at the giggling Umbra “its not what you think. He wasn’t paying attention so I started spouting nonsense at him.”

“I see, that is most reassuring.” Umbra looked at her flustered son “well, might we hear your plan, child?”

“Yes, I-” Sombra coughed and trailed off then regained his composure a moment later. It wasn’t helped by Discord grinning at him in that smug way, even as he tried to ignore his dirty minded chaos lord.

“The plan I have in mind is thus; I intend to show both my memories and feathers to the kingdom, side by side so that the ponies will see how they correlate. That way, I theorise they should therefore believe me when I say that feather is categorically not a danger.”

“Sounds good.” Discord mused “is there a pony who can cast that spell for you?”

“Yes,” Umbra spoke up as Sombra paused for thought “I know a pony who can. Leave that bit to me, you two go talk with Feather. He's been hoping to explore the kingdom soon, we should do this as swiftly as possible.”

“Of course.” Sombra nodded.

Feather’s eyes brightened as he heard the knock on the door. He opened it, smiling as he seen the King and Discord stood there. He invited them in, curling up on the bed as the duo grabbed cushions and sat close by.

“I have conceived a way to tell your story to the public.”

“Con- ooh!” Feather's eyes brightened, he knew that word “is that what you were doing when the one named Page Assist went to your door?”

Sombra connected the meaning of that sentence and went bright red in a flash, ears folding down in embarrassment. Discord burst out laughing, loudly.

“Haaha- hee, oh my...that's brilliant, Feather!” Discord tittered, wiping his eyes and Sombra slumped forward so his forehead rested on the edge of the bed. He was using a variety of Umbrum curse words and some rather vulgar phrases.

“How did you hear about that?” Discord asked jovially.

“I overheard Page Assist complaining about it.”

“Oh, what was he saying?”

“He was stomping around his office, but the door was open a crack, so I heard him. He also said mister King was a classic “whinnyer”, whatever that means.”

Sombra wondered if he could explode from embarrassment. Feather was so innocent he probably didn’t realise what he was saying. And Page had called him WHAT?!

“Whinnyer, eh? Well that’s someone who tends to make a lot of noise when they co-”

“DISCORD!” Sombra sat back at last, yelling loudly. Feather and Discord both fell silent, looking at how red-faced the King was, the way his ears trembled n a mixture of annoyance and awkwardness as he shoved his muzzle close to Discord's now, cheeks puffed out in annoyance and eyes narrowed.

“Aw,” Discord nuzzled the King, smiling softly and speaking only loud enough for the monarch to hear “I didn’t mean to upset you, my King. Hay, I happen to think it's incredibly cute the way you whinny.”

Sombra continued to sulk and glower a while longer, only relenting when Discord apologised and scratched behind his ear. That and promising him a full body massage that night...

“OK.” Sombra sighed, mollified somewhat by Discord’s apology. Even though the Draconequus had seemed on the verge of giggling the whole time, the way he looked at Sombra told the pony he wasn’t being unkind. So he couldn’t really blame him-

“BURRRP!”

Both looked up as Feather let out a loud belch.

“Not bad for a little guy.” Discord nodded coolly and Sombra shook his head.

“Sorry,” the changeling said “you're so close by, I absorbed some of your love automatically. It's tasty.”

“No worries.” Discord grinned.

“I did not mean to trouble you, mister King. You said you conceived the idea and I thought what you had been doing under that tree was an attempt at procreating. She scolded me, saying you two weren’t trying to mate, that was-”

“It is quite alright,” Sombra cut him off before he dug himself in too deep “the word conceive has, uh, a myriad of meanings. In this case, it means an idea has been created.”

“Oh!” The changeling nodded, absorbing this eagerly.

Sombra pushed aside his feelings of mild mortification and outlined his plan to Feather. They could host it from the balcony of the palace using the magnification spell so the crowd could easily see the memories on display.

“Would you be comfortable with that?” the Alicorn asked.

Feather nodded eagerly, he liked the sound of the plan, although one thing worried him.

“Will this memory spell hurt?” he asked. Discord shook his head, assuring him it was painless, which set the changelings mind at ease.

The plan agreed, Sombra and Discord left, discussing how to inform the public of the upcoming event…

“Ready, child?” Umbra asked, Sombra nodded, taking a deep breath and striding out onto the balcony. There'd been another development in the plan when Discord realised he too held some memories of seeing Sombra and Feather, thus offered his memories too.

“Good afternoon everypony.” Sombra addressed the crowd “I know many of you are curious about how I was freed from the Queen's control. You know what Discord did to save me, but there is one another. I give you my word he is no threat and I intend to broadcast the memories of myself, Discord and the one in question. I humbly request you trust in me, my ponies.”

His gentle, charming speech got a cheer from the crowd, even as many had a guess what he was about to reveal.

They guessed right. Even with Sombra prefacing the issue, many shrieked and clung to their friends or loved ones. Then they seen how scared Feather was, how he tried to hide himself under Sombra's long cloak. The spell showing this enlarged image to the multitude of ponies below zeroed in on the scared Feather, as well as showing Sombra trying to coax him out. Eventually the scared changeling scooted out from under the King's body, standing shyly by his side.

The unicorn who was performing the memory spell stepped forward. The three participants sat themselves down and closed their eyes. The crowds below shared smiles and murmurs of approval as they seen Discord protectively curling his tail around his King's body, one hand resting atop his right hoof.

The unicorn closed his eyes, magic flaring around his horn. Beams lanced out from it, connecting to each participant. Sombra felt a tug of nerves, these were painful memories…

They started from the point where Feather gave Sombra his necklace back, saying how bad he felt about his imprisonment, torn away from the love of his life. Then it switched to the moment when he tried to protect the King from the Queen.

The trio of memories, each from a different perspective, wove together to show the story of how Feather had given the necklace enough time to free Sombra and break the collar. How Sombra had strove to protect the changeling who'd given his way of life for him, so he could return to Discord.

The spell showed them re-emerging in the forest, then it faded away..

Sombra opened his eyes with a barely concealed hitch of breath. He got up and floated the mic over to him;

“So you see, my dear citizens, this one is not like the Queen. He saved me, gave me a chance to be back with the one I love and the home I adore. Without him and Discord, I would not be able to see your smiling faces here today. So please-”

There was a loud wave of cheering, stopping Sombra mid sentence. A huge wave of relief swept over him and the ponies below seen a look of immense gratitude in his eyes. He bowed his head, waiting for the cheering to subside.

“Thank you, all of you. I understand it will take time, but I ask that you give Feather a chance. He is proof not all changelings follow Chrysalis, many hope for a better way. Maybe in time, more will see the wonder and love friendship can create and will come to Equestria in peace.”

He paused as Feather reached a hoof up to tap his side.

“Can I use that please, mr King?” the changeling asked timidly. This was picked up by the mic and the ponies watching felt a tug of sympathy for this shy, unique changeling.

Sombra nodded, giving the mic to the changeling. The unicorn directing the spell to display the scene focused on Feather, who blushed deeply.

“Uhm...” he gulped nervously. “h-hello! I’m Feather...”

He took another deep breath and began;

“The hive, as you seen, is a dark and damp place. I never truly felt at home there. I'm a runt, pushed around by the higher up drones and of no concern to the Queen. We are just numbers to her, not her brood.

Weaklings like me are not even worthy of a name. I never had something that unique until mr King gave one to me. I seen how happy he was with his beloved when I was sent here as a spy. Even then, I had a bad feeling about the plan, but I didn’t dare speak up. I was afraid of the Queen...”

He sniffled a moment, then began again;

“I hated to see how mr King wasn’t himself any more, after that awful spell the Queen put on him. She had been keeping that nasty, arcane spell for her plan for a long time now. She knew Mr King wouldn’t be easy to brainwash, so she resorted to nasty magics. I found his necklace and decided to give it back.

That was the only time he spoke, when he said Discords name.”

Discord heard this and his ears twitched. His eyes met the King's over Feathers head and Sombra nodded gently.

“After that,” Feather continued, unaware of this exchange “was the fake wedding. I seen Discord arrive, seen him fighting my fellow drones to rescue mr King. I seen the Queen was about to stop the necklace from waking mr King up, so I threw myself at her, hoping I could slow her down. I was lucky and managed to hold her long enough, but she nearly stamped me to death. If I hadn’t been saved by the magic in that necklace, I’d be dead.

Mr King didn’t have to save me. I was nothing important to him. But when he ran towards his beloved, he brought me along too. He saved me, for if I had been caught after they left, I would’ve been exiled if I was lucky, but more likely destroyed. Queen Chrysalis cannot abide traitors.”

He looked up at Sombra now, the “camera” spell zooming out to show King Sombra listening to the changeling.

“Your city is so pretty, it's lucky to have a nice hive leader like you. Thank you, for giving me a name and a bed and for doing this for me. I hope the ponies here can accept me, id like that. I'd like to have friends.”

“I am sure you will find them, Feather.” Sombra's reassuring deep voice made tears well up in Feather's eyes and before he could stop himself he threw his forelegs around the King in an impromptu hug. The crowd below chuckled and went “aww..”.

“Ahem.” Discord appeared atop Sombra's head a second later, disguised as a weird looking bird.

“Sorry!” Feather backed up, flushing slightly. “you smell nice, so much love.”

Discord sniffed loudly at Sombra's mane “all I smell is his shampoo.”

Sombra groaned in exasperation, making the crowds giggle. His majesty showed so much more expression and so much more of his true feelings since returning from the kidnap incident.

“Thank you all for coming.” Sombra addressed the crowd, Discord reappeared standing beside him in his normal form. Feather peered over the balcony, buzzing his soft wings to see better. Down below, he seen a pony wave, so he waved back.

Then they all went back inside, the loud cheering of the crowds fading away as they walked the halls.

“That was scary.” Feather looked about to faint.

“Even so, you did very well. Hearing your story no doubt helped.” Sombra said softly.

The next day the papers were all running stories about it. There was naturally the odd piece that questioned his majesty's decision, but even they had to reluctantly point out Feather HAD helped return their King to them. As a whole, most seemed prepared to give feather a chance…

As the months passed, Discord found himself spending more and more time at Sombra's side and around the Palace. When he wasn’t bedding down with the King at night, he was talking with Lady Umbra or visiting his joke shop to entertain the customers. When he spoke of this to Sombra, the King smiled warmly and said how proud he was of Discord, which made the chaos lord blush. Those words meant so much coming from his lover…

Fluttershy was delighted to see how much Discord seemed to be enjoying his life now, he seemed far less restless. She brought this observation up one day over tea and Discord smiled.

“He's..” he searched for the right words “unconstrained. He doesn’t insist I follow a list of rules, or scold me not to blow up Equestria or the like. He just lets me be me. He's put so much trust in me.”

“That’s wonderful,” Fluttershy beamed.

“You and he are the most wonderful things in my life. Like my own family.”

This pleased Fluttershy immensely and she hugged him tightly, beaming ear to ear.

3 months later;

Page Assist picked up the paper as he walked along towards Sombra's office. On the front page was a photo of his Majesty and Discord sharing a kiss outside a quaint little restaurant. The headline beneath it read;

“Royal Couple Graces Local Restaurant On Romantic Date.”

In smaller text;

“What’s next for these love-birds?”

Page Assist rolled his eyes, the whole kingdom was as in love with this romance as the actual couple was. Compounding it was Sombra's way of refusing to be deterred by negativity. He had what he loved and needed and that was that as far as he thought. Whereas this may have brought claims of arrogance by another pony, Sombra had proven himself to be level headed enough to take factors into consideration, even if he hid his cards well. The fact that his races culture was very open about such things worked in his favour, charming the populace with the love story.

A line near the end caught Page's eye.

“So what lies in story for this power couple? Will they stay as public lovers, a King and his Consort, or will one propose to the other? Can we expect a royal wedding in the near future?”

“Oh blimey.” Page muttered, shaking his head.

Sombra had even begun asking Discord's help on various projects, and the aide had to admit Discord certainly know how to make things appeal. To inject a little chaos to make things fun for the workers, his ideas were proving fairly popular.

Discord happened upon a copy of the same paper as he was looking for Lady Umbra. He read the article and felt himself blush. A wedding? His heart leapt anxiously, was that possible? No denying he'd had the thought once or twice, even had that dream of them doing it on a lavishly decorated altar, one that could have been used in a wedding, now he thought back.

There was no refuting the sheer strength of his love for Sombra, how much happiness being able to share his life with the King brought him. He wanted to make his precious Sombra as happy as he knew how.

He caught up to Lady Umbra, asking if he could talk to her alone?

She was more than happy to, bringing him back to her office.

“What’s on your mind?” she asked.

“I..” Discord coughed, cleared his throat then coughed up a frog. It bounced once onto the floor, then turned into a garden gnome.

“OK, now I know you’re really worried. You don’t usually do THAT unless something is really bugging you. So, spill.” the unicorn smiled warmly.

“I...” Discord scratched the back of his neck, then blurted “I want to marry your son!”

Umbra's eyebrows nearly shot clean up off her face as she heard this.

“I see,” she said with a smile “that's wonderful! Why are you so worried, you cannot surely think he would refuse you?”

“It's w-well- do the laws here allow that? I'm not technically living here, come to think of it, I don’t have a passport or anything as an equestrian citizen.”

“There’s no need, you don't need one. But if it's important to you, then it's easy, I can help you with that. All you need is a place of residence here in the Kingdom and since you stay here so often, lets call this palace your equestrian address!”

“Really?” Discord's eyes went wide and he was grinning eagerly.

“Of course, you're practically family to me. You’ve been helping the Umbrum since you first came to see me with my son in tow.”

Discord shot across the gap and hugged her tightly. She chuckled and returned the gesture, she really was very fond of Discord, he had such energy and enthusiasm.

“So,” she said as they sat back down on their chairs “when are you planning to ask my son to marry you?” her eyes twinkled in delight, she was so excited.

“Well, that was the other thing I need to know. What’s the traditional way? What style of ring do I need?” Discord felt his heart race at the idea of asking his precious King to marry him.

“Oh I can help with that.” Umbra winked.

They began planning right away, discussing it until dinner when they met up with Discord's beloved Sombra. The Draconequus hugged his stallion tightly, planting a cute little kiss on him. Sombra flushed but looked pleased, Umbra noticed with a smile.

Days passed as the duo planned everything without Sombra even having a clue. The only thing arousing Sombra's curiosity was how Discord seemed excited about something, but wouldn’t tell him a darn thing about it. Not even after a particularly satisfying romp atop the desk in Sombra's office.

Setting his precious King down and cleaning the mess on both the desk and each other, Discord shook his head, saying it was a secret.

No matter how much Sombra sulked and badgered him, the Draconequus managed to keep his secret. His heart felt ready to burst as he watched Sombra dress every morning after their nights together. Sitting out on the balcony of his bedroom, sharing coffee and a kiss as the empire came to life far below.

And so, a month later he had everything ready. Tonight was the night. Well, evening….time in the chaos realm sometimes went on a bender.

“Ready, love?” Discord asked as he and Sombra stood in front of the portal to the chaos realm.

Sombra nodded, floating a picnic basket alongside. Discord had told him those lights were coming through again, the same ones that had, unbeknownst to the Umbrum, given his necklace the power that’d helped free him.

“Of course.” Sombra smiled, walking through alongside his chaos lord. They emerged on the hillside where the sun was just setting. A soft breeze tugged at Sombra's mane and he inhaled the scent of flowers and cotton candy?

Discord nuzzled him and Sombra followed him to a hill atop one of the many floating islands that made up the chaos realm. They set out the blanket, talking and eating as they counted the time to the starry display.

Seeing Discord had a smudge of sugar on his lips, Sombra closed the distance and kissed him hungrily, running his tongue along those same lips. Discord groaned deeply, happily parting them to allow access. Plates clinked together as the couple shifted to press as close as they could, hands and hooves roaming over one another’s bodies.

Discords ears twitched, he could sense the stars were about to shoot by. He reluctantly parted from his King, nodding towards the sky.

Sombra seen the stars go whizzing by, felt his heart lift as the memories of that first night they’d watched this went running through his head. He nestled against Discord’s side, wishing that he might always have this love, this happiness. He opened his eyes, watching the stars fade and looked up at Discord.

“Did you wish?” he asked.

Discord shook his head “my wishes outcome does not depend on their influence, my King.”

“What do you mean?” Sombra asked and Discord took a deep breath, closing his eyes.

“Before you came along, I was restless. Even with Fluttershy's kindness, I felt like I was bound and shackled by the orders from Celestia, to behave. Like I had to act, a mere figure in a play. Then I was given the chance to help a lost and scared pony. I got the chance to help him and in return he gave me a friendship I wouldn’t have sacrificed for anything.”

Sombra tilted his head, wondering where this ramble was going. Discord seemed unusually contemplative tonight.

“You’ve made me feel so free, Sombra. You don’t tell me to buckle down, to play nice and stay out of the way. You opened up a whole new world to me and best of all, you offered to share your life and love with me. With you, I feel like I have so much more purpose. I WANT to be a better me, if only to see you happy. That is the greatest reward, which is why-”

He snapped his fingers and a gilded box appeared in his hands and he shifted to face Sombra, whose gentle red eyes were locked on his and said the most important sentence;

“-I'm asking if you will make me the happiest I could possibly be and marry me, Sombra?”

He opened the box, revealing a gorgeous stallions ring, with a chain of white gold looped through it. Since ponies didn’t have fingers, rings were worn around their necks instead!

Sombra thought his heart was going to explode as Discord's words sunk in. The love behind the gesture was the most powerful thing he had ever felt and of course there was only one answer. This was the being who'd shown him what he was missing; love. Who'd brought him out of a dark place and shown him he could start anew, be a King worthy of his subjects love.

Discord held his breath, seeing Sombra's wide eyes move from the ring to the one holding it, then the King pounced, flinging his forelegs around Discord.

Sombra kissed Discord's lips gently and whispered.

“Yes. A thousand times yes, my lord!”

Discord let out a shaky nose of relief and joy, then wrapped the King in his arms and kissed him, not having the words to express his delight that the monarch had accepted.

Several passionate kisses later, they parted and Discord placed the ring, on its delicate length of chain, around the King's neck. It had a gorgeous carved ruby set into it.

“To match your eyes.” Discord smiled. Inside the box was a similar one, for Umbrum's rings were made in pairs, having a pattern that could only be completed by the other ring. Sombra used his magic to set it around his lovers neck, as tradition dictated.

“Might I ask you something?” he said softly.

Discord nodded, caressing his cheek.

“Was this the secret you kept so well?” the King asked. Discord chuckled, kissing him and nodding as he let him go.

“I wanted it to be the most amazing night I could make.” the Draconequus grinned.

Sombra wrapped his forelegs around the chaos lords slender neck and kissed his muzzle tenderly.

“It certainly has been,” he whispered, pressing against Discord “shall we go inside, continue this celebration?”

Discord answered by picking him up and carrying him off, the rings around their necks gleaming in the light.

They spent the night making love and sleeping in each others arms, warmed by the heat their passion generated. As he drifted asleep, Sombra seen the firelight gleaming off the ring around Discord's neck and smiled. He going to get married…

The duo had an early breakfast and went to see Umbra before Sombra's workday began. She answered the eager knock on her door, yawning softly.

“Oh! Hello child.” She smiled, ushering them in.

“Is everything..” She trailed off as she caught a glint of light from around Sombra's neck. Around Discord's too…

It sunk in as she realised what the necklaces were and she let out a delighted shriek and tackle-hugged Discord.

“Yes! Yes!” she cheered “you did it!”

“Ah, so you were his co-conspiritor.” Sombra chuckled. Of course it was his mother, who better?

She released Discord and pounced on her son for a hug next.

“I'm so happy~” she whispered in his ear.

“So am I, mother, so am I.” he whispered back.

“Oh, we have so much to plan!” She bounced around her room like she was a young filly again, eyes bright. Where her son was concerned, news like this was the best thing!

More hugs followed, along with discussions over when and where they'd hold it? Who'd officiate it?

“Hay, why not ask 'Tia? Or Luna?” Discord suggested.

“That'd be wonderful. I’ve never seen Luna do a wedding, its usually her sister. I bet she'd like the offer.” Umbra said warmly. Sombra nodded, it made sense and Luna had played a big part in him and Discord being together.

“I'll ask her tonight, in my dreams.” Discord grinned.

“Perfect!” Sombra beamed “I will handle writing letters to everypony to let them know.”

“Best ask they keep it a secret until its official however,” Umbra said “to minimize the fuss for now.”

Sombra nodded, head awhirl.

Page Assist noticed the Alicorn seemed a bit spacey when he walked into the King's office. But he figured Sombra had overslept again, courtesy of his beloved no doubt.

“Are the plans for the cutie mark festival drawn up yet?”

“Oh, that?” Sombra snapped out of his daze and smiled, sitting back in his chair and settling a hoof on a gleaming chain around his neck “you will need to ask my fiancé about that.”

“Ah of course-” Page Assist did a double take “wait, what sire?”

Sombra let his hoof fall from his neck, revealing the object he'd been toying with to be a ring on a chain. Page's jaw dropped wide open.

“When?” he asked at last.

“Last night.” Sombra smiled happily and page blinked. His majesty looked, at that very moment, so happy he didn’t know what to say, so he just nodded.

“You have given me an idea, Page,” Sombra smiled “I am thinking the announcement for the cutie mark day celebrations would be the perfect time to announce it.”

“Of course sire,” Page recovered and nodded, mulling it over. As Sombra held out a hoof for the papers Page was carrying, the aide added “by the way, congratulations sire. That’s wonderful news.”

Sombra graced him with a happy smile, before starting on his paperwork.

Between signing scrolls, the Alicorn King wrote several letters, posting them to Ponyville, Canterlot, the Gargoyle/Centaur kingdom and the Crystal Empire. He wondered how everypony would react and hoped they'd make it to the wedding.

“Well, Luna's in.” Discord said as he yawned softly the next morning. Sombra nuzzled the chaos lords cheek and smiled.

“That is excellent news, I look forward to hearing from her.” he snuggled up to Discord, earning himself a deep, teasing kiss which he eagerly returned. Excitement bloomed in his stomach at the mere thought that he'd soon be marrying the love of his second life.

He was sat on the throne, Discord sat beside on the armrest when the mail came.

“Oh, this one is from Cadance!” Sombra smiled as he opened it;

“Oh, what does it say?” Discord asked and Sombra cleared his throat before reading it out loud.

“Dear Sombra and Discord

Eeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee-”

Sombra's gaze roamed to the bottom of the page where shed written “turn over”. He did, and;

“-eeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee.

Cadance.

P.S Shining says Congratulations!”

Discord started laughing as Sombra chuckled and set the letter down.

“I think she is happy for us, my love.” the chaos lord grinned. Sombra kissed his cheek and opened the next letter, from Vorak and Haydon. They were thrilled Sombra was going to marry and promised they'd visit soon!

Three weeks later was the festival celebrating the official day King Sombra got his cutie mark. A stage had been set on in main plaza where the flowery tribute to his majesty’s coming out had been set up. Sombra looked across the crowd of ponies, almost fidgeting from excitement. Today was also the day the whole empire got to know!

Those he had told about his marriage early had kept their secret, they wrote letters to congratulate him and Pinkie asked if she could pretty please help plan it? Thus, Pinkie would be coming for a week to help Umbra plan a traditional Umbrum wedding.

“Good afternoon everypony!” Sombra's magically enhanced voice echoed over the massive gathering before him.

“It is my pleasure to open festivities today, our kingdoms cutie mark day! But that is not the only good news that I wish to share with you all.”

The news reporters instincts went off and they all raised their cameras and microphones to catch what he was going to say. Was it a new trade agreement? A new holiday? What?

Sombra couldn’t refrain from grinning ear to ear as he took a deep breath;

“Which is the news that-” here he provided a magnified view of the ring his beloved had given him. Discord was on his way down, he said he'd be a little late and to go on without him..

“-Discord and I are getting married-!”

The cheer that followed would’ve raised the roof had there been one! Ponies danced and waved their hooves at him, eyes wide, some tearing up in joy! Sombra smiled warmly out at them, feeling his heart pound deliriously fast.

Once the cheering and applause died down (eventually) he spoke again;

“It will be in a months time, we have Equestria's best party planner coming by to help set things up!”

“When did he propose?” One reporter asked. Sombra opened his mouth, then there was a puff of magic and he felt warm arms embrace him, the Draconequus' voice echoing over the area. Discord had finished with his mystery errand and arrived just in time.

“A few weeks back. I realised I wanted to keep your precious King by my side for the rest of my time alive.”

This adoring sentiment garnered even more emotional cheering. Discord nuzzled Sombra and the King smiled before kissing him.

Loud catcalls and whoops provided the soundtrack as the engaged couple finally parted.

“Thank you!” Discord grinned, making Sombra chuckle. The rest of the party they were swamped by ponies asking questions and congratulating them.

That night, after a round of passionate pony-atop-chaos-lord, they lay snuggling, the chains around their necks bearing their engagement rings almost tangling together.

“I can't wait until next month.” Discord whispered to the King. Sombra nibbled on his ear and chuckled softly.

“Neither can I, my love. The difference you've made to my life? There is not enough time in the world to express my gratitude for my good fortune.”

“You’re so adorable~” Discord squee'd happily, nuzzling his stallion.

A week before the big day and something most unexpected happened.

After requesting Sombra give him a pass on the whole “tell me about your family” thing, his untold past came back to bite Discord on the ass.

It started out as a perfectly average Sunday. Discord was out picking up some shopping, while Sombra finished up some stray letters. He recalled he'd left one of the ledgers he needed in his bedroom and made a diversion to stop in there.

He nudged the door open with his magic, barely making a sound. He knew Discord wasn’t back yet thus he wasn’t expecting anyone to be there.

So when he glanced up and seen a figure standing by the dresser, looking at a framed photo of himself and Discord together, smiling happily into the camera, he got a shock.

“Di..” He opened his mouth to call his lovers name, for at first he thought the tall elegant shape WAS Discord. Then it turned round and Sombra realised not only was it a SHE, but she was another chaos being.

“Hay!” She grinned as the pony in the doorway just stared at her. He blinked, the stack of books dropping from his magic as he continued to stare at her in total shock. The ink pot splashed onto the carpet, a dark ink stain spreading slowly in the silence.

“Uh, you dropped something-” she cut off with an “eep!” as the pony suddenly sprung forward, barrelling into her and knocking her to the plush flooring. His weight had her pinned in place and she got a closer look at him. Soft grey coat, brilliant red eyes framed by a green glow and purple magic swirling around his horn. She tried to wriggle and realised she was being held in place by some kind of gravity spell.

“Who are you?” the stallion snapped, eyes narrowed in a mix of suspicion and puzzlement.

This female Draconequus looked a lot like his beloved, but why was she here and where had she come from? How had she gotten in?!

“I can explain.” she wheezed. Her fringe fell in her eyes again and she tried to blow it out of the way. She had pale yellow hair, which fell straight instead of sticking up like Discord's. Her eyes were green where his were red, with blue surrounding them in place of yellow. She was a mix of similar animals just with different shades. Overall, she was a more pastel-shaded version of Discord.

“How did you get in here?” Sombra snapped.

“You uh, left the balcony door open, silly.” she snickered and the pony twitched, wings raising like he was about to clobber her with them. She got the vague impression this was a show of defiance, she needed to be diplomatic.

“You’re even cuter than you look in the papers!” she said, then wanted to face-palm. The stallion flushed, taken aback by this.

“Wha..?” he stammered. She took the opportunity to force her power to the fore and break his spell. He staggered back and prepared another spell-

“I'm back, cutie and-oh fuck me.”

Discord walked in and stared in utter disbelief at the scene before him. He had to be hallucinating.

“Hey you!” the female Draconequus grinned cheerily at Discord.

“Eris.” Discord said between gritted teeth

Sombra's head whipped round, angry eyes focusing on his soon to be husband “you KNOW her?!” he barked.

Discord looked at Sombra, noticing he was almost at full-alarms-blazing levels of pissed. He strode over and set a hand on the stallions back, nudging the pony’s muzzle gently.

“Trust me love, she's a pain in my ass but she's not dangerous.”

Sombra glowered from him to this “Eris”, then finally lowered his wings, banishing his magic.

“Thanks br-”

“I don’t know what you’re doing here, but you'd better skedaddle.”

“Is that any way to treat your own family?” Eris pouted.

“Family?” Sombra spoke up and they both looked at him.

“Yes,” Discord sighed “Sombra, this is my sister Eris.”

“Your...sister.” Sombra was dumbstruck.

“Yeah!” she grinned “I came by to see the hottie my brother was planning on marrying. I'm your sister-in-law!”

“I need a drink.” Sombra squeaked.

Eris sat on the couch while her brother and his future husband had a quiet discussion in the bathroom.

“Why didn’t you tell me?” Sombra bristled “did you know she was coming here?”

“No!” Discord promised “I had no idea! She must’ve woken from her slumber early or something, maybe they all did, I don’t know.”

He sat down with a bump and put his head in his hands “I wont let them take this away.”

“Take what away?” Sombra asked.

“This, my life, my happiness….you.” Discord whispered “if she goes back to my father, we're all doomed.”

“He that bad?” Sombra asked and got a very emphatic nod for an answer. He was all set to be cross, then he noticed Discord was on the verge of crying.

He closed the distance between them and sat in front of the chaos lord. He nuzzled his lovers damp cheeks and kissed him softly.

“Oh my dear King,” Discord sighed heavily, wrapping Sombra in his arms and breathing in the sweet scent of his coat “what would I do without you?”

“I am not answering that.” Sombra joked, making Discord laugh shortly.

“I am sure we can work something out, I wont let anyone deprive me of you.” Sombra growled seductively.

Another kiss and they finally parted.

Eris looked up as they exited.

“Gee, what were you two doing in there that took so long?” she winked at Discord and Sombra looked incredulously at him.

“Is everyone in your family this dirty minded?” he asked in despair.

“Yeah, the younger generation anyway.” Eris snickered “has my brother been corrupting you?”

“That is about the sum of it.” Sombra sighed, sitting down at the table opposite Eris. Discord sat beside him, sticking close to his lover.

“So miss Eris, what’s-?”

“Oh, don’t be formal, your gonna be part of the family!” she chided.

“That’s the point,” Discord said bluntly “you know full well the reason I ran away. I’ve found something worth protecting and I don’t want him finding out.”

“Relax bro, I’m not gonna tell dad. I always thought he was a bit of a butt towards you. So it's cool.”

“If I might ask,” Sombra piped up “how did you find out about me?”

“Easy, I read a paper. I decided to go exploring, told dad I was visiting the badlands. Instead, I decided to see what the world looked like after such a long nap. Anyway, I was sneaking around being invisible and I found a newspaper. It showed a picture of you two and talked about a wedding. So I decided to find this mysterious in-law of mine and meet him. Didn’t take long to find you, your majesty. Big palace and all.”

“I see.” Sombra looked overwhelmed and Discord was still worried about the rest of his family.

“Eris, can we talk?” he asked at last. She nodded and Discord gestured towards the balcony door. When the doors shut behind them, Discord sighed.

“You really love this guy that much, don't you?” Eris said “I had thought it was just another of your schemes-”

“Sombra's no scheme!” Discord barked, heart pounding “he's the first one who treated me like something besides a nuisance.”

“I know, you hate most of us, but if its any comfort, I still stand by what you did. Father was- IS, well you know. He hasn’t changed. I'm wondering if I should flee myself someday, but I’d have to bring my boyfriend and he wont leave.”

Discord nodded, unable to voice the million and one fears racing around his head.

“Look, I promise I wont breathe a word of this to anyone at home.”

“Why did you come here?” Discord asked “I mean, truly. It couldn’t have just been to see if this was a trick.”

“No,” Eris admitted “I read the papers, and they all talked about just how close you two are, how your relationship has inspired so many ponies and whatnot. I wanted to meet this Sombra of yours, see what about him was so special that you asked him to marry you. I'm surprised is all.”

“So am I. But he's beyond special, Eris. I felt so chained down trying to live here under Celestia rules. But Sombra, he hasn’t once tried to make me follow rules, or scolded me for being myself. All he's ever done is let me be me and willingly embraced it. He's the first to trust me to not just protect him, but love him.”

Eris sniffled and hugged her brother so tightly he squeaked like a rubber duck.

“That's so cool!” she grinned “I knew something out here would fill that gaping hole- shut up- inside you.”

Discord chuckled “Sombra's always putting up with my innuendos. I must admit I’ve rubbed off on him somewhat.”

“Kinky.”

“Shut it.” Discord rolled his eyes and Eris snickered.

“Bad enough he gets it from me, he doesn't need it in both-”

“Hah!” Eris snickered as she nearly got her brother to make a very rude slip-up.

“I hate you.” Discord scowled and Eris patted him on the head.

“Don’t ever change, little brother.” she giggled.

Discord smiled but soon gazed off into the distance again.

“Look, if it bothers you, I’ll go. I just wanted to meet your fiancé. I'll drop by another time-”

“You are leaving?” Both turned as Sombra stepped out onto the balcony.

“Sorry to intrude, it is getting chilly and I wondered if you were cold?”

“We're fine.” Discord said and Eris nodded.

“But it still remains-” Sombra looked to Eris “you are not staying?”

She winced but shook her head “nah, I just wanted to meet you quickly. See who my brother was willing to mature and marry and I gotta say, you're pretty damn awesome, my brother picked good. I'll get out of your hair now-”

“Would you like to stay?” Sombra asked, and she stopped mid-sentence.

“But.” she began, looking at Discord.

“As long as you promise to keep it to yourself..” Discord sighed “you wanna come to the wedding?”

“Hells yeah!” she whooped, hugging him again “I’ve never been to one before, will there be a party?”

“A big one.” Sombra smiled, causing her to grin happily at him.

“So I can stay?” she asked.

Sombra nodded sedately, adding “I would be delighted. It is nice to meet you, Eris.”

He was rushed and hugged next, noting that Eris seemed to share her brothers propensity for bear hugs.

“Sorry for the whole B&E thing,” she chuckled as she let him go.

“T-that's alright.” Sombra laughed “I overreacted, you just gave me such a shock. Let us forget it and get some food. There’s someone else you should meet..”

Umbra's jaw dropped as she was introduced to a member of Discord's family. She seen the male Draconequus wince subtly and realised he obviously had some issues with family so she didn’t press it. She liked his sister though, she was an even more hyper version of Discord himself, just with a touch of a feminine side…

For the sake of Discord's sanity, Eris volunteered to disguise herself as a pony. She found it rather fun and didn’t seem to have any difficulty using her magic in a unicorns guise.

She joined them for dinner that evening, asking Sombra all sorts of questions about the Umbrum, which both he and his mother answered.

“Whoa, really? Wow, you guys are so relaxed about stuff...” Eris reclined in her chair, fully stuffed with food “your cooking’s pretty great too!”

As the wedding fast approached, Eris explored the Kingdom in pony form alongside her brother, while Sombra did his royal duties during the day.

“He's a great match for you,” Eris remarked as they headed back to the palace “he's just so chilled, ya know.”

Discord smiled “exactly. He hasn’t tried to fit me into a role I’m not meant to play, he just lets me be me. And if anything, he's only ever encouraged my ideas, even used them to help the Kingdom.”

Eris seen he looked pretty proud of this.

“I wish the rest of our bunch were even half as adventurous. They all insist on remaining secret and hidden, as if the Princess will imprison them on sight if they step foot outside, after what happened to you.”

“In fairness, I did piss off Celestia and Luna pretty badly. I kinda deserved that one,” Discord sighed “but now, after Sombra and Fluttershy, I’ve realised I can still live freely and do my own things. Sombra, especially, has opened up a whole new wave of things he wants my help with.”

“I'm guessing you taught him to relax as well, right?”

“In a way, yes.” Discord nodded “after the torture he-”

“Torture?!” Eris looked aghast.

Discord nodded and when they got back to the palace he brought her to the library, where he told her the basics of the incident with Scorpan.

Eris looked about to be sick when he finished, alongside revolted.

“That git-!” she sputtered “I’m glad Sombra kicked his ass! How could he do something like that?”

“He was crazy, his grief had destroyed his mind,” Discord said heavily “sealing him away was all Sombra could do. But the whole incident took its toll. After Tia and I woke him up from crystal stasis, he became severely depressed.”

“What happened?”

“He believed he had no real reason to be alive and his guilt over the incident with his former rule in the Crystal Empire was tearing him apart. He tried to be rid of his wings, he was so terrified of Equestria lynching him for being like the Princesses.

I was afraid I’d lose him for good, but eventually he started to get better. He freed the Umbrum, soothed their rage and eventually went on to make a public speech to the crystal ponies to apologise for being a tyrant in the past.”

“Wow, that’s a lot to bear. He seems so happy now...” Eris was dumbfounded and amazed. That was a lot of things for one pony to labour under.

She looked up at her brother, seeing he was smiling.

“He’s happy now, that’s the way I want it to stay. The fact that I got to be part of his life is the best thing that’s ever happened to me. I really love him.” Discord finished.

“I know,” Eris grinned “this is the first time I’ve seen you act so serious. This guys beyond amazing to do that.”

“Shush.” Discord stuck his tongue out and she laughed and responded in kind.

“Something else that runs in the family, perhaps?” Both turned to see Sombra approaching. Eris shot over and hugged him tightly.

“Is everything alright?” Sombra asked, patting her back. She let him go and nodded.

“Yeah, just wanted to hug ya on behalf of all the crap you went through.”

Sombra blinked, then looked at Discord.

“I told her about Scorpan.” Discord said softly, hoping the name didn’t upset his love. But Sombra just smiled gently.

“That is fine, Discord.” he said as he walked over to share a sweet kiss with his fiancé. Discord nuzzled him gently, asking how his day had gone, getting a quick run-down from the Alicorn.

Eris rested her chin on one hand, watching them. There was so much said in each movement, every little gesture. It was as if Sombra had been tailor made for her brother…

The couple stopped snuggling for Sombra to invite them to dinner, it would be cooked shortly.

The night before, Discord had a major fit of nerves. He woke from a dream in which he had caused the downfall of Sombra's empire by being reckless and Sombra had ordered him to change or forever leave his side.

Making sure he didn't disturb the snoozing King, the chaos lord crept outside. He shut the door behind him and leaned over the balcony, worry keeping him alert.

“Boo!”

Or not.

“Gah! Geez, Eris.” he grumbled. She was back in her Draconequus form, obviously out for a night flight.

“Hey, what’s with the long face? You’re marrying King Hot-as-all-get-out tomorrow, you should be sleeping!”

“I can't.” Discord said abruptly.

“Wait, you’re not getting cold feet, are you?”

“No!” Discord objected, then sighed “I’m just….”

“Spill it.” Eris sat next to him, putting an arm around him.

“I had a nightmare, dreamt I screwed it all up and Sombra deserved better. What if I just cause him trouble, or mess up the empire?”

He sighed heavily, burying his head in his arms atop the balcony railing. He felt Eris pat his back, pausing before she spoke.

“Have you done that so far?”

“Well...no.” Discord mumbled.

“Exactly. Getting hitched wont change that, you’ve clearly already gotten into this empire management thing from what you told me earlier.”

“But what if I’m a nuisance and the only way to let me stay, is for me to change?”

Eris was about to respond when a third voice said “you don't seriously believe that, do you?”

Discord sat bolt upright in a second, he and Eris turning their heads to see-

Who else? A sleepy Sombra stood in the doorway, gentle red eyes fixed on his lover.

“Why would I ever consider you a nuisance?” he asked.

“Sorry if we woke you..” Eris added while Discord fumbled for a way to phrase his fears.

“It is quite alright. I did not waken because of the noise, I woke because I felt the bed was empty. I missed you.” he said this to Discord, who flushed and fumbled with his words even more.

“You- me- I'm? Kingdom!” Discord rambled and Sombra chuckled, stepping forward to ensnare Discord in a deep, loving kiss.

“Nice.” Eris whispered and Discord flipped her off, to her amusement. Sombra let him go, nudging the Draconequus' muzzle with his own.

“Now, slow down. What’s worrying you? Do you think I am going to force you to change once you are my co-ruler? You don’t have to lie to me Discord….”

After a moments pause, Discord nodded, expecting his beloved to be angry.

“I wont do that to you. As I said before, your carefree ways are what helped ME relax, helped me connect even more to the citizens in the kingdom. Why would I change for the worst, the very person who changed me for the best?”

Discord didn’t know what to say, so he just nuzzled Sombra's cheek, on the verge of tears he was so relieved. Sombra nipped at his ear, making him squeak. The pony pulled back a bit, chuckling softly.

“There’s that smile,” he said as Discord blushed but grinned at him. “now, no more worrying. I am not going to make you change who you are, I still only want you as you. Clear?”

“Of course, my King.” Discord responded and received a very passionate kiss as reward.

“Good.” Sombra said huskily as they parted, tail swishing eagerly.

“Wish I had my camera.” Eris remarked and Discord flipped her off with both hands.

“Ah, the old middle finger defence!” Eris snorted, shaking her head “some things never change, eh?”

“Nope.” Discord snorted.

Sombra formed a shadow hand at the end of one hoof, concentrated, then beamed. The two Draconequui looked at him and laughed their asses off when they seen a shadow hand extending the middle finger.

“That’s brilliant!” Eris wiped her eyes “did my brother teach you that?”

“Indeed he did.” Sombra chuckled, reverting his body back to normal.

“Honestly bro, teaching a King to flip the bird!” Eris rolled her eyes.

“In my defence, the building site taught him to swear.” Discord piped up.

“Right you two, back to bed, shoo.” Eris motioned them back inside. She looked around at the starry sky “I’m gonna go for a flight.”

“Don’t do anything I wouldn’t do!” Discord said cheerily.

“What does that leave, exactly?” Sombra piped up before he could stop himself. Both Draconequui looked at him, Discord going red and glowering at his lover and Eris nearly giving herself cramp she laughed so hard.

“Oh man, I like that!” she chuckled.

“I really am a bad influence.” Discord sighed and Sombra face-hoofed, groaning. Eris took off, still giggling and the lovers went back inside. They curled up in bed together, falling asleep in their warm embrace.

The next day they were taken to the ornate marital building and herded into separate rooms to get dressed. Sombra's outfit consisted of a pearly white cloak and mother of pearl shoes. His hair was styled in a traditional Umbrum style and his crown was set atop his head.

Corona and another guard walked with him down to the main room where the wedding was being held.

The room was designed so the two being wed entered from opposite doors, before meeting at the centre and walking together to the altar.

Discord was dressed in a suit who’s pattern and style matched Sombra's. Eris, in her pony form, stuck by him the whole time, distracting him so he didn't get the fidgets. He literally wouldn’t be able to sit still if he did…

Finally, one of the wedding planners stuck his head in to say it was time.

“Relax bro.” Eris gave him a hug before leaving to take her place in the crowd with Twilight and the others in the front.

He heard the traditional music start up, and followed the instructions he'd been given. He could feel all eyes on him as he stepped out of the ornate doorway and into the big spacious room. Fluttershy met his eye and smiled proudly, which helped a little.

He and Sombra met where the carpeted paths met and as was tradition, Discord held a hand out for his lovers hoof. Sombra smiled at him and set his right hoof in the Draconequus warm hand.

Hand in hoof they walked to the altar, all eyes on them. Discord looked at his beloved, heart cramping at just how beautiful he was in every aspect, not just his appearance. Sombra was such a big part of his world and now their worlds were about to join.

Luna smiled warmly as the duo came to a halt at the base of the altar, bowing to request permission to join her. She'd been taught the traditional Umbrum wedding by Lady Umbra in pure detail and she had been looking forward to it for ages!

In the front row, Umbra wiped away tears of joy as she watched her son. She was so happy for him, Discord clearly loved him with all his heart, so she knew her son was in good hands.

“Join me, lovers whose union is our joy.”

There was a low table set into the wide altar area. It held a crystal dish with a ribbon made of spun gold, decorated with red and yellow, a unique colour from each side. The two sat either side of it, the tips of their hooves (or hands in Discord's case) just touching either side of the bowl.

Luna asked if they had any vows they wished to make?

Rarity wiped her eyes, this was already so cute. Beside her, Fluttershy was tearing up out of pride. She was delighted to see Discord had found such love…

Sombra spoke first “when I first met you, I was a mess. Scared, lost and broken. You barged into my panic bubble and burst it with a loud pop. You showed me not only that I still had hope left, but that I could live up to my destiny. Without you, I would never have had the courage to take the crown I now bear. Every step I have taken, you have been there by my side. I could not be happier that after today, I get to be with you as your other half.”

Discord looked into his precious stallions eyes “My King...There is so much I owe to you in turn. I didn’t think or believe I was capable of being anything other than a pest to Equestria, I felt trapped by the rules, thought I’d have to give up who I was to fit in. But you changed that. You let me be me, proved chaos can be fun when administered just right. You showed I could do so much more than I ever guessed. And the most amazing thing about you? You put your faith in me, trusted me to protect you. That was what made me determined to be the best I could, because you deserve nothing less...”

Pinkie passed Rarity another hanky, this was her second one.

Then again, she wasn’t the only one. Many in the crowd were touched by the sheer strength of their bond, the love these two had had broken barriers and touched the hearts of not just the Umbrum kingdom, but all across Equestria.

“Please raise your right hoof- or hand.” Luna smiled at the two. They did as instructed and she used her magic to lift the lengthy ribbon, winding it around Sombra's hoof in a set pattern before doing the same with Discord's wrist.

“This ribbon symbolises your unity, the strength of thy bond from this day forward.”

She turned first to the King “Sombra, do you vow to uphold this bond, never stray from your loved ones side and fight to overcome any obstacle? Make your vow now, to your beloved.”

Sombra nodded his head, eyes shining with happiness as his gaze transferred to Discord. “I solemnly vow this to you Discord, my love.”

Luna turned now to Discord.

“Discord, do you vow to uphold this bond, never stray from your loved ones side and fight to overcome any obstacle? Make your vow now, to your beloved.”

Discord's heart felt about to burst, he was so happy, as he looked at his precious King “I solemnly vow this to you Sombra, my love.”

Luna smiled happily as she stepped back and raised her voice.

“In the company of all present, I declare these two, drawn together by their love and their loyalty, to be bound in matrimony. Can I have the rings?”

The rings, engraved with a different pattern symbolising marriage, were being held by Corona, who floated up now to offer them to the Princess. She lifted them with her magic and set each one in its respective places around their necks.

Then she cut the ribbon, leaving the tied parts around their hoof/hand. She beamed happily and declared in her Canterlot voice:

“You may now kiss your beloved!”

The two stood up and moved so they were standing face to face in front of the table. Discord caressed Sombra's cheek with one hand before they drew together in a kiss of pure passion.

The sound of the crowd cheering was almost deafening. The usual spells were being used to showcase the wedding to the masses that couldn’t fit into the room.

The lovers parted and Sombra nuzzled Discord's cheek.

“I love you, Sombra.” Discord whispered.

“I love you too.” Sombra said in return. They shared another quick kiss before joining hoof and hand together and heading this time for the main exit, to where a carriage waited to take them to the palace, then to the party Pinkie had planned.

The pink pony herself was bounding by, setting off confetti canons as she went, before flinging the doors open and doing an extravagant bow as they walked by.

The couple paused to share another kiss, to the delight of every reporter and overjoyed citizens. Then the just married duo got into the carriage and it drove away to resounding cheers.

Discord nuzzled his King affectionately as the carriage made its way back to the palace, the blinds drawn so they'd have privacy.

“Happiest day of my life.” Discord murmured, sealing it with a kiss. Sombra smiled, nibbling on his ear then snuggling into his arms.

--This is the happiness I dreamed of…-- he thought –the thing I was missing. I couldn’t be happier to have this chaotic being by my side.--

After a minute, he lifted his head to kiss Discord's muzzle.

“So, ready to be a King?” he teased. Discord flushed.

“I was seriously thrown when Page told me about that..” the Draconequus admitted.

Sombra chuckled “yes, I recall.”

“I mean, I knew something would change when we married, but I figured it'd just be the staff referring to me by my self-appointed title. I never expected I’d become a King!”

“Well, I happen to know for a fact that you'll make a good one.”

“Oh, how so?” Discord looked into those deep red eyes.

“Because,” Sombra said huskily “I have seen it these last few months. Your plans on the committee went down a treat. And I have seen you be serious, so I know the ability is there. But I wont pile work on you, it is a big change..”

“Thank you, love.” Discord said gratefully, before they closed the mintue gap between them and kissed again...

“Ooh, I can hear them coming!” Pinkie jumped up and spun around in a circle then hopped on one hoof before settling down.

“She could probably hear a moth fart.” Rainbow Dash rolled her eyes.

“I have heard moths fart!” Pinkie said nonchalantly “they’re pretty tooty!”

“Oh my.” Fluttershy thought about the ramifications of that one…

Then the doors opened and Corona flew in to announce:

“Presenting the newly married; Their Majesties King Sombra and King Discord!”

The crowds of ponies in the party room cheered and stomped their hooves as the couple entered. They’d changed their outfits to a more subtle look in shades of red and gold.

Pinkie Pie ran over and tackle-hugged Sombra, then let go and did the same to Discord.

“Eeeee, you two are so adorable!” she squeed. Sombra chuckled and thanked her and Discord pulled a balloon out from behind her ear, which she immediately tied to her hoof. The other girls followed, offering hugs and hoof-shakes to the couple.

“That was just wonderful!” Rarity said enthusiastically to Discord.

“It was a little weird being in front of so many people and not because I glued them to the ceiling or something.” Discord admitted sheepishly.

“I'm so proud of you!” Fluttershy said softly “the Umbrums will be thrilled to see you helping Sombra manage the kingdom.”

“That's what he said last night,” Discord smiled at the reminder “I couldn’t sleep.”

“Jitters?” Applejack asked, Discord nodded.

“That’s understandable sugarcube, y'all are new to this. Sombra will teach you, if he hasn’t already.”

At that moment the Alicorn returned to his husband's side. They exchanged an affectionate nuzzle-greeting that made Rarity nearly swoon.

Rainbow Dash made a 'bleh' face, only to find herself suddenly static-charged and covered in heart-shaped balls of red fluff. She let out a shriek and flew around the room squawking in indignation and batting them off. Thus, fluffy hearts floated down onto the heads of the party goers.

Many assumed it was a party trick, but had to wonder why the pegasus doing it was issuing a war cry?

“Discord.” Sombra said mock-sternly.

“That’s me!” Discord grinned, scratching behind his ear, making the stallion promptly forget what he was mad about.

There was cake to cut, a first dance to take and many more congratulations to hear. Vorak and Haydon were honoured they got to attend, they’d thoroughly enjoyed the wedding.

“It's good to see you so happy.” Haydon smiled at Sombra.

“So you were the pony from the dance?” Vorak chuckled to Discord “I knew from the moment I saw you two dance, that you belonged together. I wish you both the utmost happiness!”

Discord grinned, shaking his hand “Thank you. I cant describe how happy I am, let alone lucky, to have Sombra.”

The Alicorn King smiled and nuzzled his husband. His smile truly was the most happiest one Vorak had ever seen the King bear. At the birthday ball, it'd been shadowed by worry, which he realised was due in part to the king fretting about how to reveal the relationship he had now.

“This was a wonderful occasion for us!” Luna told the couple as she and Celestia came over for a chat.

“Thank you, Luna. It was an honour having you perform the ceremony.” Sombra smiled happily, which pleased Luna greatly.

“It's been so beautiful,” Celestia beamed “congratulations to you both!”

She caught Discord's eye and gave the former mischief to Equestria a proud smile. Discord smiled back, things had really started looking up for him since he'd first comforted a scared and traumatised Sombra…

As the couple waited for their carriage, Eris came to talk to them. She gave them both a hug, grinning ear to ear.

“That was kick ass, bro. I'll drop by from time to time, if that’s alright?”

Discord smiled, he had missed her “sure, Eris. I look forward to it.”

“Awesome!” She grinned, then turned to Sombra “I know this sounds cliché, but look after my brother. Make sure he relaxes and doesn’t worry himself into a knot. Took days to untangle him last time.”

Sombra chuckled and promised not just that but that she was always welcome to stay at the palace any time. She waved goodbye as the carriage pulled up and Discord seen a lot of pride in her eyes and felt a surge of fondness for his sister. She was the one thing he'd missed since abandoning his old home….

They were taking their honeymoon in Canterlot, in the highest room of the most expensive hotel, one that offered a beautiful view of the cities skyline. Sombra set their bags down, unlatched the balcony doors and stepped out into a balmy Canterlot night. A gentle breeze tugged at his mane as he draped his forelegs over the gilded railing, taking in the sight of the city and night, coupled with a sky full of stars.

He felt Discord's warmth as the Draconequus moved to stand beside him, hands on the pony’s shoulders.

“It looks beautiful my love, but it's not a patch on how gorgeous you look.” he nuzzled behind Sombra's left ear as he spoke, planting a loving kiss there.

Sombra smiled, leaning back into his lovers embrace. No, not just a lover, but a husband.

“Remember that day when you first showed me the skyline?” Sombra murmured.

Discord nodded, moving his hands so they rested over Sombra's hooves, breathing in the scent of him. He felt feathers brush against him and realised Sombra's wings were going mid-pomf. The stallion tilted his head back, an unspoken wish in his eyes.

Discord moved back, opening the balcony door and extending a hand to his beloved. Sombra smiled, setting his hoof in Discords hand, letting him lead him to the bed….

They pulled the curtains, not bothering with the shield. The room was pretty soundproof according to the hotel owner. Good thing too…

Discord blushed when Sombra hooked an arm around his neck and pulled them both down onto the mattress, so he was on his back, looking up at the Draconequus. Sultry red eyes asked just one question: “What are you waiting for?”

Discord didn’t wait any longer…

A few hours later, and the sounds of the couples final orgasm faded. There'd been quite a few of them, as they had celebrated both their love and their wedding…

Sombra dipped his head to kiss the chaos King under him. Discord groaned eagerly and kissed him deeply, even a kiss was so delicious….

Sombra pulled out from his lover and settled down next to him, they’d reached an unspoken agreement in one brief look that said “lets rest.”

Discord poured some champagne into two ornate crystal glasses, handing one to his precious stallion.

Sombra held the glass in his magic, looking happy and content. He looked delectable, mane all ravished and fur slicked with sweat. He extended his wings to let them stretch, groaning softly, a delicious look in his eyes that made Discord love him even more.

He raised his glass and Sombra did the same. They connected with a crystal chiming sound as Discord smiled at his husband.

“To us, my King of Shadows.”

“To us, my King of chaos...”

It'd been the most beautiful night of their lives, but the journey wasn’t over just yet...

By Your Side

Discord noticed his King was grinning to himself as they journeyed back to the Umbrum empire.

“Alright.” he said suspiciously after Sombra ignored his intense stare “you're being very smug, my love.”

“Me?” Sombra drawled in mock innocence, a grin on his face as he looked at his husband.

Discord gave him a “yes, you” look, which made Sombra laugh softly then nuzzle the Draconequus.

“It is a surprise.” he whispered “bear with me, love.”

How could he refuse the pony he loved? Discord mused silently as he gave a theatrical sigh.

“Oh, very well!” he declared, prompting more amused laughter from the pony, followed by a kiss that Discord could not resist returning.

Their eyes met as they parted and again, Discord seen just how happy Sombra looked. It was visible in the way he smiled, the sparkle in his eyes, the set of his wings. In short; he looked gorgeous.

Discord kissed him again, as if he could impart this feeling through the simple act of a smooch.

He must’ve succeeded to some degree, as Sombra uttered a soft moan before pulling Discord into his embrace and running his tongue along the chaos lords lips, grunting eagerly when he was given access. Discord slipped his hands under Sombra's cloak and massaged his wings at their bases, causing the feathery things to shiver then fluff up, one accidentally striking the side of the carriage and producing a soft thud.

“Everything OK, sires?” the driver asked from outside, slightly startled by the loud sound.

“Oh, we're fine!” Discord declared cheerfully and the driver simply shrugged and turned his attention back to the road. He wasn’t paid to wonder what those two were up to in there, not that it took much imagination. Probably lip-locking again…

The carriage arrived at the palace at last, forcing the newly married pair to reluctantly cease their little make-out dominance battle. Straightening his cloak, Sombra stepped down, Discord by his side.

A great many of the servants were lined up in neat rows outside the palace and they bowed now as their Kings stepped down from the carriage.

“Welcome home, your majesties!” they intoned joyously and Discord felt himself blush. He still couldn’t quite believe that he was a King now. Sombra had spoken to him about it during the honeymoon, describing how there would be an official coronation so he could officially be at his husband's side. Thinking about it now, Discord had to confess he felt pretty dang nervous.

He pushed that thought aside for now and joined Sombra in giving a grateful bow to the staff. Sombra made a short speech to them, then they headed inside.

As they walked through the halls, receiving many more greetings and good wishes as they went, Discord noticed how Sombra was back to grinning to himself, a grin that got even bigger when Corona greeted him, telling the King “the tasks” had been completed well within schedule.

“Excellent work, my friend.” Sombra nodded his approval.

“At your services, your majesties!” Corona grinned and gave the new royal a reassuring nod. He could see that the normally unflappable Draconequus looked just a little bit nervous at being referred to as “your majesty.”

Hopefully Sombra's plan would help calm his fears.

He watched them go, seeing Sombra incline his head to brush his cheek against his husbands.

“OK, now will you tell me what’s got you grinning like that?” Discord asked, more curious than ever after meeting with Corona. As he spoke, he was scratching behind Sombra's ear as they walked. Between greeting various members of staff and council, Sombra still only shook his head.

Discord waited, looking for any clue in his husbands expression. But the stallion had his best poker face on, so he was still in the dark.

They reached the throne room door at last and Discord wondered to himself why Sombra wanted to go there so soon? They weren’t due to start working until tomorrow!

“Close your eyes, my dear Discord.” Sombra requested smoothly.

Discord tilted his head curiously, but recalling how he'd done a similar thing with Sombra when he'd shown him that floral tribute, he nodded and promptly shut his eyes. He felt Sombra's warm hoof curl around his left hand and squeeze gently. Then the pony began walking, nudging the doors open with his magic and leading Discord into the big open room. His heart felt ready to burst in excitement, would Discord like the presents he'd had prepared while they honeymooned?

This one was the most impacting, what it signified…

He brought Discord close enough then released his hand, stating “you can open them now, Discord.”

Discord opened his eyes and blinked dizzily in the bright light that was streaming in through the stained glass windows. It took a second for him to clock what had changed, but when he seen it, he was almost overwhelmed.

For where once just ONE ornate crystal throne had resided, crafted from red and gold tinted crystal, there now sat two. The second was a blend of brownish gold, purple and blue, like Discord's body and wings. The room had also been altered to accommodate both thrones side by side.

“Is it...is this for me?” Discord could barely believe his eyes.

“Yes, my chaos King” Sombra moved to stand beside him “it is yours. This is your second home, your kingdom as much as mine. It is only fair that you have your own throne. Do you like it?”

Discord made a high-pitched “eee!” sound, then shot up to the throne, darting around it this way and that with a wide grin on his face.

“I have my own throne.” the chaos being whispered, feeling so happy that he could barely think straight.

He sat himself down in it, squeeing afresh at just how comfortable the seat was. Sombra strode sedately up to him as he celebrated and, bracing his hooves on the arm rests, stood himself up so he could nuzzle Discord's nose.

“You look resplendent on it.” the pony said seductively, a smile curving his lips.

Discord blushed, twiddling his fingers in that adorable “can't find the words to say” fashion of his. So he just settled for kissing the King deeply. Sombra's wings pomf'd eagerly and he returned the kiss, only parting from his fellow ruler when he needed a breath.

“I LOVE it.” Discord said, tears of joy in his eyes “I’ve never had anything so generous like this.”

Sombra kissed the chaos King's muzzle lovingly “You belong here, my love. Side by side with me, looking after our kingdom.”

The next second, he was kissed hotly and Discord's gentle hands settled on his shoulders and began gently rubbing them. They parted a minute later, both flushed and out of breath, but Sombra looked so happy.

His expression was mirrored in that of his love as the pony walked over to sit on his own throne. Discord mimicked how his lover sat, keeping his back straight and looking as regal as he could.

“Very good.” Sombra chuckled warmly, moving his hoof to rest it over Discord's hand. The Draconequus smiled happily, tail swishing eagerly. He had a throne~ The mere thought made him grin happily.

After they’d finished admiring the new throne room set-up, they returned to their bedroom to unpack, which was where the second surprise awaited Discord.

The bed that Sombra had previously owned had been a standard sized double bed. He'd noticed how half the Draconequus often seemed to be on the verge of falling off the bed, as it was a little short for him. So he'd commissioned a bed be made that meant his lover had plenty of room to stretch out.

“You made this-”

“For you, yes. I wanted it to be comfortable-ah!” Sombra cut off with a yelp as he was scooped up and deposited atop the freshly made bed. The cool sheets pressed against his back as Discord pinned him gently then kissed him.

“Nobody's ever gone this far for me before..” Discord whispered, looking at his husband with total adoration “I am the luckiest creature in Equestria. I have the most amazing husband...”

“As I said before, get used to it,” Sombra whispered back, stroking Discord’s cheek with one hoof “you brought me back from the brink, helped me mend and gave me a freedom I never dreamed I could have.”

Lost for words, Discord kissed and pressed his body closer to his husband. They indulged in several more kisses, relishing in the warmth of one another and the love they shared...

They finally decided to take a shower and go to see Umbra. The couple had brought back many gifts and souvenirs from Canterlot, as well as lots of photographs to show her. It'd been a wonderful trip...

Umbra seen how happy Discord was when he described the new throne, how her son watched his husband with an obvious love and pride.

In their own unique ways they'd bolstered each others confidence. Discord had taught Sombra to trust in himself and trust others around him, while Sombra had proven Discord could use his chaos to do so much good and win over the hearts of the citizens. Now her son was teaching the chaos being how to become a King in his usual gentle, loving way, guiding him step by step.

“I'm so proud of you both,” she beamed, hugging them as they left “this kingdom has gained a King, but I've gained a wonderful son in law and that's the best part.”

Her words made Discord flush and he rushed back to give her one last hug before floating after his husband.

That night they treated the new bed to its first romantic romp, a heated, hot session of very passionate loving.

“Mmm, that was a definite success.” Discord panted as Sombra settled down beside him, nudging Discord’s muzzle with his own.

“Indeed,” the Alicorn smiled “the first of many.”

“You read my mind.” Discord grinned, kissing him deeply.

Over the course of a month, Discord was taught how to walk through the coronation procedure. How to stand, when to bow his head so the crown could be placed open it and so on.

Discord was beyond thrilled to see his that crown was similar to his beloveds, reinforcing the fact they were both taking care of this kingdom. Where Sombra's crown had two pony wings either side of the central diamond motif, Discord's had two mismatched wings, exactly like on the necklace Sombra had once had, the one that’d been sacrificed to create the artefact to banish Chrysalis.

A few days passed, with Discord starting lessons on suddenly becoming a monarch and Sombra handling the regular duties around the kingdom.

A week into the lessons, Sombra came to find Discord at his latest “lesson” with Page Assist, who was trying to teach Discord about politics (and failing), carrying a neatly wrapped package. Discord perked up soon as he seen his husband, dashing over to hug him.

“Missed me?” the pony King chuckled as he kissed the Draconequus, who nodded rapidly.

“I was just attempting to impart some rules of political law, your majesty.” Page Assist said stiffly “we haven't made much progress however, for some reason my notes keep vanishing.”

Sombra raised an eyebrow and looked at Discord, who sighed after several seconds and reluctantly admitted his guilt.

“It's such a drone.” he complained. Page Assist looked about to explode, but was silenced when the pony King put a hoof up in his direction, shaking his head. Setting his hoof back down, Sombra nipped at Discord's ear to get him to relax, then spoke gently.

“I understand that it is complex my love, but I know you can do it. Tell you what, I will give you this-” he teleported a book he had dug out of storage just that day “this was given to me by Princess Twilight when I first moved to the building site. It still has all my notes and journal entries tucked away in there.”

Discord took the book from his love, opening it to see neatly written pages folded tidily inside, filled with his husbands elegant writing.

“You’re really giving this to me?” he asked, surprised and very touched “isn’t it an important memory, Sombra?”

“It is, but it taught me a lot and I believe it can teach you now, too. If you need anything explained, just show it to me. I can still remember it, so I can teach you to rule just like you taught me to trust.”

“By dangling me over a balcony?” Discord looked confused.

Sombra laughed loudly, the happy sound filling the room as he shook his head, nudging Discord's nose with his own. He couldn’t forget that day, when Discord had challenged Sombra to trust and start breaking free of his catatonic state.

“No, not like that. By sitting with you when it is at its most difficult.” he said gently. Discord beamed happily, hugging the book to his chest.

Page Assist raised an eyebrow, how did his majesty do that? Maybe it was just down to the fact that Sombra understood the chaos King's way of thinking.

“Shall I move onto another subject?” he asked the stallion King.

“What’s left?” Sombra asked. Page Assist rifled through his notes “mostly notes about council meetings and proper conduct in such.”

Discord felt his stomach sink, the uplifted feeling he'd had souring at the weight of what Page Assist expected. There was no way he could do all this. He couldn’t be so serious…

Seeing his husbands fidgeting, Sombra spoke to Page Assist;

“I will recreate my own memories so that I can walk him through it, if that is acceptable?”

“Of course, your majesty. I will resume my regular duties then.” the assistant said, trusting in the King's decisions. He could understand Sombra's faith in Discord, the chaos King was very intelligent, just not much of a student. But King Sombra seemed to understand the way that Discord learnt and viewed the world and instinctively altered the lessons to make it easier.

The King left with his lover and the secretively wrapped package still drifting alongside. Page Assist wondered what was in it? Another robe from Rarity?

That night, Discord sat in bed with his Alicorn lover cuddled up next to him, talking about the incidents detailed within Sombra's book. He found himself suggesting an idea for dispersing a crowd in a state of unrest and was pleased as punch when Sombra praised him for it.

“See?” Sombra said softly, closing the book and sitting himself so he was straddling Discord's lap. He caressed the Draconequus' face with one hoof, looking into his eager eyes with a gentle smile “you are learning a lot already.”

Discord let his hands roam down the stallion's sides as he spoke, coming to a rest on his cutie marks. He traced the shape of the crown that surrounded the horn and wings branding his husbands flank. Meeting the pony's eyes he again seen how pleased Sombra looked. His King was proud of him…

This made Discord determined to get good enough to work alongside him by the time of his coronation and sealed this silent vow by kissing Sombra. As his tongue investigated his lovers mouth, Sombra's fore-hooves moved to rub Discord's belly. When they parted, Sombra noticed his husband was already well on his way to aroused, so he rubbed a hoof along his member, asking did he want a little extra study?

Needless to say, Discord heartily agreed and was ordered to relax and let Sombra take care of him…

“Mmmm, I don't know where or how you learnt to do that thing with your tongue, but I wholeheartedly endorse it.”

Sombra sat back, licking his lips seductively and smiling. Discord kissed him gently, sighing happily as his fingers traced up along the curve of Sombra's spine, before tangling in the pony's luxurious mane as his husband returned his kiss. He smelled so good and his lips were so warm…

Reluctantly, he released the King from his passionate embrace and the pony smiled as he slowly slid off Discord's lap. He curled up under the plush covers, earning a sweet little kiss as Discord wrapped him in his arms and they soon fell asleep.

More lessons followed as the days passed, with Sombra walking his chaotic husband through all sorts of scenarios based on his own memories, quizzing Discord at every turn. Discord got frustrated, sulky and outright downcast sometimes, always fearing he'd never be as good as Sombra.

“I am not trying to make you like me.” Sombra told him as he paused the scene around them and sat in front of his husband. Discord was sitting hunched up, ears drooped and a sad expression on his face.

“I want you to simply be the same amazingly versatile and inventive person you are when you’re with me. All the kindness you showed me can be translated into helping run a kingdom. I know you can do it, my chaos King. I was scared when I began ruling again, remember?"

Discord sniffled faintly, then lifted his eyes, meeting Sombra's patient gaze. He seen the fathomless trust shown in their crimson depths and felt his anger subside. He wanted to make his pony proud, and if Sombra believed he could do it…

“Of course, my dear Sombra.” He murmured, drawing the King in for a kiss. Then a perverted idea popped into his head.

“How solid are these memories?” he asked.

“Almost completely, why do you ask?” Sombra was perplexed, although he had a faint “I should really shut up” sense blooming in his mind....

“...Wanna do it on the table?” Discord winked.

“Well, it will be a while before I can look at that table the same way ever again..” Sombra panted.

He was balanced on his hind legs, with his upper body resting atop the table. Discord's hands were braced either side of his head, body pressed close to Sombra's. As he got his heart under control, Sombra was faintly aware of a trickle of overspill running down his thigh as Discord eased out of him.

The “floor” under the table, he saw as Discord stepped back and the pony stumbled back onto all four hooves, was splattered with the stallion's fluids.

Sombra let out a startled squeak as his tail was lifted and a finger swished up the inside of his thigh. He heard the Draconequus licking his fingers clean and his wings pomf'd up, a shiver tingling along his spine.

“Mmm, all clean my love.” Discord teased as Sombra gave him a look. He gave the pony's bottom a reassuring pat, then let his tail go.

Sombra sighed in amusement as he banished the memory scape, revealing the wide expanse of the chaos realm around them.

Discord snickered at the pony's expression “worth it. Doing your gorgeous self, surrounded by those frozen, stuffy goons was pretty hot!”

Sombra blushed. It was pretty funny, he had to admit, but he'd never do something like that anywhere else but in his husband's crazy chaos realm.

A week later and Sombra received an invitation from the leader of the Yaks. It seemed they'd heard about the super-tough crystal Sombra and his kind could create and wanted to strike up a trade in exchange for supplies of the material.

He did as much research as he could, including asking Celestia, for she'd dealt with them before.

“Play to their abilities, compliment their restraint and composure, that always helps.” she wrote back to the King.

As the day approached, Discord asked should he pack now or later and got quite a surprise when Sombra shook his head.

“Why not?” He pouted.

“Because, my love, I need you to stay here.”

Discord felt a jab of sadness. “You don't think I’m ready do you? Page Assist sure doesn't.”

Sombra shook his head, tutting softly.

“Not at all, my love.” He nuzzled against Discord's neck, defusing his anger a little “But this empire needs someone at its helm, we have some local dignitaries visiting, remember? I gave you the list of trade negotiations.”

“I know, I understood what to allow for each one.” Discord said, feeling Sombra kiss his neck and his upset faded a bit as he scratched behind the pony's ear.

Sombra lifted his head and kissed the Draconequus lovingly “This will be your first test, my love. I know our kingdom will be just fine in your capable hands. And if you need anything, Page Assist is staying behind with you. I will be borrowing Captain Corona for this trip, he is familiar with Yak culture also.”

“Alright.” Discord sighed nervously. Sombra bumped his muzzle against his husband's, smiling warmly. Just the simple gesture made Discord feel a little bit better.

Two days later and he waved goodbye to Sombra as the pony clambered into his carriage. He'd made sure to kiss the Alicorn several times before letting him go, which had made Sombra smile happily.

“Right, lets begin!” Page Assist said, as the carriage disappeared in the distance.

Discord scowled.

“Give me a moment to miss him why don’t you?” he snapped, his anxiety already starting to mount.

Page Assist gave him a stern look “we don’t have time for games, there are strict instructions that you must follow.”

He was determined that the King's husband was not going to cause an embarrassment, he just had to keep him under control, which in this case meant issuing very strict orders.

He could already tell from the childish scowl on Discord's face that it wasn’t off to a good start.

Sure enough, it started off awkward and only got worse. The two got steadily more angry at each other as the day progressed. Page Assist insisted he be serious and this just made Discord want to be more fun.

So he pulled out all the stops and the whoopee cushions, to amuse the dignitaries. Hearing them laugh as he snapped his fingers to make the cushions grow wings and flutter away, hooting merrily.

“How wonderful!” the stallion and his wife wiped their eyes, laughing softly.

“I haven’t laughed this hard in many a year! Did you say you owned a joke shop?”

“Yes, my husband built it just for me.” Discord beamed proudly “more drinks?”

From the doorway, Page Assist scowled.

“You cannot pull pranks on the dignitaries!” Page Assist yelled when they were alone.

“Why not? They were laughing weren’t they? They loved it!” Discord snapped back, folding his arms as he floated in mid air.

“That’s irrelevant-”

“How? If it made them enjoy the boring ass meeting-”

“Boring- this is vital work! Ruling a kingdom isn’t just about groping his majesty every moment you have spare, you have to act dignified. You’re SUPPOSED to be royalty-”

“Grope-shut up!” Discord snapped, temper rising “how dare you talk about him that way?!”

“Ruling a kingdom isn't a joke, Discord!” Page Assist snapped back, teeth gritted “its a vital role that you seemingly refuse to take seriously. A King or Queen must be dignified, like your husband-”

“You mean the pony who belched the alphabet at that party?” Discord smirked, but this only riled Page up even more.

Page Assist groaned, why did his majesty have to do that? Admittedly it had gotten a lot of laughs, but really...

“Discord.” the aide sighed heavily.

Discord noted how Page Assist hadn’t been using the same “your majesty” suffix he used so readily with Sombra. Once again Discord's temper rose, his fear of letting Sombra down warping to anger at this stubborn pony.

“Oh, just admit it!” he snapped, “you're only willing to play kiss-ass with my husband, you couldn’t care less that I’m here!!”

“Well it'd be a damn sight more sane!” the aide shot back.

Discord reacted as if he'd been slapped in the face. His chaos...was bad? He felt a funny chill spreading through him, and looked down at his hands. They were turning grey, and see through.

“Now what are you doing?” Page Assist sighed.

“I-i don’t..know.” Discord shook his head, panic rising. He tried to pick up a book but his fingers went through it….oh no.

Page Assist shook his head, muttered that he was going on break and left in a huff, hoping Discord would stop playing up. This weird behaviour was clearly a way of sulking, he'd seen Discord's odd biology act up whenever the chaos lord was bored or hungry.

The door clicked shut behind him, leaving Discord alone in the big room.

The Draconequus sighed, slumping miserably in his throne as he stared at his see-through hands. He looked aside, at where Sombra's throne sat vacant. In his mind, he pictured the stallion, with his handsome smile, those soft ears and the way he made Discord feel so special.

“I'm sorry my love,” he whispered to the empty chair “I’m a failure. You did your best, but I just don't know how to rule like you. You need to be the only King in this kingdom.”

But even as he spoke, his heart felt like it was breaking in two. He blinked back tears as his despair grew even more. He could see right through his arms now.

“Got a letter here and-whoa now!” Discord looked up, seeing a very alarmed Corona hovering in front of him.

“Hey, what’s wrong? Why can I see right through bits of you?” The Gargoyle titled his head to one side, setting the letter down. He sounded very alarmed.

Discord sighed, he liked Corona, he really did. So he blurted;

“I think that my dear Sombra should rule by himself.”

“What?!” Corona shook his head, really worried now “What on Equestria makes you think that?”

So Discord told him about the pranks and the Captain couldn’t hold back his amusement. He was giggling fit to bust as Discord finished telling the story.

“Oh man, that is pretty dang slick!” he laughed “so what’s the beef? They liked it, I’d say that was a success!”

“Not accord to Page Assist.” Discord grumbled and Corona pulled a face.

“Yeah, well, that guy's a fuss pot. He doesn’t like deviating from what he thinks is his “rules of royalty”. I recall him attempting to lecture Sombra back in the day, but your hubby wasn't giving a single damn. He told Page Assist to stop being so uptight and did whatever he felt like. Now Page just tries his best to keep up with him!”

Discord pondered this, sighing softly.

“Sounds like he's taking it out on you because he didn’t succeed with Sombra. I'm gonna go knock some sense into him-”

“NO.” Discord said loudly and Corona blinked, confused.

“But-?”

“He's right,” Discord sighed heavily “I'll just have to be different. There isn’t room for fun in running a kingdom. I don’t want my Sombra to worry, he said he was so sure I'd be a success while he was away, I don’t want to let him down. So I’ll do whatever it takes to keep it that way.”

Corona was genuinely worried by this point, but when he made to object, Discord just kindly excused him, thus the Gargoyle drifted out the door, lost in thought. But as he floated down the hall, his anger only grew. When was Page Assist going to stop being so blind?!

With a growl of fury, he took off in search of the aide. Whether or not his majesty King Discord wished it or not, he was going to give that aide an earful.

Page Assist yelped and nearly choked on his coffee as a blur of fur and wings shot into his office.

“Captain Corona?” he asked once he'd got his breath back. In this interim, Corona had pulled up a chair and casually sat down, arms folded and expression stony. “Just what do you think you're doing?”

“Helping you keep your job, that’s what.” Corona said icily. Page Assist frowned, pushing his cup aside.

“And just what is THAT supposed to mean?” he barked, but Corona just met his glare steadily.

“If King Sombra discovers you've managed to derail all the work he's done with his husband, he will likely kick your sorry ass right out of here. If you want to avoid that, you'd best listen.”

“What makes you think that? And what're you talking about? All I did I was tell that carefree goof-off to take his job seriously-”

“You think he's not? I've seen how well he's been doing since his majesty King Sombra took over his lessons. Now, suddenly he's disappearing and turning grey-”

“Oh, that? He's just sulking!” Page Assist snorted derisively. Corona raised an eyebrow.

“What?!” Page Assist snapped.

“I was talking to Princess Cadance whilst his majesty was sick and she spoke about how Discord turned grey, she swore the edges of him were fading a little.”

“Get to the point.”

“The point? The POINT is this; when he was showing those symptoms, he was severely depressed and worried about King Sombra's condition. It cant be a coincidence you start going all rulebook on him and he gets the same way.”

Page Assist faltered a bit, was this true?

“I just went to see him and he barely seemed like he was there, spouting nonsense about changing who he was to make sure his Sombra was happy. Because of what YOU said to him! Sombra is the first real love of his life, he told me as such. He treats Discord like he's important, gives him the comfort he'd never had. Bear in mind he's been around a long time, been lonely for most of it. But for King Sombra, he's willing to do anything, even get over deep-set fears.”

--Could he be right..?-- Page Assist thought back to Discord's outbursts and realised they were more than they just appeared. His anger and petulance was covering for a terrified being who adored Sombra and would do anything to make the pony happy. Even change his very self.

“Ooh...fuck.” he said shortly.

“Yeah, exactly.” Corona shook his head “we're going to see him, now.”

But when they got to the throne room, Discord was gone.

“W-where'd he go? Did he vanish completely?” Page Assist panicked while Corona scratched his head. Flying back out into the hall, he located a guard and asked if he'd seen Discord...

Back in time a bit….

While Corona yelled at Page Assist in his office, Discord's moping was being interrupted by a guard knocking on the throne room doors. Discord told him to come in, hiding his vanishing limbs and pasting a fake smile on his face as he watched the guard approach.

“A package for you, your majesty.” the guard said, and thought he seen Discord flinch at the title, but it was gone in a flash.

“Yes, thank you.” Discord affected as cheerful a tone as he could, but as soon as the guard was gone, the colours in his coat faded a little further down. It'd reached his mid section now and he was rapidly fading.

Setting the package on his lap, he undid the string binding it. The wax paper fell open, revealing a beautiful plush velvet cloak with fur edging. It looked just like the one Sombra always wore when he was holding court this time of year. Just like the one he had worn to his meeting with the Yak's..

There was a note folded atop it, which Discord curiously opened, heart lifting when he seen it was from his lover.

“My fretful husband,

I know that by now, Page Assist is probably getting a stick up his posterior and getting into a right flap. Don't let him take control, this is your test and I know you have what it takes to do it alone.

Don't be scared, just be you. Think about the lessons I taught you and use it in your own way.

And don't forget how much I love you. I hope this outfit will give you some confidence.

-Sombra”

Discord felt tears of affection well up, his dear Sombra had known how he'd be feeling. Setting the note aside, he lifted the cloak up before him. It was as long as he was tall, the fabric a rich purple just like the Alicorn's. There was also a matching neckband in the same style as Sombra wore. Discord put it all on as if in a daze and snapped his fingers, summoning a mirror before him.

He took in his reflection and straightened his posture, sitting up straight, his head held high. The cloak was soft and warm, just like the embrace of his husband's wings. It even held the faintest scent of him, Discord felt he could almost see Sombra wrapping the parcel, smiling as he ran a gentle hoof over the fabric…

There came another knock and Discord took one last look at himself in the mirror before dismissing it. He looked like a real King. Sombra was putting his faith in him and he'd had this outfit made specially. He couldn't fail his beloved now. He had to prove Page Assist wrong...

The guard did a double take when he seen the outfit, nodding in appreciation.

“Suits you very well, sire.” he said.

Discord grinned “courtesy of a very well-timed gift on my husband's part. Do me a favour and send someone to the bakery Sombra likes? Get the best, richest crystal berry cake you can.”

“Of course sire!” the guard nodded “by the way, the dignitaries from Cambridle are here.”

Cambridle? Discord nodded, he knew that one. They were scholars, devoted to studying history and wished to strike a deal for copies of the Umbrum records stored in the archives, records on culture and population. Sombra had okayed it with his mothers help, telling Discord to offer them additional book binding materials if the offer was appropriate.

“I'll be right down!” he declared and the guard trotted back out.

Discord gave a determined nod, he was going to prove Page wrong. He COULD be a king.

He strode out, the colour returning to his body, the transparency fading away.

He imagined his beloved's face, recalling his smile as Discord had succeeded at each scenario Sombra had given him.

So when he greeted the scholars, it was with his usual easy charm, smiling warmly. He offered them a tour of the kingdom's private book printing factory. He recalled what his husband had said, playing to their love of history by telling them about the Umbrum's.

They were delighted by the factory and charmed by the gift of a sizeable supply of crystal that could be shaved thin and used in the decorating process, along with some delicate paper with a very faint crystalline pattern on it.

“This is simply sublime!” The head dignitary said happily “these will make the most beautiful books!”

Discord had passed the factory foreman a note as he'd begun the tour, and now at its end he was handed a stack of notebooks. Discord gave these to the dignitaries, saying they'd make a great memento!

Needless to say, they were quite taken by Sombra's new husband, finding him charming and lively and he seemed to have such passion for the kingdom.

“This place truly is a jewel.” one of them remarked as they disembarked from the carriage, back at the palace.

“Indeed it is,” Discord smiled “and its most valuable stone is the one at its heart, my husband.”

“The two of you together are a priceless combination.” the head pony stopped to hold a hoof up to Discord “If you’ll accept, we'd be honoured to share our city’s wealth with yours. I hope we can form a strong bond.”

Discord shook the proffered hoof gladly “I look forward to it. You’ll be meeting Sombra's mother at dinner, she’s the one who helped recover all that history, I’m sure you’ll find lots to talk about!”

“Your majesty!”

Discord turned on impulse as he heard a voice call out. He realised a second later that it was Page Assist, he was standing inside the palace door with Corona hovering beside him. The Gargoyle winked and gave a thumbs up.

“Ah..” Page Assist smiled and trotted out to meet the group, bowing politely “I hope you enjoyed the excursion?”

“It was simply fabulous!” One of the visiting group said proudly “the factory is a marvel, and the materials his majesty here showed off to us are even more stunning then we imagined. We'd like to start discussions right away.”

Page Assist nearly fainted in relief, also joy. They’d secured the deal, and it was all Discord's work.

Corona offered to escort the dignitaries to the conference room, where Page Assist assured him the paperwork was all ready and filed away in one of the drawers.

This left Discord and Page Assist alone, standing on the driveway leading to the main doors.

Discord had a million things he wanted to say, but couldn't voice a single one. He made to walk past Page Assist, his fancy new cloak brushing against the pony when the aide blurted.

“Wait!”

Discord stopped, but didn't turn around.

“I was wrong,” Page Assist said with a heavy sigh “his majesty, King Sombra, he knew you'd be fine. I never made any attempt to get to know you, just assumed you were a distraction. That you only had time for romancing his majesty. Yet you made that deal without my interference and you did an excellent job. I could tell from their responses that they want the trade link based not just on your gifts to them, but on YOU.”

Discord felt slightly appeased, but still a little bitter.

“Your tactics work better than any of mine and your husband knew that. He was smiling at me as he left, I think he knew we'd fight, but that you'd prove to be better at this than I estimated. He sent you that outfit, didn't he?”

“Yes, it arrived after you left,” Discord said softly “he said not to forget what he taught me and that he loves me.”

He felt unexpectedly like crying. Had he finally done something good?

He felt a hoof tug on his cloak and looked down at Page Assist. The aide looked sincere and a little worried. He could see just how much his harsh words had taken out of Discord, knew now just how insecure about his new job the new King was.

“Even though I didn’t feel ready, Sombra believed I was. That was all I ever needed, now I think about it,” he sighed “he's never stopped trusting that I could do this.”

“I know, I didn't listen to him. I made a bunch of stupid assumptions, thinking you couldn’t be serious because I’ve never seen you act it. But you’ve more than proven me wrong. I hope you can forgive me, your majesty.”

Discord closed his eyes a moment, faintly wanting to let his anger out. But when he thought about his husband, imagined that loving smile he gifted whenever Discord made a big step forward in understanding the magic of friendship and love, he couldn’t keep hold of the anger. He gave a sigh, feeling it leave his body as he turned to meet Page Assists gaze.

“Alright, you’re off the hook. I did the job right, you learned not to be a goof, I'd say were even.”

Page Assist absorbed this and surprised himself by chuckling. When Discord held out a hand, he gladly shook it.

“And hay, any time you wanna know about me or my species, just ask. Fair warning, we're a weird bunch. Did you meet my sister?”

A long way away, Sombra felt a wonderful shiver run over his body, like a happy feeling. He smiled, gaze drifting out to the window as he strode along the spacious hall.

“Shadow King smiles.” Prince Rutherford watched the sudden brightening of his guests expression as they walked “shadow King has happy feeling?”

Sombra nodded “Yes, Prince Rutherford. I was thinking about my husband, he's back home, learning how to strike up deals between our kingdom and outlying areas.”

“King's husband learns from King?” Prince Rutherford asked and Sombra nodded.

“Then Chaos King will make Shadow King proud, Yaks sure of it. Yaks also wish to meet Chaos King.”

“He'd be thrilled to meet you all, you are always welcome to visit our kingdom your highness.” Sombra smiled warmly, and the Yak prince smiled in return. He liked this pony King, Sombra was easy going and in a way quite rambunctious like the Yaks. He'd joined them in a game of Yak Football, not minding the rough and tumble nature of the sport one bit! He'd been laughing in giddy abandon, happily talking tactics after the match.

The day after, he left to return home, graciously thanking the Yaks for showing him their culture. He looked forward to their continuing relationship! The Yaks had given him quite a few gifts to take home to Discord, including some traditional sweet!

As the time drew near for his beloveds return, Discord dressed in his new outfit and went to wait outside. He paced anxiously, Page Assist watching him, head swinging back and forth like he was watching a very slow tennis match.

“Please relax, sire.” he said eventually “he'll be here soon-”

Barely had he spoke than he heard a trumpet blare from up ahead. That was the signal, his majesties carriage was approaching!

The staff filed out, lining up neatly to await the King's return. The carriage pulled up, a respectful hush descending. The door opened and Sombra stepped down, smiling at the crowd there to greet him. They bowed deeply, welcoming him home!

Sombra bowed his head in gratitude, then his eyes focused on his husband. He trotted eagerly forward, the excited Draconequus meeting him halfway. Discord clasped the pony's hoof in his hand, raising it and kissing it, before brushing a thumb over Sombra's cheek. He took in the sight of the stallion he was so happily married to, his heart pounding. Sombra kissed him, feeling a much treasured sense of happiness as he was reunited with his husband. They parted at last, heading inside together, whereupon Page Assist greeted them, eager to tell his majesty the events of his absence.

When Sombra heard what had happened, he was first concerned, then relieved when Discord explained how they'd patched things up.

“I am so proud of you.” Sombra murmured, nuzzling Discord's muzzle.

“Indeed you should be, King Sombra, sire.” Page Assist said honestly “they made a very generous offer, for they were very charmed by your husbands showcase of the kingdoms history.”

Discord flushed a little and Sombra kissed his cheek gently. Discord snapped his fingers and the book Sombra had given him appeared now. He showed Sombra the new pages he'd added, filled with a mix of his and Page's writing. Sombra shot Page a happy, thankful look that made the aide flush. His majesty had foreseen this, hadn’t he?

His trip had been as much an effort to let his husband flourish on his own as it was an opportunity for the two of them to work out the tension that’d long lingered between them. Page Assist understood now just how good a diplomat Discord could be, with his carefree and easy going nature, he was able to talk anypony into hearing him out.

Sombra rested himself against Discord, who began petting the King's ears gently. They looked so content.

“I'll see you tomorrow, your majesties.” Page Assist excused himself with a bow, sending an extra nod to Discord, who gave a thumbs up shortly before Sombra snared him in a kiss. Page Assist left before they got too amorous...

The day of the coronation dawned, with Discord naturally being a bundle of nerves. Sombra sat on the bed, watching him bustle back and forth, panicking and muttering to himself.

--I need to get his mind off this…-- no sooner had the words formed, then the perfect idea struck him and a grin spread over his face.

When Discord noticed his husband had fallen silent, he looked over at him and seeing the King grinning ear to ear.

“What’s gotten into you, handsome? I'm about to embarrass myself and our empire here!”

Sombra leapt down from the bed and walked over to where Discord sat, arms folded over his chest. He chuckled and kissed the chaos being.

“You need to relax, you are far too tense, my love.” he grinned.

“And how do you propose I do that?!” Discord said in confusion, so flustered he didn’t see the obvious innuendo. He got the idea pretty fast however, when Sombra kissed him and stroked a hoof along his shaft at the same time.

“S-sombra!" Discord yelped, biting back a groan “I’ll get my outfit all messy-”

“Oh, I intend to take care of that.” Sombra smirked “catch my drift?”

Discord squeaked in response, realising what his husband was offering. Once again, Sombra's lack of fear with doing whatever he wanted made Discord love him even more-

That thought was cut off as the impeccably dressed King shifted back so he could dip his head and suck on the tip of his lovers member. The Alicorn uttered a soft groan, it was so hot and hard under his tongue, its musky scent filling his muzzle as he took more of it in.

He felt Discord's fingers tangle in his mane, rubbing the back of his neck as he swallowed another dose of pre-cum. He took his time, moving from just the tip to taking it all in. Slipping one shoe off, he moved a hoof to rub and caress the chaos lord balls. The heat from them told the pony King just how anxious his doting husband really was. Both of Discord's hands were tangling in Sombra's mane, urging the monarch on.

“Sombra- ohhh yes-!” Discord groaned, feeling the pleasure building. Seconds later he hit orgasm, feeling his husbands throat constrict time and again as he swallowed every drop. Untangling trembling fingers from his lovers mane, Discord sat back as Sombra sat himself up, licking his lips and grinning.

“See? All taken care of.” The Alicorn's mane settled back into place, not a hair out of place. As he'd said, he hadn’t gotten a single drop on either of their outfits. Discord's heart fluttered as Sombra licked his lips again, a sultry smile on his face.

“You amaze me.” Discord said bluntly.

Sombra grinned and nuzzled his ear, whispering “feel better?”

“Yes, my sweet King.” Discord murmured gratefully. His heart was racing, but not from nerves this time.

Sombra smiled, reluctantly moving away from his husband and pouring himself a glass of water. He tipped his head back to gulp it down in one go and Discord seen a single drop run along his jaw, then down his throat….

--That pony is a distraction on legs.-- Discord returned the smile Sombra shot him as he set the glass down.

“Now, I must go,” Sombra said gently. He had to be sitting at his throne when Discord was crowned, for as the chaos King's husband he'd be doing the honour, backed by his mother.

As he set a hoof on the door, he paused to look back at Discord.

“Do not fret, my love. You are already a wonderful King, this just makes it official and gives everypony a chance to celebrate you the way they did for me. I love you for all you’ve accomplished, so don’t be nervous. You belong with me...”

A farewell smile and Discord watched his husband slip out of the room, his hoofsteps fading into the distance. He was to sit and wait until Page Assist and Corona came to fetch him. He still felt a little nervous, but Sombra's words made him feel at ease.

--You believe so strongly in me, my King. I wont let you down..-- he vowed.

When Page Assist and Corona came to escort him, they seen the new King was smiling faintly.

“Nervous?” Corona asked as they walked along, Page Assist glancing over Discord's outfit and checking nothing was out of place.

“Yes, but not as much as I expected.” the Draconequus smiled knowingly.

As they approached the ornate doors and the guards pushed them open, Discord heard the same music he'd heard when he'd attended Sombra's coronation. The room was full of many of the same ponies as he'd seen at Sombra's coronation. The Princesses, the rest of the harmony mares, many Umbrums and of course, a disguised Eris.

She'd arrived earlier that day, greeting them both with a big hug, for she'd really taken a shine to Sombra. In return, the King enjoyed getting to talk to his husbands sister, she was as bubbly and giggly as Discord was, and unfortunately just as dirty minded, to the King's amusement.

Sitting on his throne now, he recalled she'd told him Discord was getting a case of the fidgets and suggested Sombra go see if he could help. He somehow pictured she hadn’t included a stress-relief head job in her list of techniques. He had to sit on the urge to chuckle, he'd look like a loon if he bust out giggling now.

The giggles faded as the doors opened to a fanfare of music and Sombra sat forward in his chair a little as his eyes settled on his husband. The Draconequus was walking on all fours, his fancy cloak trailing behind him, eyes bright as he took the next step in his marriage to the Umbrum King. He held his head high, looking confident and bold.

In the crowd, Fluttershy was already crying, she was just so proud of how far Discord had come. Finding the love of his life, marrying said love and now being crowned as the kingdoms newest royal.

Sombra bowed his head to his husband as he came to a stop at the front of the steps leading to the place where their thrones sat. Umbra stood beside Discord's throne, upon which rested a crown, gleaming in the light.

Luna bounced slightly in her seat, beaming. She'd helped these two get married, being the master of ceremonies at the event and now she was getting to see a coronation!

Next to the royal sisters was Cadance, Twilight and Shining Armor. Also in attendance were many dignitaries, including Vorak and Haydon of course.

The crowds and the music fell silent as Sombra spoke;

“Ladies and Gentleman, it is my honour and delight to welcome you here today, to officially mark my husbands ascension to the throne!”

The crowds cheered, everypony angling for a look at the proceedings. As with Sombra's coronation, this was all being broadcast to those outside via a spell. They could see the pride on Sombra's face, see the love in his expression as he addressed those assembled.

Discord flushed, heart pounding. He'd never dreamed he'd be so...welcome in Equestria. He'd gone from a troublemaker imprisoned by Celestia and Luna, to a lover then married partner to an amazing stallion. A pony who, like him, had battled to regain Equestria's trust.

Sombra's eyes met his as the pony spoke next.

“He has worked alongside me to learn how this empire works, to get to know you all as a whole. He saved me from the darkness that threatened to cull my second chance here, showed me I belonged here. He has proven how much he cares for this place, building new links with other areas during my absence. Now it is his turn to join me in being a central part in ALL your lives, keeping this empire safe and happy.”

He looked to his mother, who levitated the crown over towards her son in law. Discord bowed his head as he'd been taught, one hand pressed to his heart. He felt the weight of the crown as it settled atop his head, umbras magical aura fading. His ears twitched, relishing the feel of such an important piece of stunningly crafted metal, what it symbolised. Discord raised his head, seeing proud tears in Umbra's eyes, she was smiling so happily. Sombra stepped down from his throne, stopping at the top of the steps.

“We welcome now, our kingdoms newest ruler, King Discord!!”

The cheering was deafening, the ponies almost leaping from their seats (Pinkie literally bouncing so high that she cleared the top of the crowd) as they cheered for Discord's good fortune. Discord blushed deeply, this was beyond magical for him. He met Fluttershy's eyes and she held up a banner with the word “YAY” written on it, smiling through happy tears as she cheered as loud as she could!

Rainbow Dash managed to salute him with her wing and all his friends met his eye and smiled or nodded to show their pride. He turned his glance back to the gorgeous stallion stood atop the steps.

Sombra looked so proud and Discord could see the start of tears gathering in the Alicorn's eyes, he looked so happy.

He held a hoof out to Discord now, guiding him to his new throne. They sat down, hoof and hand still linked as the crowds cheered.

“Say something.” Umbra whispered to a stunned and dazed Discord as he waved to Firefly and Excel.

“Oh! Of course,” Discord lowered his hand and coughed, feeling his husband's hoof squeeze his hand reassuringly.

“Thank you, all of you.” Discord said solemnly “for not just welcoming me me as a fellow monarch, but for accepting me, flaws and all. When I met my husband I was restless, only had a handful of loyal friends and little to no faith in myself. I seen how lost he was and I understood how he felt. My future always seemed uncertain too, so I resolved to help him through it, attain what I felt I never could. Acceptance.”

Sombra's heart pounded achingly in his chest as he listened to this, felt Discord's hand clutch his hoof tightly.

“In the end, we saved each other. I offered him a friend he could depend on and in return, he offered something even more valuable; love.”

Rarity sniffled, taking the proffered hanky from Pinkie Pie without missing a beat.

“It's thanks to the support of him, my mother in law and many others that I’m here now.” Discord met his disguised sisters eye, seeing her beaming proudly “this is more than I ever thought I deserved and ill never stop being grateful to you all.”

More cheered rocked the roof as his speech finished. Sombra leaned across and brushed the Draconequus' cheek with one hoof, drawing him into a kiss. The ponies clapped and stomped their hooves as the couple parted. Umbra watched her son and in-law, so happy she couldn’t speak. Those two were all the proof anypony ever needed, that any pony could start anew.

Sombra smiled at Discord, close to bursting with happiness. Discord grinned back, the crown looking so at home on his head.

The party afterwards went long into the night, as the whole kingdom celebrated their new King's official crowning.

“That was perfect, you didn’t miss a step.” Page Assist said to Discord later on, which made the Draconequus smile.

“Thank you,” Discord smiled in relief “I wont lie, I’m still a little nervous, but ill do anything to make Sombra and this empire proud.”

“You wont have an issue, so relax your majesty.” Page Assist bowed respectfully and Discord could see the sincerity in the ponies eyes as he straightened up. He grinned, indicating the drinks table…

“Mmm, that was sublime.” Discord flopped onto the bed beside his husband.

“Indeed it was. You make it hard not to just orgasm as soon as I start feeling it building,” Sombra rolled onto his belly, placing a hoof on his husband's chest, kissing him deeply.

“Says the cutie who got me off without spilling a single drop!” Discord chuckled, caressing Sombra's cheek, gazing into those deep red eyes. The faintest trace of a green glow could be seen at the edges of his sclera, as he'd been using his magic to entertain his husbands wildest fantasy.

Discord kissed him again, feeling happy and content.

He wondered what the future held for them? This was only part of the most amazing journey he'd ever been on after all, he felt like he still had a lot left to accomplish…

He got the answer to that thought roughly a year later. He and Sombra received news that Cadance was having a crystalling for her newborn baby and of course they were invited! She looked forward to seeing them both again, it'd been awhile.

Discord had gotten used to his crown by now and had discovered he could be an excellent diplomat. His charm and sense of humour broke even the most stoic pony's defences, making them laugh and see the kingdom in a happy light. Sombra had taken him to meet the Yaks and he'd enjoyed every minute, they were wonderfully destructive, but a lot of fun!

They were delayed a little by the sudden snow storm that kicked off party way there. They struggled through it however and as they reached the palace, a guard directed them to go instantly to the upstairs library. They walked by the Crystal Heart whereupon Sombra realised it was no longer whole and felt a jab of dread.

“What has happened to it?” Sombra asked as he set a hoof on the first step.

“The kid, she was fussing and some magic went off- I'm afraid I didn't see it for myself...”

“What?!” Sombra turned pale. Panic rose in his chest and he took off, hooves pounding the halls as he made a beeline for the library.

“Gah!” Starlight Glimmer flattened herself to the floor as the baby shot over her head. The pint-sized Alicorn giggled and burbled merrily as she evaded her parents yet again. At last Pinkie Pie caught her and returned her to Cadance.

“Thank you Pinkie..” Cadance sighed wearily.

“What are we gonna do without that book?!” Twilight wailed. In her exuberance, the baby had blasted the one book that may have helped them fix the heart!

“What about-” Starlight Glimmer, Twilight's new pupil, squinted as she wracked her brains, then her eyes went wide “didn't you say you retrieved King Sombra's journal? Maybe he knew something?”

“We checked,” Twilight shook her head. She wasn’t actually aware that Starlight didn’t know about Sombra. Having lived in a remote village for some years until very recently, then being consumed with her reformation and friendship lessons, the unicorn hadnt exactly had time to read a paper! Twilight had just assumed she knew…

“We can ask him though.” she added absently.

“How? By holding a seance?” Starlight cocked her head to one side, not hearing the doors open behind her, nor hearing the slightly out of breath stallions hoofsteps.

“I mean, he was totally noddle-doodle, right?” Starlight stood on her hind legs and mimed being loopy, hooves twirling either side of her head.

“Gotta admit, she's nailed you there.” a voice piped up from behind Starlight.

“Get her to cross her eyes and she will be a perfect countenance of you, smart ass!” came a retort. Starlight shrieked, almost jumping into the air as she blundered round to face the source. Her jaw hit the floor as she regarded the massive Alicorn and the other creature with him. There was no mistaking Sombra.

“Habuhh?” she pointed at him, unable to find the words “buh?” she asked her mentor.

“Didn't you know?” Twilight asked and Starlight shook her head emphatically. Twilight came over, setting a hoof on her students back. Starlight was still frozen in place, hoof pointing at the dark King in astonishment.

“Well then, Starlight Glimmer, I’d like you to meet the Umbrum ad Infinitum, King Sombra. A LOT has changed since you read that history book...”

“I literally...papers….didn’t get 'em where I lived.” Starlight blurted as she set her hoof down.

“No need to worry, miss Starlight,” Sombra smiled warmly, holding out a hoof to her “As Twilight pointed out, I am indeed THAT Sombra.”

Starlight Glimmer nodded as she shook his hoof, her eyes moving to the chaotic creature hovering beside Sombra. She noticed they wore similar crowns to one another, were they-?

“This is my husband, Discord.” Sombra added, with a confident smile as he indicated the chaos King.

“Hey there Glimmy Glam!” the chaos King shook her hoof with a grin, snapping his fingers and plucking a purple rose to match her mane from behind her left ear. He tucked in into her mane, which made Starlight feel better.

“I-it's nice to meet you both!” She said as she regained her voice. She realised a second later they were both royals and hastily bowed, adding “your majesties!”

Sombra smiled kindly as she stood straight and she was amazed at how totally opposite he was to the history books.

“Once this crisis is over, I’m sure Sombra and Discord would be willing to tell you the story?” Twilight interjected, getting nods from the two in question.

“What happened to the heart?” Sombra asked now the surprise was over “the guard mentioned your little one-”

He cut off as a bundle of feathers and big blue eyes appeared, clinging to his face.

The baby Alicorn burbled and giggled gleefully as she clung to this new pony. She sensed a warmth and intriguing power and wanted to investigate as best as her young mind could.

“Heffo?” Sombra said around the chubby forelegs clinging to his muzzle.

“Aw...she's a cutie!” Discord tickled under the filly's chin, making her shriek joyfully. She let Discord pick her up, waving a foreleg at him and booping his nose. Discord crossed his eyes and pulled faces, making her roar with laughter.

Cadance chuckled, speaking to Sombra as Discord entertained her daughter. The others came over to greet the Kings, including Luna and Celestia.

“Her crying reached such a pitch that she shattered the heart, I don't suppose you know anything about fixing it, Sombra?” The crystal Princess asked pleadingly.

Sombra shook his head. “I am afraid that I do not, for it was never damaged. Even in the midst of my madness, the worst I did was lock it away, I never tried to shatter it. Maybe I knew the disaster that would befall the empire? I regret to say I am not sure...”

He sighed heavily and Starlight felt a sense of sympathy. It was hard, living with regrets….

Spike tugged at her tail as she watched the Alicorn.

They'd just come back shortly before Sombra's arrival, having visited a childhood friend of Glimmers, named Sunburst. It had been so awkward seeing him again, she'd ended up fidgeting and blurting out her lame small talk…

She sighed, looking down at the small dragon.

“We gotta try your friend again!” the baby dragon insisted “c'mon Starlight, he's a wizard!”

“Did you say Wizard?” Cadance was all ears suddenly. Starlight fidgeted, then awkwardly explained about Sunburst.

“You gotta go get him!” Twilight Sparkle said “he may know something!”

“A-alright!” Starlight gathered her courage and bolted back out the door, with Spike in tow…

The others, the new baby alongside, went back down to the shattered remains of the heart, which were hidden behind a curtain. Sombra felt a pang of worry, seeing it like this. He touched a hoof to a shard, seeing it glow faintly beneath his hoof a moment.

“Ooh, something!” Pinkie Pie pointed.

“I think it is reacting to the bond it forged with me, both when it made me immune to its influence and when I cleansed it of a corruptive darkness before.” Sombra guessed. Discord scratched behind his husband's ear, earning a worried smile from the King.

Starlight barrelled through the curtain shortly after, with another unicorn following in her wake.

“I'm not sure how I can help Starlight- whoa, Sombra!?” Sunburst did a double take as he seen the Alicorn. He had read about him in his studies, but he'd never seen him up close.

“Uhhh….boo?” Sombra joked, smiling in bemusement.

“Sorry, your majesty, I didn't mean to be rude!” Sunburst said, flustered as he bowed.

“You know about...” Starlight trailed off, looking from Sombra to Sunburst.

“Of course!” Sunburst said “He's astonishingly complex! I studied many books on Umbrum, you see and as the Infinitum, King Sombra is a wonder of magic and crystal energy! He's married to the lord of chaos, King Discord.”

“'Sup?” Discord appeared beside Sunburst, making him yelp in surprise.

Starlight did a double take as she looked at Sombra now, seeing his crystalline coat. She honestly hadn’t noticed it before, she'd been too surprised by his mere existence!

“Wow, that’s beautiful..” she said to the Alicorn king. He smiled, explaining it was a look native to all Umbrum, that the version of him that she recognised had been an illusion. He changed into it and back again to demonstrate.

“Ooh, do the super version? Please??” Pinkie Pie asked.

“The what now?” Starlight looked quizzically at the pink pony.

Sombra accessed his magic and Pinkie Pie clapped her hooves as he became the glittering light-and-shimmer form he'd displayed when he'd saved his kingdom and again when rescuing a kidnapped son of a dignitary.

“Sweet Celestia..” Sunburst was gaping at Sombra now “how..?”

“I have spells to control it.” Sombra smiled and Sunburst had a spark of an idea..

He realised that he COULD help them, he knew just the spells to help temper the baby's magic and stop her blasting the castle apart every time she sneezed!

Shining Armor gave Sunburst the shard of crystal he'd picked for the crystalling and the parents, their giggling child and Sunburst all slipped through the curtain and back into the freezing storm. All the Alicorns, Starlight and a chaos King gathered around the shards of the heart.

“Together, everypony!” Twilight Sparkle declared and as one they poured their magic into putting the heart back together. From in front of the curtain, they heard the crystalling ceremony going ahead, heard the crowds cheering and felt the magic in the air. The ground shone under their hooves, then disappeared again as on the other side of the curtain, Sunburst channelled the love of the crystal ponies into the special shard of crystal.

He leapt from the stage with it, racing through the curtain and tossing the shard filled with love magic into the fractured heart being held aloft by the magical ponies. The heart shone, then shuddered as it reformed, becoming whole once more. It spun rapidly, blasting out its warm light and shielding the empire from danger once more.

Sombra looked at himself and smiled. He had been granted a crystal ponies appearance once before, after saving the heart. Now it was back, his mane styled and twined with ribbons, coat patterned with the crystal look. Looking at his husband, the Alicorn seen him admiring how he looked as a crystal Draconequus.

“You look very handsome.” Sombra smiled. Discord's normally mohawk-style mane was slicked down and had shades of grey and white running throughout. Ribbons and little crystals adorned it in a simplistic but stylish pattern. Discord flushed at the compliment, his dear Sombra looked cute in this getup...

“Really?” he asked, still a little shy of thinking of himself as how his adoring husband viewed him.

“Yes.” Sombra said insistently, smiling wryly then kissing Discord to back it up.

“Your majesty-oops!” Sunburst looked over just in time to see them smooch. There was a very obvious romance between them and he knew that Umbrums were quite open in their feelings, but he still felt rude for staring. Starlight went pink...but kept right on staring.

“My apologies,” Sombra chuckled as he released his precious Discord “the heart is fixed, I can hear it once more.”

“Hear it?” Sunburst asked.

“Yes, it has communicated many times before.” Sombra walked over to the repaired heart and set a hoof atop it. Sunburst and the others seen it glow and Sombra smiled as his lips moved, saying something to it.

--Thank you-- the heart replied, this time loud enough for them all to hear. A faint blue aura shimmered around Sombra, leading Sunburst to realise it was channelling itself via the stallion's magic.

--The love I gained from you two brings me great joy, Sombra.-- the heart said gently, referring to the Alicorn and his husband –you have made such progress, since last we met.--

“Hey, heart!” Discord sat beside his husband, pressing a finger to the heart. A shimmer of the same aura surrounded him and he giggled gleefully.

“Tickles!” he squeed and Sombra chuckled at the chaos being.

--Thank you, all of you.-- the heart addressed everypony now –your combined love and determination has rebuilt me. Your love has given me fresh life. I must sleep now, but I will always watch over you, my ponies.--

Then the glow faded and the heart was a slumbering, floating decoration once more.

“That was amazing.” Sunburst said at last. He'd never seen such a bond and was extremely curious to learn how Sombra had done that.

That evening as promised, Sombra took the time to tell Starlight and Sunburst his whole story, about his species and his home.

“Oh, I’ve always wanted to visit, I just never get a chance!” Sunburst sighed “I’d need to arrange a residence with a school and they’re always fully booked.”

“I am sure I can arrange something, you can stay at the palace if you wish? In fact, my mother would greatly enjoy the company of one such as yourself.”

“Lady Umbra?” Sunburst's jaw was practically on the floor, to Starlight’s amusement “I’ve read so much about her! She's the memory keeper."

“I will discuss the matter with her when I return home and will send correspondence if you could provide me with your address?”

Starlight giggled to herself at how majorly Sunburst was geeking out over this magical mystery of a King.

As Sombra got down from his chair to grab some parchment from his bag, his cloak, which had gotten nudged aside, failed to slip back down, meaning Discord got a nice view of his husbands rear.

--Nice.-- he thought.

“There, all done!” Sombra finished, tail swishing as he set the address back in his bag.

“I will endeavour to set this up for you as soon as I can. Also, Discord, kindly stop staring at my rear.”

Sunburst went red and clamped a hoof over his mouth to stifle his laughter. Starlight didn't fare so well, snickering briefly before shutting herself up.

“How can you tell?” Discord said, looking affronted.

Sombra rolled his eyes and gestured at the pane of glass on the bookshelf doors behind Sunburst's chair “I could see your eyes tracking my tail. Given that it is attached to my bottom, it did not take a genius.”

“You sure about that?” Discord asked.

“Sure about what-Hay!” Sombra did a double take as he realised Discord had taken his tail. The Draconequus grinned, wearing it like a feather boa and striking a pose.

“Discord!” Sombra glowered at him.

“Oh, alright.” Discord relinquished the soft black tail, reattaching it to his husband with a snap of his fingers.

“Thank you.” Sombra crossed the floor to Discord, lightly butting his muzzle against the Draconequus'.

“This. Is. So. CUTE.” Starlight whispered to Sunburst. He shook his head, she'd been reading too many of those novels that were so popular these days.

Cadance and Shining Armor held a party the next day to celebrate the baby’s crystalling, deciding on the name “Flurry Heart” for the little tyke.

Mid-way through the party, Sombra chuckled as Flurry ambled over, rolled herself up in his long flowing tail and fell fast asleep.

“Aww,” Shining chuckled to Sombra “she's snug as a bug in a rug!”

“If you rug has bugs in it, you need an exterminator.” Discord said with a snicker.

Sombra gave his husband a “don’t be a goof” look, smiling wryly. Discord grinned back, scratching behind his beloved's ear.

Flurry seemed quite curious about Sombra, for later on, she teleported onto his back and began playing with his mane. Sombra didn't mind in the least, even using his magic to boop her nose with a section of his flowy mane. She shrieked in delight, trying to gnaw on it…

He was sad when time came to return home, Flurry had been such a bright little thing, he'd loved entertaining the kid.

Sombra was unusually quiet on the trip back, like his mind was roaming elsewhere. Discord didn’t push it, however, simply figuring the Alicorn was processing the days events, he'd snuggle him to distraction later…

--Family...hm..-- Sombra wondered about his family. He had a husband, but what about-?

He shook his head, telling himself that he shouldn't be letting his mind wander like this. He had a kingdom to care for, subjects to look after and trade agreements to set up. Alongside his dear Draconequus of course~

He broke out of his stupor and surprised Discord a little by wordlessly pulling him into a deep, but gentle kiss, uttering a contented murmur.

Sombra promptly set up a study arrangement trip for Sunburst, writing a letter to the unicorn to let him know. It was always nice to meet someone with such enthusiasm for Umbrum culture, his mother was looking forward to meeting the wizard!

But as more time went by, he found himself returning to the idea of family more and more often. It was as if the world around him was trying to persuade him.

He was musing over the simple idea of it as he sat in an expensive coffee shop, at a nicely secluded table. It still gave him a little view of the rest of the pleasant little café, however.

A foal and a filly raced across his field of view for the third time, giggling as they chased one another.

“Cant catch me!” the girl cried, scrunching her face and teleporting herself-

-but she wasn’t experienced enough and overshot where she'd been aiming for. She appeared atop a light fixture to the left of where the Alicorn was sat, promptly realised where she'd landed and clung to it with a shriek. Concerned she could fall, Sombra immediately lifted her with his magic and set her on the plush seating next to him.

“Are you alright?” he asked, peering at her.

“Y-yes your majesty.” She said shakily, tears welling up.

“Strawberry Field!” Her mother and father, the other little foal in tow, all came rushing over in the direction of their daughter's scream.

“Oh, sweet Celestia-” The mother panicked, seeing her daughter had somehow managed to inconvenience his majesty!

“I am so sorry, sire,” the father strode over, looking sternly at his daughter “you shouldn’t be messing about like this-”

“We were just playing, daddy!” The little filly teared up and sniffled, feeling upset and a tiny bit scared as she got down from the seat.

“You disturbed his majesty, for pity’s sake-”

Seeing how downcast the little one was and her brother too, Sombra got down from the seating, sitting himself down in front of the two little ones.

“You kids do not need to worry. You are not disturbing me at all, if anything I was spacing out from a lack of things to focus upon.” he gave them a grin and they giggled.

“But your father is right, you need to be very careful when your magic is still young.”

“But it always feels like I’m gonna just explode if I don’t do something!” Strawberry piped up. Sombra considered this for a moment and had an idea.

“What about a tutor? There are many who help teach young ones like yourself-”

“Oh we couldn’t your majesty...we uh-” the father began.

“We can't afford it.” Strawberry piped up “we only came in here because its a special occasion, its daddy’s birthday!”

Sombra smiled at the pony in question, hoping he had a wonderful day of it!

“That’s kind of you your majesty, thank you.” The father flushed, he hadn’t expected to meet one of the kingdoms rulers. He'd seen photos of the married couple ruling side by side, he admired how quirky the chaos King was!

“Well...” Sombra had an idea. Sunburst was at the palace today, Sombra had overhead him telling the staff he'd be in the library, going over his notes. So he wrote a quick letter and dispatched it.

“I may be able to help,” he explained “if my associate agrees.”

“You don't need to do that-” The mother blustered “we don't want to impose on you, you have such a big job to do-”

There was a puff of smoke and a scroll appeared, Sombra opened it with his magic and beamed.

“My plan is a success,” he announced “if you are willing, your little unicorn can attend lessons at the palace. There is a unicorn called Sunburst-”

“Sunburst!?” the girls eyes went wide “I heard about him, isn't he the crystaller for Princess Flurry?”

“He is indeed,” Sombra nodded “he's an excellent wizard. He'll be able to help you learn your magic.”

“Can I, pleeease mommy?” Strawberry pleaded at her dumbstruck parents, who were gawking at the King in shock.

“N-not to be ungrateful, your majesty-” the wife said “b-but we cannot afford to-”

Sombra waved a hoof, dismissing the matter.

“There is no charge for this schooling. Master Sunburst is working towards being a magic teacher and this would be invaluable experience for him! If you agree, of course?”

The parents nodded and little Strawberry gave the King an unexpected hug, beaming ear to ear, babbling about how cool this was gonna be!

Flank deep in paperwork back at the palace later on, Sombra thought about how happy he'd felt to see the kid overjoyed, that he'd made her smile.

“Why can I not stop thinking about this?” he wondered aloud as he packed up his ledgers and prepared to meet his husband for dinner. He did his best to push the matter from his mind and by the time he reached the dining room to be greeted with a loving kiss from Discord, he'd done just that.

He threw himself back into his work, aided by his rapidly learning husband. Discord was getting a very stellar reputation as a negotiator, he was a big hit with the dignitaries, as well as visiting lords and ladies.

“That went exceedingly well,” Sombra smiled at Discord as they walked along the halls towards their bedroom.

“Excellent!” Discord beamed, kissing his husbands cheek as the pony opened the door to the bedroom, floating in behind the pony and settling on the bed. Sombra set the ledgers down on his desk and came to settle on the bed beside the Draconequus.

“Do you think I’m almost a real King yet?” Discord asked as they snuggled. Sombra chuckled, pulling back to observe him.

“You’ve been one since DAY one, my love.” the Alicorn told him firmly, straddling the Draconequus' lap and setting his hoofs either side of Discord's head. He leaned in, a sultry smile curving his lips.

“You’re the best diplomat this empire could have, you have succeeded in netting us the best trade links with every single one, since that first meeting with the Cambridle scholars!”

Discord flushed, but Sombra wasn't done yet.

“You have proven you can handle this empire in my absence. The guard respect the buck out of you, the public love you- you have been amazing since day one, my love. OK?”

Discord nodded. He knew Sombra was right, but he still got a little insecure at times, worrying he'd been a bit too OTT. But looking into his husband's eyes, he seen the firm belief in the pony's eyes and felt his heart ease.

“Thank you, my dear Sombra.” he whispered, bestowing a kiss upon the pony. Sombra sat back after the kiss, his eyes straying down his partners body.

“Now how about we negotiate over something exciting?” the Alicorn teased, stroking his hoof down his lovers shaft, making Discord moan urgently. Sombra leaned in and nipped at his ear, making him even harder.

“Lets begin.” he purred, as Discord kissed him hungrily.

The idea of family was forgotten for now and Sombra had almost convinced himself, after a few weeks had passed, that it was merely a passing whim..

But it wasn't so easily removed. Two weeks later and he was off visiting the Crystal Empire to pick up some supplies, but also to see Cadance and her family.

The guards greeted him with smiles and deep bows as he dismounted from the carriage steps and strode over, pushing open the doors for him. They told him the Princess would be there to meet him shortly, so he took a look around the massive entranceway.

Sombra was absorbed in a display of newly discovered art, when there was a poof of air and a familiar bundle of fun appeared in front of him, somehow inside the case. She pressed her face against the glass, poking her tongue out. Sombra chuckled, magicked Flurry out of there and she nestled into the crook of his right foreleg.

“Hello little one.” Sombra smiled down at the little Alicorn “my, how you’ve grown!”

Flurry burbled up at him, her chubby cheeks crinkling in delight as she batted at his mane. Sombra found himself pretending to not see her, so she fluffed up her impressive wings, waving them at him.

“Ah, there’s the little Princess!” Sombra declared, making her beam happily. She wrapped her little legs around him in a hug, giggling happily.

Cadance watched this from the end of the hall. She'd been on her way with Flurry to meet Sombra, when the baby had suddenly scrunched her nose and teleported away. Cadance had started to panic when she'd heard her daughters laughter from up ahead and a familiar deep voice answering.

She crept stealthily into the hall, a smile appearing as she seen Sombra playing with Flurry, making her laugh and hug him.

“Cadance!” Sombra looked up as she approached “I have had the honour of being greeted by Equestria's littlest royal!”

Cadance chuckled as her daughter clambered over Sombra's shoulder to trot across his back and jump into her mothers back.

“She’s full of beans, that’s for sure!” the Princess chuckled as they set off down the hall “Shining's out in the garden, we have a picnic prepared. Flurry Heart just loves the garden, she keeps trying to eat the flowers though, so we gotta keep an eye on her.”

Flurry hiccuped to back this up as they entered the private gardens. Shining Armor greeted Sombra and asked how business at his kingdom was going?

“Is Discord settling?” he queried. Sombra smiled and nodded, detailing the work his husband had done and everything he'd accomplished since the wedding.

“That’s amazing!” Cadance said happily “I know he was worried when we seen him at the wedding.”

“Yes, he was fretting that he wouldn’t be able to live up to me. I told him I didn’t want him to, I wanted him to be the same as he'd always been, with me...”

Cadance squeed happily as she heard this. As they spoke of other matters, Flurry Heart pottered around them, playing with her toys and investigating the grass for awhile. Then she dropped everything to watch Sombra's tail swish back and forth. It was mesmerizing…

Sombra made a faint squeak as something pulled on his tail. He peered round, laughing softly as he observed Flurry Heart scaling his tail. She made it onto his back, then tripped and rolled into the spot between his wings. She gurgled, curling onto her side and falling asleep with a big yawn.

“That is just. ADORABLE.” Shining said, watching his daughter.

--She really likes Sombra.-- Cadance observed with a smile. She watched Sombra's expression, seeing how he seemed oddly melancholy for just a second.

When Shining Armor went inside to put a very deeply asleep Flurry down for a nap, she asked Sombra to accompany her for a walk around the gardens.

“Sombra,” she began “have you ever considered having a child?”

She knew about his Infinitum ability, how he'd be capable of creating a child via his abilities. It was how his mother had created him, after all. But whereas she'd only been able to do it with the knowledge her kind was in desperate need, Sombra could choose to initiate it during a yearly mating season he went through.

Sombra flushed, but something in the way he glanced away, then back at her, told her she was right. That he'd already been considering it..

“Have you brought it up with Discord?” she asked. Sombra shook his head.

“I am not sure I am ready to look after a child. Plus, I do not think he wants one just yet.”

“Nopony feels fully ready, I sure didn’t,” Cadance smiled “but it's a marvellous thing. You learn as you go, but I can already tell you’ll be great with a kid. Flurry is generally very shy around anypony besides me, Shining, Sunburst and Twilight. But she adores you, I was watching you playing with her in the entrance hall.”

Sombra smiled, recalling how happy he'd felt to play with the little one. Hearing her laugh….

He realised he really did want a child.

“I- you are right,” he sighed anxiously “I have been preoccupied lately with the idea of a complete family for Discord and I. I do not know how he'd feel now though, last time we spoke of it he was not even close to prepared to think about kids. Neither was I, technically.”

“Talk to him.” Cadance said softly, patting his shoulder as they returned to the garden “he loves you deeply and who knows, maybe he won't be as adverse as you think?”

Sombra nodded, feeling cheered by this idea.

He ran through potential ways to break it to Discord, everything from blurting it out to drawing a picture. But none of them felt right…

So it was that he didn't say anything as they drew closer atop the bed, back in the Umbrum palace that night, their hands and hooves touching and caressing. Discord's hands squeezed the stallion's rump and he gave an eager groan, pressing closer to the Draconequus.

“Shall we?” Discord winked, making Sombra grin. They had what Page Assist had not so subtly referred to as an “(over)active sex life”. Sombra had been standing just outside the door, preparing to knock and had very nearly burst out laughing as he overheard his aide's rant.

Sombra's wings pomf'd as Discord rubbed his bottom again and he eagerly made the first move. Given he was already practically sitting on Discord's lap….

Discord lay back, propped up by a multitude of pillows, his hands resting on his lovers hips and tracing the outline of his cutie mark as the King rode him. Oh, his precious stallion was very talented at this-

All thought ended there as he felt the climax building. Sombra felt it too, for he picked up the pace, wanting it just as badly…

Discord was entranced by how gorgeous his husband looked as the powerful climax ran through him. The way he arched his back, the manner in which he flapped his wings, fluffing them up as much as possible.

Sweet Celestia, he was amazing.

There was a brief flicker of light over the pony’s coat as the orgasm began to fade and the Alicorn's wings relaxed.

“This looks familiar.” Discord noted breathlessly, as he brushed a hand over Sombra's chest, feeling how fast his heart was racing.

Sombra looked down at himself and panicked. This was indeed the same sheen his coat had taken on right before he-

“-in heat, right?”

“Ah!” Sombra's mind went blank and he hurriedly stood up, biting back a quiet moan as the Draconequus hard, throbbing shaft was freed from his body. Little echoes of the climax hit him and he stumbled back, barely keeping on his feet.

Discord was a little alarmed by Sombra's response, why was he afraid?

“Don’t look like that, handsome,” he teased as he sat up “I know what you need, remember?”

“I-i...” Sombra tried to think of a way to explain it “I didn’t mean to-”

“Cutie, you’re worrying me. What do you mean, you didn’t mean to? Your heat is random, isn’t it? I mean, sure its awoken by a particularly strong desire, but you don’t need to feel ashamed of that.”

Sombra closed his eyes, he may as well be honest.

“Yes, I do.” he said heavily. Discord was all set to object when he realised this was something big.

“Tell me.” he scooted forward, lifting the stallions chin so their faces were level “open your eyes.”

Sombra reluctantly did, but his husbands gentle expression only increased the guilt.

“Just come out with it. I wont be angry, my precious Sombra.” Discord said firmly as he set his hand back down.

Sombra looked so heart-achingly apologetic that the chaos King was starting to really fret.

“Its...I...” Sombra shut his eyes and blurted “I think that I want a child, Discord!”

Scarcely were the words out of his mouth, then he regretted them. He heard the silence in the room and upon opening his eyes and seeing his husband's frankly startled expression, he panicked. He tried to bolt off the bed, but Discord was faster. He pounced his King, pinning him to the bed on his back, so they were nose to nose.

“Is that what’s eating you?” the Draconequus asked “Why didn’t you say so- well, I mean you DID, but why so worried?”

“I, last time we-?” Sombra winced. The close proximity of their bodies was starting to turn him on all over again. He uttered a barely audible whimper.

“We'd barely had time to be together,” Discord scolded “we were still exploring what we desired. Neither of us was ready. Just because I said no then, doesn't mean I will now.”

Sombra flushed, still unable to look directly at his husband.

“I don't know what kind of father I’d make, if I’d even be a good one. But, I can see from your eyes that you really want this. So I'll do whatever it takes to make you happy-”

“No!” the gesture made Sombra's heart ache in a bitter-sweet way and he shook his head then nuzzled the confused Discord “I do not want you to feel as if you have to because of me. I would have gone into heat anyway, it is obviously the right time. You don’t have to worry about it.”

“Cutie?” Discord looked sceptical.

Sombra forced as sincere a smile as he could, insisting it was fine. He made up a lie about him getting too sidetracked making a fuss of little Flurry Heart, she was an entertaining little child, it was probably just that he couldn’t recall his own childhood very fondly...

Discord could see it wasn’t related to any of this stuff that his husband was saying, but he relented, sensing Sombra felt mortified enough that he'd even blurted it out. Maybe he just needed time...

“Alright cutie...” he kissed the stallion gently, “now, I do believe you’re not tuckered out yet.”

Sombra flushed, remembering how close they were and his heat.

Discord scooted back, grasping his lovers shaft and stroking gently as he went further down and pushed his tongue in.

Sombra moaned urgently, body tensing around the probing tongue as he shuddered in bliss. He gave in to the need and pleasure, letting it blot his worries from his mind.

The next morning, he didn't mention the last nights awkwardness.

Discord wanted to, but deep inside he knew he didn't want to push the pony, not after he'd been so flustered last night. But while they snuggled and kissed under the shower spray, it felt like they were just a little further apart then before…

Discord hated to see his King sad, but he didn't know what to think about what Sombra had said. Would he, a crazy bundle of chaos, truly be good around a small child? What if all he did was teach it bad habits??

So when they parted ways for the day, they were both pretty distant, lost in thought.

Discord was handling court that morning and Sombra was entertaining some guests, showing them around the kingdom in a carriage ride tour.

Every minute that passed, it felt like he was struggling more and more to focus. Mercifully, his guests were too busy admiring the empire to notice their host spacing out now and again.

He forced himself to not think about his stupid outburst last night, hoping Discord would just forget about it. He hated hiding anything from his husband, but he didn't want to make him feel like he HAD to do it for Sombra's sake.

--What should I do..?-- he wondered as he and his guests headed back to the palace. He answered their questions with a smile, telling himself to keep focus.

Discord, meanwhile, was wondering about his husbands freak out last night even as the day ended and he met with his love for dinner. But he could still see the worry in Sombra's eyes as they walked to their room.

“Sombra, please...” Discord spoke up as they stood outside the door, Sombra's hoof resting on the handle.

“I...” Sombra felt his chest constrict. How could he have embarrassed himself like that? Sounding like a fool and foisting his daydreams onto his husband, making him agree simply because he, Sombra, had looked so worried. “I would rather not talk about it any further, my love. It was just a mix of the visit to see the new baby and everything that has been happening lately. I am sorry if I alarmed you, I do not know what came over me.”

“I think that may have been me-” Discord said glibly, then realising he'd just given his husband an opportunity to sidestep, he mentally face palmed.

Sombra burst out laughing as he nudged the door open, a laugh so genuine that it made Discord pause a moment. He was happy to hear his beloved laugh-

Sombra was at the bed now, shucking his cloak and shoes as he clambered onto it. Discord's eyes roamed over that lovely rear of his and he groaned softly.

“Boing.” he sighed absently.

Sombra looked over his shoulder at him, swishing his tail across said rump. He was flushed faintly, his desires had been bothering him all day and with the suppressor spell keeping it in check, he needed release.

“My love?” he asked, hoping Discord wasn’t upset at his refusal to discuss the matter a moment ago. Discord read the worry and apology in his lover's eyes and drifted over to sit beside him.

“It's alright, my dear Sombra. If you don’t want to talk about it, we don’t have to. We all have impulses now and again, you’re so cute when you get one in your head.” he kissed the stallion even as his tail curled round to caress Sombra's member. The pony gasped softly, body shivering in anticipation.

“I want you to promise me you wont feel guilty, alright?” Discord asked, twitching his tail again as he kissed his lover.

“Y-yes, Discord.” Sombra said huskily as they parted.

“Good pony. Now...” the Draconequus grinned “what to do with you..?”

As Sombra slept in his arms, a drowsy Draconequus tried to think of a way to ease the burden of self-imposed guilt Sombra had forced upon himself. It came down to a very obvious question; what did HE think about kids? Sombra clearly longed for one, with a passion that was bordering on breaking his heart.

He needed to reach a conclusion soon, for his husband's sake.

The next day, Discord ruminated over it at every opportunity.

--Does he want a kid or not? Why did he insist we drop the issue?-- Discord sighed heavily.

“Something wrong, chief?” Corona asked, seeing how deep in thought Discord was.

“Yes, I’m worried about Sombra.”

“I must confess I am also. Is he sick? He looks kinda peaky.” Corona said uneasily, brow furrowing.

“He's not sick, he's worrying again. There’s something he wants but when I tried to broach it, he suddenly got scared and clammed up.”

“Really?” Corona frowned “that's unlike him...”

“Exactly,” Discord said “that's how I know its important. He still carries a little of that uncertainty that makes him deny himself what his heart wants. He's improved immensely since we announced how we felt about one another to the kingdom, but now he's retreated into himself.”

Corona frowned, thinking back to what he'd seen of the King lately. “If I were to narrow it down, I would say he's been quiet ever since he came back from that visit to see Princess Cadance's baby...” he trailed off, looked at Discord and opened his mouth- could it be?

“Yes, he wants a child.” Discord confirmed.

“Do you?” Corona asked, seeing Discord's hesitation.

“I'm not sure. I don't think I’m good around kids.” Discord sighed “Sombra is, I’ve seen it time and again. They love him.”

“What makes you think they wouldn't like you? His majesty has talked about how you entertain the kids at the joke shop numerous times. He always said he mostly stayed back and just let them engage with you.”

Discord blinked, he hadn’t thought about that. He remembered making faces at flurry heart. She hadn’t been afraid of him, she'd given him a big beaming smile and tried to chew on his goatee.

“See? I'm sure you'd be fine with a kid of your own. I got friends that are married with families and they all say the love is even stronger because you're helping guide and mould their future. I can imagine you and your husband making great parents, if you want my opinion!”

“Thank you, Captain.” Discord heaved a big sigh “Sombra's right. It's time to take the next step. I wont lie, I don’t know how good a father I’ll be, but for my dear Sombra I’m willing to try. The idea of having a little one of our own, it does intrigue me somewhat.”

“There you go,” Corona nodded wisely “you already there. Your as ready as you can be for the first step.”

“You are a life saver, Captain.” Discord grinned at the gargoyle.

“All in the line of duty, sire.” Corona grinned.

“Eh, just call me Discord.” the chaos King shrugged. Corona was pleased, very few were allowed to address the Kings by their names.

The Gargoyle went with the King to take a walk around the streets and grab some lunch. Then Discord stopped so suddenly that the Captain bumped into him.

“Everything OK?” Corona asked, peering round Discord.

“Look.” the Draconequus indicated a gathering ahead of him. They'd paused at the exit from an alleyway and up ahead was Sombra, surrounded by a group of mares. Their uniforms indicated they were nannies and carers and their charges were gazing up at the King in curiosity and adoration. One of the littlest was clambering up Sombra's mane and Sombra was clearly trying not to laugh, it had to tickle.

At last the little tyke reached his gaol and perched atop Sombra's head, clinging to his crown and giggling.

“I’ve been defeated!” the monarch declared “you’ve grabbed the crown, my little friend!”

The little tyke giggled and reached a chubby hoof up to pet the pony’s horn.

Discord studied Sombra's expression as the went on. He seen how delighted the King looked, how genuine his smile was, the sparkle in his eyes as he reluctantly floated the little one down from his head, tucking the child back into his stroller as the nannies prepared to depart. He smiled warmly at the children and they returned it, waving goodbye to the King as they were guided away.

Discord silently motioned Corona to follow him back into the shadows of the alley.

“What’s wrong? Don’t you wish to say good afternoon?” the guard frowned.

“I don’t want to disturb him. If he sees me now, he'll know I was watching him and he'll get all guilty and clam up. I don’t want him being unhappy, he has enough on his plate.”

“I understand sire,” Corona followed Discord as he finally wandered into a restaurant “I hope you two can sort things out, yours is the strongest bond I’ve ever seen.”

Discord was again very grateful for the Gargoyle's honesty, his straight forward way of phrasing things.

Once his duties were finished for the day, Discord shot off to find his husband. He came across him in the library, shelving some reference books on the first floor. He drifted silently up to the stallion, waiting until Sombra noticed him.

“Yes.” he said.

“Yes...what?” Sombra looked at him, puzzled. What was Discord grinning about?

“Yes. To your little statement on first heat night.”

The penny dropped and Sombra blushed bright red.

“D-discord?” he stammered, did he really mean-?

“Yes,” Discord said, caressing his beloveds cheek with one hand “I want us to be a family. You, me and our future little one.”

Sombra's heart leapt but also twinged, what had prompted this change? He stepped back, expression crumpling a little in anxiety “Discord, I don't want to pressure you. I'm sorry if I did-”

“Please calm down, my sweet Sombra,” Discord said gently “just hear me out. I had a talk with Corona today and he pretty much read what was on my mind. He reminded me of all the time I spent playing with the kids at the joke shop. That I could be a parent if I believe in myself. I realised I was just scared of being a bad influence, but then I thought about everything you've taught me since we met. I've been a friend, I’ve been a lover and now I’m a husband. I think I’m ready to be a father too. I admit I don’t know anything about raising a kid, but we'll learn that together.”

Sombra eyes widened in hope, heart rising. Did he really mean-?

Discord kissed the Alicorn King's muzzle gently “I’ve been thinking about it ever since you shied away from the matter that night. I wont lie to you and say I’m not scared of goofing up, but you make me want to be my best. And together, I think we can help each other. What do you say, cutie? Want to have a kid with me?”

Sombra's eyes went wide as this sunk in. Then he uttered a happy cry, standing on his hind legs to wrap his forelegs around Discord's neck and hug him tightly.

“Thank you, my love.” he whispered shakily. Discord rubbed his back gently, just holding him in his arms..

Down below, the librarian had been distracted from her task of shelving some fiction books when she heard the pony King utter a strange cry. Poking her head round the shelf, she seen the two embracing. Discord must’ve snuck in while she was distracted, for he was now holding his husband close, with the King somehow balancing on his hind legs to hug the chaos being.

They drew back, their eyes meeting and she seen how happy and excited they looked. She wondered what it was about…?

She chuckled as the two shared a deep, obviously loving, kiss. She turned back to her task, humming softly.

Page Assist walked in at that moment, nose in his diary. He spotted a flash of black mane and automatically headed towards it.

“Your majesty-” he began, only to realise the both of them were there, and just parting from a kiss. Too late...

Sombra's wings pomf'd up to full height, promptly overbalancing the duo. Discord fell over backwards, with the alarmed stallion landing atop him.

“Page Assist!!” Sombra blurted indignantly, glaring up at his aide.

“S-sorry your majesties..” the aide stepped back, blushing “I wasn’t paying attention.”

“That much is clear. Please refrain from giving me such a fright!” Sombra said with an annoyed chuffing noise.

“O-of course..” Page Assist nodded. "I did not intend to cut short any..personal matters."

“That’s very nice you two, but whilst you’re very warm and soft my dear Sombra, this floor is the total opposite.”

“Ah!” Sombra looked down, coming nose to nose with his husband and realising he had been conducting that whole scolding whilst pinning his beloved to the floor by way of lying on him. He shot up so fast he wound up balancing on the tips of his hooves. His face went bright red, wings twitching.

“Oh, dear love.” Discord sat himself up, setting his hands on Sombra's shoulders and settling him back on all four hooves again. “You’re so cute when you get flustered.”

“That’s enough of that!” Sombra declared, but the corner of his mouth twitched and soon he was laughing. Discord wasn’t far behind, their laughter filling the vaulted room.

Page Assist relaxed, seeing them so happy.

“Are you both alright?” he asked.

“Yes, we're fine.” Discord assured him. He glanced at his husband, seeing the ponies eyes light up. Should they..?

The pony nodded and Discord made a happy noise.

“What's-?” Page Assist got the impression they had a big announcement brewing and glanced from one to the other. Sombra stood side by side with his husband and smiled at his aide.

“I need you to do something for me, Page Assist?”

“Of course, King Sombra. What is it?”

“I need you to find the books about the Infinitum breeding season. This time, Discord and I, we've decided to set the process in motion as soon as we can.”

Page Assist's jaw dropped as he processed it, seeing how content they were.

“Your majesties- that's wonderful!” Page Assist recovered his voice “of course, right away! Follow me.”

He led them towards a heavily locked room. This was the royal documents library, only able to be opened by the most trusted. This included both Kings, Lady Umbra, Page Assist himself and a scarce few others.

While Page Assist unlocked the door, Sombra kissed Discord quickly. Discord smiled at him, feeling the same excitement he seen in his husband's eyes.

“This is so exciting~” he whispered to the Alicorn.

“I know, I must confess I’m rather nervous. How long will this take, for instance?” The pony murmured back, nuzzling the chaos being.

Page Assist got the door open and ushered them inside,. He looked up the correct books, writing down which pages would be most relevant and of course advised the King to inform his doctor so he could begin preparations.

While the King was in his crystal stasis, creating the new life, he would need to be monitored closely. His magic levels would be key, if they tanked or spiked too high it could indicated a problem. Such a thing was by no means complication free.

“How long will it take?” Discord asked and Page Assist tapped a hoof against his chin, thinking about the information he had.

“At a guess, about a month? It's short, but very intensive, sires. I suggest you enquire about magic donation, to give you a boost before your stasis.”

“I have been studying the magical retention properties of my own crystals, maybe I can create one to store magic that can sustain me?” Sombra mused.

“See? I married a genius!” Discord smiled at Page Assist while indicating his hubby.

Page Assist nodded and they left, locking the room behind them. The married couple went down to dinner, Discord leafing through the books idly. There was a lot to learn here…

“Soo, basically I need to supply you with ample amounts of uh….myself?” Discord quirked an eyebrow at the pony lying beside him. They'd spent the evening reading the first of the books, amazed by just how complex the process was.

“Mmm, indeed you do.” Sombra purred, smiling languidly as he traced a pattern on Discord's chest with one hoof “the best time would be on the day I initiate the stasis, but I’m more then welcoming of any early practise-”

He was kissed hotly, the book tossed to the side as Discord pinned him gently to the bed.

“As you wish, my love...” the Draconequus grinned. He loved how excitable Sombra was when he was on heat...

The doctor did a double take the next day when the Alicorn walked into his office, sat himself down and calmly said he wanted to have a child. It took the doctor a spare minute to recollect this was the Infinitum he was talking to. He nodded at last, pulling a copy of the same book Sombra and Discord had been studying last night.

“I assume you have read this, your majesty?”

Sombra nodded “yes, myself and my husband both have. We wish to go ahead with it, doctor.”

“Of course, your majesty. I wish to discuss the risks with you, however. This isn’t the easiest process, even your mother ran that risk when she had you. As half of this kingdoms heart, every precaution must be taken to safeguard you.”

Sombra noted this indication towards Discord being the other half and smiled softly.

“Should your husband not be present for this?” the doctor asked.

“Oh he'll be along shortly, he's just finishing up some work with Page Assist.” Sombra looked very proud, leading the doc to glean that the newer of the monarchs was advancing ever more to being as capable as his stallion partner. He nodded, instead asking if his majesty had any questions for the meantime?

Discord arrived a minute later, greeting the doctor with a wave and his husband with a kiss before settling himself in the chair.

“Not to cast doubt on your wishes sire, but I have to be absolutely certain this is what you want.”

Sombra flushed, being reminded of his attempts to downplay his desires to his own husband. Discord chuckled and scratched behind Sombra's ears as he met his eyes “we're sure, aren’t we, my Sombra?”

The King nodded, determination filling his eyes as they looked back at the doctor.

Assured that this was not just some passing fantasy, the doctor consulted the list in front of him.

“Well, then I suggest you return when your next heat cycle starts-”

He stopped as Discord coughed and Sombra went red again. The King was still oddly sensitive about this knowledge and had been trying to keep it as tightly hidden as he could.

“I see, it's already started then? Very well, we'll speed ahead. How long was your previous cycle?”

“Well,” Sombra forced himself to speak “I am unsure, I did not keep records.”

“The Chrysalis incident was a bit muddled thanks to what she did to my Sombra,” Discord scowled briefly “bitch. Anyway, I think it was about a solid fortnight the second time?”

Sombra unfolded a wing to wrap it around his husband's shoulders. Discord relaxed at the warmth, smiling briefly at the stallion. He chanced placing a brief kiss on Sombra's muzzle before the doc spoke up, turning to face the medical pony.

“Well, I will assume its been a few days. I had intended to discuss your next check-up with you prior to today, King Sombra sir, but your aide said he'd seen you both returning to your room and not to enter if he heard any loud noises-”

THUNK.

Sombra had done his head-desk routine just like the incident with Feather.

“Y-your majesty?” the doctor asked.

“I am going to clobber him.” Sombra snarled into the desk.

“Nah, leave it to me, I’ll give him a good pranking, my love.” Discord chuckled. He leaned in close and murmured something in Sombra's ear that made the stallion lift his head and glower at the Draconequus, but he looked a little less peeved. His expression was so cute, with the way his nose was scrunched, that Discord had to sit on the urge to kiss him there and then.

“I apologise if I said anything untoward your majesty. My wife has chastised me on a similar matter..” the doctor raised an amused eyebrow and the King blinked at him before relaxing a little and even uttering a soft chuckle.

“Back to the matters at hoof, I can assume its been a few days?”

“Yes, since it began.” Sombra went back to being serious as he calmed down.

“I would suggest in the final quarter of your heat cycle. It doesn’t leave much time, but such is the matter. You intend to make a formal announcement to the populace. They will need to know why you are absent.”

“Of course,” Discord said and Sombra nodded silently “we'll do it as soon as possible.”

“Doctor.” Sombra bit his lip anxiously “what are the chances of success?”

“Well,” the doctor wondered how best to phrase it “in a way it's all down to your body's capability, sire. You will need a lot of magic in order to best support yourself, but magic can be donated throughout the process.”

“I'll give you whatever you need, love.” Discord assured him “your body has always adapted to chaos magic well. I'm sure Eris knows a thing or two, she's good at this stuff.”

Sombra nodded, feeling a bit better.

“We'll get you everything you need, your majesty.” the doctor promised “there no need to worry. I recommend you rest as much as you can and avoid any overuse of your magic.”

Sombra nodded again, feeling light headed. This was really happening!

They made the announcement from the balcony of their palace the next day, standing side by hide, hoof and hand clasped. The crowds cheered loudly when they learned their majesties were going to try for a child using Sombra's Infinitum abilities. As the only male capable of having children in this manner, via the crystal magic he was made of, many envied their luck. This child would be born royal, a fusion of two strong types of magic.

“I apologise in that this will keep me away from you for upwards of a month,” Sombra said into the mic “the stasis is very heavy duty and will require me to remain in a sleeping state, at a rare level of awareness.”

“Is it safe, your majesty?” one reporter called, voice magnified by a spell.

“We are working to make sure its as safe as can be for my husband,” Discord said in response “Most of the process is handled by Sombra's mind and body, so I have no doubts he will be just fine, but we will do everything we can to ease the burden.”

Sombra flushed happily and smiled at his beloved. Discord squeezed his hoof reassuringly, the motion captured by the spells magnifying and displaying the two to the crowds below. They cheered at the closeness and ease the couple shared.

“Will the child be a mix of both your traits, or will it be solely inherit Umbrum magic?” another asked and Sombra smiled as he answered.

“We have discovered how to infuse our magic so that it can be worked into the process. It is my sincerest hope our child will inherit the best of both our abilities. It will be quite simply, in my mind, a marvel.”

Discord flushed, recalling Sombra's words that occasion when he'd been doubting himself. The stallion had called him a marvel and declared it was part of why he loved him…

More cheers from the crowd below, they were all very touched by this sentiment.

“Do you have a name chosen yet?” came the next question from a local paper.

“Not yet,” Discord spoke up “we figured we'll work that out when our little one is born.”

They answered a few more questions before calling an end to the announcement. Loud cheering followed them as they stepped into the corridors of the palace. Sombra beamed up at Discord and was kissed lovingly in return. He gave a happy sigh as they parted, his contentment clear in his eyes.

Two nearby guards stared enviously and Sombra asked were they alright?

“Yes sir, just very envious sire.” the first chuckled, nodding at the two.

Sombra smiled warmly, wings fluffing up as he felt his lovers hand settle atop his back.

As the days passed, Sombra worked on his proposed “crystal battery” plan. He used his own crystals, building them as strong as he could. He moulded them into the shape of the gem that usually resided in his necklace, so they could be switched out as and when needed.

He tested his prototype out, discovering it did indeed work, but the energy needed a time release spell if it was to be effective in stasis.

“Hows progress?” Corona floated into the King's workshop, studying the gem as Sombra removed it from his neckplate, setting the original gem back in its slot.

“Good, so far. It still needs a spell to control the magic’s release,” Sombra frowned “otherwise it’ll absorb too fast. I need to attune it to my biological wavelength. There has to be a way?”

“Well, dinners ready and your husband insisted I go fetch you and drag you down to dinner, if need be.”

“I would like to see you try,” Sombra chuckled and Corona grinned.

“OK, I surrender!! Your strength is far higher than I expected Captain!.”

Sombra's sides ached from laughter as the Gargoyle let go of him. Corona had grabbed the back of his cloak and managed to drag the King across the room, the stallion laughing fit to bust the whole time, before letting go.

“Thank you, Sombra sir.” the Gargoyle winked at the stallion and laughed. Chuckling, the monarch accompanied his friend down to the dining hall where his husband awaited.

A scant two days before the day was due for the stasis to begin, Sombra finished the spell on the gem. He ran tests as best he could, deciding it was as good as it was going to get. It was thus installed in his necklace in place of the regular gem.

On the day itself, both royals were off duty, with Sombra's mother taking over. The would-be parents were cosied up atop the bed in Sombra's room, sharing a bottle of (non-alcoholic) wine and a great many kisses. The shield surrounded the bed, keeping them private from the rest of the palace.

They parted at last, Sombra flushing softly.

“Nervous, love?” Discord asked, massaging his stallions stomach and making him moan softly.

“A little, yes” Sombra admitted “but excited also.”

“Me too, my love. And I don’t mean just emotionally.” cue the eyebrow waggling. Sombra burst out laughing, kissing the Draconequus fiercely.

“Shall we begin?” Discord whispered, letting the hand rubbing the King's belly slide further down. Sombra nodded, stomach fluttering anxiously.

“Relax my love...” Discord whispered, then snapped his fingers as he sat back. Sombra uttered a surprised yet also aroused yelp as those vines from before made an appearance. Trussed up and incapable of moving, his heart hammered in his chest as Discord sat in front of him…

His wings pomf'd out to full as soon as he felt those slick lube-coated fingers thrust into him, the familiar yet always welcome sensation making him moan eagerly.

Discord hand circled the tip of his partners shaft, squeezing gently with every flex of his fingers, his tongue lapping up the drops of pre each time. Eventually he removed his fingers from his husband, bracing his hands either side of his head as he pressed his hard, urgently throbbing shaft against the pony’s rump.

He kissed Sombra at the same time he thrust into him, muffling the pony's moan of pleasure. He deepened the kiss, their tongues intertwining as he pulled back slowly and thrust in again, fully hilted inside his King. He only ceased kissing the stallion so as to pick up the pace, aiming for that sweet spot with each deep, penetrative thrust.

“Discord….yes..” Sombra growled deeply, clenching his body around the sizeable member filling him, revelling in the sensation of the organ rubbing his inside walls. This made Discord groan deeply, shifting back so he could grasp the Alicorn's hips tightly, then tug the pony’s tail with one hand. This sent a delicious jolt of desire up Sombra's back, triggering the start of his climax and it mounted rapidly with each passing second.

With a loud cry, he could no longer restrain himself and came. He was aware of his lover climaxing seconds after, ever mindful of the thick fluids filling him now, what they were for…

Discord pulled out with a grin, admiring the stallion, with his forelegs bound above his head by the vines. He motioned one of them to lightly tease the King, watching as they did so. One slowly traced a pattern down the King's belly, while another teased the pony's shaft.

Noticing the overspill staining the sheets between the King's thighs, Discord had an idea. He lay himself down, ordering one of the wines to assist HIM this time as he began using his tongue to please the King.

“Ahh..” Sombra shuddered and moaned, he liked this little treat “right there- mmhh...”

He squirmed against his bonds, but he was at Discord's mercy and the Draconequus was aiming to blow his mind. Feeling the tongue pushing into him, spreading him just enough to tease, he gave in to the need welling within him as his husband ate him out.

But there was a twist to this plan, for just as Sombra was on the verge of coming, Discord ceased what he was doing and sat up. Sombra looked breathlessly at him, licking his lips…

They were soon claimed as Discord kissed him right as he thrust his cock into Sombra. This sent a mind blowing jolt up Sombra's back as the bigger, hotter mass plunged into him now.

While he'd been pleasuring his beloved, Discord had told one of the vines to work on his shaft, just enough to get him close enough to come, but not reach it. Soon as he'd detected Sombra was about to climax he ceased teasing and went for the finale. So he thrust his endowment into the King, thrusting hard and fast while Sombra moaned into the kiss. Sombra bit on his lip gently and his body bucked in the vines hold as he blew his load. Discord held back as long as he could then gave his King his reward, filling him a second time. The choice to allow the process meant that Sombra's body would, to put it bluntly, store the genetic material via magic. So Discord aimed to give him plenty.

He released the stallion from his kissing so he could hear him cry his name as he hit his peak. This time, he ducked his head, lapping up the cum as it spattered on Sombra's coat. The pony was breathing rapidly as he lapped up the last drop, murmuring his husband's name.

“How are you feeling my love..?” Discord asked as he pulled out “that got you a full tank, or do you want me to top it off?”

Sombra flushed, happily accepting the glass of ice water Discord held up to his mouth.

“Yes,” he said croakily “I want to be absolutely certain it will be enough..”

“As you wish my love.” Discord smiled.

“I would like to feel your warmth awhile first.” Sombra asked softly.

With a snap of his fingers. Discord released his husband from the vines and drew him into his arms. They kissed slowly, their body heat keeping them cosy while they caught their breath…

“I'm going to miss you, my love.” Discord whispered as he stroked Sombra's mane. Sombra smiled up at him, nuzzling at his muzzle.

“As I you, my dear Discord. I will dream of our nights together as I sleep, I promise you that. It will keep me company until I can touch your face again.”

“Oh I’ll be needing you to touch more than just that.” Discord quipped, making Sombra laugh happily.

“It is a promise,” he said, eyes twinkling in amusement and was thanked with a deep kiss from Discord.

Feeling his body aching again, the longing stirring into its final stage, Sombra nuzzled Discord.

“Before we begin the final contribution, I want to give you a little thank you.” the stallion whispered.

He lay Discord on his belly and gave him a good rutting, once more using his shadow tendrils to tease and toy with him. It was a seductive thrill, hearing Discord begging him to go hard and fast, really take him-

Sombra used his magic to mimic the sensation of his fangs biting on Discord's ear. Discord moaned loudly, clenching his body around the stallion's shaft with each eager thrust.

With one final push, Discord felt his lover climax, hearing him moaning eagerly. Silence fell and he felt the warmth of Sombra's body as the pony rested atop him for a moment after climax.

Somehow, with the help of Sombra's shadow tendrils, Discord had kept himself from hitting orgasm and intended to put it to good use. When Sombra pulled out, he realised this and happily let Discord lie him on his back.

The final bout of love making was a more gentle, more adoring affair as Discord kissed and nuzzled his lover's sensitive spots, from ears to neck to chest, taking as much time as possible to please his King. He held Sombra close as they came, feeling the final load of cum fill his precious King.

Panting heavily, he gently pulled out, kissing Sombra on the forehead. The pony looked so content, eyes shining in the light and ears trembling happily.

“Time already?” Discord asked and the pony nodded, drawing the Draconequus into a deep, passionate kiss.

“You’ll be fine, my love.” He said reassuringly.

“I know, but I’ll miss you.” Discord whispered.

“I shall miss you too, but we wont be apart for long, when I return we will have the third member of our family. He or she will be excited to meet their chaos father.”

“I'll have everything set up. A crib, some supplies, all of it. You just relax.” Discord traced the shape of his husband's face, running his hands over a pony he'd be absent from for a month. Sombra nuzzled against him, planting a kiss on Discord's palm.

“I love you, don't forget” he said firmly, kissing Discord's lips once more.

“I love you too...” Discord said, using one last spell to clean his and his lovers coat off, so he wouldn’t feel all sweaty. Sombra smiled at the sweetness of the gesture, and curled up atop the bed. Discord backed away, and Sombra closed his eyes. He felt a surge of power run through him as the world began to go distant.

“I'll see you soon, love.” were the last words he heard from Discord then he fell into stasis sleep and the world fell away.

“Come back soon, my dear Sombra.” Discord whispered, resting a hand on the solid lump of crystal that surrounded his husband. He hoped he'd be alright on his own.

He stepped outside into the hall, where the doctor was sitting in a chair several meters away and reading a magazine. He looked up as the Draconequus approached.

“Is he..?” the doc asked and Discord nodded.

“In full stasis, yes.” he sighed heavily.

“It'll be alright, your majesty. He'll have every available expert keeping tabs on him, and you are free to visit whenever you wish. If you'd feel better, i'll have a spare travel bed set up in the room, so you needn’t stray far from him.”

“I'd appreciate that, thank you.” Discord said softly.

Discord's diary, day 1:

Well, my dear Sombra has gone into stasis now. Already, this castle feels empty without him by my side. I made a promise to look after the kingdom while he sleeps, while he creates the newest addition to our family.

Day 3: So far, he's stable. The unicorn doctors are monitoring him as closely as they can. They’ve even hooked up a mix of spells and machinery that senses any fluctuations inside the crystal.

The beeping is what lulls me to sleep at night.

I dream of his smile, of his kiss. But it feels hollow without him here. The best I have is a memory, of his warmth, of his voice.

Day 7: No change, just minor fluctuations. I am loathe to leave his side for long, but I promised that I would care for our kingdom while he is sleeping. Umbra is with me and Page Assist is being a little less obnoxious, I think he knows how much I’m missing my husband.

Day 9: I contemplated summoning a cloud clone of him, but after the last one went nutty, I don’t want to risk it. Besides, it wont be able to talk, so what’s the point…

Day 15: The alarms went off in the middle of the night. I was awake in a second, it felt like my heart was in my chest. I put my hands on the crystal, as if somehow I could reach him deep inside it. I don’t think he even has a tangible body right now. He IS this crystal.

When I touched it, I thought I could feel him, so I transferred some of my magic. Once I reached out, it latched onto me, accepting my power. It took a lot more than I’d expected by the end, but the alarms fell silent, back to the rhythm of normality. The doctors came racing in, I explained what I’d done.

They were astonished, but relieved too. Their theory is Sombra and I have a very special bond, one even his crystal state can recognise. It knows I love him.

Day 17: I cannot sleep, I’m lying awake on this camping bed, watching the moonlight shine off the crystal that has taken over our bed. Its beautiful, just as he always was. Majestic, powerful.

Day 21: I received a letter from Twilight Sparkle. She and the girls are asking if they can come visit once the little one is born, Pinkie Pie wishes to bring gifts for a “baby shower”, although knowing those 6, it’ll be a tsunami. They’re good, that lot…

Day 26, another alarm. I gave him everything I had...and it settled. It worried me, was his magic not enough, or is this alarm rung from complications? I wish I knew. Even Umbra isn’t sure, she has explained everything she knew, but with limited overall information of the Infinitums, my beloveds kind, we can only guess at times.

Day 28: The Yak Prince, Rutherford, very kindly sent over a hoof-carved wooden crib. It's sturdy enough, he says, to withstand even the most boisterous child. I have written to him, thanking him for his generosity, I love it. It's carved with images from Yak fairytales, so that the little one might feed his or her imagination.

I wonder, which will it be? Boy or Girl? Whatever the outcome is, I want them to be the happiest they can be? I want to teach them about both my kind and Sombra's.

Day 30: More gifts are arriving en masse. A big box from Ponyville, no need to guess who that’s from, and one from Canterlot! Celestia and Luna sent a sun-themed mobile and a moon themed blanket. They’re beautiful, they feel lie the softest silk.

Pinkie has been sending lots of toys and cakes. The cakes, Umbra and I have been dealing with. They’re very tasty.

Twilight has sent books she once owned as a child, stories she thinks the young one will love. I can feel how important they are just by touching them, they were her treasures once.

Rainbow has sent a plush Wonderbolt toy, it speaks when you squeeze it. I am sure the little one will never want to let go.

Rarity has made an adorable little set of cloaks, to cover until he's a few years old. I admire her forethought, for she has designed them so they can be easily altered depending on the child’s physical appearance.

AJ and her family made jars of baby food, apple-sauce and other foodstuffs, easily enough to cover a month!

Dearest Fluttershy gave some carved sculptures made by her animal friends. I have placed them on the window by the crib, they have the fresh scent of the woods about them…

Day 31: I'm just putting away the generous gifts from the Crystal empire, which included an adorable drawing made by little Flurry. Two colourful blobs I assume are Sombra and I, she’s definitely got an artistic side-

With a shiver and a shudder, the crystal atop the bed began to tremble.

The diary dropped from Discord's hands, the pen rolling away under the camp bed. The anxious chaos King dove onto the bed, gaze darting this way and that over the crystal.

Unnoticed by him, the equipment by the bed sparked and powered down and the windows rattled in their frames.

The doctors were on break, Discord had taken over guarding his beloved while they took a well deserved rest and had some food. They’d been monitoring Sombra every spare minute of the day, now that the due time was so close...

There was a glow from the crystal that was so bright it forced discord to scramble back, shielding his eyes. His heart pounded, what was happening..?

At last, silence fell and he chanced opening his eyes. His heart leapt to his mouth when he seen Sombra, curled up in the same position he'd been in when he'd said goodbye. But his wing was curved across his body, hiding most of him from view.

“Sombra...” Discord whispered, why wasn’t he moving…?

Just as he took a single step closer, Sombra took a deep, rasping breath, as if surfacing from water. He coughed softly and Discord didn't falter any longer. He gently moved the King's wing aside, his eyes meeting his husband's.

Sombra smiled up at him, sitting up shakily, revealing what he cradled in his foreleg.

“Discord.” he said weakly “say hello...to our son.”

Discord's eyes fell upon the bundle in Sombra's hold. He had a Draconequus' body, with wings just like Sombra's, their crystal melding with his fur. His mane was jet black like the stallions and he had a unicorns horn too. Two deer-like antlers, thin and elegant, poked up from beside pony ears. His was a round, innocent face, with a muzzle that was a perfect balance between his fathers features.

Discord felt like his whole world was this adorable little being. The childs eyes opened and he uttered a whimper, closing them again against the light. Discord watched, almost holding his breath as the little one opened his eyes again, their deep orange depths seeming to focus on him. Discord held out a finger and his heartfelt about to burst with joy as the little dracon-pony grasped it in one chubby hand.

“He has hands just like yours,” Sombra smiled “gentle, kind hands. Go on, hold him.”

“A-are you sure..?” Discord asked, suddenly shy.

“Yes, my love. He has recognised me as one half of his world, now its time he meets the other half.”

Discord swallowed nervously, hands shaking a little as he took the baby from Sombra's arms. The pony sat back, watching his husband as he marvelled at the little life form he cradled so lovingly.

“Hello, little one..” Discord whispered, gaze locked with the baby's “I’m your other dad, Discord. Your father and I, we've been so anxious to meet you. We have so much to show you, the world we live in, the kingdom you are born into, there's a whole world out there for you to meet. You have magic born of so much, just waiting to be learned...”

Tears welled up in Discord's eyes as his son burbled softly and stuffed a chubby hand in his own mouth. But his wide eyes remained fixed on Discord, like he knew this was also daddy.

Sombra's heart ached from the sheer, pure happiness of this moment. Seeing his son meet Discord. Seeing the love and joy in his husbands eyes. Discord's happy tears mimicked his own as he sat there.

“He's- he's wonderful.” Discord whispered, gently stroking the childs face with one fingertip. The child cooed softly, eyes already drooping closed, cosy and warm in Discord's hold.

“Yes,” Sombra croaked, vision blurring “he's a marvel, just like...you...”

He realised his vision wasn’t blurring just from tears. He was falling asleep, the world fading at the edges…

Discord felt terror claw at his heart as Sombra abruptly collapsed. He looked to the machines, but they'd been blasted by the energy surge resulting from Sombra's return.

Instead, he aimed a hand at the doors, throwing them open and filing the hall with a bright light. This had the doctors come running from where they'd been sat in a little alcove down the hall.

They raced in, seeing a frantic Discord, something in his arms, looking at a collapsed Sombra.

Everything after that was a blur, to the chaos King. He was ushered to one side, dimly aware of one of the unicorns asking to see the child? Discord set him down in the crib, the panel lowered so the doctor could check him over. His gaze darted from the crowd of ponies around his precious Sombra, then back to the child so new to this world.

At last the ponies stepped back, sighing in relief. Discord's heart lurched and he blurted “is he?”

They stepped further back, revealing that they’d attached a drip to Sombra, along with an oxygen mask over his mouth and muzzle. The Alicorn's eyes were closed, breathing slightly rapid. He was connected to a repaired heart machine, which was beeping erratically.

“He went into shock, sire.” the lead doctor explained “he's stabilised now, thankfully it was only a minor attack. He needs rest, and magic.”

“I will give him whatever he needs.” Discord said, striding over to the bed. Sitting down at its side, he clasped his husband's left hoof in a shaking hand and closed his eyes.

He felt them connect, felt how low an ebb his husband's power was at. He fed his magic slowly through the link, sensing it bolstering Sombra's weakened body.

The doctors heaved a collective sigh as the ECG steadied out, the Alicorn's breathing settling into a more normal range. Some colour even returned to his face…

Discord let go of his hoof, head swimming. One of the aides rushed to steady him as he looked ready to black out.

“Your majesty- are you alright?” the worried pony asked. Discord regained his composure, lifting his head, looking down at the pony slumbering atop the bed. He snapped his fingers weakly and the blankets tucked themselves gently around Sombra.

“I'm fine, just drained. I gave him everything I could. He needs it.”

“You must rest, sire. Your husband will be fine, he just needs sleep.”

Discord nodded, stumbling over to where the doctor was tucking the blanket Luna had made around the child.

“Well, good news. I'm happy to announce, by all accounts and tests, that you have a healthy baby boy.”

Discord nodded, eyes resting on his baby. The child was sleeping peacefully for now, no doubt he would be hungry soon. Formula needed to be mixed...

Discord realised he'd needed an extra helping hand.

“One of you, please fetch Umbra. I need her assistance.”

Umbra came running soon as she was summoned, Page Assist beside her.

She was concerned by her sons weak state, but Discord assured her that he was going to be alright. He just needed rest.

Together, Umbra and Page Assist got their first look at the new royal baby.

“He's beautiful..” Umbra squeed softly.

“He's got many traits from you both, sire.” Page Assist said softly, smiling as he looked at the baby.

The baby whimpered, stirring awake, hungry. Discord picked up a bottle of formula, made from a recipe Eris had dug up for him. He'd gone over it with the cook, creating a mix that combined vitamins and minerals for a pony too.

Discord scooped his son up ever so gently, cradling him against his chest with one arm whilst guiding the bottle to the baby’s mouth.

The baby’s whimpers and cries died down as he got to work having his first ever meal.

“Awww...” Umbra said ever so softly “he's just so sweet!”

“Have you named him, sire?” Page Assist asked.

“Not yet, I intend to wait until my husband is well, it is his choice as much as mine.” Discord said lovingly.

“I'm sure my son will be up and about soon.” Umbra assured him “that child will be anxious to see you both.”

Discord asked if she could help him write a letter to Eris, they'd developed a secretive way of communicating. He needed her here, asap…

Discord stayed by Sombra's side as much as he could. Umbra took over running the Kingdom, leaving her son in law to spend all his time with his husband and son. Two days passed and still Sombra slept..

By the third day, Discord was tired, so very tired. He'd been giving as much energy as he could spare to his beloved between feeding, changing and caring for his son. Sometimes he took a break, allowing the kindly nurses to take over. They fussed over the baby, cooing and smiling.

“He's just the cutest, your majesty!” the nurse declared, smiling at Discord, who was sat by his husbands side once more. Gently stroking the sleeping pony’s hoof, hoping for him to wake…

“He's got his fathers eyes...” Discord said proudly “I can just see the smarts behind them.”

The baby let out a fairly colossal belch for one so small.

“That, that can be blamed on my side of the family.” Discord said apologetically and the two nurses chuckled.

“If he starts doing that with the alphabet, be concerned.” the Draconequus quipped, smiling at a memory from not so long ago.

But his thought train was derailed when Sombra gave a sudden gasp, heart rate speeding up. Discord just ducked in time as the startled and disorientated pony’s wings shot up in defence.

Ducking under them, he quickly pulled his husband into his arms, stroking his mane and whispering in his ear.

“It's alright my love, just breathe.”

As he'd done the day Sombra had defeated Chrysalis, Discord kissed him gently once he'd pulled the mask out of the way, to bring him under control. Sombra's body went limp, the tension evaporating, wings slumping down….

They parted with a soft gasp, Sombra's eyes clearing of their haze, a more lucid look on his face.

“D-discord?! I- where am I?” he asked, as he recognised the sight of his partner.

“It's alright, you’re in your room. In your bed. In my arms. All three are safe places, so don’t fret. You’re alright, you passed out after you returned.” as he spoke, he stroked long strands of mane away from Sombra's face, pressing a hand to his cheek.

“Relax, my love.” he insisted, and eventually the stallion allowed himself to be set back against the pillows. His breathing was still a little ragged so Discord gently pressed the oxygen mask back over his muzzle.

Sombra was on the verge of relaxing when he suddenly went tense again.

“M-my baby-” he stammered “our child, Discord-”

“It's alright, he's fine.”

Discord gestured to the nurses to bring him over.

“Are you sure you should be moving about, sire?” the first nurse asked Sombra.

“I want-” Sombra rasped “to see my child. This very instant!” his voice was bordering on upset.

Discord looked sternly at the nurses “if you want to get between a father and his child, you’d better be crazy. You heard him.”

The nurse nodded, gently levitating the whimpering child to his parents. Discord took him and gently set him in Sombra's arms. The baby calmed down, recognising both his fathers. Sombra relaxed visibly, letting his body sink back against the pillows. The child burbled softly, nuzzling against the Alicorn's soft, fluffy chest, the scent of his fathers coat a reassuring thing.

“Isn’t he amazing,” Discord rubbed behind Sombra's ears “do you have a name yet, love?”

Sombra smiled. Despite his exhaustion, he'd dreamt of this moment for a long time. He looked up at his husband, a name from the books Eris had given him springing to mind.

“I was thinking...how about Loki?”

“Loki..” Discord whispered, touched by his beloveds decision “a name from chaos' history.”

“Exactly,” Sombra smiled “you and I, were very similar. Darkness can be chaos too, but it can also be exciting. They both can, we are proof of that, what we can do. This little one is a new, unique being, so why not the name of the figure your books described as being the spirit of wit and wisdom?”

“It's perfect.” Discord smiled tearfully. They looked down at the child sleeping in Sombra's arms “hello, Loki.” they said as one.

The nurses watched this in silence, proud that they got to witness such a wonderful occasion. Prince Loki, of Umbrum and Chaos lineage. Son to two very proud parents….

Discord kissed Sombra deeply, whispering words of love in his ear, making him blush softly, he looked so happy.

Author's Note

Cambridle is based on Cambridge, where my big sister lives! ^_^

Almost Home

Author's Note

Thank you all for waiting, enjoy!

Thanks as always to LadyUmbra for her help!

Almost Home

Sombra grew in strength day by day and soon there was no need for drips and oxygen masks, he was able to comfortably do without. His husband was also back in bed with him every night, and he was relieved to be able to hold the stallion once more.

To his parents surprise, Loki turned out to be a very heavy sleeper. The new parents weren't woken half as often by his hungry/upset wails as they expected, but when they were, they'd both bolt out of bed and dash to his side.

“One of us could sleep on, love.” Discord chuckled as he set Loki back in his crib, having sung him a lullaby. Propped up against his side, Sombra smiled softly.

“I know, my dear Discord. I'm just so anxious, I cannot stay still.”

Discord nodded then kissed him softly, wrapping his arms around the pony as they gazed down at their sleeping son.

“I know just how you're feeling, my sweet Sombra. It's such a wonderful thing, knowing we have a son.”

Sombra nodded and nuzzled him happily, he had the family he'd always dreamed of…

As his husband got into bed, Discord’s eyes settled on the pony's rump. He bit back a groan, he was getting so easily aroused lately…

But just days after Sombra’s awakening, the doctor had taken Discord aside and stressed that Sombra shouldn't be partaking of any “sexual activity” until he was fully recovered.

“You see, this is different to just his magic being drained. The usage of his abilities has put strain on his physical body too. The drips and medicine he is taking at present will help until he is ready to start moving around, but I must insist you two refrain from...” he waved a hoof.

“The horizontal tango?” Discord sighed heavily. It'd been so long since he'd “been” with his husband. Entertaining himself could only do so much-

“Yes...” the doctor said dryly “that’s the one.”

“Alright. For my Sombra.” Discord had sighed.

Sombra heard his beloved sigh and his ears twitched. He halted, body halfway onto the bed, peering back at his husband.

“What is wrong, love?” he asked, brow furrowing. Discord turned bright red and blathered about everything and nothing, grinning sheepishly.

“It’s absolutely, totally nothing, cutie!” he finished lamely, face aching from the fake grin he had plastered on it.

“Mm-hmm.” Sombra was looking at something other than Discord’s face as he spoke “yet that is not what you are telling me, my love.”

Discord blinked, looked down and-

“Dang it, wang, this is not the time! Can’t trust you, can I?”

Sombra muffled a laugh, beckoning his husband closer.

But Discord resolutely shook his head “as tempting as that ass of yours is, the doctor will literally flay me alive if he realises I ploughed your royal plot.”

“Well,” Sombra tapped a hoof against his chin as he contemplated this, eyes gleaming as an idea formed itself in his head “there are things I can do that don't involve just rutting.”

He lay back on the bed, propped up by the pillows, a seductive smile curving his lips. He motioned Discord to stand over him and…

“You may want to hold onto the headboard, love.” Sombra advised, before sitting forward and-

Discord gave a low groan as his aroused member was surrounded by the warmth of his husband's mouth…

“Mmhh, that was- wow..” Discord stepped back, legs actually shaking from the force of the orgasm he’d just experienced and sat down with a bump in front of the stallion. He kissed Sombra, grinning as he caught his taste on Sombra's lips. “You’re really good at that, cutie. And what you do with your hooves- sublime!”

“Well, I had a good teacher.” the pony said languidly.

“That guy at the bar that you ploughed all that time ago?”

“No!” Sombra chuckled at the memory of his first adventure prior to Discord “I read a book from the Umbrum library, sex is a big facet of our culture, as you know. The book I read described quite an interesting way to use your tongue.”

“Well, are there any other lessons you wish to show off?” Discord asked with a big grin, kissing his muzzle.

“Tomorrow night, my love.” Sombra teased “I wont see you wanting for anything, I promise.”

Discord kissed him hotly, grateful that he had a partner who wasn't frightened off by his bedroom appetite. If anything, Sombra was growing increasingly more adventurous with each year…

Now that he was awake in the regular sense of the word, Sombra found he was hit by all manner of cravings. What with having been incapable of eating during his stasis and sustained purely by magic throughout, he naturally wanted anything and everything!

Watching Sombra polish off a second helping of dinner, Discord queried where Sombra was putting it all?

The stallion thought about it then shrugged, he hadn't a single clue on the matter. He just knew he'd missed food something chronic during his month-long absence. The doctor later suggested that his body was simply metabolising so fast to recoup from the absence, thus it was burning up the calories in next to no time.

“It should settle down.” was his eventual diagnosis.

“At least it is not all going to my rear.” Sombra mused with a wry grin.

“Why, want me to check?” Discord waggled his eyebrows in his usual crude manner, making Sombra laugh loudly. He pulled the chaos King in for a kiss, groaning happily as his husband held him.

Loki gurgled in his crib and they quickly parted, sharing a guilty “maybe later” smile. They couldn't afford to get amorous now, baby Loki needed them, he was still so little. They’d been making do with oral and magical pleasures as far as their intimacy went and although Sombra was insistent he was fully recovered, Discord did notice he became exhausted easily by the days end.

Two days later, the girls came by for a visit from Ponyville. Bearing even more gifts, they were met at the entrance by Umbra, who showed them upstairs.

“Sombra is still resting, doctor’s orders. He complains often of being bored, but the process took quite a lot out of him.”

Sombra was propped up in bed, with Loki nestled in his forelegs, when the door opened. Discord was curled up atop the bed beside his husband, he glanced over and smiled, beckoning them all in.

“Ooh, can we see the baby? Can we, please? Huh, huh?” Pinkie Pie asked, her eyes wide as saucers as she danced from hoof to hoof in anticipation.

Discord motioned them to come forward slowly and they all filed around to the far side of the bed where Sombra lay. They laid their eyes on the newly arrived baby and instantly a chorus of adoring coos and smiles swept over over the group of mares.

Loki was curled in the stallion’s left foreleg, face buried in the crook of it. His little ears twitched as he heard the soft murmurs surrounding him and his tail, which was draped over Sombra's leg, twitched gently as his eyes opened. Their brilliant orange depths caught the light as they focused on these new faces surrounding him.

“He's just adorable~” Rarity squeed softly.

Loki gave a squeak and burrowed his face back into the crook of his father’s leg, eyes scrunched shut and ears folded down.

“Aww, it's OK fellah, we ain't here ta scare ya!” Applejack promised.

“Y-yes, we just wanted to meet you, little one.” Fluttershy said softly. “You’re ever so sweet, aren’t you? We're your daddies friends!”

Something about the pegasus’ soft-spoken voice made Loki lift his head and open his eyes again.

“There there.” Fluttershy brought her face closer so he could see her better.

After a few seconds hesitation, the baby freed one arm from under him and reached clumsily for her. His chubby little fingers grasped her nose and squeezed and she gave a squeak of amusement. This made Loki giggle, so he did it again and Fluttershy caught on, giving an even more theatrical squeak and causing more delighted laughter.

“He’s so cute!” Pinkie Pie declared “me next!”

When Loki booped her nose, she made a variety of silly sounds and the baby dracon-pony grew a little more confident. With a scrunch of his nose, he poofed into existence atop Rarity's head, where he batted at her mane.

“Ah- Loki!” Sombra yelped “down from there, little one!”

“Oh it's quite alright, darling!” Rarity beamed, peering up at the face so close to her own as Loki peered at her “he's just exploring-eeh!”

She giggled and went cross eyed as Loki did the cutest thing and planted a kiss on her forehead, before teleporting to atop Rainbow’s back.

“Hey, champ!” Rainbow spread her wings for him to pet, then took off slowly and flew him leisurely around the room, listening to him giggle in glee and clutching fistfuls of her mane so he didn’t fall off.

Discord nuzzled Sombra's cheek as he watched their son “it’s good to see him so excitable, isn’t it?”

“He has a rambunctious side~” Sombra teased “just like you!”

Discord grinned proudly as Fluttershy caught his eye. Loki was teleporting from mare to mare, getting cuddles and kisses from all of them, his happy gurgles earning him even more “d’awws”.

“He’s simply adorable Discord,” she beamed “I'm so happy to see your family grow.”

“So am I, Fluttershy,” Discord said gently “at first I didn’t think I could be a father, but my dear Sombra and a good friend convinced me otherwise.”

Sombra smiled softly, nuzzling Discord’s cheek lovingly.

Eventually, Loki grew hungry and began to whimper softly.

"Oh hay, someones got a rumbly tummy!" Twilight cooed as she returned him to Sombra's arms and Discord went to mix up a bottle of formula. Sombra relaxed back against the pillows as Discord took the baby and Loki’s cries gradually diminished as he was fed.

“Aww, he's all tuckered out.” Fluttershy whispered as Loki fell asleep in Discord’s hold soon after finishing the entire bottle off.

“Sleeps like a log, this one does.” Discord chuckled, listening to the soft burbling sounds his child made.

“He gets that from you.” Sombra teased as he kissed Loki on the forehead “sometimes I think it would take the end of the world to rouse you before you wish to be woken.”

“You manage.” Discord shot back with a teasing grin.

“That success is because I know your weak spots. Thus, my dear Discord, my victory.” Sombra replied with an arched eyebrow and an almost seductive smirk.

"Oh-ho...is that so?" Discord retorted...

Rainbow Dash looked from one to the other as this debate went on.

“Innuendos!” she surmised triumphantly after several seconds. Applejack snickered to herself and Rarity rolled her eyes at the pegasus.

“Pretty much, yes.” Sombra sighed good-naturedly “I have been tutored in such a linguistic fashion by a certain husband of mine.”

“Guilty, yo.” Discord chuckled as he hopped down from the bed and moved to tuck Loki back into his crib. The child whimpered in his sleep and flailed his arms as if seeking something.

Discord looked about then scooped up an obviously well-loved plush Wonderbolt from where it'd fallen to the floor, giving it back to his son. Loki clutched it close and fell asleep again, burbling softly…

“He adores that toy.” Discord said to Rainbow Dash, who said she could always buy more if he needed them!

That evening, Sombra was finally told by the doctor that he could leave his bed and the King immediately opted to join the others for dinner.

“I am almost fully recovered, my appetite is back to regular levels. Why did I remain in bed so long?” he wondered.

“The doctor just wanted to make sure that you’ve truly recovered, love. You did use up a LOT of magic, plus what was stored in that gem AND everything that was fed in during stasis.”

“I know, I sensed that it was from you, love.” Sombra said softly as they walked with the girls towards the dining hall “I have been meaning to speak with you concerning it, I hope I did not take too much at the time-”

“Hush, you've nothing to worry about. It was nothing a decent nights sleep couldn't cure.” Discord said gently “I'd have given anything to ensure your safety and my magic can be regained, after all. So don't fret.”

Sombra flushed softly and nudged his husband’s shoulder gratefully with his muzzle.

The girls spent the whole weekend with the new baby and his parents. Loki seemed to grow infinitely more confident as the days went by, with his new playmates to encourage him. In between bouts of playtime with the girls, he'd bound over to his parents and persuade them with his big innocent eyes and insistent babbling noises, to join in on the games.

He particularly liked snuggling under Sombra's wings due to their massive size. Sombra would rest one wing flat and his son would burrow around underneath. On one occasion he discovered if he tickled the wing joint, both wings would go pomf in the air and his father would laugh.

“Oh-ho~” Discord grinned and Sombra blinked, realisation dawning just a split second before familiar hands tickled his wings at the base. He cracked up laughing, trying to sternly order his husband to stop, but the effort was hampered by his laughter.

He lightly zapped Discord, like he had back in his recovery days. The girls burst out laughing as it had an unexpected effect, Pinkie Pie clutching her sides from laughing. Catching his breath from the tickle onslaught, Sombra turned his head to see that Discord's fur had gone full floof so he resembled a fluffy toy.

Loki of course, absolutely loved this sight. He padded over and held up his short little arms to Discord for a hug, squealing in delight as he got his wish. His father’s strong, warm hands lifted him up and he burrowed happily into the mass of fur that was his chaos father’s chest, falling asleep amongst the fluffed up Draconequus fur.

“That kid is just made of adorable~” AJ wiped her eyes and smiled at the sleeping Loki as Discord settled his fur back down.

“He's inherited so many unique traits from you both,” Twilight added, looking over at Sombra “Has he shown much magic yet? Some children have bursts in their early development.”

“Hay yeah! Like the cake twins, hoo boy did they ever give me the run around!” Pinkie Pie nodded, recalling the boisterous twins and the madness her evening of watching them had contained.

“Bar the occasional instinctive teleport, nothing yet. It is not strong enough to sense yet, it probably wont grow in for a few more weeks. But, Chaos magic and my Umbrum/Dark magic seem to share similarities. Whichever way he develops, Discord and I can teach him everything he needs.”

Discord came over to stand beside him as he spoke with a sleeping Loki cradled in his arms. The baby snuffled in his sleep, uttering a scared whine as if he were having a bad dream, so Sombra placed a gentle kiss on the child’s forehead and he settled down again, a tiny smile curving his mouth.

“He can recognise our distinct scents,” Discord explained to the girls “it seems to reassure him if either one of us is close when he's having a bad sleep. Draconequui recognise scents from an early age, they can identify their parents in a crowded room.”

“Whoa, that is one keen sense of smell!” Pinkie Pie twitched her nose curiously.

--They make wonderful parents..-- Fluttershy thought as she watched them. Their love for their child was obvious in every word, every gesture. This little one was the first of his kind, he had a bright future ahead with two powerful parents to guide him…

The girls left on Monday morning, fussing over Loki while saying their goodbyes.

Loki sat on Sombra's back as the couple headed back inside, comfortably burrowed into the space between Sombra's wings. One gentle little hand stroked the soft feathers, his father’s wings fascinated him..

Back in their bedroom, Discord and Sombra put Loki to bed and then crept over to the couch, where they curled up in each others arms to enjoy some relaxation together. They talked idly of this and that, sharing the occasional nuzzle and kiss.

Sombra's heart thudded as Discord's hand rubbed between his wings, sending thrills up his back. It'd been awhile since they'd made love after all, since the doctor had stressed no physical strain for the equine King. Loki kept them both pretty busy, they couldn’t afford to be otherwise occupied when their son needed them…

The hand started to slip further down and Sombra abruptly broke the kiss.

“W-we shouldn’t...” he said anxiously, glancing at Loki’s crib.

Discord sighed, then let his hand move back to rest on Sombra's back. Sombra’s ears dipped slightly, he felt bad for refusing his husband…

“You guys SO need a babysitter.” a voice remarked and Sombra bit his lip to stifle a yelp. He couldn’t stop his wings however, which pomf'd up in fright.

Sombra stared, twitching slightly, at the female Draconequus who stood in the balcony doorway. Wordlessly, Discord folded his husband’s wings down, giving him a subtle tap on the bottom to persuade him to focus.

Sombra got down off the couch and went to greet Eris, receiving the usual bear hug as ever.

Discord hugged his sister tightly as he reached her “Long time no see.” he smiled, as he let her go.

“Yeah, sorry about this. It’s been a bit tricky sneaking out to check the messages in the papers lately.” Eris sighed heavily, then shrugged “ah well, no matter. I'm here now. I have just one question; where’s the baby? I wanna see him!”

Discord chuckled and brought her over to Loki’s crib. She peered in at the sleeping child, her eyes lighting up in glee.

“He's adorable, bro!” she whispered, squeeing softly. “Oh, those ears are just the cutest~”

Discord smiled proudly as he watched Eris fawn over the baby. Loki woke up right then and upon opening his eyes he seen his daddies and someone new. He squeaked and rolled into a ball, unsure who this towering figure was.

“Aww, it’s alright.” Eris said softly as Sombra floated the child up with his magic, settling him in the curve of one foreleg. Loki burrowed into his fathers leg so just his wide orange eyes peeked up, ears twitching.

“Say hello to your aunty Eris.” Sombra told his son gently. Loki looked up at him, then eventually over at Eris.

“Aunty Eris.” Discord repeated to his son, motioning Eris to move closer. She sat down in front of Sombra, so her face was level with Loki.

“Hi!” she said cheerily. Loki reached out a chubby hand and petted her muzzle curiously. She reached a hand out to him and he curled his little fingers around one of hers, nose twitching as he learned her scent.

“I'm your aunty. Your chaos daddy is my brother!”

Loki smiled at her and reached up to pet her hair now. Sombra motioned Eris to take him and she held her breath in silent delight as Loki allowed himself to be placed in her arms. He sniffed at her coat, decided her liked her and wrapped his arms around her, hugging her tightly.

Eris could barely say a word, she was so enraptured by the moment. This was her nephew, a new part of her family. She kissed the top of Loki’s head and he beamed up at her. Then his tummy rumbled and he whimpered, suddenly hungry. Sad eyes turned to his auntie…

“Wanna feed him?” Discord asked as Sombra went to fetch the formula from the fridge installed in the corner of the room. A big grin and a nod was his answer.

Sombra brought the bottle over, instructing her how to hold the baby and how to tilt the bottle. Holding her breath, Eris did as instructed and squealed happily when Loki began eagerly feeding from the bottle. His eyes flicked from his bottle up to the one feeding him and she swore he was memorising her in some way.

“Oh, he definitely knows you now,” her brother nodded “he studied Sombra and I the same way, as well as Umbra. He knows you're family now, your scent is in his memory.”

“That is so awesome. You guys have made the cutest baby, it's official!” Eris declared as she rocked the infant gently. Loki yawned as he finished the bottle, nuzzled his cheek against Eris' chest and promptly fell asleep with a tiny sigh.

“He is our pride and joy.” Sombra said, receiving a confirming nuzzle from Discord.

Eris spotted a look of longing cross Discord's face, seen his eyes trace the curve of Sombra's body and the sway of his tail as the Alicorn walked over to the door to set the empty bottle in a basket for cleaning.

“I know this is personal, but, when did you guys last have any “alone time”? You know, the old horizontal tango?”

Sombra blushed, but tried to think back, feeling a jab of guilt when he realised the span. Aside from his oral ministrations, they hadn’t really…

“Well, for me it has not been as long, but for you-” he looked up at his husband “it has been since I went into stasis. More than a month. The doctor has been insistent we not get too excited, as it were.”

Discord smiled faintly “This is the first time this process has been documented, he's right to take precautions. But I wont lie, I’ve missed being close to you, if you catch my drift.”

“As per the information we have, we spent most of the time bonding with Loki,” Sombra said to Eris “showing him his room, letting him meet his immediate family and friends, as well as setting his sleep pattern.”

“And you guys have done a great job, he's the most well behaved kid I’ve ever met. Draconequui are normally bundles of terror when they're young!”

“Well he is part well-groomed, well-mannered gorgeous stallion.” Discord teased his husband, seeing him flush.

“Well, why doesn't auntie Eris and auntie Umbra watch the little guy for the evening? You guys have been working yourselves silly I'll bet, you must be due a break by now. Go out, have fun. Go have a date or run around the chaos realm for the rest of today. I'm sure Umbra and I can keep this little terror occupied!”

“That would be nice- but should I really leave him?” Sombra fretted and Discord gave him a wry look, shaking his head.

“Oh, you are so taking an evening off. You’ve been busting that butt of yours for too long.”

“Well, so have you-” Sombra objected.

“Yes, but you did all the hard work “birthing” him, as it were. You deserve a break, amongst other things.” he patted the stallion on the bottom as he spoke, making Sombra blush bright red and squeak.

“Yup, you guys need to go do...” she fumbled for the word, finally going for “each other. I'll look after the baby.” Eris giggled as Sombra face-hoofed at how crude she was.

“You know you love it.” Discord teased his husband, chuckling at how flustered Sombra occasionally got around euphemisms.

Sombra groaned, but kissed his beloved, chuckling faintly.

Eris was set on her plan, going along with them to find Sombra's mother Umbra and telling her of the plan.

“If it is not a bother-” Sombra began again, fidgeting anxiously- but his mother stopped him with a smile.

“It’s no trouble, child. You both deserve a night off, you’ve been working yourself senseless since the “birth”, you deserve a day off. Loki, Eris and I will have a grand time together!”

“Thank you both!” Discord said, feeling a surge of affection for his sister and mother-in-law at their kindness.

“Now, shoo.” Eris pushed them towards the door “go do fun things, it’s an order!”

As they stood out in the hall, Discord looked at Sombra and snapped his fingers. A portal to the chaos realm opened up and he escorted the King through.

“What do you want to do first?” the chaos King asked, nuzzling his husband's cheek. “Loki will be in heaven playing with those two. I could feel how much longing was in the last “relief” you gave me, so don’t worry. Tonight is just us..”

Sombra nodded, there was no denying he had been imagining a good rutting for some time now.

“What’s on your mind?” Discord tilted the pony’s chin up so their eyes met.

“I'm looking at him~” Sombra said huskily. He faced Discord, pressing his body close to the Draconequus’.

Discord felt a flutter run through him as the warmth of Sombra's chest pressed against his. It'd been so long since he'd had the chance to make love to his King, he couldn’t stop himself from becoming aroused. Sombra noticed this and smirked, the light making his eyes gleam.

“Oh my, seems I should get started right away. How about a little preamble to the main event?” he purred seductively, dipping his head to suck gently at his lovers tip, swallowing the beads of pre-cum that welled up.

“Sombra-” Discord moaned, tangling his fingers in Sombra's mane and massaging the back of his neck. Sombra moaned eagerly as his tongue teased the chaos King’s hard-on.

--He likes that thing I do with my tongue, doesn’t he?-- Sombra thought and thus began stepping up the pace, teasing and pleasing in equal measure. Discord’s eager groans and gasps were like music to his ears and this was just the start.

As Sombra teased and lavished his shaft with that agile tongue, Discord had an idea. He leaned down so he could plant a kiss at the base of Sombra's back. Bracing his hands either side of his husband's flanks, the chaos being gripped the pony's tail in his mouth and tugged on it. A searing jolt of pleasure ran from his member to his spine as Sombra sucked even more eagerly.

Sombra groaned lustily as he felt his husband tug his tail again and took the Draconequus' whole shaft in, sensing his impending orgasm.

“Yes, that's it-!” Discord couldn't hold on any longer and with an eager thrust of his hips he came. He felt Sombra's hoof stroke his cock as he blew his load, prompting a second burst of cum as the first barely finished.

Discord caught his breath as the last drop was given, sitting back as Sombra released his member from his mouth, licking his lips.

“Mmm, how I have missed this,” Sombra said huskily. “Now. You gave me everything I desired when I went into stasis, so,” he kissed Discord, giving him a taste of himself, before nipping on his ear and whispering “tell me what you want, my love and I vow that I shall fulfil it.”

“Sombra.” Discord whispered, so many thoughts running through his head. So he picked the one that he'd been daydreaming about every day “I want to make love to you by the fire.”

Sombra blushed at how sweet this was and the adoration behind the request made his heart pound deliriously. “Then I am yours, my dearest Discord.”

Discord snapped his fingers and they found themselves in front of the fireplace. A flame blazed up, the gentle warmth of it washing over them as Discord let his gaze roam over Sombra's body. He was gorgeous and such a passion burned behind those crimson eyes, it gave him the most delicious shivers.

“One condition,” Discord murmured as he kissed Sombra's muzzle “Let me do everything.”

“As you wish,” Sombra purred “I abide by my promise.”

Discord traced a finger along his husband's jaw, coming to rest over his lips “you just concentrate on feeling good. I've waited a long time to pleasure you, my love. “

Sombra nuzzled against his cheek as the chaos being whispered;

“I've missed the feel of you.”

The rug brushed against Sombra's back as his husband laid him down.

“The scent of you when you're aroused-”

His wings pomfed out as Discord traced a finger down his chest and over his belly.

“The sound of your voice.” Discord whispered in Sombra's ear.

“Discord-!” Sombra panted rapidly, his heart was racing so fast. Discord's hand began stroking his belly in slow, gentle circles. He groaned eagerly, arching his back under those warm hands.

Discord summoned a tub of lube and dripped it onto his fingers. His eyes met Sombra's as he pushed three fingers in, seen the way Sombra closed his eyes and bit his lip as a shudder of desire racked his muscular body. Discord continued his preparations, Sombra's moans like the sweetest music.

As he'd promised, Sombra let Discord do all the work, fighting the desire to lift a single hoof as those gentle hands traced over his body. The Draconequus laid a trail of kisses from his husband’s mouth down to his shaft.

Discord squeezed at the base of his lover's member as he snapped his fingers and made a familiar toy appear. He pushed it into his husband and with every ensuing thrust he made with the phallic object, he squeezed and stroked Sombra's shaft with enough pressure to please, but not cum.

“Ahhh! Discord, please-!” Sombra groaned, he needed to climax so badly, but Discord was keeping it at bay as he did him with the toy.

“Mmm, fret not, I’ll allow you to come soon. Just one more task left, my love. “

Discord sat back as he spoke, grasping Sombra's hooves and pulling him to a sitting position at the same time as he used his magic to insert the false member fully into his beloved. He pulled the pony against him, his tail slipping between them and coiling around both their shafts. He kissed Sombra as he began squeezing and languidly stroking both of them with said tail.

Sombra gave an urgent moan as every movement he made stirred the lube-slicked toy inside him, sending shivers up his back as its girth rubbed his sweet spot. Discord's tail stroked and teased both their members as his tongue explored Sombra's mouth.

Sombra could feel his climax building rapidly as the dual pleasures of toy and tail drove him wild. Discord could feel it too, for he gave one final squeeze with his tail, timing his orgasm so it matched with his husbands. Sombra groaned deeply, grinding his body against the Draconequus' as he finished, the climax echoing through his body.

“Whew, that was absolutely magnificent.” Discord whispered to him, gently laying his husband back on the rug and kissing him as he removed the toy from inside Sombra. He set it aside whilst casting a spell to clean both his and the stallion’s coat.

“Mmm, we taste pretty good together.” he teased, to which Sombra blushed and kissed him.

“Indeed,” the stallion panted “but that object is a little cold. Maybe you could warm me up?”

Discord seen the longing in his husbands eyes, his eyes travelling down..

“Of course, my love. I've missed how hot-” he thrust into his King without hesitation “-you are inside.”

Sombra shuddered in bliss as he felt Discord's hot, hard member push into him, filling his insides and making him cry out in desire. No toy could match the real thing, make him feel so aroused and his insides so sensitive…

Each thrust brought back the mind-blowing sensation their love making had always held. Sombra wrapped his wings around them both as Discord thrust hard and fast, the friction on his insides making his own member throb. Discord angled his serpentine body round to swirl his tongue around Sombra's tip as he rutted him.

Sombra arced his head back, feeling the plush rug brushing against his ears as he felt his climax swiftly approach. His whole body felt like his nerves were alight with electricity, as Discord’s actions once more pleased the two places at once.

“Discord-” he panted heavily “I’m going to come-!”

Discord's response was to speed up his oral administrations and finally- with one final deep thrust from the chaos beings cock- he brought Sombra over the edge. The monarch shouted his husband's name as the orgasm swept through him.

He heard Discord swallow in the silence that followed as he caught his breath, felt the Draconequus' lips releasing the equine shaft they’d been wrapped around.

Discord slowly, almost teasingly withdrew from Sombra's rump, hearing the pony groan softly and sounding utterly, deliriously happy as he did.

“You look so gorgeous. my love.” the Draconequus whispered, lying beside him and drawing the pony into his arms. Sombra smiled softly, the firelight reflecting in deep red eyes.

They lay together awhile, nuzzling and exchanging kisses and gentle caresses. At last, Sombra rolled them over so he was atop Discord.

“Any other wishes, my love?” he asked as he leaned down to kiss him.

Discord smiled “if you’re offering your mind blowing skills my love, there IS an old favourite-”

Even as he spoke, he felt a shadow tendril brush against his cock, wrapping around it…

Discord massaged Sombra's back as they lay in the chaos King’s bed later that night. The pony groaned happily as his husband’s hands roamed over his body, easing his muscles.

Discord finished the massage with a pat on the pony's rump before lying down beside him, body curled around the Alicorn’s.

“Is there anything else you desire, my love?” Sombra asked, eyes gleaming in the lamplight. Discord shook his head, kissing him gently.

“You’ve given me many wonderful orgasms tonight my Sombra, I think every drop I have is spent for now.”

Sombra smiled knowingly, kissing his beloved as they got under the covers. He felt tired, in a wonderfully raunchy way. So much energy dissipated by his husband’s hands, mouth and other body parts…

He nuzzled against Discord's collarbone, breathing in the scent of his fur. Slowly he drifted asleep, happy and comfortable.

Several months passed and Loki continued growing like a weed, his magic keeping pace along with him.

Since it first manifested, he'd already accidentally set the curtains ablaze when he burped fire (a sign of indigestion in little ones, according to Discord), much to Sombra's alarm. He was also getting eerily good at locating his fathers and would often teleport as close as he could to one of them then go on a hunt.

Many a time had Sombra's meetings been interrupted by Loki suddenly puffing into existence atop his head and declaring “blrbbl!”

The same went for Discord when he was dealing with matters concerning the citizens. Order would fly out the window as he shared a cuddle with his baby son, this often followed by the frantic nanny racing in minutes later.

Even with their son's growing pains, they still made time to spend together. Umbra or Eris would look after Loki, while Sombra and Discord enjoyed an evening of romance and steamy sexual fun.

Not long after Loki’s most recent teleport act, the nanny resigned saying that, as an earth pony, she simply wasn’t equipped to deal with this!

The parents were both sorry to see her go and insisted on giving her a very generous pay packet as thanks for her work. She kissed Loki on the head then left, moving back to her own home in the Umbrum empire.

“So now we need a new nanny.” Discord said with a sigh at dinner “It was hard finding one who's trained with such a boisterous child, to start with!”

“I'll have a look around, ask some friends.” Umbra assured them “we'll find one, don't fret boys.”

She was in luck, as it happened, for a friend she spoke to on the third day had a very unusual guest visiting who was a big hit with the kids. And she didn't speak a word, well, not words as you'd expect them.

Neither Discord nor Sombra knew what to say when they were presented with Umbra’s pick for nanny.

At first glance it appeared to be a big round ball of lilac coloured floof. Then they noticed two big green eyes, a round nose and a small pink tongue sticking out.

“Thhbbt!” the creature waved a previously unseen hoof at them.

“This is Hufflepoff!” Umbra beamed “she's great with kids, she's been babysitting for pony families all over Equestria and now she's making plans to live here for a few years. She wants to study for a degree.”

Huffle held up a stack of references, which Discord took to flip through. They were all glowing with praise, highlighting her ease with even the grumpiest toddler.

“Hello, miss Hufflepoff...” Sombra began.

“Thhhbt!”

“Oh, you prefer Huffle? Very well.”

Discord did a double take at his husband “wait- you understand her?”

“Why, yes.” Sombra chuckled “I will transfer the knowledge later, love.”

For the moment, they decided to introduce Huffle to Loki. They brought her to his crib, which was situated in a room adjacent to theirs now. She trotted over, taking little steps but somehow moving at quite a pace.

She reached the crib and bounced up and down excitedly. She flicked the catch with her nose, catching the side of the crib in her mouth so it didn't bang and scare the little one within. Setting it down she made a soft “thhbt” noise to Loki. The baby dracon-pony blinked at her, wide orange eyes taking in this new, fluffy face. He reached out a hand and petted her fur and she beamed at him, making another happy “thbbt”.

Loki giggled happily, crawling over and rubbing his face against her fur, giggling in glee.

--Wow, she is good.-- Sombra thought.

Loki began to whimper and Huffle sniffed the air, blew a raspberry, then with a nudge of her head she rolled the infant onto her back and scuttled across the floor to the changing table.

The parents plus Umbra watched in astonishment as she set him down on the table, changed his nappy, throwing the old one in the bin to the side, then finished off with a nuzzle to the cheek. Loki gurgled happily, he liked this fluffy being.

Setting him back in his crib, Huffle raised the side again and turned to face Sombra and co. She blew a series of raspberries, the last one lilting like a question.

“You did excellently.” Sombra answered “Loki seems to really like you.”

He looked at Discord, who nodded.

“You are hereby hired!” Sombra said to Huffle, who bounced up and down with glee. Then she tripped and landed on her face. To Discord's amusement she didn’t seem fazed, instead she began motoring around on her face.

As she whooshed by, Sombra grabbed her in his magic and set her upright. She burbled a thank you, and Umbra offered to show her to her new rooms.

She watched Huffle swiftly unpack her cases in a blur of motion, including a telescope.

She seen it had an inscription along the side that read “Huffle Telescope.” When she asked where it was from, Huffle drew a photo of Twilight, meaning Ponyville.

And thus Loki gained the most unusual nanny he could have had. But he adored her, so when he couldn’t have either of his daddies, she played games with him and drew pictures to make him giggle, illustrating entire stories as she went.

A scant two months later and Sombra would face the most difficult test of his married life, one that would come out of the blue and leave quite an impact on his heart…

It all started with a seemingly ordinary excavation from outside the kingdom. Sombra was told a mare was waiting to see him and his husband, that she had urgent news. He asked that this guest be brought straight to the throne room, also requesting some tea be brought in.

“Wonder what this is all about?” Discord asked his husband as they waited for the visitor to be escorted to them, but Sombra only shrugged, not having a clue and nothing was coming to mind.

“I'm sure it is something we can help with, that is the reason they have come to us, surely.”

As he spoke, he had to move quickly to grab his book before it fell off his lap. It was a leather-bound book, one well worn and filled with Eris' handwriting. On finding out that Sombra didn't know a whole lot about Draconequui, she'd promptly given him her old diary. She'd kept it right up until just a few years ago it seemed.

“You’re probably right, love.” the chaos King smiled.

Sombra nodded.

“But don't call me Shirley.”

---------------2 weeks prior———————

“It's a little wordy and kinda nonsensical, but I had a lot of growing pains, so I wrote it all down. Saved me having to be lectured by our father or one of the other elders.” she pulled a face, mimicking what was obviously her fathers voice “He was always “Eris, will you never learn?” Eesh, such a grump.”

“Ah, I see.” Sombra nodded as he accepted the book “thank you, Eris.”

“Any time, bud.” She grinned, then elbowed her brother “honestly, what have you two been talking about, if not biology?”

“Politics?” Discord shrugged and Eris rolled her eyes.

“I figured it was not urgent,” Sombra said at last, sensing Discord felt a little awkward about the matter “so there was no reason for Discord to talk about it just yet.”

Eris nodded, recalling her brothers feud with their father “well bro, you're off the hook. But you gotta promise to answer any and all questions, clear?”

“Yes, yes.” Discord stuck his tongue out at her. Sombra chuckled, watching them act like siblings should, silly but caring.

Back in the present, Sombra was just starting a section that talked about what had happened to Eris and Discord's mother. Discord had mentioned she had gotten sick, but he'd been too little at the time and hadn't wanted to know the details as he grew. Mourning the loss of her had been enough.

But judging by the sheer amount of notes she'd bookedmarked in this section before giving it to him, Eris had evidently asked everything she could and written it all down here, she didn't like not knowing and seemed to fear the vulnerability this created. His stomach ached as he read Eris' messy writing, detailing a sickness inherent to chaos beings.

It had reportedly been rampant in the very early days of their reign and while less common now, they all carried the gene. There was a low but still present potential for it to activate.

He was on the verge of asking Discord to elaborate when the doors opened and the guards announced their guests arrival.

“Your majesties.” The mare took off her hat and bowed deeply “I’m AK Yearling.”

“The author?” Discord perked up, he'd read her books recently. The mare nodded to him with a smile.

“It is an honour, Ms Yearling, would you like some tea?” Sombra smiled at his beloveds enthusiasm. He loved to see how Discords face (sometimes literally) lit up when he got excited.

“Oh, that would be a wonderful idea, your majesty!” she gave a sigh of relief “it has been a long journey, I can tell you that!”

She sat before the throne, sipping some ginseng tea (complete with the teabag singing merrily underwater) and explained why she'd come to see them.

“A short time ago, I was contacted by an old friend and journeyed out to an excavation outside the border of this empire. I believe it to be part of a cave system that you yourself worked in during this kingdoms construction.

“It is connected to those caves?” Sombra pondered this a moment “there were so many cave-ins, it makes sense the network could very well continue on. Given it's unstable nature, we did not venture far in after the first few collapses.”

Yearling handed them copies of the map, explaining how she, her friend and his team had come to the conclusion the two caves were joined by a collapsed network that ran deep below ground.

“Anyway, to the reason I’m here. We found this.” She took a large box from her travel bag, holding it out to them. Sombra floated it in his magic, opening the scuffed lid. What he seen sent a cold wave through him and his pulse thundered in his ears as he regarded it.

“What’s wrong?” Both Yearling and Discord asked at the same time as they seen Sombra go pale as milk.

“This is-” Sombra lifted the pink crystal from its box. It was carved like a very familiar shape and Discord's eyes widened as he seen it. It was crude, but undeniably shaped quite like him. There was a section missing from its tail however.

“We weren’t able to find out how it was damaged,” Yearling explained. “but the damage is very old.”

“It certainly looks very old, maybe it was broken before it got buried in there?” Discord suggested.

“It looks just like the amulet that wraith took up home in.” Sombra said softly.

“Yes, I read about that.” Yearling nodded “gave you quite the run around before you erased it, your majesty. And it lived in a crystal like this?”

“Yes, it was shaped differently, but there’s no denying it. The colour is identical to that which I encountered.” Sombra said.

“I thought you should see this, due to its resemblance, King Discord.” Yearling said “I recognised the shape from seeing you in the pictures.”

“There’s no denying, I recognise this style from my old home.” Discord said “it's a little, shall we say, cruder than the sculptures we have now. Maybe it was a first attempt, or it's from our earlier days? It may even be a recreation!”

“It seems dormant, dead even.” Sombra blinked.

“It could very well be, let me check.” Discord said as he set a hand on it.

He sent a pulse of magic through it, but there was no response. The thing was inactive and lifeless as far as he could tell. He felt a minor twinge in his head, but that was soon gone and he relinquished his hold on the sculpture, setting it back inside the box.

“Sorry to say, Ms Yearling, but the things dead as a dodo. I'd say it's far too old, it likely won't be able to hold any magic ever again.”

“A shame, but perhaps for the best,” Yearling accepted with a sigh “if anything like the tales I weave were to come true, it would be quite troublesome for this nation.”

“Yes, I have a complete set of your books!” Discord beamed, snapping his fingers and making his absolute favourite appear. “can I be a pain in the butt and ask-?”

“Of course I’ll sign it, your majesty!” Yearling chuckled as she withdrew a pen from her bag.

While she did that, Sombra asked about payment for the item, if she would be wiling to sell?

“Given its relevance to your empire, your majesties, I brought it here with the intent to give it to you for safekeeping. Better in the hands of those who connect to it, than in the hooves of some greedy thief.”

“You will not accept any payment?” Sombra asked curiously.

“Oh, my books make me more than enough bits, but I do ask if you'd mind me using the story of the wraith as part of an upcoming book?”

Sombra and Discord were more than happy to accept such terms and Yearling was thrilled with the new plan. She promised them advance copies, which delighted the chaos King no end.

That evening, as their day drew to a close, Sombra noticed Discord seemed a little sluggish and distant.

“Are you alright?” Sombra asked his husband as he nudged his cheek.

“I'm fine, it's just a headache.” Discord kissed him gently, but in truth his whole body ached a little now.

It didn’t fade that night, however and Sombra was doubly concerned for his husband as they dressed for work the next morning. The chaos King was fumbling with his cloak catch, cheeks flushed. He seemed to be having trouble keeping upright…

“You really do not seem well, my love. I am calling for the doctor, right away.” the Alicorn wasn’t about to allow him to work in such a state!

“Don’t-”

Discord began to speak but was interrupted by an avalanche of pain suddenly exploding behind his eyes. With a sharp cry, he crumpled to the floor as the world blurred and began to go dark.

The guards outside in the hall were startled by a cry of panic issuing from within the bedroom. They flung the door open and seen Sombra crouching beside an unconscious Discord, calling his name with a desperate panic.

“I'm sorry, your majesty, I don't know what this is.” the doctor said as he and Sombra stood outside the bedroom. Sombra twitched, anger and worry warring for dominance, his whole body seeming to shift.

“It must be an illness present in this day and age and if not, surely it is in one of the books! Look for it!” the monarch demanded.

“Your majesty, I will do everything I can, but I’m telling you straight off, this matches no known active disease or virus present in the last ten years.”

The King looked close to having a breakdown as he fought to keep his temper in check.

“Fine, doctor.” he said at last “let me know if you find anything.”

“Yes, sure.” the doctor nodded, watching as Sombra went back into his room, the door clicking shut behind him. He could see his majesty was heartsick, his adoring husband was very ill.

The pony sat silently by the bedside as nurses and aides fussed around Discord, setting up drips and a monitoring station. They left his majesty King Sombra alone, seeing the tension and worry in his body language.

The nurses job over with, Sombra was finally left alone with his beloved, sitting beside the bed. Discord was asleep, pale as milk and hooked up to the drips and a monitor that bleeped regularly.

--Why is this happening?-- he asked himself, feeling sick from worry. His vision blurred as he sat there, he couldn’t stand the thought of losing the love of his life.

Night dragged on and his mother came to see him, but he couldn’t find much to say to her. She hugged her son tightly, saying she'd send for the best doctors from all over Equestria, they'd find a way to help Discord.

“What if I lose him, mother?” Sombra croaked. Umbra looked at her son's tired, pale face, seeing how his eyes were red from lack of rest and many an outburst of fretful tears.

“I wont let that happen.” she said “I’ll send for Eris, maybe she can help?”

Sombra nodded, opening the drawer on the bedside table on his side of the bed. He handed his mother the codes to contact Discord's sister and as he did, Umbra spotted the diary.

“Is that hers?” she asked, recognising the writing on the cover. The fact she'd added “keep out, Discord the Dingus” was cute.

“Yes, she- she wanted to help me learn about their species.” He stared at the book now “maybe she wrote something?”

“Read it if it'll help child, but please get some rest.” Umbra asked and Sombra gave a slight nod.

As his mother left to try contact Eris, Sombra pulled the book towards him, intently scouring the pages as the hours ticked slowly by.

As dawn rose, he came to the end of the section he'd started reading before AK Yearling had shown up. He felt a cold ball of ice form in his stomach as he turned the page and seen a page torn from a book, detailing the disease that'd taken their mother from them.

“No, no.” he begged, the book dropping from his hooves as he processed what it said.

If the books contents were correct, the same illness that had taken Discord's mother was slowly destroying him too.

“This is impossible-” Sombra began to rant, then came to an abrupt halt. That artefact. The one Yearling had brought. Discord had said it was inactive so he' d given it no further thought, but what if it had contained a previously dormant sickness? Traces of something from its previous owner, what if it had come from a burial chamber and Discord had woken it when he'd unwittingly given the thing a taste of his power?!

Part of him thought “if only Yearling had never come by.” But he knew it was not her fault, she hadn't known, how could she have? She was a pony and this sickness clearly didn't affect them. It was a limited species virus, honed to latch onto chaos DNA? It was the best explanation Sombra could give right then.

He read the last few lines in the entry.

“They found the moribund plant, but it was too late. The thing is rare in winter, flowers mainly in summer. Nobody had thought to stockpile any dried flowers, so by the time father found some, mother was too sick to take it and she passed away. It broke dad's heart. Sometimes I think he can't look at Discord and I because we're so much like her, especially Discord. His eyes are just like hers after all, he has her carefree spirit.”

Sombra felt tears of sympathetic grief well up, both his husband and Eris had endured so much.

But it gave him hope. It was summertime now, that flower had to exist! Hope rose, then crashed as a very vital problem reared its head.

How would he find the home of this flower?

He paced and wrote ideas for nigh on two hours before hitting on a workable idea. The journal had a gem embedded in it, one that’d once been used to lock it. It was activated by chaos magic, however…

--I must power it, it is the only way to save Discord. He has taught me about his magic, I just have to emulate it.-- Sombra told himself.

He'd once recreated the Crystal Heart’s magic using a memory from when it had transferred immunity to him. When he'd been in stasis creating their son, Discord had given him his magic and Sombra could still recall the sensation of the chaotic power. That was all he needed to use his Umbrum ability to “copy” it, like a clone.

He focused on recreating the memory, a ball of magic began to grow until it was the size of a small ball.

He gathered the power and fed it cautiously into the journal. He held his breath as the gem glowed, the faint trace still dormant in it absorbing his magic and reviving. The gem shone then faded to a soft glow, but it was strong enough to act as a guide.

Discord had shown him, after the Chrysalis incident, how he'd traced Sombra's magic all the way to his rescue. Sombra touched a hoof to the book and felt a blinding pain in his head that had him staggering around the room until it cleared.

But he'd done it, he knew “where” to go now.

He summoned a guard to fetch the doctor, while he packed a bag to go find his husband's hidden home.

“Here I am, your majesty- what are you doing?!” the doctor cut off mid-bow as he seen Sombra pulling on his armor and strapping the goggles Rainbow Dash had given him all that time ago over his eyes. Under the armor he wore a cloak with a hood to keep him dry.

“I am going to find a cure.”

--He's lost it.-- was the doctor’s first thought, but he put that aside and tried to talk the King down. Sombra was a passionate pony in all areas of his life, but this trait sometimes led to him becoming too absorbed in whatever was to hoof.

“Your majesty, please listen to me! You’re showing all the classic signs of anxiety and grief, you’re not thinking clearly-”

“I am thinking more clearly than you could possibly imagine, doctor!” Sombra said sharply, showing the doctor the book “this is my sister-in-law’s journal, her mother died from this same illness. There is a mention of a flower-”

“You can’t go off on some half-cocked quest based on a childhood journal. Please cease this, your majesty!” the physician pleaded, but Sombra just glared coldly at him. It actually sent a shiver up the other pony's back, he was so intense, his majesty…

“Your mother has arranged for a coded message to be placed in the paper, we'll have miss Eris here soon-”

“There is no time. This could kill him!” Sombra cried. He shook his head, opening a draw and stuffing some of Discord’s secret snack supply into the massive saddlebags he wore “I will not hang my husband's life on a matter of days!”

The doctor could only stammer incoherently as Sombra finished packing and moved to his husband's side to kiss his forehead gently.

“I will not let anything take you from me, I promised.” he said sorrowfully, feeling tears prickling at his eyes as he prepared to leave “For my sake, for your sake, for Loki’s. I need you-” he broke off, biting his lip to keep his panic at bay.

He heard the sound of the window unlatching and looked over at the doctor. The doc was gesturing to the wide open window now.

“Go, your majesty.” he said heavily “I know you wont forgive yourself if I force you to stay. But if you can stand to wait a minute more, I will bring medical supplies and your mother.”

Sombra reluctantly agreed and the doctor was back in a few minutes, an anxious and sleepy Umbra in tow.

“Take care child,” she asked, hugging him once she’d heard the plan “I will care for Loki and Discord, I'm sure Huffle will keep him occupied.”

Sombra hugged her wordlessly, feeling like he was close to breaking, but his husband needed him. He couldn't fall apart now, not with his family depending on this.

Umbra and the doctor watched as Sombra flew out the window, then the doctor closed it behind him.

“Don’t suppose there is any point in trying to send some guards after him as backup?” the doc asked her.

Umbra shook her head “if what he is saying is true, they wouldn’t be able to track him. It's just like how Discord located him, after all.”

They were silent for a moment, then the doctor piped up “Page is going to go nuts.”

“Mm-hmm…”

They woke the aide, who promptly did have a fit, until the doctor got fed up and emptied the flowers out of a nearby vase, before dumping the cold water over the bellowing aide. Page was shocked into silence, sputtering furiously. Umbra almost fancied she could see steam rising from his ears…

But eventually he agreed Sombra stood the best chance of locating this “flower”, he just hoped his majesty would come back safe.

Unaware that back in his castle, his aide was going nuclear and his son was curled up asleep next to Huffle, Sombra flew through the skies.

His head ached after every punch through reality into the chaos realm and out again, but each jump brought him out in a different place. It was essentially a very long range teleport when you got down to it, albeit one involving dimension hopping.

But the sense of closeness to Eris grew with each leap as the hours passed, until-

He punched through the latest portal and appeared in a forest that he didn't recognise from any map.

Also, the sky was Purple.

He was so preoccupied with this fact that he didn't notice when he slammed into a tree. This knocked the wind from him and he landed with a thud in the mass of plants below.

“This has to be it.” he coughed as he got his breath back, checking himself for injury and finding none. Picking himself up he re-read the book, the image of the flower was practically seared into his brain.

He took off, flying carefully through the tangle of trees, but nothing caught his eye that looked remotely like the flower from the book and he began to feel cold, icy fear…

So intent on looking was he, that he didn’t notice when his wing brushed against a tree branch, one that glowed faintly as the Alicorn swooshed by, sending out a soundless signal through the trees network of roots.

He knew this was definitely the right place when he spotted a rock shaped like a butt.

“Only in Discord's home would that be so prominent. No wonder he is so fascinated by mine, when he grew up with this thing.” he shook his head, a faint chuckle escaping him.

Then something caught the corner of his eye and he actually uttered a full-on laugh as he realised the flower not only existed but...was growing in the giant ass-rock. In the moss-coated crack of it, no less.

“You can not be serious.” Sombra groaned, but he didn't waste any time in swooping over and grabbing a bundle of the flowers with his magic and checking them against his book. They were the right ones, the flowers he needed. He felt a sob of relief escape him and let his guard down for just a moment.

That was when the ground began to shake.

“What in Equestria?” Sombra looked all around, where was it coming from? The whole forest trembled in all directions-

He got his answer when the heavy curtains of moss to the far left of him suddenly parted and a giant creature came storming through, eyes blazing as it sought its prey.

Sombra yelped, quickly kicking off from the rock and flying back out of its reach as it lunged for him.

He got a proper look at it as he flew away, it was a giant armoured creature with four stout legs and a mouth full of teeth. It had wings but they didn't seem capable of lifting it up very far, but they aided in its jumps as its teeth snapped at the bottom of his tail. He darted away again as it swung its massive head towards him now.

“Stop!” Sombra cried futilely “I am not here to hurt you, I am just here to save my husband!”

But the thing clearly couldn’t understand him, he realised with a sinking feeling. All it seemed to know was that it had picked up the scent of a potential opponent and was going to wipe it out regardless.

--Eris' book never mentioned a huge territorial forest guardian!! Is it mad about the plant, or-?!-- Sombra panicked as he evaded the thing once more. He genuinely had no wish to hurt this thing, but it wasn’t going to let him go and it’d destroy the forest it was in such a rage.

An idea flashed though his mind and he shot away, hiding behind some trees as he fumbled with his pack. The doctor had given him some sedatives in case of emergency and now he had a plan in mind. He lifted the first ampoule and broke it open. Summoning an orb of his magic, he fed the sedative into it. Given the size of this thing, he went and added every other dose he had. It'd hopefully be enough to slow it down at best, make it dizzy at worst.

His plan ready to go, he flew back out, yelling at the top of his voice so the creature would lock onto him.

“You want to fight?” Sombra growled. “Come and get it!!”

It charged.

An elder Draconequus was sat at his desk, writing in an old leather bound book when his advisor ran in, his eyes wide and waving his arms about in startled distress.

“Havok, sir, there's a disturbance in the forest!”

“What?” Havok slammed his book shut “that’s impossible!”

“See for yourself.” the Draconequus aide ran back outside, with the elder Havok in close pursuit. He followed the advisor hand as the other male came to a halt and seen the trees shaking in the distance accompanied by heavy thuds and faint roars.

“How?” Havok frowned. It had been hundreds and hundreds of years since any disturbance like this had been seen. Even the forest never made such a racket…

“Hay, what’re we all staring at?” Eris yawned as she drifted out of her house “dad..?”

Then she spotted the shaking trees and whistled “whoa, cool. Some thing’s pissed off in there!”

“And we're going to catch it!” Havok shot off, with his advisor and an intrigued Eris in hot pursuit.

As they got closer, something swooped directly overhead, but it was too fast to get a lock. Eris seen a black tail and a gleam of light between the tree branches over her head.

--It can't be- I must be seeing things?-- she thought, as the three of them slowed their advance and crept closer.

They came to a gap in the trees just in time to see a glowing ball, surrounded by shadow, hit the armoured creature right between it shoulder blades, slipping through a crack in its armor.

The massive beast wobbled, yawned, then fell to earth several seconds later with a thud that sent them all reeling.

“What in blazes?” Havok snarled dizzily. Eris prised herself out of the Y-shaped tree she'd been flung into and shrugged, then she seen who swooped down and landed atop the unconscious guardian.

The pony wore a hood and at first glance seemed to be a pegasus- Then she recognised the tail.

“Sombra?!” Eris blurted before she could stop herself. There was no mistaking the armoured Alicorn- and he was in big danger if he didn't leave now!

Hearing her fathers furious words trailing in her wake she shot off, glomping Sombra at speed as he turned.

Sombra got a shock when he was suddenly tackle hugged and nearly knocked off his feet.

“Eris?” he blurted. She seemed very tense as she hugged him tightly and whispered one word into his ear.

“Run!”

Sensing her urgency, he made to take off soon as she let go, but a sudden stomach-churning pain hit him and he fell, landing in a crumpled heap. Eris ran to his side, helping him to sit…

“Dad?” she asked someone out of Sombra's view “What are you doing?”

Dizzily, Sombra lifted his head and seen two other Draconequui following. Whatever magic he'd been hit with, it was making him sluggish and he could barely lift his wings.

“Why do you greet this intruder so readily, Eris?” Havok snarled as he came to a stop.

His expression faltered slightly as Sombra lifted his head, his hood spilling back and revealing a horn to go with the wings.

--An Alicorn?-- Havok stared, he didn't resemble either of the Princesses he and the other chaos beings stayed away from. That horn, those eyes….

He told himself the magic dampening spell was a necessity and pushed any concern aside.

“Who are you and how did you defeat the beast?” Havok snapped.

--So this is him.-- Sombra felt a jab of fury. This was the father who had made Discord feel so worthless.

Havok was surprised when the pony finally spoke, for there was no fear in his voice “My name is Sombra. And I am fully aware of who you are, even if not by name.”

“How can you know such a thing?” Havok was unsettled, this pony was staring so directly at him, so unafraid of him.

He put two and two together when he looked at Eris and she flinched, looking away.

“Discord.” he hissed.

“The very same.” Sombra snapped.

“How did you get in here, this place is nigh on impossible for outsiders to penetrate.”

Mouth quirking at the innuendo, yet more of Discord's influence, Sombra just chuckled.

“I am here to accomplish one thing, save my husband.”

“What’s-?” Havok took only a second to realise what this weird pony was saying. There was only one way he could’ve learned chaos magic and he'd said he was here to save his married partner. This meant that he knew the wayward son, Discord.

Impossible. It couldn’t be.

Without pausing for thought, he blurted out the first thing he could think of to insult that idiot child in his absence.

“So, that disgrace of a child had brought even more embarrassment to a long suffering family, by marrying a PONY?!” Havok snarled and Sombra tensed up.

“The only disgrace is the parent who thinks their child a failure merely because they wanted freedom!” Sombra shot back, even as Eris tried to stop him.

“Watch your mouth, Pony.” Havok made a gesture with his hand and the spell he'd cast to stop Sombra fleeing ramped up a notch, causing the pony to cry out in pain.

“Dad, stop!” Eris stood between her father and her in-law.

“This pony is an intruder, he must be dealt with. They are capable of trickery too, Eris.” Havok snapped. More Draconequui filled the area, some expressing shock and awe at how this intruder had taken down the beast of the forest and done it non-lethally too.

Sombra felt panic start to grow as he was marched through the forest to the hidden village where the Draconequui lived. It was a simple set-up, yet he could see magic’s influence in the shapes of the buildings, in the artefacts and art scattered about.

He was brought to the biggest one of all, marched into a sizeable office and sat down on one side of a large oval table, with Havok sitting on the other side. Behind the elder chaos being was a desk, upon which he threw Sombra's saddlebags.

Sombra's wings bristled as he heard two more Draconequui taking up place behind him and felt the tip of a spear jab the back of his neck where the armour didn't cover. But he kept his fury inside for the time being, he had to be careful.

“I am sorry for my intrusion, but I was not aware your home was even here. What I followed was a memory of magic imbued within that book. But I must say this again,” he said to the stony-faced Havok “you don't understand the situation. If I do not get that antidote back, Discord's going to die.”

“What?!” Eris, who had been eavesdropping outside the door, came haring in now only to find herself restrained by two more guards and sat firmly down in the corner.

“The journal you gave me-” Sombra began as he glanced at her, but he felt a magical force grip his jaw and force him to turn his head to face Havok.

“You'll talk to ME, intruder.” Havok snapped “I'll admit, your little trick with knocking the beast out was impressive, but it is as far as you go. I cannot have this place being common knowledge amongst ponykind. They have caused us nothing but trouble, far in the past we were HUNTED by primitives who believed us spirits to capture. The fact that my own son has married one? I regret not cutting his power off when I had the chance.”

Sombra felt like he had been slapped. “how could you do tha-”

Again his jaw was gripped so forcefully that he cut off.

“Our laws are strict, we do not want outside influence.” Havok released the pony and smirked as Sombra growled softly, only to cut off when the spear pressed into his spine.

“I'm sorry for whatever intrusion you perceive, but time was not of the essence to make a diplomatic trip. I came here following that flower, I have to save him. You should understand- your wife- ah!”

“Don't you dare speak of her, you wretched liar.” Havok snarled, pain clawing at his chest as he gave Sombra another dose of pain via the spell. This had to be a lie, this pony was just another lackey of Celestia. She’d finally located this place…

“My son's foolish venture and the trouble it brought us meant we had to be isolated to stay hidden from those nosy Princesses.”

“They're-” Sombra coughed as his pain faded and he could talk again “Celestia and Luna? They are not evil!”

“He's right dad, they're nice!” Eris blurted.

Havok glared at her “I knew you were sneaking off, but I did not think you foolish enough to visit their world after the mess your brother made. Who knows what trouble you have brought down on us now?!”

Eris glared “They. Are. NICE.” she hissed through gritted teeth.

“Those deceitful ponies-”

“HOW DARE YOU?” Sombra shouted and Havok was caught off guard just enough not to slap him “Tia and Luna are the ones who saved me from a hell beyond words. Celestia alone was willing to give me a second chance, how dare you speak about her that way! She is worth a million of any of us ponies!”

Havok laughed harshly to cover his surprise “how cute. But it wont serve you any better, there are only two choices open to you now; stay here and accept you're never leaving, or have my medic brew a little remedy for your memories.”

Sombra stared, confused. What did he mean? He dimly heard Eris yelling something inaudible…

“It's rather potent,” Havok smirked as he ignored his raging daughter “who knows how much of your memories you'll be left with? But you'll be left outside our borders, no doubt you’ll be picked up somewhere along the line.”

“I am not staying here, I will not be kept prisoner!” Sombra barked, fangs bared as he snarled.

“Very well.” Havok snapped his fingers and barked “have the brew be mixed straight away!”

The aide did a double take.

“Are you sure, sir?” he asked softly, studying the pony as he moved to speak privately to the elder “even with the matter of the Princesses, this is still the same sickness that killed my best friend. I know how much you felt her loss, but so did I and-.”

“I will not be tricked by ponies and their lies. Discord nearly destroyed us all by angering those high and mighty mares. Obey your orders and fetch the drink!” Havok snapped.

The Draconequus aide nodded and left, casting a last glance at Sombra as the door shut behind him. This felt wrong…

Havok smirked at Sombra “this will be just a few minutes.”

Ice cold panic clawed at Sombra's gut, he had to convince him-

“For pity's sake dad, he has a son!” Eris beat him to it, trying to bargain with her father. She shot Sombra a “sorry, I had to!” look, which he returned with a quavery smile. He knew she was trying her best…

“What? How?” Havok stared, this pony WAS a guy, right?

“I am a species of pony known as an Umbrum,” Sombra said patiently as he turned “we- well, I- can create a child using a rare ability. All we need is power from our partner, whether they be male or female.”

Havok was floored by this confession, did this mean he had a grandson-? He shook his head, no, ponies were nothing but trouble. He couldn’t let this fact cloud his judgement, not after all this time. How could he trust a pony?

“Then I am sure he will be able to bond with you again once you return, minus your memories.” he said coldly, trying to keep his façade steady.

Big mistake. Sombra felt cold all over and there was a funny tingling deep within his chest.

“How could you?” He hissed in such a deadly voice that Havok actually felt a faint shiver “we are both fathers, yet you would leave a child without one of his parents for no better reason then you did not agree with Discord's choices. Do you even know what he has done since then?"

The pony’s crimson eyes seemed to glow as Havok felt another uneasy shiver run up his back. Those eyes, something about them spoke of a true self locked beneath the surface…

“He brought trouble upon us, I will not risk those Princesses sealing us all away. I have a clan to protect-”

“And I have a family to save!” Sombra cried and Eris seen there were tears in his eyes “you do not understand what you are doing. Please listen, if I do not save him, Discord will not only die-” he cut off, steeling himself against the tidal wave of emotion threatening to overwhelm him “I will lose one of the most important things in my life, my son will lose one or potentially both of his fathers and my HOME will lose a King!!”

This silenced the room.

Havok processed this. This pony was saying his failure of a son ruled a kingdom? Given these two were apparently married, that meant this pony was a King himself. Why had he not declared this? Instead, he'd come as a lowly commoner…

--He has a child, just like you do. You had a son too, before you drove him away—

He felt the first seed of doubt over his decisions start to grow and snarled, slamming that thought aside. He couldn't make an exception because of this sob story. But even as he opened his mouth, that inner voice piped up again, saying what if he was wrong this time? Even Eris, the “good” child of the two, claimed those Princess sisters were kind.

Fear forced his hand in the end, he couldn’t, nay wouldn’t, risk it.

“It's lamentable, but our numbers are already dwindling, I cannot risk any more of us being locked away by the whims of a hot-headed pony Princess or her cold sister. “

Sombra's heart broke in fear as this final axe came slamming down. His body slumped, head bowed so his mane fell over his eyes, ears ringing. For a moment he thought sorrow would win out, but as the curtain swished open and the same Draconequus from earlier entered carrying a bowl of steaming hot liquid in his hands, fury took over.

“I have tried.” Sombra spoke at last.

Havok turned, the bowl in his hands, glancing idly at the pony as he sat down. He pushed the bowl across towards Sombra.

“This is your final offer.” the elder said.

“To be patient.” Sombra spoke as if he hadn’t even heard Havok.

“Drink this by choice or force, or submit to a life here.” Havok said icily even as he frowned, just what was the pony trying to do?

“But I will not hear one more word of this!!”

Sombra's final words were a shout and when he lifted his head, Havok seen his eyes were glowing.

There was an explosion of light and he was hit with a backlash as the spell he had laid on Sombra buckled and crashed.

--How? That’s the most powerful spell our kind has!-- he thought numbly as he shielded his eyes.

At last the light faded away, enabling him to see again and his jaw dropped at what was before him.

Sombra was a mirage of glittering light now and the two guards that had been keeping an eye on him were pinned against the wall by a glowing white light. The only colour came from the crimson of the pony's eyes and the green and purple sheen of his magic.

“If you are not willing to listen to decency and show compassion, than you leave me no choice. I tried to make my apologies for intruding, I came only for the herb, not to attack your home. I rule an empire, thus I honour the sanctity of such places.”

He took a deep breath, heart pounding in his chest with such force he felt close to screaming.

--How…-- Havok sat frozen as the Pony spoke, jaw dropped open.

“I WILL save my husbands life, with or without your approval!” the pony roared, then with startling speed and agility, he leapt over the table towards Havok. His horn glowed with a bright magic-

Havok ducked, thinking he was avoiding a full on blow from the pony. But as he hit the floor and no blow struck him, he realised the diversion. Twisting round, he seen Sombra hadn’t been aiming for him at all, he'd been after his saddlebags.

Throwing them onto his back, the pony stood atop the desk and spoke to the stunned occupants of the room.

“I truly am sorry for your loss all that time ago, but your grief is clouding your mind. I have known what it means to feel such despair, but I fought it, with the love of your son! I owe him my life and I vowed in turn to save his when we wed. I will never cease defending him!”

He cast a cold, baleful glare at Havok as he finished, then took off through the wall, punching an impact crater in it that oddly resembled his shape. In seconds he was gone, shooting through the air like a torpedo, beyond even the fastest of them in mere seconds.

The guards were released from the spell as the pony got far enough away.

“And score one for the nice guy!” Eris crowed in the silence that followed it the wake of the escape. Havok turned to her, seeing she looked smug, arms folded and eyes narrowed as she addressed him.

“See, this is why being a total douche-canoe is a bad idea, dad.”

Havok dismissed the guards, leaving him and his daughter alone in his office.

“Eris-” he began, but she shut him up the next second, zooming right up in his face as she did.

“No.” She growled, he'd never heard her raise her voice like that “you will be silent for once. I've spent years suffering under your paranoia, we ALL have and now you're going to listen to me.”

She snapped her fingers and a box thudded onto the table between them. Flipping it open, she pulled out some photos and proceeded to enlarge each one to show her stunned father.

“This one was taken at the wedding, who do you see?”

Havok stared at the photo, it showed Celestia and Luna pulling silly faces and posing together, with a very Pink pony sticking her head in at the edge of the photo, grinning widely and wearing a lampshade on her head.

Next was a picture of Sombra, Celestia, Luna and..

“Discord.” Havok said softly and Eris nodded.

“Now this.” The next one made Havok pause. It showed his son and the pony dancing together. The shot had been captured mid-step and the pony was resting his head against Discord's chest, eyes closed, a gentle smile on his face. But what struck him was the expression on his son’s face. Discord was looking at the pony he danced with as if he was his whole world, nothing could matter more. He'd never looked this happy as far as his own father had ever seen.

The next photo was a copy of the one Sombra kept on his desk in his room. It showed him and Discord snuggled close and grinning happily into the camera. The joy in their expressions was obvious, they were content together.

At long last Eris showed a very sweet picture that took the wind out of Havok's sails for good. It had been taken on her recent visit, she told him. It showed Discord and Sombra sitting close together and held in their arms, looking up at his fathers with rapturous joy, was…

“That’s their son,” Eris said and Havok was surprised to see tears in her eyes “his name is Loki.”

So it was true, not a lie to plead for his life. Everything the pony had said was real, captured in these photos. The Princess sisters, not armor-clad tyrants but giggly, smiling mares. They were smiling at Discord with happy, open faces.

“That’s a chaos name.” Havok said on instinct as he stared at the photo of Loki.

“Exactly,” Eris wiped at her eyes “he named him that because he loves my brother, he sees so much more than a “disgrace”, as you call him. Sombra was put through hell by a monster, tortured and beaten. He was willing to die, dad, rather than keep on living. Then my brother became his friend and saved him from everything he'd endured. Because of the son you hate, a scared pony became a King once more. He leads an empire with my brother, the pony's adore them equally. The Princesses care for them!”

She pulled out an extra photo, this time one of Fluttershy hugging Discord “this is Fluttershy, she's Kindness and love all rolled into one shy pony. She taught Discord what having friends was like, persuaded him to trust ponies again. She told me she was delighted to see Discord and Sombra together, because they've both had hard times, but they were able to save each other. Without that “pony” as you called him, Discord would have just fallen prey to what you thought of him and caused trouble. But Celestia set him free, gave him a second chance and he hasn't screwed it up! He's better then ever now, since meeting Sombra.”

Havok didn't have a rebuttal for that, so Eris just carried on. She pulled a newspaper from the box, showing her father two pictures on the front page; one of Sombra and Discord sharing a kiss on the altar with a beaming Luna behind them, the other showing the crowds inside the building. She pointed to a pony in the front row.

“See? That's me. He didn't have to, but Sombra asked me to come! And see, Princess Luna was the Pony of Ceremonies. You seriously wanna say she's cold hearted? She's super cool!”

“How-”

“He was given a chance, dad. Which is more than you've ever given us. You're so obsessed with order and control, you're keeping us cut off from living fully. Celestia has long forgiven Discord, you'd know that if you didn't spend so much time with your head under a rock whilst jammed up your ass! Heck, I bet Celestia would be happy to meet all of us, if you quit calling her names for five minutes!”

Havok was stunned. His efforts to keep them safe...had failed? He flashed back to Sombra's words, his desperate pleas to be let go so he could save the life of the one he loved. He hadn't been able to save his wife, but this pony-

“Then it's true, Discord is..” he couldn’t finish.

“Yes, he's back home in their empire, being attacked by the same thing that took mother! Please dad,” Eris began to sob and her father realised for the first time that he could hear how much pain was in his daughter’s voice “I don’t want my brother to die the same way mom did. Let it go, don't chase after him.”

Havok paused.

“That pony, he's not like the others. Have they changed-”

“Yes, they have! There's four Princesses now, five if you include the baby one. One of them is a fricken’ Princess of friendship!”

“Then-”

Eris watched as her father shook his head, then abruptly let his head fall into his hands.

Havok was swamped. Was his son really dying? He'd spent so long using Discord's mistake as leverage to persuade everyone to stay hidden, he'd never considered that Celestia might forgive. He'd assumed she'd had him locked up for good and he'd been angry at both her and his son, painting her as a villain as well as her sister.

He'd assumed he'd never see his son again, but now he knew he was not only alive but ruling alongside that pony. And Celestia was behind setting him free?

“It doesn’t make sense..” he croaked. He felt Eris' hand on his shoulder.

“It does, dad. Things aren’t what you thought. You never looked in on the world to see if it was kinder than it once was. You assumed the worst of Equestria and abandoned Discord to it. Celestia set him free and Fluttershy showed him what being good could do. Sombra showed him what his chaos could do for an empire and showed him he deserved love like you and mom once had.”

She placed the photo showing Loki in front of him and he shakily lifted it in one hand. There was so much said in that one image. The smile on Discord's face, the way he had an arm around the Alicorn pony. The way Sombra's wings were fluffed up, one curving around his husband. Between them, beaming so happily, was a child composed of parts of both a Draconequus and Sombra's race. The first child in their line in so long…

And iy hit home just how happy they were. He traced a finger across the crowns they wore. Two Kings and their son, a little Prince named Loki.

He realised the sheer weight of his mistake and for the first time in centuries, felt guilt well up en masse. A feeling he'd pushed down time and again, always convincing himself he was doing the right thing for his home. His vision blurred and Eris was startled to see drops splash onto the picture as her father set it down.

“Dad?” she asked as he didn’t look up.

“I've made a fatal error, haven’t I? I assumed he was an agent of Celestia, here to trick us all. I hated her for taking him away, yet I also hated my own son for causing trouble. I should have seen what this pony has, the good in him.”

Eris rubbed his back, feeling just a little sorry for him. He was her dad and she still loved him, despite her anger and his mistakes. Her voice shook as she spoke…

“He was a kid when she died, he was too little to understand that she was never coming back. Then, when his efforts to show you he was there and attain your love resulted only in his getting a scolding, he began to lose faith in love. He ran away because he couldn’t stand being punished for no reason he understood. He wanted to bring something back that would make you proud. But he made a mistake, ticked off the sisters and was sealed away. But he's made up for it now, Equestria has grown to love and accept him. They could love us all, dad…”

Havok looked up at last, determination in his face. He got up and strode out of the room, moving with purpose now. Grabbing her box of mementoes, Eris hurried after him. Where was he going?

Had he heard her at long last?

Havok descended into the bowels of the building, rummaging in some dusty boxes until he pulled out a jewellery box.

Inside it was a necklace. It had once belonged to him, a token given by the village when you married. He dusted it off now, holding it up to the light.

“Hay, I remember that,” Eris floated beside him “you used to always wear it, until-”

“Until I lost your mother.” Havok sighed “it's my wedding amulet. It's design symbolises the joining of two who belong together. I think,” he took a deep breath “that this should belong to my son and son-in-law now.”

Eris' heart lifted “you mean?”

Havok was misty eyed as he looked at his daughter.

“Yes, it's time that things moved on. If that pony is right and you are right, then perhaps Celestia can forgive one more. As well as that pony-?”

“Sombra, dad.” Eris reminded him “Discord said it translates to “wise shadow” or something like that, I cant fully remember. I got pretty drunk at the wedding.”

“How appropriate a name,” Havok smiled very faintly “he knew about me, yet he didn’t quail from confronting me. Neither did you, my daughter.”

“Well, you were being a total butt.” Eris joked, wiping at her eyes.

“Indeed.” Havok had to chuckle “is this “butt” a term from Equestria?”

“Yeah, there's lots of them. Rump. Rear. Arse-”

“That's great Eris, hardly intellectual, but good to hear.” Havok managed another smile and was rewarded with a hug from Eris.

“I know he will not wish to see nor hear me, but I must speak with Sombra. First however, I need a favour from you, Eris.”

“Sure dad, like what?”

She was surprised when he told her, but readily agreed.

Sombra checked multiple times as he flew back, but in none of his trips did more Draconequui pop out of the figurative woodwork to arrest him.

Even so, he did a series of backtracking jumps and loops before heading home.

He pushed himself as far as he could, seeing the palace zoom up into view as he shot by, generating a slipstream that rattled windows and tangled laundry into knots.

As the castle loomed ahead, he spotted what he recognised as Pages office window (it had those specific family crest banners below it) and shot right at it. However, he clipped a sculpture on the top of one of the peaks and his trajectory was sent into a spin. Thus, instead of opening the window with his magic, he crashed right through it.

Page Assist was just approaching his desk when he looked up and seen something heading for the window- and fast! He ducked, hearing the window smash and glass rain down. Whatever it was bounced off the desk with quite a thud and hit the floor behind him, rolling until it hit the doors.

“Oww..” a voice coughed and Page Assist stood up right quick. He stared at the intruder in astonishment, for it was his majesty. He'd come to a halt upside down against the door, tail draping into his face. Glancing at his desk, Page seen where the King’s armor had left deep gouges during his impact.

“Make a joke about my weight and you are in trouble.” Sombra groused, rolling himself back to his feet.

“Where is Discord- never mind, I know the way-!” he strode forward and slammed face first into the door, magic apparently on the fritz. That or he'd hit his head pretty hard in the crash.

“Your majesty-” Page recovered his voice “thank goodness you’re back, where did you GO?”

“Oh, to chaos and back again, but I got the flower!” Sombra shook his head, his sense of urgency returning as his senses did.

He pulled the door open and raced off, with Page Assist in hot pursuit. So intent was he that he didn’t even stop for obstacles, lifting tables, vase stands and even servants up in the air and setting them down behind him as he ran.

“Oh, he's back!” the bewildered maid said to her friend “we should really install speed limits in this place!”

Sombra barged into the doctor's office mid-way, shoving the book and flower in his face. The doctor read it, surmised how to make it and promptly had Corona come and drag his majesty out of the lab.

“Unhand me!” Sombra huffed as the Gargoyle tried to drag him down the hall by his tail. The Alicorn King tried to cling to the carpet but it was to no avail. Corona was pretty strong…

“You cannot expect them to create the cure with you there. You can't sit still for the love of sanity, sire. You’ll only get in the way!”

Sombra quit struggling, so the Gargoyle chanced releasing his tail. Sombra flopped to the floor in the empty corridor like a lifeless puppet. He sighed heavily.

“Look, sire, you’re exhausted. Go take a nap or something.” Corona patted the kings back “leave the armor with me, I’ll fix those dents.”

So Sombra shucked the armor and toddled off towards his bedroom wearing just the cloak that’d been under the armor. This, he threw aside as he walked to sit beside his husband, placing a gentle kiss on his forehead. Taking a shaky breath, he whispered to him.

“I did it, love. I found the cure. I don’t care what vengeance your father wreaks upon me, I will not let anything take you from me. I love you.”

As he spoke, he suddenly felt the adrenaline fade into nothing. Every scrape, bruise and aching limb seemed to hit at once and he collapsed at the beds edge, sobs of relief hitting his body. He let them fall, he'd done all he could for now.

Once he ran dry, he sniffled, lifted his head and went staggering into the bathroom. He washed his wounds and cleaned the dirt from his mane.

Then he was hit by an idea.

What if they DID manage to track him-?

He reactivated at the spell linking to Eris and with a jab of panic realised it was closer, loosely speaking, then he'd expected. What if Havok had dragged her by force?

He shut off the shower, not bothering to dry himself off as he raced into the bedroom.

What was he supposed to do-?

As he thought this, he seen a gleam of light in the corner of his eye. Walking over to it, he realised it was from the prototype gem he'd created to power him in stasis. By some miracle, it was still powered since its last test. The fault with the prototype had been that it gave all its power at once, when he'd needed a slow release.

But that didn’t matter now, it had energy and he needed it. He fetched his neck-plate, discarded back at the start of all this, slotting the power gem in place of the regular one. He felt a surge run through him as the power was absorbed. He swiftly felt energised and his pain was soon but an echo of its former self.

--This should be enough, I shall show him what happens to those that try to destroy my life..-- Sombra thought sadly. He had hoped for anything but this.

He turned and left, creeping unnoticed to the rooftop tower. The warm breeze made a chill run over his wet coat and he took a moment to dry off, then he wove an illusion from his magic and waited.

Knowing the way there, Eris took a much faster route than Sombra had. All his ducking and hiding had been for nothing, for she already knew the way.

“How far now?” Havok asked for the third time.

“Next jump!” Eris called.

With one final portal, they shot out of the sky above the Umbrum empire. Its stunning visage spread out below, all glittering buildings and tall spires.

“This is beautiful.” Havok whispered.

“Isn’t it? You’d love it if you had a look around, dad. Sombra built a beautiful home, literally worked on-site until it was done. All he wanted was a happy home for his ponies and anyone that needs help.”

The castle was approaching fast and both their hearts leapt when they seen a figure atop it.

“Discord?” Eris cried, then realised something was a bit odd about him. Her father realised it too and they tried to pull up short, but it was simply too late.

Sombra dropped the illusion as they got close enough, launching himself at Havok. He heard Eris yelp as he slammed into the elder chaos being.

“Wait-!” Havok tried to reason with him.

“For what?” Sombra spat as they tussled mid-air, before the stallion pushed him away with his magic “for you to erase my mind? To destroy my home, my FAMILY?!”

Rage and sadness battled in his voice and in his eyes as Havok met his gaze.

“Sombra!” Eris cried “please, listen. It's not what you think-”

Havok realised then just how much trouble he'd caused. By treating this pony like a criminal, like he'd assumed all ponies were, he'd destroyed any hope of an easy reconciliation. This pony had immense magic and was set to unleash all of it for Discord's sake.

He'd gravely underestimated the true nature of ponies.

“The both of you.” Sombra shook his head as he hovered there, magic crackling around his horn, mane billowing in an unseen breeze. Tears sparkled the crystal as the pony shook his head, heart torn by grief “I will not forgive-”

He opened his eyes and prepared to fire, only to be tackled out of the air as he spoke. He hit the smooth paving of the tower, skidding to a halt. Coughing, magic sparking over his body, he sat himself up and seen Eris a few metres away. She'd tackled him, stopped his spell.

“How could you-” he cried sharply, but she didn’t answer. She just shot forward and threw her arms around him, the embrace startling him into stilling.

“Please, Sombra.” she cried softly “please!”

He remained tense, but didn’t push her away.

“He's not here to hurt you. Neither am I. I'm sorry you feel betrayed, but I showed dad everything I had of you and my brother. He asked me to seal his magic, he can't use anything but basics until I say so. It's the strongest honour spell we know, he can't hurt you, he wont.”

“Why should I trust him?” Sombra asked coldly as she let him go and met his gaze.

“I cant provide that reason,” she said honestly as she wiped at her eyes “but he wants to try. After you left, I yelled at him, told him what an idiot he was being and showed him my memories. He listened, what you did got through to him. He's spent years hiding from how he's really felt, now he has to deal with it and that starts with making up for what happened back there.”

Sombra's expression seemed to crumple, eyes filling with frightened tears again “how can I trust that you aren’t lying to me?”

“Because I’m family. I love you, my goofy bro-in-law. I would never hurt you, not after everything you’ve given me. But I believe dad wants to make up for being a jerk for so long. Will you trust me, to trust him?”

Sombra looked away, gaze briefly settling on Havok, who had landed atop the roof. He looked older suddenly, less a tyrannical father and more a regretful one. Sombra could see a tiredness in his eyes, the way his hands were clenched tightly together, unease in his posture.

He looked back at Eris.

“Please?” she begged “I would never want to hurt you, never-”

He heard the honesty in her words and nodded at last. She began crying softly and he made a move to hug her.

Then the door was suddenly flung open with a bang, there was a flash of magic and in a split second the roof was covered in a shimmering dome shield.

“Nopony move-what the?!” It was Corona and a squad of guards.

“Your majesty!” One of them seen Sombra and charged over, glaring at Eris and motioning her to step away from the King “who are these people?”

But Sombra seemed to be in shock, only staring blankly at the space Eris had been occupying.

“Sire?!” the guard asked again, slowly approaching the King “are you hurt?”

“Seize them!” Corona snapped.

Eris blinked, raising her hands “whoa, hey now!”

Corona frowned, why did her voice sound familiar? He had a memory of a wedding party…

Havok backed up as the pony guards advanced. Without his magic he was at their mercy and a sudden thought occurred to him now, was this how Sombra had felt? Trapped and victimised?

For this reason he stopped moving, letting them approach.

“Stop.”

Sombra spoke at last and they all looked over at him. He had gotten to his hooves, dulled and tired eyes focusing on the guards.

“They are not intruders. Stand down.”

“Who are they, your majesty?” Corona asked.

Sombra stayed silent for what felt like an eternity, then at last answered with “family.”

“What?” Corona blinked, realising they were in fact very similar to Discord. One was a female, the other an older male.

Sombra spoke bluntly, instructing the two Draconequui to follow him and headed inside, refusing any medical treatment from his guard.

“Hey fuzz-ball!” Eris greeted Corona “remember me?” She turned herself into a pony and back as a clue.

“So you’re-?” Corona connected the dots.

“I’m Discord's sister, Eris. That’s our dad, Havok.”

“I see. Why are you here and why now?” Corona asked.

“I need to see my son-in-law, this “Sombra-” Havok piped up.

“That’s King Sombra,” Corona said sternly “and going by his majesty’s body language, I’d advise staying a safe distance. He rarely shows his temper, but when he does- boom.”

“Yes, so I’ve seen.” Havok murmured to himself “but when he is ready, tell him I wish to speak with him.”

“You’ll be waiting awhile, bud.” Corona said again “With the current situation regarding his husband, he has little focus for anything beyond making sure he recovers.”

Havok said nothing, for what could he say to that?

Sombra came to a halt just ahead of them and the whole entourage stopped, looking expectantly at his majesty. The pony turned his head to look over his shoulder, expression eerily neutral.

“These rooms are for your use. Eris, yours has been left just as it was since your last visit. Mother added some more books.” he managed a weak smile, then his expression blanked again. “Feel free to explore the palace as much as you wish, although I request my private chambers be considered off limits.”

“Of course.” Eris managed to speak “don’t worry, I promise not to booby trap your bathroom like last time.”

Another faint smile, yet the mere action seemed to take more than Sombra had.

“If you need anything, ask my mother or the Captain here. I must leave you now, I wish to attend to my husband and son.”

Just as he spoke, a blur of fluff came tearing round the corner and came to a halt in front of Sombra. It was Huffle.

“Thhbt!” she addressed the monarch. “Thhbt, thhht!”

“He cannot settle? Yes, I’m heading there now, fret not. He no doubt knows things aren’t as they usually are right now.”

Huffle bobbed her head, watching the King as he strode away down the hall. She looked from him, to Eris and Havok, then made a series of raspberries before racing to catch up with the King.

“What did she say? Were those even words?” Havok asked in the silence. He looked at Eris, doing a double take a she realised she looked about to cry “Eris?”

“She.” Eris sniffled “she asked: “why is his heart breaking?””

Another surge of guilt and the older Draconequus found himself at a loss for words.

Sombra felt a little less shaken as he held his son in his arms. The baby gurgled up at his dad, waving a chubby hand as he seen his reflection in his fathers eyes. Sombra placed a kiss on Loki's forehead, heart aching as he beheld his pride and joy. Which that lunatic had threatened to take away from him.

How could he forgive that? His home, his FAMILY, had been threatened by an elder chaos being with a grudge against ponykind. He knew he had to keep an eye on him while he was here…

Loki was fast asleep now, snuffling softly. Sombra smiled lovingly and laid him back in his crib. His vision blurred and he had to fight to push back the maelstrom going on in his head.

Huffle nudged his side, asking was he OK?

“I am fine, it has just been a very long day.” He assured her as he left Loki to sleep…

He went next door to his bedroom, where the doctor was changing the drip at Discord's side.

The doctor looked up as the door opened, trotting over to greet the tired King.

“That flower-?” Sombra asked straight away.

“The distilling process is almost complete sire, as per that book you sent down to us. All you can do is wait, we are working as fast as we can.”

Sombra nodded and the doctor studied him closely, seeing the bags under his eyes, how oddly frail he seemed when you looked past his stoic façade.

“Sire, when did you rest last?”

“It has been awhile.” Sombra said shortly “but I am fine, I will rest once the cure has been completed.”

He strode past the doctor to sit at his husbands' side and the doctor sighed softly. He could see Sombra was determined to have his way, nothing would convince him otherwise. The best he could do as his majesty's doctor, was to keep checking in on him. Or have Corona drag him to a separate room to have a lie down.

Alone with his beloved, Sombra let his head rest atop the bed, hot tears burning his eyes, but he was too worn out to break down. So he just sat in silence, listening to the machinery monitoring his husband.

“Please wake up, love.” Sombra whispered to the sleeping Draconequus “I found the remedy. But unfortunately your father followed me here, I am so sorry. I did not know I would find your old home, I was focused only on that flower.”

He dozed off some indeterminate time later, during which time the remedy was finally finished. The doctor concocted a dose relative to Discord's body weight and whatnot and took it up to the room, his aide alongside.

They walked in, having received no answer to their knock and were beside the bed by the time they realised. Sombra was still there, head buried in his forelegs, ears drooped. He was fast asleep however, as not even the knocking on the door had roused him.

“Should we, wake him up-” the aide began, only for the doctor to cut him off with a frantic shake of his head.

“For Celestia's sake, do not disturb him. You know how hard it is to get him to sleep when he's stressed out. No, leave him be, just be very quiet.”

So they stealthily hooked up the bag with the cure in it alongside the drip and left the room. Sombra slept on, unaware of any of it.

But his heart lifted when he woke and seen the second drip bag marked with an icon of a flower. He looked at his husband's face, worry blooming anew as he seen he still looked as pale as earlier.

There was a knock on the door, and a guard stuck his head in.

“Your majesty? Dinners ready, cook said to let you know.”

Sombra thought about food, then thought about one particular guest he currently had and sighed.

“Could you have it brought up here, I do not wish to join the others tonight. Please give them my apologies.”

“Of course, sire.” the guard nodded, trotting away down the hall. Sombra sighed, returning to Discord's side.

“I’m afraid his Majesty King Sombra will not be joining you for dinner tonight, he sends his apologies.” the guard informed the others at the table minutes later.

“I hope he's alright.” Umbra sighed.

Eris had come to see her earlier, with her father in tow and a tale to tell. Umbra had been pretty startled, she'd heard briefly about him from Discord. But to her surprise, he wasn't like she had expected.

“Oh!” Umbra said in surprise as she opened the door to her office to see not just Eris but a tall, older Draconequus.

--Could it be?-- she felt a jab of concern, but Eris gave her a reassuring, pleading smile so she went with it and let them in, offering tea or coffee.

“I can see from your expression that you know who I am.” Havok said at last.

“I assume you are my son-in-law's father?” Umbra said smoothly.

“Yes, my name is Havok.” the Draconequus said.

“How did you come to meet my son?” Umbra asked curiously “last I seen that child, he was hell-bent on getting the cure for his beloved Discord.”

“The flower he sought grows in the depths of the forest that helps keep us hidden.” Havok said briskly “why he did not just come directly to us-”

“Oh please, dad!” Eris burst out “what would you have done then? Threatened to hold him hostage or just move straight to that memory potion and addle his brain-”

“You were going to do WHAT to my son?!” Umbra's back was immediately up. Eris put her hands up in a “please wait” gesture.

“Dad freaked out, he still thought Celestia and Luna were on the hunt for the rest of us. When Sombra showed up, kicked the beast of the forest up the arse then gave dad a good yelling at, it was a bit of a surprise.”

Havok glowered at his daughter, but she just stared right back and he remembered his feelings upon seeing those photos of his son's wedding. The happiness they shared, how strongly Sombra had spoken of his son.

The very real fact he may have lost both his son and his in-law.

Umbra seen how tired and close to misery the male Draconequus suddenly looked as all the fury seemed to leave him and she got down from her chair, standing in front of him. There had to be more to this story besides this being threatening her son with a mind wipe for no reason.

“Why did you come here?” she asked, her kindness only making Havok feel guiltier.

“I realise my chances are less than zero, but I wanted to apologise to both your son and mine. I made a foolish judgement, assumed your son was coming there to expose my home to the wider world. After the Celestia incident, I sealed us off, didn’t want her finding us.”

“Didn’t you ever go looking for him again? See what happened?” Umbra asked.

“No, I was too stubborn.” Havok sighed “I didn’t want him thinking he could cause trouble and get away with it, but I was also too proud to admit I missed him.”

“We all make mistakes like that. My child, he assumed the world was against him and for a time became a tyrant, nothing but hatred fuelling his world.”

Havok blinked at her “your son? The one with the huge kingdom and from what Eris tells me, adored by his populace?”

Umbra smiled “Yes. He has grown to accept his past just as he has helped build a future. My son knows what regret is.”

“He said he would never forgive what I have done and I do not see why he shouldn’t stand by that. What I did was unforgivable, I was prepared to erase memories he held dear just to keep control. But it was never needed, Celestia had stopped being angry at my son, she most likely didn’t care about pursuing an old grudge. Something that I should have learnt sooner.”

“My son knows a thing or two about forgiveness. He has both given and received it. The ponies he briefly enslaved seen his efforts to reform and unanimously decided to grant him a second chance. Now he visits them often, the Crystal Empire is our most long standing trade partner.”

“You did not see how furious he was. I do not think I deserve such mercy and I don’t expect to get it.”

“Don’t be so sure. I know my son has a fiery temper when pushed to his limits, but give him time to think and I’m sure he will agree to speak with you. We all want to protect our families,-”

“My methods were just cruel.” Havok sighed. “All these years I’ve been so blind. A stubborn old fool..”

“Old is a bit harsh, dad.” Eris joked, earning a faint chuckle from him.

“See what I live with?” he joked and Umbra laughed.

“Oh, I'm used to it. Your son has the most imaginative sense of humour, he's the one who taught my child to smile again, after all. And taught him about innuendos.”

“Yeah, sorry about that.” Eris giggled “I was the one who started Discord on that when he was little. We're just naturally dirty minded.”

“I can only think it must be further back on our line, you certainly did not get that trait from me or your mother.” Havok rolled his eyes.

“Aunty, gotta be. I read her diary, she had a heck of a dirty mind-”

“Yes, that's enough!” Havok sighed, shaking his head. He caught Umbra's eye and seen she was smiling.

“I think its a child’s duty to give their parents a run around. Revenge for any time you ever showed off a baby picture.”

Havok chuckled, recalling doing that to Eris, how mad she'd been. She grinned at him now, confirming his suspicions. Never underestimate your kids.

His stomach growled to break the silence and Umbra smiled. She told them dinner would be ready soon, did they want to accompany her downstairs?

Now they sat around the dinner table, albeit minus Sombra and Discord.

“I hope Sombra's OK,” Eris sighed “he must be exhausted, he's been going full throttle since arriving at our place. How can he still be thinking straight?”

“I doubt he is, by this point he'll be issuing edicts to the potted plants.” Umbra said calmly “when that child runs himself ragged, he really maxes the limit.”

“Is it true he fell asleep standing up in the middle of a talk with one of his council?” Eris recalled Discord's last talk with her involving that tale and a promise to not tell Sombra that he told her.

Umbra couldn’t help but laugh “Yes, it is. I came along just in time to find the advisor trying to wake him, but he was out cold. I had to use a spell to wake him up and insist he go to bed. I'm surprised he didn’t fall over, it's very strange.”

“Huh,” Havok raised an eyebrow “I’ve heard of being dead on your feet, but this is new.”

Eris snickered and Umbra chuckled.

“That’s my son, works until he literally can’t. Although Discord does a fine job of stopping him.”

“How?” Eris asked.

“Usually by literally carrying him away from his desk. Or hiding his paperwork so he has no choice but to stop.”

“Go bro.” Eris smiled, then she sighed “will he be OK?”

Umbra leaned across and patted her hand with one hoof.

“The doctors distilled the plant as fast as they could, it was all in that book of yours. He wasn't sick for long before my son went on a hunt for that flower, so his chances are pretty good.”

Havok flashed back to how he'd treated Sombra. Trapping him with that spell, threatening to hurt him and destabilize his memory. He'd been terrified his worst fear was coming true, that this stallion was an envoy of those Princesses. After he'd learnt Discord had been imprisoned by the Princesses, he'd felt numb from panic. So he'd gone all-bets-are-off in an effort to ensure the Princesses didn’t come after the rest of them as a pre-emptive measure. If they assumed ALL Draconequui were trouble, the end result could be disastrous.

But according to Eris and indeed Sombra, the Princesses were good. He'd assumed they were vindictive since they'd sealed his son away, assumed his tearaway child had committed some grave offence and had mentally severed all ties.

That night he was given a fancy bedroom to stay in, after hours of tossing and turning he eventually fell asleep. But his dreams were full of worst case scenarios. Sombra turning that vengeance on him now, the anger and sadness in the ponies eyes stabbing guiltily into his heart.

He woke in a cold sweat, worry accosting him afresh.

He left his room and asked if his majesty was around, specifying it was the pony King he wanted. Most of the guards had gotten Corona's memo and shook their heads, saying again and again that King Sombra did not wish to be disturbed right now.

But one guard, new on his shift, hadn’t been told this yet, thus told the older Draconequus Sombra had been seen heading for the underground training room.

Havok closed his eyes, he had basic teleport magic, but that was about it. So he aimed himself in the direction of the stallion's magic and hoped for the best-

With a pop, he appeared in a dimly lit room. It was cavernous, lit by lanterns hung from the ceiling. To one side was a workbench littered with weapons. To another was what Havok at first thought was a rack of bodies, but soon realised were just dummies, or puppets. Sawdust was coated across the floor and there were scuffs and gouges in the hard crystal floor.

His eyes settled on the pony now. Sombra had his back to him, working on a hovering ball of magic. He returned it to the crystal on the table next to him and turned to head over to the rack of practise dummies-

He spotted Havok and his wings shot up and out in a flash, the whip-crack sound actually making Havok jump. It was a clear display of hostility if he'd ever seen one!

“How did you get here?” The pony said coldly “this area is private!”

“I located you via our magic. My daughters spell left me the ability to teleport, so it was my only option.”

Sombra recalled Eris saying she had sealed her fathers magic and true enough, he couldn't sense power enough to harm him. He growled softly and floated one of the dummies over from the rack, whereupon he slotted the crystal into its chest and closed the panel. Its emitted a soft whirring noise, its eyes lighting up with a blue glow.

“What do you want?” he asked, squaring off with the creature, which dropped into a matching stance.

“I wished to talk with you.”

“Talk then.” Sombra said, never taking his eyes off the dummy, which stared, unblinking, at the monarch.

“Discord was a troubled child. After the loss of his mother, he acted out and refused to abide by my rules-”

Havok jolted as Sombra sudden lunged forward, his wing sweeping up to block the practise dummy's first blow as it reared up to strike. It stumbled back, narrowed its eyes and feinting to the left as Sombra swung his wing…

“He rarely spoke about his family,” Sombra said bluntly as he dodged a blow “when I asked him, he looked sick to his stomach. When Eris found us, he was terrified he'd lose everything. Did you ever try talking to him?”

“Of course I tried, all he did was talk back. Saying he didn’t care-”

“Well, what reason did he have? Call me biased, but I never seen him look as scared as he did at the thought of you. To him, it spelled the end of his life, our LOVE- if you were to find out-!”

This last word ended in a shout as he reared up and hit the dummy with a well placed right hook. It crashed to the floor and Sombra dropped back to all fours, wings fluffed and raised in defence.

“After his mother went away, so did you!” Sombra said, a little breathlessly as he took a solid blow to the shoulder from his opponent.

Havok stammered “H-he, I…”

He tried again.

“After I lost Diana, I didn’t know what to do. They were so like her. Discord, he has so much of her face, her boldness, that it was like seeing ghosts. By the time I began to live again, I could not control Discord. He would only listen to his sister, so I came to depend on her to keep him calm-”

“And you wonder why he felt slighted?!” Sombra barked, ducking down and back-kicking his opponent several feet across the room. His gaze flicked briefly to the Draconequus as he waited for the test dummy to get back up. Thus neither of them seen it shudder, head twitching strangely for a second before it ran right at Sombra.

The pony danced aside, dodging the charge.

“I thought he was just acting out, as any teenager would. He refused to listen, no matter what I told him-”

“Did you ever sit him down and let him talk back?” Sombra asked “maybe all he wanted was for you to notice him- LOVE him for Celestia's sake! As a child, I endured a lot of abandonment by my peers, so I lashed out, hoped I would get attention by making them angry, for being nice had never done me any good.”

He pushed the dummy back, seeing it stagger he took a breath and continued as he struck back, dropping it to the floor.

“-Maybe he seen this defiance of his as the only way you’d notice him? He just wanted you to see him for what he was worth.”

Havok listened to this and nodded. The pony had a point.

“I never seen it.” he confessed “I let my grief warp my mind, I didn't see that my children needed me. Eris was always so grown up, so capable that I didn't see she was hurting. And Discord fought me, missing his mother and needing me, which he never got-”

Havok cut off abruptly, his guilt making his eyes sting.

“I may as well have lived in darkness, I was so blind.”

Sombra studied him a moment, realising the guilt he seen was real. It seemed that way, the evidence was in Havok's voice as it stumbled during the talk.

“If Discord would talk to me, I would tell him this, but I don't think he will-”

“You're not even prepared to try?!” Sombra barked as the fight carried on. He was getting tired, his sides aching, but he needed to vent his fury. “You owe him this. Talk to him, TRY!!”

He reared up to strike, wings snapping out-

-and everything went to heck in a haybasket.

Sombra wings snapped out and the right one twitched sharply, bending at a strange, unnatural angle. The pain lanced through the wing and down into Sombra's body. He cried out sharply, the pain making him dizzy and caused his legs to give out. He slammed into the floor, the impact winding him.

The practise dummy didn't stop, however. As Havok watched, it reared on its hind legs over the stunned King, hooves coming down towards him-

Havok charged over and body-slammed the thing, ripping out the chest panel at the same time as he flung it back. As the thing hit the wall, he snapped his fingers and teleported a sword from the weapons rack over to his hand. One expert throw and he impaled the creature right through, splitting the crystal controlling it in half. It eyes flickered and went dull, a faint whine and the scent of burnt mechanisms filling the air.

Havok crouched beside Sombra, helping the stunned pony to sit up.

Realising who it was, Sombra tensed up, getting the rest of the way to his feet with a wince. His wing hurt, he couldn’t flex it-

“I know you despise me, but I’m sorry.” Havok said bluntly. Sombra glanced at him from beneath his mane, wary of his words.

“You and Eris showed more bravery than I ever had, you stood up for the son I had forgotten. That I blamed, unfairly. I don’t know what it’ll take to earn an iota of your trust, King Sombra, but I’m sorry. For what I threatened to do, for my cowardice, for tarring every pony with the same cruel brush.”

Sombra stared silently at him, processing the inflections in his voice. As baffling as it felt, he had to admit he believed the remorse in Havok's words. Getting off the high horse he'd been on wasn’t easy for an old fashioned elder, but…

...he was trying.

Havok held his breath as he the pony’s gaze cleared and those deep red eyes met his.

“You've started.” Was all the pony said and for a moment Havok didn’t understand. Then it hit him; the pony had considered his apology. Accepted it? He hoped so. Was there still hope for him?

He broke out of his trance and noticed the pony was looking over at the practise dummy now, as the thing was still nailed to the wall with a sword.

--What’s he looking at?-- he thought, then realised the obvious truth like a slap to the face with a wet fish.

The reason Sombra hadn’t met his eyes, or even faced him as he talked. So great had his anger been, yet he’d chosen to exact it on a lifeless target rather then him.

The pony had been battling his anger, literally, and he was angry at Havok. In his mind, the elder had almost taken away the love of his life.

“How long,” Havok spoke at last “have you loved my son-Discord?”

Sombra looked at him calmly “it has been many years. He had been my friend before that, I had always treasured his friendship. That it turned to love was the most unexpected thing at first, but I would not trade it for the world. Discord IS the world to me. Loki is our pride and joy, we were so happy to have...a child..” he swayed on his feet as a dizzy spell hit.

Havok heard a cracking sound and leaned his head round to look at the neck-plate the pony wore. The jewel in it was fractured, cracks splitting across its facets. He seen a faint pulse of light, then it was gone and the jewel seemed to dull in front of his eyes.

--What is that thing?-- he wondered.

Just then, the door opened and an elder Centaur trotted in. He spotted the dizzy, injured King and went pale.

“Your majesty, what happened?!” he knelt before the King, eyes moving to the injured wing “let me examine that, sire.”

Sombra nodded, wincing as the Centaur's hands probed his feathers and joints.

“It's very badly sprained, sire.” the Centaur looked from the pony to the mess the room was in “what happened?”

“It….the dummy..” Sombra croaked, throat dry as sand.

“The thing went rogue.” Havok put in, to spare the pony’s voice “when it should have stopped upon seeing him injured, it tried to brain him with its hooves, so I made a kebab of it.”

The Centaur did a double take and glanced over at the rooms new wall decoration.

“I see. That was quick thinking, those dummies pack a punch. They’re intended to match his majesty in combat.”

“Explains why they’re so tough.” Havok mused.

“Wait here, I’ll fetch the medical supplies, your majesty.” The centaur spoke to the King again.

“Thank you, Morloc.” Sombra said quietly. The centaur bowed then raced out to fetch his kit.

“You did not state that it was my fault that it failed to stop.” Sombra said to Havok.

“What do you mean?” Havok said casually.

“I know you seen me putting the spell back in. I sensed a presence, but thought it perhaps a guard, or Eris. My mind was not fully on the matter, so I did not look deeper.”

Havok shrugged “you wanted a tougher fight. Nothing I haven’t done myself, sought a better opponent. Many of us have tried to fight that beast you rendered unconscious and failed the task.”

“Could your magic not suffice?” Sombra was puzzled by this fact, surely a Draconequui could take on that thing?

“That thing is older than you think. Living within our lands so long, it had become immune to our magic over the centuries. We fight with our magic, not our physical ability, unlike what you demonstrated. How did you knock it out?”

Sombra smiled wryly “Before I left on the quest to find that flower, my physician gave me some anaesthetic, in case I needed it. I combined every vial I had with a spell. Then I used my shadow magic to get beneath its scaly hide and “inject” the spell, so to speak, directly into its skin.”

“Your tactics are admirable.” Havok said, with no small amount of admiration in his voice. Sombra glanced at him, expression closing off again.

“I did not wish to kill it. I only wanted to get to that flower. Perhaps it was foolish of me, but it was all I could think about, I did not consider its placement would be so close to your home. My recklessness was what got me caught.”

Havok considered this, then spoke honestly.

“You love my son, just as I adored Diana. I was in your place once, as you pointed out, but I did not get the cure in time. We didn’t know what we know now, thus we couldn't save her. I had lost my world and wound up becoming bitter. Had I seen your pain for what it was, without my bitterness obscuring it, I would have realised I was seeing my own story repeating itself.”

“But this time there WAS hope.” Sombra said and Havok nodded, heart aching with the weight of his mistakes.

“Oh, Discord.” he sighed heavily, realising he still loved his son and longed to get to know him again. His head ached as he felt his guilt increase.

Sombra was stunned, the last of his brief fury dwindling away as he watched this. He opened his mouth to speak, but the doors were flung open a second later and Morloc trotted in carrying a red bag with a stylised heart and cross on it.

Havok stepped back, watching wordlessly as Morloc gave the King painkillers to swallow then proceeded to put his right wing in a special type of bandage sling. The straps wrapped around the pony's midsection, keeping the wing almost immobile but also supporting it.

“Until your magic regains, please bear with this, sire.” the Centaur asked and the King nodded.

“Thank you, Morloc.”

“Proud to serve you, your majesty.” the Centaur smiled gently “are you hurt anywhere else?”

Sombra shook his head, saying he was otherwise alright. The Centaur recommended he rest and whilst Sombra nodded, Havok seen him glance away subtly. It seemed the stallion could not- or would not- rest.

He followed silently after Sombra as the pony walked up stone stairs to reach the ground floor of his palace. The guards greeted the monarch and he managed a smile, but it seemed to take more and more effort each time.

But no matter how tired he was, he had to hold it together for his ponies and for his family.

On autopilot, he turned towards the room where his son slept. Then he noticed Havok's wingbeats slow then stop as he reached the staircase leading up. He stopped, looking back at him.

“You said your private quarters were off the map,” the older creature shrugged as he turned to go “I'll go see if Eris has managed to drive anyone crazy yet.”

Sombra hesitated a moment, then, as Havok was about to leave his range of hearing, the pony spoke;

“Would you like to meet your grandson?” the pony's voice was calm, polite even.

Havok stopped, hope tugging at his heart. Would the King really allow this?

He looked back, seeing Sombra watching him, but his expression wasn’t as icy as it had been. It was still as closed off to the elder Draconequus as it'd been, but now there was evidence of thawing. Something in his eyes and posture suggested he had somehow persuaded himself to offer this olive branch of sorts.

So Havok nodded and followed after the pony as he strode down the hall. He passed by the first door, which Havok took to be the bedroom the stallion shared with his husband. Was Discord in there? Sleeping…

He seen Sombra cast a worried glance at the door, seen the pony’s breath hitch just a little, then the King pushed open the door, leading them into the nursery.

It was decorated in soft colours, with crystals arranged around it to fill the room will soft light.

Along the walls were painted scenes from both parent's lives. Havok looked at drawings of his son, along with six ponies, having a party. His son and the yellow pegasus Eris had spoken of, having a tea party. Discord was summoning the illusion of butterflies and the pegasus was beaming happily. Another one showed Discord helping Sombra to his hooves, Celestia beside him. Around the pony were shards of crystal…

He wondered what it all meant?

He was distracted from the murals by Sombra's voice.

“This is Loki, our son.”

Havok turned round and his eyes focused on the bundle of joy Sombra cradled in one foreleg. He'd grown a little since the picture was taken, the horns on the baby’s head looking more deer-like then ever. Orange eyes peered up at Havok, then he squeaked and hid his face in the fur of his father's chest.

“He's shy around newcomers.” Sombra smiled. He nuzzled the top of his sons head, murmuring some words in a language Havok couldn’t translate and after several seconds, Loki lifted his head.

Sombra spoke more in the unknown language, but Havok recognised the word “Eris” and “Discord”.

“What’s-?” he asked at last, meaning Sombra's speech.

“Its the Umbrum language,” Sombra smiled “I’ve started singing him lullabies in it, so he'll adapt to learning it when he's older. I was telling him “this is auntie Eris and daddy Discord’s father.”.”

Loki sniffed the air, nose twitching as he leaned over his father’s foreleg, staring innocently at Havok. Then, with a poof of magic he vanished, appearing atop the elder chaos lord's head. Havok made a faint squeaking sound and Sombra chuckled.

“Stay still, he always does this. He's just figuring how your scent signature relates to the ones he knows already.”

“He has that trait? That’s an ability all Draconequui have. You could go any distance away and he'd trace you. That ability tends to fade once they develop speech and facial recognition permanence.”

Sombra nodded, this information was important to him, the more he knew the better.

Loki seemed to be done working out this was his daddy's daddy and teleported again, this time appearing clinging to Havok's face.

Another faint laugh from Sombra “That translates to “hug!”, if you are curious.”

Slowly, Havok lifted the child from his muzzle and cradled him in his arms. He was a little rusty at this, it'd been years since he'd held a baby.

Loki burbled happily, a big beaming smile highlighting round, chubby cheeks. All Havok could do was study him, amazed by this little creature. This was real, his family had at last started a new lineage, this little guy was the future.

The reality of him, the warmth of the little body and the curiosity in the baby’s eyes broke any resentment Havok had left. He'd almost lost this chance because of his stupidity..

“Hello,” he said softly, seeing Loki’s ears twitch. “I'm your daddy's father, Havok. Your dad and I, we never really got along. I'm glad you have such outstanding parents, as I wasn’t able to give my son the love he needed, but I know you'll be just fine.”

Loki blinked, detecting this adult was sad. He stared up at Havok, booped his nose with one little hand and blew a raspberry.

“I have no explanation for that.” Sombra said after a pause. Havok uttered a snort of laughter, however, raising his eyebrows and blowing a fairly dignified raspberry back. Loki giggled loudly, then unexpectedly let out a massive belch.

“That’s normal for children,” Havok said, seeing Sombra's “oh good grief” expression “Both of mine did it a lot.”

“A certain someone never stopped doing it. Its his fault I can remember how to belch the alphabet in BOTH my native languages, but cannot recall what paperwork I have not signed yet.”

He laughed softly at the memory, then his worry overwhelmed him and it trailed off as he cast a worried glance at the connecting door. He looked so tired, his worry making dark circles under his crimson eyes.

“Have you rested since you came to our home?” Havok asked and Sombra sighed.

“I get what I need, I have a lot to take care of. I cannot afford to be absent for long, if he needs me-”

He shook his head and fell silent. He took a deep breath and straightened up, the same poker-face slipping back into place.

Loki whimpered and yawned, he was sleepy.

Havok passed him to Sombra, who walked back over to the crib. Loki whimpered again and reached for his daddy as he was set down in his bed.

Sombra smiled gently at him, closing his eyes and starting to sing softly. His voice was soothing, the soft rumbling tones and almost musical Umbrum words lulling Loki to sleep.

They stepped quietly outside, shutting the door behind them. Huffle was down the hall, she'd been waiting for them to exit so she could resume her job, sensing they'd needed space. Sombra smiled at her, giving a thank you bob of his head. She smiled, blew a raspberry and trotted in through the door they'd just left from.

“Maybe that is the source of the raspberries?” Havok suggested. Sombra laughed softly, he hadn’t even considered it for some reason.

“Yes, it would seem so. Maybe they communicate that way?” Sombra mused, the thought making him smile.

A guard came trotting up as they reached the stairwell, he bowed deeply before his King and informed him that Lady Umbra needed him a moment.

“Of course, I’ll head there right away.” Sombra responded and the guard nodded, turning to lead the way. Havok faltered a moment, then spoke;

“Thank you.”

Sombra stopped mid-step, looking back over his shoulder.

“-for letting me meet my grandson.” Havok finished, feeling uncharacteristically nervous. He surely did not deserve the King’s mercy, not after what he'd done.

Sombra seen the guilt on his face, understood how it felt.

“Take a look around town,” he suggested suddenly “I am sure Eris can show you the hotspots.”

Havok nodded, mulling this over as he watched the King disappear from sight as he descended the stairs

He located Eris in the kitchen, making amusingly goofy desserts. He told her what Sombra had done and said and her eyes went wide, then she grinned.

“You met Loki?”

“Yes, he's...” Havok fumbled for a word “astonishing.”

“Yeah, he's pretty awesome. But then, look who his fathers are, he's got the best!”

Havok smiled, even though guilt caused a twinge of pain “yes, he has. That pony is a soul mate, I am certain.”

Eris nodded, she knew the legend her father spoke of. There was a legend saying every Draconequus had a soul partner who would be the missing slice of their soul.

His head ached and he winced.

“You OK, dad?” Eris asked, and Havok quickly nodded, saying he was fine.

He asked if Eris could give him a tour of the empire and she readily agreed. She showed him how to disguise himself as a pony if he didn’t want to be noticed. Havok said it felt weird being on all fours, but he didn’t want to be mobbed by these “reporters” Eris spoke of. He just wanted to see his son's new home.

Eris took him first to the big open square where Sombra's Statue was. She explained the markings that covered the plinth, they showed Discord and many of those same ponies from the mural. Havok asked who they were, so Eris pointed to each one, giving their names and elements. Havok studied the carving of the young Alicorn Princess, seeing she had a very open, friendly face.

Celestia and Luna were there too, Eris explained they lived in Canterlot, but did visit Sombra from time to time.

“Sombra told me Celestia treated him with far more kindness and mercy than he thought he ever deserved. Even though she'd sealed him away once before and he fully expected vengeance, she didn’t take it. She made a promise she'd protect him from Scorpan, vowed to help him have a new start.”

“Who is this Scorpan?” Havok asked.

“This way, there's a museum!” Eris smiled “it'll explain everything, c'mon…”

Inside, they were met by a kindly pony calling herself Excel.

“Welcome! This is the museum of our Infinitum, his majesty King Sombra. Would you like a tour?”

“Hay Excel!” Eris waved a hoof “its me, Eris!”

“Oh, of course!” Excel hugged her and smiled “been awhile since I seen you as a pony. Who's your friend?”

“He's my dad.” Eris said calmly.

Excel's eyebrows almost shot off her face

“Really?” she asked curiously “I didn’t know there were more family members!”

“We're-” Havok paused “very secluded.” he finished lamely and Excel nodded. She could see something was weighing on this guy and didn’t push it.

She showed them around, explaining everything for Havok.

The replica oath band from Celestia, the blanket from the building site patterned with suns and moons. The paper articles, the models wearing replicas of Sombra's armor and Crown. The history of the Umbrum race as well as that of the Infinitum.

“His majesty is the first Umbrum ad Infinitum in a very long time, far back in our history. Were it not for him, we would have never had this chance. We very nearly didn’t have him as our King, he turned it down at the start.”

“Why?” Havok asked and Excel smiled, motioning them to follow her.

The next room was painted all along one wall with images from Sombra's story.

It showed him as a small child, running away from home and transforming into an adult. It showed him ruling over the Crystal Ponies with an iron hoof, uncaring.

“Wait, how come he doesn’t have wings? And why is he so mad?” Havok gestured to this malicious version of the King he'd met.

Excel smiled sadly “Our Infinitum was alone most of his life. The burden of reviving us was too much as he lost control when his full abilities were unleashed, he became, in his own words, “a monster”.”

She looked at the image of the former tyrant as she spoke “he gave us all his memories. We seen his actions, but we seen his remorse also. He refused the position he was born into, that of a King, stating he did not feel he was ready to rule after the mistakes he had made.”

“So, how did you convince him?” Havok asked, puzzled.

“We didn't, at least not at first and certainly not alone. We told him we forgave his mistakes and wished him to lead us once more, but his fears made him hesitate, he couldn’t bear to wear his crown. So we enlisted the Crystal Ponies to aid us. He did not realise they had accepted his heartfelt apologies, that they’d seen his efforts and agreed to give him a second chance. We brought his majesty before a gathering in the stadium and the Crystal Ponies entreated him to take his place at our head. That was the missing key, forgiveness.

After that, he began to to be more involved. He went to work at the site and the ponies there taught him to work alongside them, taught him how to settle disputes and see the side of those that still feared him and put them at ease.”

She pointed to more pictures as she spoke. Pictures of the town Sombra had saved, with its once reluctant mayor. Helping his young student master his magic, giving homes to those stranded and in need. The final picture was a beautiful scene.

Sombra was at its centre, wings raised, crown on his head. His eyes were closed, a benevolent smile on his face. Beneath his wings, many ponies of every race and type stood proudly, as well as centaurs and gargoyles. Behind him were his friends, arranged in a fresco. Those same six mares, another Alicorn and unicorn with a palace behind them in the distance, the royal sisters, Lady Umbra and of course, Discord.

Around Sombra's neck was a crystal on a chain, it seemed to shine softly.

“What’s that? He isn’t wearing it now.” Havok asked.

“That, that is a very special piece of history, this way.”

She led them to a display case where the necklace lay.

“When he was recovering, Celestia made a promise and gave him her neck-plate. Its a spell known as an oath-band spell, it ensures the caster keeps their word. Taking such an oath is a sign the casters intentions are honest and strong, Celestia knew it would take such honour to persuade his majesty back then, he was so afraid of the world.”

She smiled, tearing up as she recalled its origin.

“When the rest of us awoke, we still carried our fury at the crystal ponies. Sombra calmed us, showed us the world could be kind, if we trusted it. He gave this necklace to me on the day he cleared our minds of our anger, vowing that he would not desert us, that he would make a new future for us all. On the day of his official coronation, I realised he'd kept his promise and then some. The power inside it departed this gem and now resides within his majesty's crown.”

Havok stared at the gem, mind whirling.

“So this spell, it shows your integrity?”

Excel beamed at him “indeed! Its a very powerful spell, but it has been used throughout history to prove trust can be given. Breaking a promise comes with consequences, the caster will never flee their broken promise, being reminded day after day until ti is fulfilled. So it is not to be taken lightly.”

“Pretty badass, huh dad?” Eris looked at her father, noticing he was staring intently at the necklace “uh, dad?”

“Can you perform this spell?” Havok asked.

“I- well, yes, of course. I was taught by his majesty, not long after his coronation. Why?”

“Because,” Havok said, hope in his voice for the first time “I need your help.”

Excel seen tears shimmering in the elder chaos creature's eyes and nodded.

“Let's discuss it over tea.” she said gently, leading them to her office.

Sombra was dawdling along the hall, feeling like he'd been set adrift. It’d been a weird day, the malfunctioning gem leading to his father-in-law, the same one that’d threatened his life, choosing to save it. It made him shiver at the thought that if that practise dummy's hooves HAD come down on his head, he could’ve suffered a severe fracture or worse. He'd been so caught up in his fury he'd gotten reckless…

“-majesty!”

Sombra shook his head and stared blankly at the out-of-breath maid that was keeping pace with him, poking him with the feather duster she floated in her magic.

“Sorry, sire. But you're spacing big-time. The doctor sent me-” She smartly jumped to the side as Sombra shot off at a hundred miles an hour.

“INCOMING!” She yelled after him, hearing several yelps and one cry of “my cabbages!”

Weird.

Heart in his throat, Sombra raced upstairs, making directly for his bedroom.

--Please don’t let him be….-- he couldn’t even finish that thought.

He actually tore the lock mechanism on the door, he knocked it open with such fervour.

The doctors wisely scattered as Sombra charged in, trying to slow his speed and bounding up onto the bed. Its other occupant blinked as the mattress bounced from the sudden extra occupant, then chuckled and booped him on the nose…

Time seemed to slow as Sombra registered the fact his love was awake, and smiling…

Prologue

It had been almost a year since the Umbrum Kingdom had finally been completed and its residents had all moved in.

The Umbrum were a race who's history tied into that of the Crystal Empire. Or rather, SOMBRA did.

A tyrant obsessed with ruling the empire with an iron hoof, many had simply forgotten about him after his defeat by Cadance and company.

But it turned out the story went FAR deeper than that, for Sombra had been living amongst them the whole time. Found outside the Empire's shield by a guard patrol as a child, he'd been raised in a local orphanage. Lonely and confused as to why he didn’t fit in like the other kids, his only confidant had been the orphanage director. She'd treated him so kindly that he'd grown to love her as a foster mother.

When he'd found out she was being relocated elsewhere, it broke his already distrustful heart and a long dormant impulse had been sent in motion. He'd fled the Crystal Empire, ending up out in the wastes surrounding it. He'd found a red, talking crystal there who said she'd been waiting for him..

It identified itself- no, herself, as his mother and told him the truth about who he was. He wasn’t a normal pony, he couldn’t get a cutie mark, he was an UMBRUM. This news had shocked young Sombra to his core. The loss of his childhood hopes and dreams had proven too much for the young stallion and he'd lashed out. Year after year, he'd tried to go see the Crystal Heart on the day of the faire, only to suffer excruciating pain and headaches. One encounter had led him to meet Princess Amore, where she'd told him she couldn’t help and had smiled sadly. As he was being led away by the director, he'd glanced back at the Princess and seen something in her expression that made him distrust her. The way her smile seemed so fake...

The mother crystal said Amore had called them by name when she encountered her during the attack. She knew who they were all along...

The knowledge that the Princess lied to him had been the final straw and Sombra's mind had crumpled under this onslaught and he'd tapped into his power alright, ALL of it. But he was never meant to gain complete control so fast. Acting on his desires, the magic he'd inherited changed his physical form, a terribly painful process that had resulted in him turning into a full grown adult.

A fearsome visage of vengeance, he'd abandoned the red crystal, who'd begged for him to come back, crying that she was sorry...

He'd returned to the Empire running high on power, where he'd banished Princess Amore and captured that sadistic Crystal Heart. That thing had hurt him so much, at the behest of that lying Princess no doubt.

But such direct exposure had been his ultimate undoing and he'd lost all claim to his former, sane self. His once quiet nature had been warped beyond recognition and he'd become obsessed with one fact the red crystal had given him. His kind still existed, they just needed to be found.

His race had fled their old home as food dwindled and the brutal weather gradually consumed it. They'd fled for the Empire all that time ago, not knowing what was in store. They did not know their darker nature of magic put them at risk of harm from the Empire's most powerful defence, the Crystal Heart.

They day they chose to flee there for help was the day of the crystal faire. As they’d raced towards the shielded Empire, the heart had been unleashed to mark the celebrations. Its power, so bright and pure, had driven them crazy, causing them to frenzy and mistake it as an attack. They’d swarmed the palace, intent on destroying this object. But in the end they’d been defeated, sealed away in caverns deep under the palace.

All but one, that was.

She'd kept her rage in check using sheer force of will and her wish to protect the ponies in her care, even as the corruption ate away at her. She'd escaped the Empire's forces, fleeing to the wastes and once far enough away, she'd invoked an ancient rite of the Umbrum's. They could create, or "give birth" to one of their own under special circumstances. It took everything she had, but she was able to create a crystal which, as she'd started to go into crystal stasis of her own, had formed into a small foal.

"I will call you...Sombra." was the last thing she had said to her child before she'd become a solid lump of crystal herself.

And so her baby had been found by the guards and given a home. She'd implanted him with the knowledge of how to find her when the time was right, when he'd realised he was different. He was destined to become their leader, to bring them up out of the depths of their prison.

He was to be a type of Umbrum called "Umbrum and Infinitum", the Umbrum King.

This facet of his lineage had become warped when Sombra lost his mind and he had become obsessed with raising the Umbrum as an ARMY. Celestia and Luna had sealed him away and the red crystal, a unicorn named Umbra, had fallen into the deepest, darkest sleep in order to reserve the waning power she had left.

That had been her final memory until she was awoken once more and came face to face with her son again. He was still an adult, still a striking sight with red eyes and a uniquely curved horn. Growing up in the regular pony world, his Umbrum magic had been sealed away, so he'd developed a type of magic that DID exist. Dark magic. But he was no longer an angry ball of fury, he'd returned to the son she'd imagined him to be. Kind, gentle.

But a lot had changed for him and she learned he'd hurt others and been hurt in turn.

It turned out that Scorpan, Tirek's younger brother, had developed a plan to rid the world of those meddling Princesses. He'd found Sombra's horn and revived the dark King to serve his purpose. But Scorpan would not have the pony thinking he could defy him and put him through a brutal, unforgivable regime of torture, mixed with physical and mental assault. Sombra had been almost completely broken, rendered afraid of the world around him, wishing it all to end. He didn’t think he had any hope left...

But a one-in-a-million chance by a passing bird led to Fluttershy, Discord and the others finding out about him, and staging a rescue on Celestia's orders. They'd followed the bird back to the cave, where they were faced with a mere shadow of the King they’d once feared. He snarled at them, lashed out, and did his best to drive them away. As far as he was concerned THEY were the enemy. Eventually, they’d convinced him they were trying to help him and he sat still, letting them undo his chains. They had escaped with barely time to spare. Scorpan's screams of fury chased their heels as they flew away, disguised as Breezies.

Celestia had done her best to ease Sombra's pain, but swiftly realised no doctor could fix the mental scarring that’d left Sombra afraid of touch and distrustful of everypony around him. He'd begged her to kill him, just to be out of his misery. Seeing him so broken had worried everypony involved in the mission. They needed what he knew in order to stop Scorpan, but Sombra was so badly broken that hope seemed slim.

Until Discord.

Fluttershy had asked if his hypnosis could ease Sombra's nightmares, before the strain of everything the stallion was bearing under destroyed him for good.

Discord had done as she had asked, granting Sombra a reprieve from his nightmares. But as the days passed, he'd started to feel a sense of sympathy for the pony. After all, he too knew what it was like waking up in a different world, unsure what was going to happen to you. He had Fluttershy, his one true friend, but who did this lost pony have?

And so he'd found himself trying more and more to help Sombra. Gradually, the pony began to relax around him, actually talking without hypnosis, giving Discord every detail he could remember.

He'd begun to trust not just Discord, but Celestia and the other girls too. He'd started to feel...safe.

But Scorpan hadn’t taken kindly to this theft. Just as Sombra was starting to think he was free and had accepted a promise from Celestia that he could have a home somewhere peaceful, his former jailer had come back for him.

Scorpan, having already absorbed a significant amount of stolen magic, had force fed Sombra a large amount of power, thus triggering his real form.

Although born a unicorn, Sombra's ascension to his destined role, albeit by force, transformed him into an Alicorn. One made of a stunning crystal.

Scorpan had collared him with a control spell and ordered the brainwashed Sombra to attack and destroy his friends. For a moment, they had all been afraid that it would come to pass-

But in the end, Sombra had chosen the new chance Celestia and his new friends represented. He'd turned on Scorpan, breaking his leash and unleashing his true power. A big battle had ensued, with Sombra and Scorpan going head to head in the middle of Canterlot. Sombra had won out in the end, but having exhausted his magic and suffered severe injuries, things looked grim.

During the fight, Cadance and Shining Armor had arrived to speak with Celestia about the whole "Sombra's alive" thing. They’d witnessed his victory and approached him to talk. Sombra had gathered the little strength he had and asked the two bring his apology to the Empire as a whole and had used the sliver of magic left in him to give Shining Armor a key. The key to a hidden vault full of historical items.

It had shocked his two former foes to see him alive, an Alicorn made of crystal AND to hear such repentance from him. Sombra had then collapsed, the use of that last smidge of magic meaning his injuries were free to run rampant.

Sombra had begged Discord to bring him to the highest tower in Canterlot palace, so he could see the skyline before he fell into what he assumed would be an eternal sleep.

Discord had teleported him away, granting this last wish.

It'd pained him, he discovered, to see his new friend fading fast and he'd tried using his chaos magic to help him, but Sombra had shaken his head, saying the process was irreversible. Discord could sense he was right, but he was stubborn by nature and hated to lose anything. Doubly so a friend.

Sombra had smiled bravely, thanking him for the help he'd given him, for allowing him to sleep peacefully, safe from his nightmares.

By the time to others had caught up to the two, Sombra was deep in crystal stasis, slumbering inside a big lump of crystal.

Celestia and Twilight Sparkle had worked as hard as they could to finally reveal a way to awaken Sombra. This investigation and led Twilight and company to the cave where Scorpan had held fort, where he'd held Sombra captive. But they didn’t get far, finding only a few documents and Scorpan's diary before they’d been caught by the Centaur/Gargoyle guards and taken to see the King and Queen, Tirek and Scorpan's parents.

On hearing the news that both their sons now resided in Tartarus, the Queen had been bereft. The King had asked if they could help awaken the victim of their second sons madness, so they might apologise on Scorpan's behalf for what Sombra had suffered.

It was thanks to so many concentrated efforts that Celestia and Discord had been able to venture into the Umbrum pony’s slumbering mind and guide him back to them.

Sombra discovered that things had changed a little, most notably that the wings he'd sprouted during the fight had become permanent. This had plunged him into a fearful depression, dread of how Equestria would treat a former tyrant having something so beautiful consumed him. That he had something only held by the public’s beloved Princesses terrified him.

Already a nervous wreck over how he was going to live with the shadows of his past crimes, he'd become obsessed with getting rid of them, not realising what they symbolised. After an attempt at suppressing them failed and left him bandaged and in pain to Discord's very severe concern, the pony had eventually started to realise his task wasn’t over. Defeating Scorpan and awakening his Umbrum infinitum form was just the start!

He'd journeyed back to the Crystal Empire, his faithful Draconequus friend at his side, where he'd come face to face with his race. Awake, angry and blaming the crystal ponies for their suffering, they'd been almost unstoppable, until Sombra realised he'd needed to let them see his true form. So he had finally shown off what he truly was, their leader.

The angry Umbrum's had been snapped out of their rage, thier anger cleansed by Sombra's magic. For the first time since the battle, they were seeing the world through new eyes. Sombra also revealed the truth about the war that’d led to the Umbrum being sealed away, letting them know it had been a regrettable mistake. The Empire hadn’t known they were coming and the Umbrum hadn’t known about their weakness to the Heart. The day they’d attacked had been the day of the faire, when the Heart's powerful magic filled the sky...

The Umbrum's had been overjoyed to be free of their own madness and had flocked around Sombra as he stood before them. The prophecy was real, their saviour was here, their Infintie Shadow King! However, to thier shock, he'd denied the right to rule them as prophecy demanded, feeling they deserved better than a monster, instead giving them not only the truth about what HE'D done, but the choice to choose their King or Queen amongst themselves.

The Umbrum had tried, but in the end they knew only one could guide them, their Infinitum. They seen his memories, seen his remorse and his suffering at Scorpan's hands and they understood. He'd suffered too, but far worse, the pain of the Heart dragged out over the years..

They'd created a crown to present him with, begging him to see not only that they loved him, but that he had a good heart after all and they trusted him. It'd taken Sombra a long time, but eventually he had stepped up to the role, with the support of his friends and even the crystal ponies!

Umbra had been rescued from the wastes once the Umbrum's fate was secure and given power to assume a full solid form alongside her son. She had decided to remain in her slumber until the others had been saved from their anger, thus she'd slumbered in her crystal as Sombra adjusted to becoming a ruler once more…

During this time, the ponies of the Crystal Empire had learnt of not only Sombra's revival, but his apology to the Prince and Princess. They'd seen his Alicorn form, his crystal body, seen how much damage had been done, how it'd frightened him but also brought him crashing back to earth with a bump. This gentler, decently humbled pony had been deemed worthy of a second chance by the crystal ponies. They could understand how much he clearly loved his Umbrum's and many offered to help build the ponies a new home...

Unable to sit on his rear in the Empire, Sombra had joined the work-site, working alongside ponies from all over Equestria. He'd learned how to settle disputes and make new friends, how to stay calm when confronted by those who could not yet trust him and how joyous an occasion it was when he won those battles against the acts in his past.

A chance encounter with some ponies fleeing raging Timberwolves led to him offering help and homes to not only a town suffering a fate similar to his Umbrum's, but a nearby Zebra colony too!

Now, the fledgling kingdom had been up and running for 2 years. New guards were being trained, and Sombra was developing new gifts he could grant to his race. As the Infinitum, he was like a master document, any changes he made to himself could be copied to his ponies. It wasn't an easy process, requiring a lot of magic and concentration, but it was this capability that’d allowed him to develop an immunity to the Crystal Heart and finally free his race from their suffering.

But that wasn't all. A soul-searching confession to the ponies at the bundling site had led to one of Sombra's childhood dreams coming true, he'd gained a cutie mark.

He'd been overjoyed to gain such a thing and had naturally granted this gift to his Umbrum's as well. Along with the way their colours changed as they became more settled in their destinies, his Umbrum's could now further their abilities and skills by working towards a cutie mark. This had given the long dormant ponies such hope and delight, they now considered the date Sombra got HIS cutie mark a national holiday, Cutie Mark day!

Cadance and Shining Armor had remained good friends, being the first to open up a supply and trade link with the Umbrum kingdom. Not only them, but the King and Queen of the Gargoyle/Centaur kingdom had become good friends to Sombra. King Vorak was impressed by Sombra's strength even after what he had endured. He and the Queen considered him a part of their family, like a surrogate son and they happily became frequent visitors and trade partners to the Umbrum Kingdom.

The Umbrum ponies main traditional skills lay in sculpture and their buildings were the subject of many a magazine cover for their stunning architecture. Their art was complex and simple at the same time, stunning colours of crystal and shapes, so variant.

Throughout all this, Discord had spent a lot of time at his friend's side. Sombra still considered the trickster Draconequus his closest friend, for all he'd helped him with he would always be grateful.

Getting to watch over the Umbrums, see them settling in and learning so much from the ponies that visited made Sombra smile. He was determined to give the Umbrum's the perfect life they had been denied after the accidental war!

Therefore, he began devoting his time more or less solely to his Umbrum's happiness, with little care for his own.

Now he was preparing for a visit from not just his dearest friend Discord, but Fluttershy too! She was bringing some supplies for the animals of the new kingdom and to help teach at an animal shelter Sombra had set up. It was named after her, "The Shy Centre for injured animals".

Many parts of the city were named after those that had helped him. The Palace was named the Umbral palace, after his mother. The Celestial Observatory Learning Centre was named after Celestia, who'd made a promise to help Sombra find a perfect home. A tower at the top was named the Luna post, where a telescope was positioned.

A race track/stadium was officially dubbed the "Rainboom Stadium", a name suggested by the one and only Rainbow Dash.

For Rarity, a fashion avenue was named "Generosity Avenue".

A kids play centre was named "Party Pony Central" for Pinkie Pie, who not only visited, but often helped with supplies and ideas via letter.

The palaces garden was named "AJ's Oasis", a peaceful area filled with lots of trees, many of which bore apples, courtesy of Applejack's family!

Naturally the main city library’s name was given to Twilight Sparkle, thus the "Princess Twilight Learning Library". Her friends could barely get her to stay still, she was bouncing up and down even as she cut the ribbon!

For his most faithful Gargoyle guard, Corona, Sombra named the training centre for new guards. Any being was welcome, be it pony or otherwise!

Given the Draconequus' nature, it was no surprise he had picked a joke shop when Sombra had asked him. Fitting really, but it was very popular with the kids…

His citizens wanted a way to commemorate HIM, Sombra discovered, after a public petition to have a statue built in the central plaza was brought to his attention. He had agreed to it on condition images of the ponies and Draconequus that’d helped save him be engraved on the statues pedestal. Discord had made a brief enemy of the royal guard when he'd stuck a moustache on it. Luckily once Sombra heard this, he not only laughed his head off, but insisted on being driven down there to see it for himself!

He and Discord had gone around wearing identical moustaches for the rest of that day, to the guards confusion. But, since the King wasn’t mad, they’d left off trying to arrest Discord for vandalism! It was one of the rare occasions they seen their rulers more light-hearted side.

His ponies loved him dearly, the newspapers often noted, but there was the underlying curiosity about their King's personal life that was often discussed. He'd never expressed any romantic feelings for anypony, seemingly never indulged in any romance. He poured every bit of time he had into THIER general happiness, yet seemed to sideline his own. It was a bit of a mystery to the Umbrum's, was he just keeping his personal fulfilment under heavy secrecy? If so...why?

Some theorized that being raised amidst normal ponies in the Crystal Empire, he'd grown up with different cultural norms and habits to them. Somewhat stricter, more reserved ones. The Umbrum ways did vary from the rest of Equestria in a few notable fashions but there were shared habits and similarities too.

As his nation debated who he was behind closed doors, Sombra was blissfully unaware...