Up in the treacherous tundras of the Frozen North, the Crystal Empire stood on its own without any of the snowfall touching its shimmering oasis. Unlike Canterlot, which was still going under massive reconstruction following the Legion of Doom’s failed attempt to overthrow Equestria, the Crystal Castle was still standing pridefully due to its inactivity during Twilight’s battle. However, for anypony who walked through the Crystal Empire during that time, the remnants of Sombra’s earlier invasion could be seen from the various cracks in crystal walls, as well as the crumbled remains of dark crystals that still littered some of the streets. Even though the Empire was fortunate enough to not be wrecked by those three cretins now encased in stone, it was clear that they had already experienced enough heartache at the hooves of King Sombra.
And as Discord walked through the front entrance of the Crystal Castle, his fanged muzzle couldn’t help skewing awkwardly in remorse due to his own contributions to that horrible night.
The Draconequus could feel many of the castle staff’s eyes burning into him as he walked through the crystal hallways, which still had a lot of the cracks that were caused by Sombra’s invasion months ago. Since he already knew that Twilight had hidden in the Crystal Empire after escaping the Legion of Doom’s wrath, Discord was certain that most of the city was aware of his involvement already. And while he couldn’t blame any of the Crystal Ponies for their venomous glares on him, he was mostly grateful that none of them were dumb enough to try and confront him themselves. He may have committed enough wrong to warrant a loogie in the face or a kick to the groin, but only an absolute buffoon would think of attacking Discord after his chaos magic was fully restored.
Nevertheless, by the time Discord arrived to the throne room of Princess Cadance and Shining Armor, the tension was thick enough for the draconequus to cut with a butter knife. But due to how seriously he wanted to take this counsel, Discord refrained from literally doing that very thing in the moment. Since he knew that the Royal couple were fully aware of what he did, Discord knew that he shouldn’t try to press his luck with any of his usual antics. After all, considering how easily they could’ve rejected his request to speak with them, the chaotic being felt grateful enough to actually walk into the castle as opposed to just teleporting before them.
So instead of trying any funny business, Discord carried himself with an upright and polite demeanor as he walked by himself towards Shining and Cadance’s thrones. The draconequus couldn’t ignore the rows of Crystal Guards who were standing around him and the couple, nor could he overlook their justifiably furious glares on him. Of course, when he turned his attention up to the married couple themselves, Discord winced worriedly as he saw the brooding, stoic stares that both of the ponies were carrying. Even Flurry Heart, who was seated comfortably atop Cadance’s lap, was giving a particularly strong stink-eye as soon as she saw Discord standing before them.
Discord may have not been one to feel nervous or scared, but he still gulped while standing by himself among the crowd of pissed-off ponies. Fortunately, despite how upset Shining and Cadance may have looked, neither of them said anything while they sat in their thrones. Instead, their eyes narrowed on Discord in wait, clearly wanting him to explain himself for his actions. So after taking a deep breath to prepare himself, Discord looked up at the thrones before speaking apprehensively. “W-Well, ummm… Before I say anything, let me just thank you both for agreeing to see me on such short notice.”
Shining Armor’s muzzle pursed tightly shut, and his eyes narrowed on Discord while intensifying his silent glare. Fortunately for the draconequus, Cadance was able to show slightly better restraint by taking a breath through her nostrils. While Flurry Heart sat on her lap with a vicious stare on Discord, the older Princess sighed before replying to him with a nod. “Well… Considering how you actually asked to see us through a formal letter, it seemed only fair to show the same level of respect.”
Discord was grateful to hear Cadance say such a thing, but he couldn’t ignore how strongly her husband’s muzzle twitched while he sat beside her. The chaotic being was sure that Shining had something to say on the matter, but was keeping himself silent to keep from blowing up at him. Even though he likely would’ve accepted any tongue-lashings from either of the Royals, Discord remained gracious that the mood hasn’t soured too badly just yet. So after giving the Princess a respectful bow of his head, Discord took another breath before saying, “Yes, and I truly do appreciate that. Although…”
During that brief pause, Discord took notice of Shining’s glare again, as well as the multiple Guards who looked like they wanted to use their spears on him. When he looked back at Cadance and Flurry Heart, the draconequus added with a reluctantly honest, “... I have a feeling that there must have been some debate about whether or not to grant me such a privilege as this.”
Shining and Cadance turned to look at each other, with both of their brows raised in surprise from the draconequus’ statement. While it was obvious that he wasn’t wrong, neither of them tried to let that show when they turned their attention back towards him. Instead, Cadance and Shining maintained their neutrally firm expressions as they gave a response. “Well,” said Shining while his eyes burned on Discord with a clear look of disdain, “considering what Twilight told us, I don’t think you can blame us for that.”
Discord didn’t try to argue with the Prince Consort, and merely sighed with a solemn nod of his head. “Yes, I… I honestly can’t blame the two of you either…”
The draconequus closed his eyes while his head was leaned down with a shameful expression on his face. Despite the intentions he may have had with his efforts, he knew that neither of them were really interested to hear his excuses. As far as they were concerned, Discord basically sold out their family and the Crystal Empire, while also depleting Princess Twilight’s confidence after she found out about his ruse. And while that may have not been what Discord intended by any means, he didn’t try to defend himself in that moment. Instead, the chaotic being only waited another moment to breathe in, and then looked back up at Shining and Cadance with remorse.
“I’m sure that the two of you already know of what I did from Twilight Sparkle,” he began as he spoke in a direct, but soft-spoken tone to emphasize his honesty. “And I’m also certain that she told you of why I did those things, so I won’t try to repeat anything you already heard. I may have come here to speak with you both personally, but I don’t intend to give you any excuses. Because at the end of the day, I… I can safely say that I have none to give.”
Of all the things the couple expected Discord to say to them, that beginning statement was certainly one which caught them by surprise. But as the couple sat with their eyes slightly widened on the draconequus, Discord closed his eyes while continuing to speak from the heart.
“Yes, I may have had the best intentions when I initially started my plans, but that doesn’t excuse the consequences of my actions. If it wasn’t for the efforts of Twilight Sparkle and her friends, there’s a good chance that the whole of Equestria would’ve been completely destroyed. And if that were to happen, I… I know that there wouldn’t be anyone to blame other than myself.”
Despite how bold such a claim may have been, none of the ponies in the throne room were able to deny how honestly Discord said that. Instead, the mood of the room turned eerily silent as the draconequus kept talking, and he reopened his eyes to look up at the Royal family directly.
“I know that I hurt a lot of ponies due to the consequences of my actions, but I also know that the three of you were the first victims of my plans. I may have wanted to help Twilight Sparkle reach true ascension as a Princess and ruler of Equestria, but it’s obvious that I went about it in the worst possible way. And due to my dangerous and dishonest actions, I placed your family and the Crystal Empire as a whole in jeopardy when I revived King Sombra. And while I’m grateful that nopony got seriously hurt from his invasion, I know that the damages caused from that night aren’t something I can ever forgive myself for…”
As the draconequus breathed out slowly with a guilty expression, neither Cadance nor Shining were able to say much to add to what he had said. In all honesty, that brutal invasion by Sombra wasn’t the worst encounter either of the Royals have dealt with in the past; but even when compared to Cadance being thrown into Tartarus by Tirek, or Shining being used by a Changeling Queen for months on end, the humiliation and heartache both of them experienced from Sombra felt equally as mortifying. Not to mention, it was impossible to ignore the fact that unlike those moments, Sombra’s reign placed their infant daughter in direct danger as well. But judging by how sorrowful Discord’s tone became, it was clear that he understood the gravity of the situation as well.
“I… I truly never meant for anypony to get hurt,” he said with a slightly choked-up tone, and his face had to turn away from the family to keep from getting teary-eyed. “But alas… I ended up placing the two of you and Flurry Heart in insurmountable danger. And… I know that things could have ended much worse at any time… I would’ve liked to say that I wouldn’t have allowed for any harm to come to you or your subjects, but… I think we all know that I failed tremendously in that regard…”
It was in that moment that Discord caught everyone by surprise, as he perched himself down on the knee of his goat’s leg to kneel before Shining and Cadance’s thrones. The couple both reeled in shock from Discord’s unexpected positioning, as did many of the Guards who openly gasped in response. Even though he was far more powerful than most of Equestria’s most powerful ponies combined, the draconequus showed his deepest respects and sympathies as he bowed before the hooves of the Royals he had hurt months ago.
“Princess Cadance and Prince Shining Armor,” Discord spoke with a firm and unrelentingly emotional tone of voice, “I fully acknowledge that what I did was wrong, and I know that I have no reason to be forgiven for my actions. Not only did I hurt your family, but I also hurt the citizens of this Empire and the other communities that King Sombra had under his thrall. And while I know I have many ponies to say these words to, I wanted the two of you to hear them first and foremost…”
While still in his kneeled stance, Discord looked up at Shining and Cadance with a sincerely remorseful expression, and said, “There… There truly aren’t enough words to adequately describe how sorry I am for what I did to you. All of the pain and suffering you experienced that night was solely because of my own hubris, but I promise that I will do everything I can to make it up to you all. And… I hope that you’re able to see that I really do regret my actions, and I wish nothing more than to prove myself to be a suitable example for Equestria from now on.”
After giving such a strong and honest apology before the Royal Ponies, Discord lifted himself back up so he could stand on his mismatched legs again. But as the draconequus stood with his head lowered in wait, he tried not to take notice of the sea of gawked stares all the Crystal Guards were giving him. Even Shining and Cadance were staring at him in speechless awe, and needed to blink several times to properly ascertain such a profound speech. While the couple may have known Discord was capable of remorse and honesty (most notably from what Twilight told them about his betrayal from Lord Tirek), actually witnessing such a moment from the literal embodiment of Chaos required them to take a few seconds and process his words.
As for Flurry Heart, who was still sitting atop her Mother’s lap, her bottom lip quivered while pouting tearfully to Discord’s apology. Without warning, the Alicorn foal shot up from Cadance’s lap with her wings fluttering, and quickly zoomed towards Discord to give him a forgiving hug. Even though the action made his eyes widen in shock for a moment, the draconequus then closed his eyes with a touched smile, and graciously hugged Flurry back. The Guards posted around them all gave involuntary “Dawwwwwws” to that response, and even caused Flurry’s parents’ expressions to soften quite a bit.
After the foal finished her hug, she flew back into her Mother’s embrace with a content smile on her face. Meanwhile, Cadance and Shining looked back at each other with bitten lips, clearly uncomfortable with how to feel about Discord following that moment. While it was still justifiably hard to look past what he did to them in the past, that apology seemed to have been enough to keep the two from remaining too upset at him. Nevertheless, Cadance still huffed sharply to recompose herself, before turning back towards the draconequus with a sterner look on her face.
“Well, Discord,” she began firmly, even though her voice was a little flustered due to Flurry Heart nuzzling against her chest. “I… I’m not going to lie, I did not expect you to give such a strong apology in response to what you did. But…” After taking a split-second to glance back at her husband, a small nod from Shining prompted her to smile warmly before saying to Discord, “... But considering how sincerely you’ve been trying to rectify yourself following Twilight’s victory, I… I can safely say that we’re willing to accept your apology.”
Discord gave a timidly thankful smile as he looked back up at the Princess with a nod of his own. However, Shining Armor was quick to speak up on his own behalf, and said with a firmer glare on him, “However… Even though we know you meant what you said, we’re still going to need some time before we can fully look past what you did. I’m not saying we won’t forgive you for bringing Sombra back, but… we only just learned of your involvement that night, so… we need to wait a little longer before saying anything on the matter.”
Discord closed his eyes and gave an accepting nod of his head. “That’s perfectly understandable,” he said with a genuinely unoffended tone of voice. “If you need some time to forgive me for my actions, then take all the time you may need.” The draconequus then looked back up at the couple, and brought up his gryphon’s claw to raise a single talon. “But… Before I give you and your Empire some much-needed space, I would like to present to you all two gifts to show my sincerity in bettering the bonds between us.”
The couple’s brows raised up in a mixture of intrigue and worry, but they weren’t able to note anything amiss from the draconequus’ honest smile up at them. After the two looked back at each other briefly, Cadance was the first to ask Discord with a raised brow, “Ummmm… what exactly do you mean by that?”
“It’s perfectly alright, your Highness,” assured Discord before he reached underneath his feline-like arm, and protruded out an envelope that was tucked inside of his armpit. The white envelope then spouted out a couple of butterfly wings, and fluttered across the throne room to rest atop the armrest of Shining Armor’s throne. The Prince’s eyes narrowed on Discord in suspicion, but he was still able to trust him enough to carefully open the envelope with his magic. Within Shining’s magenta aura, a single check came out of the envelope to hover before the stallion’s face; and as soon as he saw the number scrawled across the note, Shining gasped in absolute shock with a hoof over his mouth, and his eyes as wide as dinner plates.
“HOLY!!” Shining grabbed the check with his hoof, and stared at it closely to ensure it was a legitimate check that Discord had just given them. He then handed the check over towards Cadance, whose jaw also dropped upon seeing the amount written out by Discord. Even though their Guards were all assigned to focus on the draconequus, the couple’s strong response to that check was enough to make most of them stare up at them curiously. Meanwhile, Cadance and Shining looked back at Discord with stunned expressions, with the Prince being the first to ask, “Is… is that real?”
“Yes it is,” he stated matter-of-factly while polishing his gryphon’s claw against the floof of his chest. “I mean, when you’re a near-omnipotent being with such a vast array of resources and knowledge, it’s fairly easy to amass such a large amount of wealth.”
Discord then took a brief moment to look towards you, the reader, and added with a sly wink, “Not to mention, I regularly receive a lot of residuals from Breaking Bad and Star Trek~”
Since none of the ponies were able to see that fourth wall-breaking, that pause was quickly forgotten as Discord said back towards Shining and Cadance, “But since I know I screwed up really badly, I figured that you two could use that check to send proper reparations for all the Crystal Ponies.”
None of the Guards were able to see how much was included in that check, but the gawked responses Shining and Cadance carried made it clear that it was likely worth a lot of bits. But even though the draconequus’ statement caught all of their interests greatly, none of them tried to ask the Royal couple how much that check was actually worth. Instead, Cadance breathed out with a shaky huff before folding the check in half with her magic, and then floating it aside with her blue aura while smiling elatedly. “Ummm… W-Wow!” she exclaimed with a disbelieving shake of her head. “I… I honestly don’t know what to say…”
Fortunately for the stunned Princess, Shining Armor was quick to shrug happily to the amount of that check, and then say to Discord, “Th… Thank you! Seriously, that… that’s really thoughtful of you.”
“Well, thank you for saying that,” said the draconequus as he nodded graciously, before he added with a cheekier grin on his muzzle, “however… I have a feeling that my second gift is even more thoughtful~”
Discord then hopped up so he could start floating in the air, and used his chaotic magic to summon out a large gift-wrapped box through an interdimensional portal. Despite the chaotic being’s first generous gift, the presence of such a massive and unexpected present caused all of the Guards to stand alertedly with their spears drawn. With a massive thud, the large and heavy box dropped to the middle of the throne room while covered in a tacky gift-wrapping, and an oversized red bow was tied to the top. Shining and Cadance stood up from their thrones with equally concerned expressions, and the Princess held Flurry Heart tightly against her chest for protection.
“I assure you all, this present will not harm any of you!” Even though Discord’s claim sounded as honest as his apology, his wickedly-wide smile was worrying enough to keep everypony on alert. But despite how freaked-out his box was leaving the Royals and all their Guards, Discord remained floating above with an excited smile as he grabbed hold of the giant bow. “In fact… I have a feeling that this present will serve to be quite a benefit for the Crystal Empire~”
With that, Discord pulled the end of the giant bow to undo the wrapping, and caused the sides of that wrapped box to slowly pull away. “Shining and Cadance!” he proclaimed proudly as he stood back on the ground beside the box, and presented it like the prize to a game-show. “I would like to present to you, your newest personal servant!~”
The moment the sides of that box fell to the ground, the terrified gasps and screams that came from everypony nearly made the stained-glass windows above their heads shatter. Cadance reeled back in horror while clutching her daughter tightly, while Shining immediately took a defensive stance with his horn lit up brightly. All of their Guards braced themselves for an attack as well, and multiple spears were aimed directly towards the present Discord had presented them. The draconequus himself didn’t seem too offended by the response, and just stood idly-by with a waiting grin as he showed off his “thoughtful” present for Shining and Cadance:
King Sombra, who was once again revived by Discord’s magic, was now standing in the middle of the throne room atop the folded-out box with an extremely pissed-off scowl on his face. Of course, it was hard to really take notice of the former King’s face when compared to his girlish attire. Instead of his Royal cape and regalia to emphasize his once-powerful status, Sombra was now standing beside Discord while wearing a frilly maid outfit.
“Ta-Daaaaaa!!~” Several bursts of confetti shot out of nowhere from up above, and rained down over Shining and Cadance’s shocked faces. Meanwhile, Discord continued to grin like a colt on Hearth’s Warming morning, and pointed at the crossdressed Sombra like it was his greatest achievement to date. “Well?~ What do you guys think?”
“WHAT THE BUCK, DISCORD?!?” screamed the Royal couple at the same time; fortunately, Cadance placed a sound-proofing bubble of her magic around Flurry Heart to keep her from hearing that expletive.
“Are you out of your MIND?!?” yelled Shining Armor furiously, whose glare on Discord looked to be as intense as how he looked during Sombra’s previous presence in the castle. “You JUST gave us a giant apology for bringing King Sombra back to this Empire, and then you go and do it AGAIN!?!”
“Ah, ah, aaaaaahhhhh~” Discord waved his gryphon-esque talon in dismissal to Shining’s enraged demeanor, and corrected the Prince’s wording by saying, “He’s not King Sombra anymore~”
He then pointed back at the still stoically-standing villain, and said with an even wider grin, “Now he’s only Sombra, your personal servant who has to obey any orders you wish to give him~”
By that point of Discord’s presentation, several of the Guard’s spears lowered a little upon realizing that Sombra wasn’t actually doing anything. In fact, a lot of the Guards closest to Discord were able to notice the thick magic-inhibiting ring that was welded to the base of Sombra’s curved horn. The dark stallion already looked beyond peeved due to the girlish attire Discord had forced onto him prior to this presentation. But the moment he looked up to see Shining and Cadance’s stunned stares pointed at him, his blood-red eyes narrowed on them with a furious grimace as his fangs gritted tightly.
BZZZZZZZZZTTTT!!
“GNAAAAAHHHHHH!!!” The moment Sombra shot a nasty glare at the Royal family, a distinct buzzing could be heard before he collapsed to the ground with a pained shriek of agony. His eyes clenched shut while he spasmed wildly on the ground, and his hooves tried to cup over his frilly skirt as he continued to cry out painfully. Meanwhile, Discord remained standing beside the writhing villain with an amused chuckle, and waited until the buzzing finally ceased to explain what just happened to the Royal couple.
“See what I mean?” he asked towards Shining and Cadance, who were still standing wide-eyed in shock. They were both staring at Sombra while he continued to squirm on the floor with a heavy wince, but could still hear Discord as he said, “Not only did I disable Sombra’s horn to leave him permanently devoid of his magic, but I also added an incantation to keep him from trying any funny business. For you see, every time Sombra has violent or impure thoughts, or if he tries to ignore any orders, fifty thousand volts of electricity will strike him right at his genitals~”
Due to how badly that demonstration kept Sombra laying on the ground with an agonized groan, most of the Crystal Guards couldn’t help staring their former Tyrant with stunned looks of awe and confoundment. But from the way Discord continued to smile at the speechless family, it was obvious that their opinion was what he was hoping to hear first. “Ehhhh?~ Oh, come on! Did you really think I’d bring him back without safety measures this time?”
“You shouldn’t have brought him back at all!” roared Shining as he maintained his angry glare on the draconequus. “Seriously, what made you think that would be a good present for us?!”
“Well, it’s not like I needed him around!” retorted Discord as he raised his paw and claw, and gave a shrug of his shoulders in response to that question. “And since he agreed to that deal to serve me for all eternity, I figured it would be more fitting for you guys to boss him around instead~”
“What?!” asked Shining and Cadance at the same time while gawking at him.
“Wait, what?” added Sombra with a weak groan, before he tried to pull himself back up on his trembling hooves. “What are you talking about?! I never made any deals with you!”
“Oh, but you did~” To emphasize his point, Discord pulled out a film projector out of nowhere, and instantly had a screen set up to play back the scene in question:
Shining and Cadance had to turn Flurry Heart away as the scene played, just so she wouldn’t have to witness all of those horrifying villains in their prime in the same place. Many of the Guards grew wary as well, since Discord’s performance as Grogar was undoubtedly terrifying in retrospect of what he inadvertently caused. But for Sombra himself, who couldn’t stop blinking while watching the scene in question, he grew very confused as he turned back towards Discord. “Wait a minute! I made that deal with Grogar, not yo--GAAAHHH!!”
In the time that scene played out, Discord had taken the form of the very being Sombra had made the deal with. Most of the Guards reeled back with their spears drawn as they saw Grogar standing among their midst, even though they all knew it was just Discord’s way of shutting Sombra up. “As you were saying, Sombra?~” he asked with a maliciously wide grin, which caused Sombra’s jaw to drop and his eyes to widen in realization.
After blinking a couple times in stunned silence, Sombra looked around the room while still donning his maid outfit. “He… He was Grogar the whole time?” he asked fearfully, while the being in question quickly turned back to his draconequus self. Several of the Guards, as well as Shining and Cadance themselves, all nodded their heads in response to that question.
Sombra’s wide-eyed look turned back towards Discord, who went back to floating up in the air to say, “Now, personally I don’t really see the need of having slaves, and find the practice itself to be an abhorrent display of power. However, since Sombra was stupid enough to agree to that measure of mine without complaint, I thought to myself, ‘Hmmmmm… Who would benefit more from having somepony like Sombra submitting to them from now on?~’”
Discord spread out his arms after asking that rhetorical question, and spun himself around the throne room to motion to every Crystal Pony present. Sombra’s face dropped like a brick, and he immediately started to pale as he looked around the room as well. His pupils shrunk to the size of pin-pricks, and his expression only grew more fearful upon seeing all of those Guards staring back at him wide-eyed. And while Discord remained hovering above the ground with an evilly wide smile, it didn’t take long before many of the Guards began to grow grins of their own.
“WHOA!” Cadance threw her hooves up to grab everypony’s attention, and used her magic to push Flurry Heart towards her husband. “Wait a minute, Discord! You can’t just give us a slave!!”
“Why not?~” asked Discord with a disturbingly casual shrug of his head. “I mean, he was going to do that to you guys. AND he put your infant daughter in bondage! I mean, that alone should make him deserving of that kind of fate.”
Cadance groaned with a strong roll of her eyes, and Shining bit his lip with a conflicted expression as he looked between Discord and the increasingly terrified-looking Sombra. Among the multiple Crystal Guards who were standing in awkward silence, one of them raised his hoof before saying, “Uhhh… He kinda has a point there, your Highness.”
Before Cadance could snap at whoever said that, Discord made sure to raise up his claw again to interject. “Oh, just for clarification, Princess Cadance. Technically speaking, Sombra wouldn’t actually be a slave. By definition, a slave is a living being who has free will and full sentience, while still being treated as someone else’s property. But in the case of Sombra, he’s technically still dead.”
Sombra’s head whipped back to stare up at Discord bug-eyed, instantly forgetting about the ridiculous outfit he had on after hearing that fact. “What?”
“Oh, don’t tell me you forgot what happened with the Mane Six, have you?~” After shooting Sombra a dauntingly sadistic grin, he motioned back towards the projector and screen that were still up to play the next scene:
Many of the Crystal Guards winced upon seeing that Thanos-esque end to Sombra’s previous reign, not expecting his defeat to have been such a graphic one. Shining was quick to shield Flurry’s eyes while the scene played out, thus saving her from seeing the moment Sombra’s face melted away to nothing. The current Sombra turned deathly silent upon seeing his own demise, with his left eye twitching repeatedly in fearful shock. Meanwhile, Discord looked back towards you to note, “Honestly, I’m still shocked Hasbro got away with airing that~”
Sombra’s hooves began to tremble, and he looked down at himself as his face paled even more. “I… I’m dead?”
“Well, undead if you want to be specific,” clarified Discord as he floated down close to Sombra’s face. “But don’t worry, you won’t experience any sudden cravings for brains or pony flesh. That affliction just means that as of now, you won’t have to eat, drink, or even sleep! You’re nothing more than a walking corpse, who shall now be the Crystal Empire’s personal property~”
Upon seeing the wide and menacing grin that went along with Discord’s genuine statement, Sombra couldn’t have looked more mortified if he tried. Of course, the crossdressed Tyrant wasn’t the only one to appear horrified by those details, as Shining and Cadance looked back at each other in growing worry. Unfortunately, neither of them were able to say anything before Discord beamed excitedly, and said to the servant, “OOH!!~ You know what you should do as your first order?”
Just as Shining and Cadance looked back at the draconequus, he pointed back at them and decreed, “Servant! I order you to bow to Shining and Cadance, just as you made them bow to you~”
Sombra’s eyes shot wide-open and he immediately snarled at Discord and roared out, “NEVER!!!”
BZZZZZZZZZZ!!!
“GGGGNNNNNNAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHH!!!” Much like the first time that electric shock struck him, Sombra fell to the floor while gripping his crotch and squealing like an injured pig. But unlike that first display of his limitations, several of the Guards watching started to snicker upon seeing their former ruler now dressed as a maid and writhing in pain. The longer Sombra remained squirming helplessly on the floor, Shining and Cadance could hear that buzzing growing louder as he spasmed uncontrollably from the dangerous voltage. Before too long, tears started to trail down Sombra’s face as he kept crying out in pure agony. “AAAAAHHHHH!!! MAKE IT STOP, MAKE IT STOP!!!”
“Tick-Tock, servant~” cooed Discord as he leaned down to the maid’s fidgeting form, and tapped on the watch that was now wrapped around the wrist of his lion’s paw. “The sooner you bow to your rulers, the sooner the pain will stop~”
“NNNNGHHHH!!!~” With a strong reeling of his head, Sombra overcame the intense pain directed towards his genitals as he struggled to stand back up on his hooves. Even though his tearing face was grimaced in a mixture of pain and frustration, he was quick to rush up towards Shining and Cadance’s thrones. The former Tyrant threw himself down face-first before their hooves, and clenched his eyes shut while getting in a bowed position. “OKAY, OKAY, I’M BOWING!!! SEE?!? SEE!?!?”
The moment that loud buzzing finally stopped, Sombra’s face relaxed as he let out a deeply relieved sigh. Even though he was still dressed like a maid and bowing before the couple he had once enslaved, even the sounds of laughter from all the Crystal Guards wasn’t enough to make him feel remorseful for the sake of his balls. Meanwhile, Discord loomed in with a large camera pointed at the three ponies and shouted out, “Aaaaaaand, hold it right there!!~”
The draconequus took several pictures of the embarrassing display, which showed Sombra in his humiliating form while Shining and Cadance stood before him with uneasy expressions on their faces. Even though Discord was hoping for a better shot of the couple, he was still smiling pridefully as the polaroid came out the front of his camera. He quickly snatched the photo before it could fall to the floor, and gave it a profound whip of his claw to enlarge it to a fully-rendered and framed portrait. He then held up his creation for Shining and Cadance to see while grinning ear-to-ear.
“Okay, you HAVE to admit this was really thoughtful of me!” he said with a self-approving nod of his head. “I mean, look at this! I could place this picture in the dictionary as the definition of ‘Poetic Justice!’ Can I hang it up in your living room?~”
Shining may have looked uneasy about what Discord was doing to Sombra, but he couldn’t keep himself from shrugging his shoulders with a small nod. Meanwhile, Cadance tried her hardest to ignore the bowing maid as she directed her focus towards the draconequus. “DISCORD! DO YOU HAVE ANY IDEA HOW SICK AND--”
The Princess quickly stopped herself as her eyes clenched shut, and she took a calming breath to avoid blowing up completely in front of her daughter. After letting out a long and shaky exhale, Cadance settled down enough to look back at Discord sternly, and said in a withheld tone of voice, “Okay… Discord? I… I get what you’re trying to do for us. And… And it is a very thoughtful gesture. I’m not going to deny that…”
Sombra was still bowed before the two Royals, but his eyes peered up at the two while whimpering nervously. Meanwhile, Cadance pointed a hoof back at the maid while keeping her sights on Discord, and added in a firmer tone, “But! Just because Sombra did horrible things to us, does not mean that he has to submit himself to--”
“WAIT!!!”
Cadance, Shining, and Discord all turned their focus towards one of the Crystal Guards, who broke protocol as he dropped his spear and rushed up towards the Royal couple. He made sure to keep some distance between himself and the still-bowing maid, but his eyes kept darting between Cadance and Sombra while struggling not to look too flustered. “Ummm… Your Highness? I… I get that you guys don’t want to have Sombra as a slave, but ummmm… I just need to ask Discord something first.”
The Guard then looked up at the floating draconequus, and pointed at Sombra as he asked, “You said that he was dead, right? So… d-does that mean he can’t be killed? Like… even if we tried really… really hard?”
Shining and Cadance stared down at the Guard in shock, but it didn’t take long for them to notice that all of the Crystal Guards were looking up at Discord with equally intrigued and hopeful stares. Sombra’s eyes widened in terror, and he glanced up at that particular Guard in worry of what he specifically meant. Meanwhile, Discord smiled wide as he nodded in response to that question. “Actually, yes! That’s exactly what it means~ In fact, he can regenerate in a matter of hours, so nothing can be done to permanently take him down! He’ll just get right back up, and be ready for more punishment if you wish~”
The Guard’s face lit up like a Hearth’s Warming tree, as did all of the other Crystal Guards who instantly locked sights on the still-bowing Sombra. The former Tyrant couldn’t bear to look back at the crowd of intrigued ponies who used to be his slaves, and lowered his head in self-preservation while tucking his tail between his legs. Shining and Cadance were now starting to look legitimately scared, mostly due to how evilly Discord worded that clarification in such sinister detail. And while all of their subjects stared at their former captor like a pack of feral beasts eyeing a fresh slab of meat, Discord loomed in closer to Sombra as he kept going in a maniacally articulate tone.
“Also, since Sombra had delivered so much pain and misery to the Crystal Empire on multiple occasions, it only seems fair for his former subjects to order him around as well~ Do you want to parade Sombra in that maid outfit all over town, and make him kiss your hooves while beating him up? He’ll have to do it~ Do you want him to change Flurry Heart’s diapers with only his mouth? He’ll have to do that too~ Do you want to string him up in the middle of the Crystal Guard training fields, and use his testicles as your personal punching bags? Well, you’re in luck, because I made it so that Sombra can do that Every. Single. Day~”
Sombra’s head shakily glanced up at the grinning draconequus, and his trembling form did nothing to conceal how utterly terrified he looked across his deathly-pale face. But despite how pathetically low the Tyrant may have looked, Discord’s grin grew to Cheshire levels while widening his eyes, and continuing his ominous words directly towards the villain. “You will never be able to escape this torment, Sombra. You can’t be killed, because you’re already dead. You can’t refuse any of their orders, or else that searing pain will continue on without any mercy. Any wounds they give you will immediately heal, and any bones they break will go back into position like it never happened. But you will always feel it as intensely as you have the first time. And as the Crystal Ponies relish in the carnal brutality of their vengeance, this Empire will be your personal Tartarus from now on. And I have absolutely no sympathy for what you’ll experience~”
Sombra may have been a fairly confident villain before encountering the twisted draconequus, but his petrified look now emphasized just how screwed he felt in his maid outfit. He could hear the countless murmurs and whispers from the Crystal Guards conversing to one another behind him, as well as a few devilish snickers from some of them who likely had big plans regarding that revealed information. His gaze finally glanced up at Shining and Cadance, who were staring between him and Discord with horrified looks on their faces. Sombra’s brows raised in a panic, and he scooted up closer towards their hooves to seek their salvation. “PLEASE!! Please put me in a dungeon!! NOW!!!”
The couple gawked back down at Sombra after hearing that desperate plea, while Discord floated away from the maid to take some more photos of his groveling. His desperate gaze locked onto Cadance, and he tried to cling onto her hooves while remaining pathetically bowed. “Princess, I beg of you! Please, PLEASE lock me away! You don’t even have to feed me, Discord said it himself!! PLEASE!! Just… JUST GET ME AWAY FROM THE CRYSTAL PONIES!! I DO WHATEVER YOU ASK, I’M BEGGING YOU PRINCESS, PLEASE!!!”
Cadance was looking terrified as she stared back at her husband bug-eyed. Shining was starting to panic as well, which wasn’t helped as they heard the Crystal Guards starting to openly laugh at Sombra’s desperate pleas. They could also hear several of them speaking up among the crowd, which just made Discord grin in sadistic satisfaction.
“Holy crap, is this for real!? Are we really getting this?”
“Oh Goddess, I’ve been fantasizing about this for years!”
“Let’s shave his head!”
“I call his teeth!”
“I have to tell my wife about this, she NEEDS this chance!”
“So does my daughter!”
“YOUR HIGHNESSES, WE HUMBLY ASK TO HAVE SOME TIME ALONE WITH SOMBRA!!”
“YEAH!!!”
“Hey, hey, HEY!!!” Shining placed Flurry Heart back in Cadance’s hooves, who was also glaring wide-eyed down at Sombra with a look of morbid fascination. Shining tried to settle down his troops as he stood on his hind-legs, and threw his hooves up to silence the agitating crowd. “THAT IS ENOUGH!! Soldiers, I KNOW you’re all wanting to hurt Sombra! Believe me, I would be too! But this is NOT what we fought the Legion of Doom for! We’re supposed to hold ourselves to a higher standard, remember?! If we were to torture Sombra, how would we be any better than HIM!?!”
Shining’s angry rant silenced the crowd of enraged Guards, which caused him to breathe out softly in relief. Unfortunately, that silence only lasted for about three seconds, before another Guard shouted out, “I’ll give you my reparation check to kick Sombra in the balls!”
“ME TOO!”
“I’ll work under you for free!”
“Captain, you know what Sombra did to all of us! We deserve this!”
“MY KIDS DESERVE THIS!!”
“HE ENSLAVED MY FAMILY!!!”
“HE KILLED MY FATHER!!!”
“LET’S GET HIM!!!”
Shining instantly lit up his horn to put a protective barrier around himself, Cadance, and Sombra from the crowd of raging ponies hellbent on dishing out some justice. None of the Crystal Guards tried to attack the barrier of their Superior’s, but it was clear that they were intent on pulling Sombra out to the public whether Shining barred it or not. The couple took notice of Discord as he floated through the barrier like it was nothing, and became absolutely enraged at him for the chaos he created with his “gift.” But as the Guards became rowdier outside the barrier, and Discord looked between the pissed-off Royals and Sombra with a contemplative skew of his muzzle, the desperate-looking maid locked his eyes on Flurry Heart before growing an unbelievably scared-looking smile.
“F… Flurry Heart!” he tried to coo sweetly through his trembling lips, even though the foal narrowed her eyes on him in suspicion. “Flurry, I… I’m sorry! I’m sorry for what I did to you, okay? A-And… And I’m really sorry for making your parents bow to me. That was wrong, a-a-and I promise I’ll never do it again! I’ll do whatever they say! I’ll do whatever YOU say! The Crystal Ponies will listen to you, I know it!! Please… PLEASE GET THE CRYSTAL PONIES AWAY FROM ME!!”
Cadance reeled back with Flurry Heart to get Sombra away from her, even though she was growing rather remorseful at seeing the Tyrant’s groveling. Shining bit his lip nervously as he looked between Sombra and the magic barrier, unsure what they could do to adequately resolve this peacefully. Even Discord was looking like he had second thoughts, and winced while scratching the back of his head, not expecting to feel bad for a villain begging to a literal baby. But as he saw Sombra bowing even harder for forgiveness, the draconequus finally relented with a roll of his eyes, and said, “Alright, alright! If you guys want, I can turn Sombra to stone like the other villains! I’m sure that the Guards woul--”
“GAHHH!!” Sombra was suddenly lifted off the ground without warning, and was hovering off the ground with a strong hue of yellow magic. Meanwhile, Flurry Heart grew a deathly glare on the villain who had held her hostage, and didn’t give him another word before delivering her verdict:
“PBBBBTTTT!!!~”
With that strongly-given raspberry, Flurry Heart used her magic to open up part of her Dad’s barrier, and stunned all three of the adults as she tossed Sombra out to the sea of bloodthirsty Guards. As Shining, Cadance, and even Discord stared in utter bafflement with their mouths dropped, an eruption of cheers broke out as the Crystal Guards grabbed their tormentor for some vengeance. Sombra screamed out for his life, but his cries of mercy were ignored as he was grabbed by his hair and carried out by the crowd of ponies. While the four within the barrier all stood in unbridled shock, they could hear the enraged ponies whooping and hollering in delight as they relished in the draconequus’ gift. “YAAAAAAYYYYYYY!!!”
“NNNNOOOOOOOOOOO!!!” Not too long after the Tyrant was dragged out of the throne room, the sounds of marching instruments could be heard playing outside as a “parade” began. But even with the marching drums and ravenous cheers being heard from the public, the group could still hear Sombra’s shrieks of torment above it all. By that point, Shining’s barrier finally went down, but the Prince couldn’t move an inch while hearing the carnage unfolding outside. Instead, he and Cadance just stared back at Discord with livid stares, while Flurry just giggled with a playful coo for what she thought was a helpful deed.
Discord grew a nervous smile of his own, and slowly backed away from the furious Royals while his arms were raised up in innocence. “Ummm… W-Well, I… I just made the Crystal Ponies really happy. I-I mean… that should count for something, right?”
“GET OUT!” screamed Shining and Cadance at the same time, which Discord complied to with an instant teleportation out of existence. Even though Flurry seemed a little sad from Discord leaving, her parents both sighed in relief while remaining rightfully worried about the bloodlust outside.
Then after a few seconds, a zipper appeared out of nowhere to pull down slowly, with Discord’s head peeking back out to say, “I promise I’ll cast him to stone in a week’s time. That should be more than enough time for the Crystal Ponies to do as they wish. After that, I’ll leave you guys alone for a month or two to cool down. Sound good?”
“SIX MONTHS,” stated Cadance coldly, with an affirmative nod from her husband.
“Alright, that’s fair! See you guys in half a year!~” And with that, Discord disappeared once again after pulling the zipper back up.
After the family stood alone in their throne room for a very long moment in silence (with Shining soundproofing themselves to avoid hearing Sombra’s shrill screams from outside), Cadance went back to her throne to pick up that massive check Discord had left them. The Princess stared at the check with a skewed muzzle, and thought over everything in contemplation before saying with a shrug, “You know what? I think we can forgive him in six months after this all dies down.”
Shining used his magic to pick up that painting of Sombra bowing to them, and nodded with an uneasy look of his own while huffing in reluctance. “Ehhhh… Honestly, yeah. I mean… this would look great hung in our living room.”
Even though she was able to nod apprehensively, Cadance looked out to where the Crystal Heart was, and said with an uncomfortable wince, “Well… At least we won’t be the only ponies with Sombra hung up for display.”
The End
Author's Note
Hey, guys! I hope you all liked this story, since I basically wrote out the entire thing the night after the series finale. This is the first time in a long time that I got so inspired by an episode to craft up something this quick, but I'm really happy with how this turned out!
And if you wanna show your support to me, I would recommend checking out my Official Patreon page in the link below: https://www.patreon.com/TheVClaw
