Vampiric Symphony

After Discord had left; a quick peek at the clock revealed the time to be almost midnight that night. Before anyone might have decided to head to bed; the sound of glass shattering was heard.

“You heard that? Right,” Octavia asked

“I did. Someone broke a window,” Luna confirmed

Following the broken window; a loud crash emanated that almost seemed to echo through the house.

“That’s more a broken window,” Octavia realized “I hope it’s not what I think it is.”

Octavia took off running down the hall to her room, before having her fear realized. Standing in the middle of the room was a two-legged creature with hooves instead of legs that led to a muscular body covered with mostly black hair with white around the neck. Around the chest was a dark gray vest with the Storm King's logo in blue in the middle, and it was holding the upper portion of her cello that consisted of the tuning pegs. Enraged at the sight; she charged into the creature, knocking it to the floor; before grabbing a large piece of the cello's body that had an edge to it.

“That...was...my...wed...ding...pre...sent..you...bas...tard,” she enunciated

With each word; she plunged the piece into the creature, repeatedly stabbing it. To her surprise, even after taking ten stabbings to the chest, it was still able to breathe; so she took her makeshift blade and slit its throat. Just as her arm went up for another blow, she felt someone gently holding her wrist.

“Easy, Tavi,” Vinyl offered reassuringly “He’s dead.”

“I did it,” Octavia replied, trying to hold back tears “I killed him.”

“What the fuck is that,” Vinyl asked, looking at the creature

“I’ve never seen before, either,” Luna stated

“The only thing we know is it has the mark of the Storm King on it,” Twilight chimed in “It does have fangs, so I’d guess it could be a vampire of some kind.”

“So; what’s it doing here,” Vinyl demanded

“Since it’s the only one here; I believe it could have been scouting out our house,” Luna offered

“Great,” Vinyl whined “Can’t we get some peace and quiet!? Hanz; can you grab Hagar to get rid of the body?”

As the girls left the room; two of the servants headed into the room pushing a stretcher to drop the body on. They wheeled it towards an out of the corridor and into a sealed off room. Their next task was to drop the body into a hidden chute to a disposal chamber.

“Let’s get the acid ready,” Hagar stated

“Mixed or not,” Hanz asked

“With those things? Use them all. The chamber’s designed to withstand anything. Glad there’s plenty of liquid, just and case. I hope there’s not more of those ugly fuckers. Otherwise; we’d need a burn pit,” Hagar argued

“What exactly are they doing,” Octavia asked “How are they supposed to dispose of the body?”

“It’s better you not know,” Vinyl answered

“The two of them are half-vampires we turned after what they did during World War 2,” Luna added “German chemical warfare experts that loved human experimentation.”

“I could see where it’s going. I don’t want to know the details. If that is a scout, what are we supposed to do?”

“We just stay here and wait,” Luna decided, before holding up a hand “I know you want to be proactive; but we don’t know where they come from to go to them.”

“I really hate this shit,” Vinyl stated “For once; I’d have been happy to deal with paparazzi instead of weird vampire-satyr-monkey fucks.”

“I don’t think we should assume what they are,” Twilight cautioned “From what dad told us; both he and the Storm King were taught spells. Why couldn’t that be the reason for their appearance?”

Following the assault; everyone seemed to be on edge as they waited for a possible second attack. The following night saw more of the windows broken simultaneously as the attack happened as predicted with the house’s power getting cut.

“I hate when someone’s right,” Vinyl whined “And of course the power has to go out.”

“Don’t worry, the backup generators should kick on,” Twilight pointed out

A small explosion was heard as Twilight ended up face palming at the event.

“There goes the backup,” Twilight added

“I’ve got one of those things by me,” Octavia said

One of the creatures lunged towards Octavia only to be punched in the face by Vinyl in self-defense. Due to the force of the punch; the creature ended up with its nose pushed back into its head as it flew back through a table.

“Sorry about that, mom,” Vinyl offered apologetically

“We’ll worry about that later. Right now, we need to get downstairs,” Luna countered

“How are we supposed to get down there,” Octavia asked “I thought the elevator was the only way.”

“There is a staircase we had made that wraps around the elevator shaft. Its entrance is the body of the grandfather clock,” Luna answered

Luna led the four towards the clock as Vinyl trailed behind. Trying to slow the creatures down, Vinyl kicked a chair towards them, causing at least one to stumble into another; before doing the same with a table. She caught up a moment later to the others and closed the door behind her just as Luna was entering the garage.

“How’s the situation up there,” Luna asked as Vinyl entered

“Hopefully I slowed them down a bit,” Vinyl answered

“Regardless; get over to the armory and get ready,” Luna directed

Twilight was already ahead of her and pushed a hidden button on the wall; allowing multiple metal cabinets to raise up from the floor. Opening one up revealed rows of handguns of various calibers and boxes of ammunition.

“This is amazing,” Octavia mused “I’ve never seen such a huge collection.”

“We’ve had to be prepared for anything, so we have our own armory,” Vinyl answered, grabbing a pair of pistols “Have you ever used a gun before?”

“Never. My dad didn’t want me to ever learn,” Octavia answered

“For now, just stay here and grab an ammo clip or pistol when we need it,” Vinyl directed

“Sorry about using you as just an assistant,” Twilight said apologetically “It’s just safer that way.”

“It’s alright. Since I don’t know anything with guns; you’ll have to direct me.”

“Heads up,” Luna called “Our incoming’s incoming!”

Despite the announcement; they still felt unprepared when the door broke open and the creatures forced their way through. Luna had to roll out of the way as Twilight fired into the skull of the first in line, that caused blood and brain matter to hit its companions.

“I’ll never look at anatomy the same way, again,” Octavia complained

A few of the creatures further up in the house seemed to get wise at the deaths happening in front as they crouched down and used a fallen body as a shield for it to push into the garage area.

“What the fuck? Why’re these things getting smarter,” Vinyl demanded

“Shoot first and we’ll” Luna started, before getting knocked backwards by a thrown body “Shit!”

Twilight raced over and lifted the body off her mom, and aimed it towards the legs of creature that originally threw it, as Vinyl put a bullet in its head.

Dammit, I’m out,” Vinyl said as she tried pulling the trigger with nothing happening “Tavi; cover me while I grab a clip!”

Octavia reluctantly grabbed a pistol and held it like she’d seen the others and pulled the trigger; only for nothing to happen.

“Vee; it’s not working!”

“Did you switch the safety to off,” she asked

“I don’t know where it is!”

"Here; I’ll give you a quick lesson,” Vinyl said, putting a hand on her wife’s “Safety is on the side, make sure it’s off if you want to fire. Next; aim the barrel at what you want to shoot and pull the trigger.”

Octavia felt her hands being moved towards the steps and the creatures as her index finger was pulled backwards. Vinyl forced her to shoot twice more before removing her hand.

“Lesson over,” Vinyl stated “Shoot them while I reload.”

“Where do I aim at?”

“Take center mass and we’ll finish them off for you,” Luna simplified

“The chest, you mean?”

“Yeah. Most often it’s referred to as center mass, which is rather self-explanatory,” Twilight added

“Damn. How many of these fuckers are there,” Vinyl asked

“It’s been slowing down a bit,” Luna realized “Let’s get these moved aside and the servants could dispose of them."

Outside the Mansion

Seeing the rest of the grunts making their way inside the house in front; the mohawked female; now wearing armor with the Storm King’s logo, and a smaller overweight male walked through the front door with two creatures in purple armor following behind.

“Are you sure about this Commander Tempest,” the male asked

“I am, Grubber. Besides, I’m supposed to scout the area before reporting back to the Storm King,” Tempest answered

“I hate to say it, but this is a nice place,” Grubber complimented, with a whistle “Since the damage leads towards that clock, I’m going to guess our targets are that way.”

“What would I ever do without you,” she replied somewhat sarcastically, before motioning to the guards “You two, lead the way.”

Inside the Garage

Vinyl and the others were double-checking their magazines when they saw two more of the creatures making their way down the steps and into the room. They noticed these two seemed to carry themselves differently as they wearing purple armor and not charging towards the girls.

“They seem different,” Octavia commented

“Someone’s behind them,” Twilight added “Perhaps these two are that person’s bodyguards.”

All of a sudden; a hand shot through each of the guards chests, as they fell facedown on the floor. The same female with purple hair was standing behind them, holding their hearts in her hands, before tossing them aside.

“Wha? Tempest; what did you do? Why did you do that,” Grubber asked in shock, as she calmly wiped her hands “I’m telling the Storm King about this treachery.”

Grubber removed a small device, resembling a pager from a pocket and pushed two buttons at the same time. Tempest headed over to Octavia and gently removed the pistol from her hand.

“I’m sorry, Grubber,” Tempest said under her breath “I have no choice.”

Grubber had just turned to head back up the steps when Tempest fired at the back of his head, killing him instantly. The device in hand was destroyed as she brought her heel down on it. Without warning; Vinyl walked over and punched the woman in the face.

“What was the stalking about,” Vinyl demanded, grabbing her

“Since we probably don’t have much time; I’ll just say that I was under orders to spy on you by the Storm King,” Tempest summarized “I’d suggest you get your weapons ready. He’s sending enough of those ghouls to destroy this place.”

“Why’d you kill him,” Octavia asked “Your friend here, I mean.”

“Since I’ve had plenty of time to think; I’ve decided to get away from the Storm King’s rule. All my life I’ve just been an assassin, stalking my prey to eliminate them at his command,” Tempest answered “Seeing how nice everyone was here; I hoped to join this clan. I had to destroy any remaining ties to the Storm King first.”

“Since I’m the head; we’ll decide your fate later,” Luna stated “In the meantime, we’ll get rid of these ghouls first.”

“Just out of curiosity; is there any other weapons I could use? I’m just not comfortable with the pistols.”

“Open the last cabinet on the left,” Vinyl directed

Following the direction; Octavia opened the cabinet to find a medieval-like shield in the general shape of a cello, minus the upper section of the fingerboard that lead to the tuning pegs and scroll. Next to it was a sword that seemed to resemble a bow. The shield was lifted out and strapped to her left forearm as the sword seemed to feel like a feather in her hands.

“Did you have these made for me,” Octavia asked “It’s extremely comfortable; despite having never used it before.”

“Not entirely. I’ve played cello for a little while and had it made for me,” Vinyl admitted “I’m glad that you find it to your liking. It’s probably because you’re subconsciously used to holding the bow that it seems natural to you.”

“I have two questions for you,” Twilight started, turning to Tempest “One; how did those ghouls get created? And two; how many are there?”

“There’s probably a few hundred, if not thousands; created that were ordered to attack here and one other location. As for how they were created; the Storm King used some kind of spell to do it. I don’t know the exact specifics as he never told me; despite making me his commander,” Tempest answered

“Where are they going to come from,” Vinyl asked

“They were able to see through one another’s eyes; so more than likely they’re use the door,” Tempest answered, before trailing off “However…”

“Let me guess; they’ll find any other way they can; including breaking through reinforced concrete,” Vinyl retorted sarcastically

“They’ll look for alternative ways in, but yeah; if not, then they’ll dig a single entrance downward.”
“Since we don’t know where they’re going to come from; the four of us will form a diamond shoulder to shoulder with Octavia in the middle,” Luna directed “Let them come to us. Do not break formation to engage.”

As the girls took their designated positions; the Storm King’s ghouls were breaking through the first floor windows as a way in. Two of the ghouls were headed into the backyard and started digging a hole as the dirt piled up around them. The group felt ready as two ghouls ran down the steps in an attempt to tackle someone, only to be shot down by Twilight and Luna. The tunnel managed to open into the center of the group as Octavia had to quickly move in order to kill the newcomers.

“Fuck! Those bastards actually managed to dig in here,” Vinyl exclaimed

“Be careful with your ammo,” Tempest cautioned “These guys can take more punishment than the first group of scouts.”

“That would have been nice to know when you told us these fucks could tunnel,” Vinyl pointed out “Are you sure you’re not still working that bastard!?”

“I only now realized he was sending those ghouls out,” Tempest offered “He told me the bare minimum of information; this included. I can’t give you any information I don’t have.”

"Enough with the arguing,” Luna stated “If we take the word of Tempest, and yes; I paid attention when your friend mentioned your name; we need to make our shots count. Heads or hearts only; if not, Octavia will have to finish them off with the sword.”

With the suggestion from Tempest; the next wave of ghouls felt a bit easier as they made sure to score headshots. A few stray ghouls ran between the gauntlet, only to be met with a sword through the head; decapitating it or a second bullet in the eye socket.

“Damn,” Vinyl said through breaths “These fucks just don’t know when to stop. I think the only thing keeping me going is knowing I’m a vampire. Ah shit. I’m out of ammo.”

“Same here on ammo,” Twilight chimed in

“And those were our last magazines, too,” Luna added “Get the blades out of the cabinet. Just don’t try to get in one another’s way.”

“Hold on. I heard someone coming. Get ready,” Tempest offered

Heading down the stairs wasn’t another ghoul; but a person with gray hair and goatee. As he entered the room, Octavia could see it was the same one she met weeks ago during her concert. Despite the carnage; he wore a black suit with a trench coat.

“What do you want,” Luna demanded

“My dear ladies, I come in peace,” he offered “I merely wished to see how you were doing, since I attacked the other house; too. I see you’ve killed poor Grubber.”

“I’m done playing your assassin. I quit,” Tempest stated, ripping off the armor she was wearing

“Since I know that no good brother of mine is awake; I hoped to give him an invitation,” he said, handing over an envelope “Make sure he gets this. I’ll be waiting there. Have a nice day in the meantime.”

Once he’d left; the girls had returned their weapons back to the cabinets and trudged upstairs to see everything within sight destroyed. Piles of wood scraps that were furniture were strewn everywhere.

“Well…shit,” Vinyl offered, kicking a chair leg aside “Think they missed anything?”

“Hey, in there,” a voice called “You alright?”

“Speak friend or else,” Vinyl threatened

“Is that really how you were taught to talk to others,” another chastised

It didn’t take but moments to get an answer as Celestia walked inside, trailed by the others. Each of them seemed to have been through twelve rounds in a boxing match as their clothes were ripped to near rags.

“What brings you here,” Luna asked

“Firstly; we were attacked by some big creatures and had to fight them off. It looks like your place took less damage than ours,” Celestia answered “Second, and most importantly; I had a change of heart. It’s time we rejoin family.”

“I’m glad my wives finally came to their senses,” Discord offered n

“Dad, this is for you. The Storm King himself gave it to us,” Twilight said

“Damn. It’s been so long, I’m out of touch with the world,” he joked “It looks as if I’m going to have to meet him again.”

“Well; you can’t get there on your own, so all of us will be going too,” Luna decided

“We’ll be one big family for the first time in hundreds of years,” Celestia added

"Let’s get going. Off to Las Pegasus for the final showdown,” Vinyl added

"Yay, family road trip,” Sonata chimed in, to which a few face palms were heard

“This isn’t something you should be cheering for,” Adagio chastised, before rubbing her temple “This is serious business. How you managed to receive PhDs; I’ll never know."

“I know, but we’re all together again,” Sonata argued “That’s worth celebrating. As for my degrees; I studied what I liked.”

“If you’re done chatting; we need to grab a few cars and get going,” Cadence stated

“Considering our new size; perhaps an SUV for both of us,” Celestia suggested

“That would work,” Luna mused

“Before we go anywhere, I want to know why you attacked our house,” Aria demanded “A few of those fuckers had purple hair like you.”

“I worked for the Storm King but had a change of heart,” Tempest answered “He probably sent those ghouls to taunt you into submission. I’d recommend we get going before anything else. The last thing you’d want to do is keep him waiting.”

“I’ll leave the decisions of vehicles to you ladies,” Discord decided “I know nothing of this era’s transportation methods.”

From the original mess that took up every inch of floor; the servants were able to have most of the damage cleared aside as Luna led the group inside the house.

“Thanks everyone for getting this cleaned,” Luna offered

“Of course, mistress. The creatures have been disposed off and now we need to get the house cleaned up. With any luck; all we’d have left is to repair the structural damage,” one of the workers answered

“We’ll leave it to you,” Luna said “We’ve got something to take care of.”

“This is an impressive house you’ve made,” Discord mused “It’s such a shame it’s been damaged.”

“We were lucky to move downstairs and fight them using a choke point,” Twilight answered

“An old tactic that works wonders,” he added

“I know we said we’d take a couple SUVs; but why not use the super stretch limo,” Vinyl suggested
“I don’t think we need to draw attention to ourselves,” Octavia replied “And sir; I’d recommend you covering the sword. You don’t want to get caught with it.”

“I have already been told by police about not having my sword on me. For this; I’ll just keep it hidden and hope no one notices it,” he answered

“I’ll grab a car and meet you lot later,” Tempest decided

Luna grabbed one of the SUVs and helped her husband into the passenger’s seat as Octavia, Vinyl and Twilight climbed into the back seat. Celestia decided a multi row van should have been big enough to keep her girls from fighting each other. Considering the dislike she’d already received; Tempest grabbed the keys to one of the sports cars and took off.

“What exactly did that letter say,” Luna asked

“It was an order to come to someplace called ‘Las Pegasus' and the Maretro-Goldwhinny-Mayor hotel; whatever that is,” Discord answered

“A hotel is a big temporary residence for people to stay in,” Twilight simplified “The city has countless scattered around the area, but a good collection positioned down one street, commonly known as the ‘Strip'. In general; the city is notorious for its gambling.”

“Seems interesting,” he said, stroking his beard “Why would he direct me there?”

“I wouldn’t know,” Luna offered

“Perhaps something else,” Vinyl suggested “The city is pretty well known and has video footage shown frequently. Why wouldn’t he want to have it shown to everyone?”

“I don’t put it past him,” Discord mused “Although why would anyone else need to see us?”

“Well; all we can do is just wait until we get to the city instead of making baseless speculations,” Luna stated “We’ll be there in a few hours since I’m not going to drive any faster than the speed limit."

“I hate to say it mom; but this has been a long time coming,” Cadence mused

“It really has been too long,” Celestia answered “That young woman, Octavia; entering the house was the spark necessary, although we really haven’t been feeding from mortals in a long time.”

“I’m glad we can be together again,” Sonata chimed in “Now we can all live in one house again.”

“It pains me to see our place practically demolished by those creatures,” Aria stated, pounding a fist into her other hand

“Especially when so much money went into those rooms,” Adagio added

“At least we survived,” Cadence offered “Besides; it’s only furniture; we could always get the items again.”

“It just wouldn’t be the same,” Adagio countered “Everything was either special ordered or bought during specific times in history.”

“What’s done is done,” Celestia stated “All we can do is move on and make the most of our lives.”

A few hours later; the three vehicles were pulling into town as they slowed to the casino. Once the cars were taken into valet; they made their way into the casino.

‘Will the party of old geezers report to the arena?’

“Really,” Aria muttered “Let me at that bastard."

“Now, now,” Discord offered, putting a hand on her shoulder “It’s not nice to jump ahead of me. I have the first opportunity.”

“If you’re the group in question,” a server commented “Follow the signs that were put up. They’ll lead you to your destination.”

“Who put the signs up,” Twilight asked

“Some older gentleman paid us off,” the cashier answered “He looks like he might have been your twin.”

“Thank you for your time,” Discord said with a bow “He is indeed my brother.”

Upon entering the arena; they were met with a wrestling ring and various weapons around the area. Vinyl slid down one the rails and landed about halfway above the ring area on the second tier of seats.

“Ladies and gentlemen; welcome to the show,” a voice called “I see we have a few celebrities joining us this evening. Let’s have a round of applause for the lead singer of the Hasbins; excuse me, the Rainbooms; miss Sunset Shimmer! And we have world famous DJ; Vinyl ‘DJ Pon-3' Scratch! Of course there’s my traitorous former commander Tempest Shadow; and how could anyone forget my no-good, piece of shit older brother Discord? Welcome to you all!”

Luna looked across the arena to see Sunset, along with Starlight and Trixie sitting together. The same man they’d seen entering their house only hours earlier; the Storm King himself; was walking out onto the arena’s stage. He still wore most of the suit from earlier; but decided against the trench coat, and just left the dress shirt and tie on along with the suit pants.
“Discord, brother come down to the ring and join me,” Storm King offered, as Discord headed down the steps of the arena

Discord stepped through the ropes and removed his shirt, before taking off the sword holstered to his back and setting it in the corner.

“What is all of this about? Why here,” Discord demanded, gesturing around the arena

“Dear brother, it’s simple. I wanted to end this feud and what better place than with millions of people watching. See those cameras? All of this is being broadcast as part of the event from earlier this evening,” Storm King answered “And don’t worry about any additional casualties; everything’s been taken care of. We have paramedics standing by to collect the body afterwards once the bell has been rang and police know about this. Even the owner of this wrestling company has been paid handsomely for its use and will not be held liable for what transpires. We will settle this once and for all in a death match. Only one of us will walk out of here alive; so the only thing missing is someone to ring the bell to officially start the match.”

“Ding,” Vinyl called

“I suppose that will have to do,” King said with a shrug

With the slightly official match started; the Storm King ran over and started throwing a barrage of punches to his brother’s midsection that backed his brother into a corner.

“Come on dad,” Vinyl encouraged “Kick his ass!”

“All those years apart. I’ve spent it training with militaries around the world; while you rested,” King taunted “You still carry around that sword and cling to ancient customs. Get with the times old man.”

“It’s funny,” Discord started “I was always willing to take the time to study under our master while you searched for shortcuts. That’s why I was given knowledge you didn’t receive. He knew you weren’t ready for it.”

“Yet he taught me knowledge that was forbidden,” King countered

“Grogar didn’t teach you, you stole the papers with the information,” Discord stated “He told me in confidence that he watched you steal it when you thought he was sleeping.”

“You don’t know what I’ve done with that knowledge that I was given,” King taunted “I’ve carved a path of destruction that put fear in the hearts of man. They never knew when I might have them destroyed at my will.”

“And I had to carry it out,” Tempest muttered under her breath

Wanting a weapon; the Storm King headed out of the ring and reached into the cavity under the ring and removed an object. Once out the confines; it was a wooden 2x4 with various nails sticking out.

“This will do,” King mused

Discord headed out of the ring, only to be met with the board being swung at him. After ducking the first attack as he landed on the floor; the Storm King did manage to land a successful shot into his brother’s stomach, as the nails sunk into the flesh; only to be swiftly removed with blood covering the nails.

“Damn,” Discord said, putting a hand on the wound “Didn’t expect that. Thankfully I heal quick, or that would be painful.”

Hoping to defend himself; Discord reached into a nearby metal trashcan and removed a wooden baseball bat with a length of razor wire wrapped around the shaft. Feeling somewhat comfortable with his choice; he swung at his brother; only to snag the shirt.

“Not bad for someone who’s never used a bat before,” King taunted

“I’m old; but I’m not stupid,” Discord retorted “It doesn’t take a genius to use that. Besides; all those years of training weren’t for nothing. En garde.”

Both swung their weapons at one another; only to have the nails become entangled in the wire; causing it to be ripped out of the Storm King’s hands. Having now been disarmed; King lunged towards his brother’s legs, knocking Discord to his back and the bat backwards. Taking advantage of the situation; King started throwing punches at his brother, before it was reversed.

“Had enough,” Discord asked

“I give up,” King answered “Finish me in the ring.”

“What kind of trick are you trying to pull?”

“No trick, I promise you,” King replied

Discord picked his brother up and rolled him under the bottom rope into the ring. A closed steel folding chair was thrown over the top rope before Discord headed inside and opened it up and sat down.

“Before I end this, I want the truth.”

“I wanted my revenge against you because you’ve always had what I never did,” King simplified

“What do you mean?”

“You’ve had a family with a wife and kids; while I’ve only ever had followers under my command. Hell; I could understand why my former commander deserted me because of how I’ve treated her,” King said with a sigh “I’ve had a rough life that needs to end. I love you brother and I’ll be waiting with dad for you later.”

Each of the cameras that had been recording the fight, found themselves shut off; thereby terminating the broadcast early for safety reasons. The Storm King bent over the back of the chair as a makeshift executioner’s block while Discord retrieved his sword from the corner.

“One last chance to just walk away,” Discord offered

“I can’t do that. Like I said; I deserve to die and want my brother to do it. I just ask you never forget me and life a good life,” King answered

Of course I won’t forget you. I took time out because I was tired of living and needed a break. We’ll meet again sometime in the future,” Discord answered “Farewell brother. I love you.”

With one smooth motion; the spatha sword was removed with the skill compared to that of a samurai’s draw and went through the Storm King’s neck; completely severing it. Vinyl jumped on a rail and slid down towards the announcer's booth and rang the bell; officially ending the match. Two paramedics wheeled a stretcher down the entrance ramp that had a body bag laying on it and slid it into the ring.

“We’ll take it from here,” one of the paramedics said

“I’ll help you out. It’s the last courtesy I can offer,” Discord retorted

The body bag was slid into the ring as Discord made sure to open it and carefully placed his brother’s body inside before the paramedics retrieved it and loaded it onto the stretcher.

“Congratulations dad,” Vinyl offered as she hugged him

“I don’t know about being congratulations about what I did,” he said with a sigh “I do know that I need a drink.”

“Mom, it’s been too long,” Sunset offered

“You decided to go out on your own and I’m proud of you,” Celestia answered “At least we can be one big family again.”

“If anyone knows this place; please direct me to the bar,” Discord asked

“I’ll guide you, dad,” Sunset offered

“The rest of us are going to head to the machines in the meantime,” Celestia added

With their destinations decided; everyone headed up the stairs as the company’s ring crew set to work dismantling the set. Sunset led him out of the arena and down another hallway towards the bar. On one the TV screens behind the bar was showing the last moments of the death match.

“It’s you. You’re one of the fighters that was in the match,” the bartender pointed out “What happened and what could I get for you?”

“I’d like the strongest drink you have,” Discord answered “As to what happened; I’m sorry, but I’m not going to repeat what happened.”

“I suppose it’s fair. This is 110 proof alcohol here,” the bartender offered “It’s limited to only two shots.”

“I’ll take the whole bottle if you don’t mind. This should cover the cost,” Discord replied, removing a few gold coins

“An interesting coin,” the bartender mused “I’m not too sure about its age; but it certainly seems old. I suppose exceptions could be made to rules.”

Sunset took a small swig off the drink before Discord gave a silent toast and had some. Before he could finish the bottle; someone tapped him on the arm to get his attention.

“Would you mind if I joined you in a drink,” Tempest asked

“Be my guest,” Discord answered, handing her the bottle “You may need it just as much as I did.”

“I actually hate to see it happen; but I’m also glad it’s over,” Tempest mused “I’ve hated the things he told me to do; but I was too afraid to leave or say anything. At least I have the chance to start anew; or at least I hope so.”

“Of course you have a second chance.”

“Why would you give me a chance so easily,” she questioned

“From what I’ve heard; my family’s ancestors were notorious for second chances. They felt that a person should have the ability to redeem themselves and not be judged for things out of their control,” he answered, measuring his words carefully

“Thank you so much,” she said bowing her head “It means so much to finally be accepted into a family.