Somber was woken later on, and his heart sank when he realised they'd be trying to kill a shadow thing that had come from an ancient artefact.

His stomach shifted uneasily as he and Discord piled into Somber's car and drove to the school.

Discord told him to park up some distance away, to avoid the car being recorded on the schools CCTV.

Once they were close enough, Discord again used the disruptor to cut the power. Handing Somber the bag containing the magic grenades, he carefully picked the lock with his magic, and they crept in.

The sound of a clock ticking was the only sound as the pair stealthily crept down the halls. Somber's heart was pounding loudly in his ears, he almost expected it to be audible to Discord as well!

Discord was focusing intently on the sounds around him as they walked. He motioned Somber to stop, and they stood there, ears straining.

"What-?" Somber hissed, about to ask a question when Discord heard footsteps round the next corridor. A flash light made the shadows grow longer as it came closer...

"The guard!" Somber croaked hoarsely, panic landing in his stomach like a ball of ice.

--He's still here? My information was wrong..-- Discord spun, seen a nearby classroom door and with the steps getting closer, picked the door lock. He grabbed Somber, who was focusing so intently on the encroaching guards footsteps, he got a fright from the suddenly sensation of being towed off his feet. He tried to object, but instead just swallowed too much air..

Discord shut the door and they slithered into a heap at its bottom.

But then Somber made a hiccuping sound, his eyes wide.

--Not the best time for hiccups.-- Discord motioned him to hold his breath, Somber tried, but another hiccup made him shiver, making the door rattle a little in its frame.

--Gotta silence him somehow...--

Discord pressed Sombra back against the door, snared the teachers wrists in his hands, and kissed him firmly. It was a selfish temptation on his part, he could’ve easily just put a hand over his mouth, or something. But the urge was too strong, and he was practically pressed up against Somber's warm body. Somber was a mystery to him, and he liked solving such intricacies. But how to solve a conundrum like Somber?

The scent of the shampoo brushed his nose once more as he briefly let Somber go, hearing the professor gasp softly, only to kiss him once more before he could hiccup again.

At the instance of the first kiss, Somber's body went tense and a shiver ran down his spine, a feeling like he'd been lightly shocked. Only it wasn’t a feeling of doom or something wanting to kill him...to his shame, he enjoyed it...

While his brain went into a spin cycle, his body seemingly approved, for he heard a muffled moan, which he realised was coming from HIM.

--Nonono, don't you DARE drop your defences now, you hear me?!-- his mind screamed pointlessly. But the feeling was still there...

While this was going on, the footsteps stopped outside the door, then carried on. Discord let Somber go, and they stared tensely up at the glass panel in the door above them, hoping..

"I think he's gone..." Discord sighed in relief once several seconds had passed.

"Good. Then you explain what you thought you were doing?!" Somber hissed, face red as his eyes.

"It was a kiss, was it not? Or do you have different terminology here?"

"I know what it was you bozo...it-" Sombra flushed again, torn in two by conflicting feelings on the matter. On the one hand he was humiliated he'd been caught off guard like that. He'd tried so hard to avoid emotional entanglement. The past had taught him it was more hassle then it was worth! But on the other hand-

"Is that why you don't like contact? You’re really that sensitive?" Discord raised an eyebrow, he was having some seriously wandering thoughts right now...

Somber did smack him upside the head this time, getting the gist of it "If I may remind you, this is not the time to be conducting an all-inclusive exploration of my sexuality you ASS!"

"Ow.." Discord got the hint and let Somber get to his feet. as they crept into the now silent hall, he asked "so when IS?"

"Maybe, I don’t know..when we're not fighting for our lives!" Sombra snapped angrily.

"Okay, okay.." another pause.."Wait, you said "Fighting" right? not-"

"Shut. Up." Somber hissed, looking about to bust a blood vessel he looked so peeved. But he was still flushed, giving a hint he may not be as adverse as Discord thought.

He spoke again, sounding calmer as he peered round the corner. "If the guards here, we are in trouble. If he sees us..."

"We need to incapacitate him. Lucky for us, I have quite a few tricks in my arsenal for that!" Discord snapped his finger, a small flare of magic lighting the dark before he snuffed it out. Somber stared at this brief apparition, still having trouble coming to terms with it.

So they followed the path the guard had taken, and Somber hid in the shadows while Discord did something that involved a flash of magic, and then the unsuspecting guard was out cold.

"He wont wake up until later, lets go." Discord whispered, as Somber gave him a hand lying the guard down in his office and then snuck out.

They wound up in the gymnasium before they finally encountered the stalker in the shadows.

There was something creepy about a school with the power out late at night, Discord decided.

As this thought ambled through his head, he heard Somber shiver.

“Its gone cold again...” Cold combined with that “something's coming” sensation from before really put his back up! As he spoke the doors abruptly slammed shut behind them, and Somber felt a shiver run up his spine. He dove aside in time for a thick blob of shadows swirl up where he'd been standing. Pulled the necklace over his head, mentally pleading with it to turn into the sword again-

He almost dropped it, the change was so rapid. But he was soon gripping it as he did his fencing sword.

Discord seen what Somber meant, this thing gave off a WRONG feeling when you focused on it.

"Soo....you didn’t heed my warning..." the shadow laughed at it looked at them "I should have cut you to ribbons, flayed you alive!"

Somber shuddered at the snake-like hiss of its voice.

"Get the hell out of my world." he snapped.

It morphed into a shape that reminded Somber of a tiger or a bear.

Or a PONY. Somber reminded himself that this thing HAD come from Equestria, as Discord had explained it.

But as he stared, it shifted from a smooth shadowy shape, to a spiked, dangerous looking clawed hybrid of pony and porcupine. Its skin was a mottled grey, reminiscent of some awful disease.

"Catch!" Discord yelled. the thing turned, and was hit in the face with a stone. Said stone shattered, throwing a blinding light into its eyes. It roared in fury, the sound making Somber's ears ache. But he grit his teeth against it, and delivered a deep slash down at its neck. It whipped round, its claws raking Somber's chest as it knocked him back. He hit the polished floor, skidding some distance before getting up. A hand fluttering to his chest revealed blood seeping from a trio of cuts.

He snapped at that precise moment. He'd had it with this nonsense.

The pain fell prey to adrenaline as he got back up, his fencing training clicking into place, body acting out the more complex moves in his arsenal. The blade flashed in the light as he was able to duck its attack and slash at its neck, forcing it back.

But he didn't let up, tuning everything else out as he continued to parry it's claws, sparks flying.

Each cut he made let wisps of shadowy smoke escape, making the thing roar in anger. He blocked its claws with a defensive stance, but the weight of the thing made his arms ache and shiver. Fencing wasn't taught for combat, and his arms ached. Its grin widened, almost distorting its face as it pressed its full weight against the skinny little biped trying to slice it apart.

As it lunged for Somber, it found its feet encased in ice. It slammed face first into the floor as Somber darted back, using both hands to hold the blade.

Another grenade landed in its face, and Discord moved in front of Somber, shielding him from the blast of light as he closed his eyes.

It screamed again, and kicked free, charging them. they split, and it honed in on Discord this time. He panted, it was harder using his magic, especially this much of it, in this world. It was still growing in a way, after the shock of world transplanting. He still had it, but gaining access to it had started off exhausting, and had only eased up since arriving in Canterlot. But he formed enough together to punch the thing in the jaw, an electrical shock making it stagger back, dazed. it roared and tried to swipe him, only for its aim to go off kilter as something came slicing down on its tail. It screamed, whipping round so as to confront the one with the blade.

"Come get me!" Somber snarled, spinning on his heel and running away as it pounded after him. He stopped, spun and ducked. This again allowed its claws to rake over his head, as he dealt another stab to its shoulder before quickly withdrawing.

Discord, after taking a split second to admire Somber's work, looked for something, ANYTHING, he could use to help. Then he spotted something against the wall...

The porcu-pony was distracted, having finally pinned Somber against the far wall, when something thudded into its back.

It stopped, seeing a blue squishy mat was now stuck to its back, snagged on the jagged spines.

"Booiing!" Discord cackled, as he leapt onto its back, holding on tight as it bucked about like a wild horse. Somber stared in amazement as he peeled himself off the wall. As the thing reached the height of its rage, Discord leant over the top of the mat, and shoved a handful of the magic-infused stones down its throat. He was thrown off as it tried to hack them up. But too late. A blinding light seared their collective vision, and Somber seen it stagger, dazed.

--NOW!!-- his mind bellowed at him. he ran at it, the sword angled above his head.

With a furious yell, he brought the sword down on its head. The blade shone a dazzling red, and a neat line of power cut the thing in its path clean in two.

With a disturbing scream it exploded. That was the closest Somber could describe it. A wave of pressure knocked him onto his back, a blast of hot air rattling the ropes and railings high above.

At last....silence. All he could hear was his pulse pounding and his ears ringing. Somber lay on his back, one hand resting on his heart. It was pounding so madly he felt like he'd run a marathon. But it felt pretty good....

"You alright?" He opened his eyes, seeing Discord leaning over him. He had a few bruises himself, and looked like he'd been dragged through a hedge backwards.

Somber nodded, and accepted the hand held out to him.

He stood to one side, watching as Discord used his strange chaotic magic to erase and destroy any evidence they’d been there. Well, except for the damage to the floor an equipment. Nothing they could do about that.

They left, both silent, back to the car. Somber drove them back to Discord's house. The surge of triumph had dulled slightly, but not faded.

Discord studied him surreptitiously, noting the way he looked.

When they got in, Somber sat on the couch in the office/lab, still running the nights events through his mind.

"Shirt, off." a voice said languidly, a short while into his circuitous musings. Somber jolted back to the present, clocking what had just been said. Discord was crouching so he was on a level with the seated Somber, peering closely at him.

Somber felt his face grow hot and he spluttered indignantly "W-what the? Is now really a good time to be hitting on me-".

"Your shirt is soaked in blood. I’m assuming the shock is blocking the pain, but trust me you'll feel it soon enough and I need to patch you up." Discord said bluntly. Somber felt a jab of embarrassment, and stared at the floor a moment before nodding slowly and beginning the process of wrestling with his clothing as Discord stood up and darted out to the kitchen.

He stared in bewilderment at the torn, bloodied shirt now tangled around his hands.

"Yeesh, that looks nasty..." Discord winced as he returned with a bowl of warm water and a cloth. He admittedly stole a quick glance at Somber, what with him being sans the shirt and all, but soon relegated ogling to the back of the queue. there was a lot of blood on the man's chest, starting to dry into his skin..

Somber didn’t have a response for that, bar a nod. He began to feel the aches and pains as the damp cloth was pressed to the trio of cuts.

Discord mopped up the blood, being as gentle as he could. He tried to catch Somber's eye, but the professor wouldn’t look his way.

"I can use my magic directly to heal this. It takes less time than the pre-made compress." he said at last, having worked out the level of magic required for such a cut.

Somber looked a little apprehensive, but he nodded. He'd seen what Discord's magic had done for the broken bone just days ago.

Discord closed his eyes, focusing his magic despite how tired he was. Reaching his magic in this world felt like wading through treacle at times. It certainly wasn’t as easy as it had been in Equestria....

"This may sting a little." he warned, and Somber just made a faint sound.

Somber tensed up as he felt a series of cold pins and needles prickle over his skin, in contrast to Discord's warm hands. But then he stared in amazement as small sparks darted over the cuts, slowing the flow of blood and starting to seal it up. He winced as residual pain flared up, the sped up healing felt so strange...

He looked up from the hand pressed over the cuts on his chest, to the one healing him.

And realised Discord was looking as ill and dizzy as Somber felt.

"Stop!" he blurted, grabbing Discord's hands and breaking their contact with his skin.

"What?!" Discord opened his eyes, the action making the room spin before settling down. He looked like he was having difficulty focusing, in Somber's view.

"Somber, what are you-?"

“Don't mess me about!" Somber said curtly "Look at yourself, your in no better state than I! its going to be detrimental if you finish this isn’t it?"

Surprised by this, Discord fumbled for the words, clearing his throat and attempting to explain "Well, it will probably cause me a few days off on top of all the aches and pains....". he tried to sound flippant, but Somber wasn’t buying it, he could tell. He tried one last tack-

"Besides, if I leave it now, it’ll scar-" the ex-Draconequus objected. but Somber shook his head, gaze firm.

"What does it matter? Most injuries will scar, its hardly unusual. Besides, no-ones going to see it." Sombra said shortly, looking away, over at the bloodied shirt he'd dropped onto the arm of the couch..

--I wonder, would you let anybody see you without your emotional armor, Somber?-- Discord pondered.

Thus he queried "not even me?" which caught Somber off guard, making him flush. Then his expression shifted to one of anger as he recalled the earlier first kiss...

"Will you stop winding me up, for pity’s sake-!"

"I’m being serious Somber, this isn’t just a joke." Discord said bluntly, poking Somber's nose lightly and shutting him up. He figured he may was well be honest by this point.

"But....why-?" Somber wasn’t sure how to phrase this. Wasn’t sure he understood at ALL.

"Why not? Why do you keep a defence up, pushing people away? I noticed it on day one. The real you, the one that fought a shadow monster with a sword and fencing moves, he seemed so alive. But then you shut down, you hide. Why?"

"Why? That’s not important!" Somber blurted protectively, shaking his head emphatically. But it sounded feeble even to his ears. Sure enough, Discord folded his arms, expression very sceptical.

Somber bit back a tirade, feeling a mix of angry and upset. Angry at Discord for exposing him like this, and upset at himself for falling into it. Anger was on the verge of winning out, his blood pressure running high as he tried to dredge up a reason to dislike Discord's affections, or the man himself...

But then Discord idly reached up and tucked a stray section of Somber's ebony black hair back behind his ear. The contact was warm, and he felt the breath hitch in his lungs, caught between anger and something far nicer.

"It looks more like you this way, forgive my presumption," Discord said idly "that façade is like the casing on a china doll, frozen in place."

They were nose to nose now, Somber barley able to concentrate, he was caught up in whatever spell this was.

The second kiss was even warmer than the first. Less rushed, and far more intimate. It felt like his nerves were being invaded by darts of electricity, just like that hasty first kiss in the school...

--What could it hurt....-- the voice in the back of Somber's mind insisted --aren’t you tired of being alone, always so angry, so stubborn...--

--Maybe…-- Somber thought in reponse… --If I do..?--

So he closed his eyes and let the kiss continue.

All too soon it ended, and Somber blinked dazedly as Discord moved back to look at him.

---I don’t understand. Why me...but..??-- This jumble of questions was the best his mind would come up with. Poor Somber couldn’t think straight right that second, too many things were clamouring for his attention.

Discord's thumb brushed over his lower lip a second later and Somber seen the expression on the others face. He really didn’t seem to be treating him as a joke...

So when Discord closed the distance between them again, Somber finally let himself lean into the kiss, just a little, just enough to satisfy his own curiosity. It did feel good.

Discord at last Somber go so the dazed professor could breathe. His face was flushed, and sweet Celestia he looked gorgeous. The bright lights of the lab catching his crimson eyes, his hair loose and ruffled, the ends of it brushing against his bare shoulders.

"You sure..?" Discord asked, indicating the halfway-healed cuts on Somber's chest. For a moment Somber was confused, did he mean about the fact he’d returned the kiss? He wasn’t sure he could answer that.

Then he realised Discord was referring to the cuts and managed to get himself to clear his throat and speak.

"Its just a scar..." Somber said softly. Discord titled his head, trying to read the others expression, but Somber had retreated behind the mask again.

"Besides," The professor added after the silence began to bother him, a small seed of guilt sprouting "it was worth it to finally feel like my life had more meaning then just being the serious, scary teacher the kids laugh about in their free periods."

Discord chuckled "scary? I doubt that..."

"You’ve never seen me lose my temper." Somber pointed out, staring at his fingers, which were drumming a pattern on his thighs.

"Yes, I have. repeatedly. I'm pretty sure you’ve spent more time yelling at me than anything else." Discord laughed, placing a hand under Somber's chin and angling his head so the professor couldn’t avoid his gaze. he smiled gently as he added "and its not THAT scary."

"Was...was the other me, the one in your world, like this?" Somber asked.

"In truth, I barely knew him. But Celestia described him as being haughty, proud. Strong, but dedicated to the wrong cause."

"And here's me, just a lowly academic..." Somber said wryly. Something loosely related to a smile flitted over his face for a moment.

Discord offered a smile of his own "Don’t compare yourself to him. You share the same fiery nature, but you are still different entities. In fact, meeting you here makes me think this is the universe where his spirit finally got to have a better life, free of his insanity. Just a normal, secure life. I'd say that’s a good thing.."

This made Somber feel a little better.

"Besides," Discord added "you showed plenty of determination and guts earlier. I don’t know what this "fencing" is, but ill go so far as to assume your an expert at it."

Somber laughed "I’m a bit rusty. I quit after I left Crystal Prep-!"

He cut off with a sigh, wishing he could stop the words escaping.

"What happened?" Discord asked, seeing how Somber's expression revert back to his "closed off" manner.

"It's nothing." Somber said calmly.

"It isn’t "nothing", though, is it?" Discord brushed some loose strands of hair away from Somber's face, admiring how warm to the touch he was...

Somber looked at him, then back down at his hands, which were clenched in his lap.

"That body language doesn’t speak of someone who's comfortable with what's on their mind. Tell me..." Discord encouraged.

Somber figured things were beyond the marker of lying having any point, and reluctantly prepared to revisit the memory.

"It..." Somber sighed, resting his head in his hands and staring at the floor "I taught at Crystal Prep Academy some years ago. I was so happy there, I truly cared about the students and the school. I was working towards becoming the vice Principal. But the Principal at that time, a long time friend of mine, got offered a position in another place. It was at a prestigious university, and so naturally she left. The woman she named as her successor, Abacus Cinch, seemed good at first but all too soon she became obsessed with winning everything. Every challenge, academic or physical. She was bending the rules and coming down hard on the students who didn’t measure up.

I noticed the teachers began siding with her, some out of genuine belief, but many seemed...afraid. The current vice Principal told me to try "keeping my head down", as she was concerned with my behaviour towards Cinch. I was stunned, she'd never seemed so muted before. Needless to say, I butted heads with Cinch numerous times regardless, hating to have the system I’d worked so hard at maintaining be torn down by her ruthless ambition. So she turned her gaze on me instead of the students. Bit by bit she began undermining me, always subtly threatening to fire me if I ever exposed her. And I tried. but by then she had even convinced some of the pupils to act as spies. One of them was a computer hacker, it turned out. She hacked my computer and copied a letter I was going to send to the head of the board...."

His heart twisted as he recalled the day it'd all started to fall apart;

"I realised it was going to end my career for good if I stayed there, so I handed in my resignation and left the next week after Cinch's threat. Ill never forget her smirk as she seen me leave her office. She said "such a pity Somber, you could’ve been so good here, you just had to let that heart of yours get in the way." I realised she'd meant I’d been too soft, that perhaps there might have been a way. But, the heart of that academy was already gone, in that witches grasp."

He sighed "so I resolved not to fall for that trick ever again. Not to let my heart become involved in my work. I was grateful when Principal Celestia gave me a second chance, even with Cinch's less-than-stellar recommendation. Canterlot seemed like a strange place compared to the academy, but the students are so free and energetic compared to the gloom that invaded Crystal Prep. I think Celestia sensed something had gone on, as she offered me the job at Canterlot very quickly. But even with her kindness, I was still reluctant to let anyone under my skin again, so I kept them all at arms length. I reasoned I wouldn’t be betrayed if I never let anyone get to know me well enough."

His head ached, but at the same time it felt like a weight had been lifted.

"And that's the whole story...." With a sigh, he straightened up.

"That absolute BITCH." Discord said at last. Sombra jumped, surprised by the venom in the man’s tone.

"Seriously," Discord continued to the stunned Somber "you tried to do something good for that school and she repaid you by driving you out so she could let one of her choosing take over!"

"What was I supposed to have done?" Somber sighed "Well, maybe I WAS too naïve, I thought I could change her mind. But I wasn’t prepared for how low she was willing to sink, manipulating everyone around her. By the time I realised, I'd already lost."

Discord smiled "I’m convinced this is the Equestrian Sombra's redemption. You tried to protect the heart of Crystal Prep instead of taking it over. You were a good leader there, and you paid the price against a tyrant."

Somber smiled very weakly, but it soon faded.

"Why do you always tie your hair up?" Discord chanced another personal query "was that because of her?"

Somber coughed, and laughed "sadly, yes. One of her methods was insulting me by saying I looked like a hippy at best, or at worst very unprofessional. She flat out hinted that I could get written up for it, for not following her dress code. So I started tying it back, a futile effort to get along while she was still trying to exert her influence over the school. I fell for her trick, thought this would solve the problem. But things escalated and I never thought about it again until AFTER I left, then began again at Canterlot. Just in case, I started tying it back up, to avoid that happening again."

"It was something to focus on, hmm?" Discord said.

Somber nodded "exactly, foolish as it was." he laughed softly. Reminded by the talk, he looked for and spotted a stray rubber band, and reached automatically for it. But Discord grabbed it, and sent it pinging across the room.

"No," he ordered mock-sternly "you don’t need to believe her lies any more..."

"But.." Somber huffed, as he gave a last ditch effort to stick to his routine. He was countered with a kiss from Discord, and pulled gently into the others embrace. He put up a token resistance, old habits died hard, but it soon crumbled. Warm hands settled on his bare back, making him shiver delightfully.

"Stop hiding the real you." Discord almost scolded. Somber felt the world outside his comfort zone jab unpleasantly at his defences, and shook his head slightly.

"I don’t know.." he muttered, at last looking up at Discord.

"It's time to set yourself free, Somber." Discord told him.

Another, even fiercer kiss cut off any further attempts at weak excuses from Somber, and the professor lost all hope of winning the argument as the others tongue pressed against his lips, begging to be allowed even further...

Flying in the face of every rule he'd ever wrapped himself in, Somber gave in to the first thing in YEARS that'd elicited any response from him. He heard a muffled moan that he recognised as his voice. Discord tangled his fingers in Somber's hair, then they came to rest at the base of his neck, rubbing slow, soft circles at the spot.

The shivers hit Somber again, but they felt like bolts of lightning bringing a cold heart back to life. Good sanity, it felt so alien to be this far out of his comfort zone. But a part of him liked it...wanted to keep it...

Discord let Somber go reluctantly, seeing how the professor was flushed and looking a bit overwhelmed. But he looked pretty damn tempting, and WAS halfway to undressed as it was-

--No, bad Discord. Don't go too far too fast. I think he's in enough shock from me making out with him!--

So he squashed any thought of a sexual nature and instead said;

"Come on, let me put a dressing on those cuts, then ill find you some clean clothes. You can sleep in my bed again-" As Somber looked a little flustered he carried on "-Don’t worry about me, there's a reason I bought the softest couch in the showroom. I sleep here often to keep an eye on my experiments."

Somber tried to object, feeling oddly rude for kicking him out of his own bed, but Discord ignored him. He patched him up as promised, then headed upstairs and located some of his own clothing to give to Somber. Once the other had changed and dumped the clothing outside the bedroom door, Discord took the dirtied, bloodied articles and disposed of them.

He went back up not long after to ask if Somber wanted tea or coffee, and smiled when he peeked in the bedroom door. Somber was curled up atop the bed, utterly worn out.

"Silly Somber, you’re supposed to be IN the bed. Still, close enough I dare say."

As he spoke, he was grabbing another blanket and wrapping it around Somber, who didn’t even stir.

He shut the door behind him, heading downstairs to recharge the EMP device. It'd taken a long time to build the thing, but it was his only option for knocking out the CCTV.

At last, he flopped back onto the couch and drifted asleep, a mix of relief at having destroyed that thing, and concern this was just the start running through his mind...

But a smile did flit over his face as he recalled the high point of the evening. Kissing Somber, and seeing the man behind the mask.

He woke early, the blaring of his alarm on his phone startling him awake. He groaned as he checked the calender, and remembered he had classes to teach. Wait...did Somber?

He jogged upstairs, knocking on the door.

"Unhh...wha? Yes?" the sleepy professors voice drifted in the door as Discord opened the door. He walked over to the bed and sat on the edge of of it, grinning and tousling the sleepy Somber's hair.

"Knock it off!" Somber said half heartedly as he sat up, blinking sleepily up at him "what’s-?"

"Do you have classes today?" Discord asked. Somber rubbed at his eyes and sighed "sadly, yes. Although the last thing I feel like doing is teaching."

"You could call in sick-"

Somber shook his head "No, I'll be fine. I need to get back to work."

Discord nodded "I have classes myself, so we both need to get a move on."

Somber sighed, looking serious for a moment "it's not over, is it?" he asked. Discord winced guiltily, looking away for a moment.

"I'm afraid that's unlikely. I cant be sure, but I’m certain there were multiple entities in that box."

Somber sighed wearily, staring at the multitude of small cuts on his hands from the exploding window pane just the day before.

"For what its worth, I’m sorry." Discord sighed at last. he'd never been one for apologising, preferring to charm or annoy his way in and out of most situations.

Somber looked up, surprised. He couldn’t think of anything to say to that. Discord's face said it all, he regretted his folly.

"This isn’t your fight Somber, and it was my impulsiveness that brought this madness here..."

Somber blinked, surprised at how downcast Discord genuinely sounded.

"Why did you open that box?" Somber asked after a pause.

"While I undeniably have a great deal of power, it was never enough to break the boundaries like I did this time. I felt confined, out of place. I had a friend in Fluttershy, the pony version of that girl with the pink hair and yellow skin. She would invite me over for tea, and talk to me as a friend. But she had other friends, including Princess Twilight and the others. I couldn't expect her to spend her time with me alone. I couldn’t do much without running the risk of Celestia sealing me in stone again."

"So..you were bored?" Somber summed it up. Discord chuckled.

"Hit the nail on the head there Somber. Yes, I was bored. I felt like my mind was atrophying, I tried to quash my chaotic nature, to not turn ponies lives upside down. But, it turned out to be far harder than I thought to change who I was. I felt like I was losing who I was inside, being so bound up in rules! I’m a chaos being, I cant just be pinned down."

"That sounds rough.." Somber sounded fairly sympathetic "is that when you decided to come here?"

Discord nodded, staring morosely into the distance "Yes, and I fear I may have been too hasty in my decision. I escaped my old life, but I ended up bringing a nightmare to this world..

I knew Celestia kept artefacts locked away in her palace. It took weeks of investigating to learn that box was hiding a source of power. One that would be enough to get me out of there. I didn’t realise where that power had come from. I researched that myth you spoke of, about Pandora. You were correct in a way, that box was similar. It housed...I think you’d call them "spirits" in this world. No doubt captured or created by some lunatic in Equestria's distant past. If it was in Celestia's possession, chances are she helped seal them away..."

"I see..." Somber nodded "so when you drained its power, those things got out?"

"Exactly," Discord nodded "and there was a spark of something good in there. Your "Elpis" as you called it. It must've been watching over the occupants of that box, and when they got out, so did it! It left me a trail to follow, and shot off in search of an ideal candidate. Which was when it found YOU."

"Why me, though?" Somber asked, frowning up at him "I’m just a history teacher, nothing special."

Discord smiled, facing him and toying with a strand of Somber's hair "you’re far from "nothing special", Somber. Most people I’ve met in this world would've run away from a demonic shadow, let alone a sword that adheres itself to their soul. You took that thing on with a chair to try help me. I wouldn’t call somebody that can do that, ordinary..."

Somber flushed slightly, but admitted Discord had a point.

"Considering what you’ve faced since I barged in and turned your life upside down, you're remarkably well adjusted. I'd be stuck if you hadn’t agreed to help me. Hell, I’d probably be dinner for that thing."

"How strong is your magic here?" Somber asked. Discord pondered.

"Well, it felt as if it was still regaining its legs for the longest time. I used up pretty much everything getting here, I’ve never gone that far before. Sometimes its a bit of a struggle to launch it. Seems to come and go in fits and starts at times. But, I manage somehow. I just have to concentrate a lot more than I used to. Gotta use my brain."

"I didn’t realise things had gotten that serious." Somber joked.

Discord blinked, then stared intently at him as the insult sunk in "was that a bit of sarcasm, Somber?"

"And if it is?” Somber snorted, feeling the urge to laugh.

"Then you can colour me impressed. I didn’t think you had a sarcastic bone in your body."

"Never underestimate me." Somber sniped back, a smile making his lips curve enticingly.

"Oh I wont..." Discord murmured, suddenly hungering for another little morsel of intimacy. He leaned in close, so his nose brushed Somber's "mind if I kiss you?" he said seductively.

Somber flushed, but a nod was Discord's answer. The kiss brought back all of last nights tension, answers, everything...

Discord let Somber go, studying the man’s surprised, flushed expression.

Somber had to mentally kick his brain to make it pay attention;

"If those things are after the both of us, we need to get to school.." he reminded Discord, who nodded.

"Alright, lets get a move on. You can get a shower first, I have a few more calculations to check. I'll go fetch some fresh clothes..."

He ushered Somber into the bathroom, saying he'd leave the clothes outside the door, so as to not intrude.

Somber flushed. But his heart was pacing faster than he'd ever known it to. The last few days had done that to him. He felt strangely free.

A shower and clean set of clothes from Discord later, and he was ready to go.

Being as his car was still outside, he naturally offered to drive them both to school. It was only as they were walking across the parking lot that he realised he'd forgotten to tie his hair back after brushing it. He swore, wondering if there was a spare in his pocket. Before realising these weren’t HIS clothes.

"You don’t need it.." Discord murmured as he poked Somber to make him get moving again.

"But-!" Somber grumbled.

"NOPE!" Discord declared loudly, making Somber jump and look at him funny, then laugh softly and shake his head.

"Shall we get some coffee before classes start?" Discord yawned as they greeted Lightshield, who was looking none the worse for wear after begin knocked out, and entered the school. Somber nodded, he could use some caffeine.

Cherilee waved as he walked in, from her spot by the window and Somber returned it, even managing a small smile. Discord grinned and called a good morning!

A few other teachers were scattered around, a couple asked Somber was he OK after the previous day? Somber told them he was fine, he'd barely been hit.

“What in blazes was the point of attacking a school?” Professor Cranky asked as he glared daggers at the coffee machine. Somber shrugged, shaking his head.

“Still, you’re in one piece sonny, so that’s good!” The grumpy teacher added, which made Somber feel a bit better.

“I just wonder how they did it?” One of the maths teachers pondered.

“With any luck the police will find out.” another teacher put in.

Somber nodded, the relaxing scent of coffee making everything feel normal again as he took a sip “I'm just relieved nobody was seriously hurt.”.

While Discord had healed the wound from the final battle, thankfully he hadn't tried to heal the cut on Somber's face. THAT would've raised too many questions. So for now he'd just have to put up with the livid mark across his cheek as a reminder.

The coffee duly gulped down, they headed towards their respective classrooms, which weren’t that far apart.

"Do you think Celestia knows about the chaos last night?" Somber said worriedly, to Discord.

"The wrecked gym mat? Probably? I doubt Lightshield kept being knocked out to himself." Discord replied.

"Maybe...he assumed he fell asleep from tiredness?" Somber said, realising how unlikely that was and sighing.

"We need to be alert." Discord said what the other was musing over. Somber nodded.

"We need more lerts." Discord added in the same tone. It took Somber a second to process the cheesy joke, and when he did he face-palmed, a gesture he'd learnt from his students.

"Sorry." Discord coughed, grinning innocently.

"Seriously??" Somber sighed, exasperated.

They fell silent as they heard Celestia's voice up ahead, speaking to someone. The two rounded the corner, and Somber's stomach sunk.

The woman in talks with Celestia was none other than Abacus Cinch. He felt his blood go cold in his veins.

"Somber!" Cinch declared mock-cheerfully "I never expected to see you here!"

Somber didn’t speak for a good few seconds, "Principal Cinch.." he said, as cordially as he could.

Discord raised an eyebrow, THIS was the woman who’d run Somber out of his much loved school, and put him through blackmail hell? He got the impression the only one she cared about was herself, and that she held no remorse for what she'd done to Somber.

As he studied her, he seen the look of contempt in her eyes as she regarded Somber.

Celestia didn’t seem to notice the thin veil of politeness was masking utter hatred on both sides.

"Its been a long time." Cinch said, with a well disguised sneer in her voice as she regarded the fallen teacher. So he'd landed here had he? Poor fool. She dimly recalled a phone call asking about a recommendation, and had happily done her best to shoot it down. She hadn’t realised it was for here.

Celestia's phone rang, and she politely excused herself to go answer it. Cinch closed the distance between them, studying Somber's expression as she did.

"So, this is where you washed up Somber. Pity really, you seemed so suited to Crystal Prep.."

"Do the students have any freedom left?" Somber shot back archly "or have you conscripted them all by now?"

Cinch glared at him, caught off guard by the fact he didn’t seem scared at seeing her like she'd expected. If anything, he seemed like he didn’t give a crap. When she'd launched her smear campaign to get shot of him, she'd always thought him passionate, but too closed off to ever fight as hard as she had. She hadn’t been joking when she said he could’ve been good. He was smart, ambitious, and well liked by the students. Thus shed pegged him as trouble when he didn’t join her side. She'd anticipated trouble.

Sure enough, he'd objected to many of her proposals, and had been on the way to becoming a real problem. That was when she'd had a particularly prodigious student hacker get into his computer and copy the letter he'd been writing to the school board. With this, she'd "suggested" he play along, otherwise she could easily get him fired. She could make the letter look like defamation, slander. With the hacker's help, she could alter the file, a lot of files. She had friends in high places after all.

He'd left in the end, telling her to her face he would rather give up teaching altogether than watch her drive the academy into the ground. It was noble yet foolish, like all those bleeding heart types. She'd forgotten about him, assuming he'd simply moved away from the area.

"I see Canterlot's lax dress codes allow you to get away with this~" She smirked, flicking a finger at his hair.

Fed up with this woman by now, Discord decided to scare her. She was standing just in front of a display case full of trophies. So he used a small smidge of magic to make the largest trophy there topple, sending it thudding against the thick glass. The banging sound make Cinch shriek, as it was right by her face. Somber jolted slightly, but it was barely noticeable. He snickered softly at Cinch’s face. She glared at him, but Somber couldn’t take her seriously any more.

She clenched her fists, teeth gritted. How DARE that second-rate history professor laugh at her!

She glanced at the other teacher behind Somber, who was apparently absorbed in his phone.

"Who are you?" she asked haughtily, ignoring Somber, "Celestia didn’t mention new teachers!"

"Oh I’m very new," Discord put the phone away and smirked cheerfully "just last week! her former physics teacher left, so I applied for the job!"

Cinch took in his neatly pressed shirt, trousers and trench coat, then the flyaway white hair, and pegged him as a lunatic.

Celestia returned, and Cinch was back to her super-polite mode, all smiles. Well, as best as she could do. Celestia escorted her off down the hall, talking about the new changes to the school, all set for the games...

"You alright?" Discord asked soon as the pair were out of earshot.

"I feel about to be SICK!" Somber spat out. Discord cast him a sympathetic look, lightly patting his shoulder.

Somber managed a weak smile after a brief struggle with his emotions "its fine...I’m fine..."

But he didn’t break from this morose state even as Discord said goodbye, and departed for his own classroom.

Author's Notes:

I just dropped an iPad on my foot. Ow.