Somber sat at his desk, staring irritably into thin air. Seeing that dragon, Cinch, again felt like it'd depleted the good mood he'd felt that morning when Discord had kissed him again.

He sighed softly, allowing himself a faint iota of happiness. The kiss, the way he'd FELT...

He shoved those thoughts aside as the bell rang, the door opened, and the wave of students began flooding in.

"Hey teach!" The bouncy haired Pinkie Pie beamed widely as she skipped by the desk.

He observed a few students giving him odd looks throughout the lesson, and wondered if the cut on his face was that obvious?

The windows had been hastily replaced, with new panes of glass. One thing he gave Celestia credit for, she seemed to have contractor son tap that were happy to do emergency work! Probably helped the windows were a uniform size.

He shook his head, telling himself to concentrate!

Come lunchtime, he was starving, and didn't hang around like he normally did, instead making a direct beeline for the staff canteen.

As he was walking in, head still full of thoughts of the shadow fight, he bumped into Cherilee and one of the PE teachers, Spitfire.

"Somber!" Cherilee smiled "I didn’t get time to talk to you this morning. Are you OK after the incident?"

"The what? Oh, the window.." Sombra nodded, sticking a loose bit of hair back behind his ear on autopilot. He'd been doing it all morning "I got off easily, just a scratch or two."

"Tough guy, huh?" Spitfire chuckled, clapping him on the shoulder with a grin "good to hear!"

"Well, take care.." Cherilee smiled, then she and Spitfire walked off.

"Well well," Discord said as Somber sat down opposite him "Somebody's a ladies man!"

"What on earth do you mean?" Somber asked, frowning.

"Cherilee was pretty much flat out staring at you. With your hair down, you look different..." he lowered his voice so Somber just about heard him "you look GOOD."

Somber coughed, turning his attention to his food lest his face go red.

"Don’t look so worried, I promise not to hit on you in front of anybody." Discord chuckled at how he affected Somber. He much preferred this side of him, as opposed to the quiet, cold and emotionless one he'd met at first.

"Is that why the kids have been giving me weirder looks then usual?" Somber pondered "because its not tied back?"

Discord just smiled "people are always intrigued by getting a glimpse into someone who's very guarded. You're a bit of a mystery it seems."

Sombra shook his head and sighed, as if he assumed Discord was yanking his chain.

He left the lunch hall, and as he rounded the next corner, cradling some books from the library in his arms, someone charged into him. He was knocked back on the floor, winded.

"Ow.." he grumbled as he sat up.

"Oh gosh, I’m sorry!" a girl with purple hair streaked with shades of pink and purple and wide framed black glasses looked worriedly down at him as she scrambled to her feet, "I'm so so sorry Sir!"

Somber got up, assuring her he was fine. He noticed she wore a Crystal Prep uniform, and realised she had to be part of a tour with Cinch.

"Oh, these books-!" The girls eyes lit up as she read the titles "these are amazing works on the occult!"

"I'm surprised, not many young adults are into such subject matter." Somber remarked as she helped him gather them up. She grinned.

"I have a first edition of this one! That one too! I love books, its all I have at that school.." She suddenly looked saddened again. Somber frowned.

"Cinch." he said softly. The girls head snapped back up, wide eyes fixed on him.

"Y-you know her?" she winced.

"That’s an understatement," Somber's expression somehow seemed to sympathise with her, she noticed "lets just say we used to know each other."

"I see." She nodded.

"Ugh, Twiliigght...." a drawling voice called, and a girl with pale hair done in two ponytails either side of her head stuck her head round the corner "move, we have to go."

"Coming!" Twilight bobbed her head to Somber "goodbye, sir." Then she was gone.

As she disappeared, the other girl chiding her, Somber felt a stab of concern. That girls reaction spoke exactly of what he was afraid of. That Cinch had the students oppressed under her thumb.

He at last wound up back at his own home that night, after driving Discord home and going shopping for food.

He dumped his briefcase on his desk and walked over to the mantelpiece above the fire. It was a framed photo of a slightly younger Somber by a few years, his hair down loose, surrounded by his class of students. It'd been taken in the front lobby of the school, flags declaring “GO Shadowbolts!” hanging from the walls. In it he seen how he smiled, how much faith he'd had in things since then.

"I hope she hasn’t destroyed you completely." he murmured, before setting the picture back down.

He took the necklace off from around his neck, staring at the minute sword hanging from the chain. Closing his eyes he took a deep breath, concentrating on making the full sword appear. He opened his eyes as, in his hands, the sword began to glow, then with a flash it formed the full-sized sword. he caught it by the handle, swinging it expertly around.

His house wasn’t big, it was filled with books of varying value and age. But the main living area was big enough once he pushed the furniture back a bit, to practise his old fencing moves. He would have to adjust it to compensate for the heavier sword, but the basic Principal was the same.

At the end of his routine of sorts, which cycled through most of the major moves, he flipped the sword over in the air, catching it in the opposite hand a second alter, finishing in a defensive stance.

When someone applauded, he nearly passed out from fright.

He whirled round, eyes wide, body tensed and seen-

"Discord, you moron!" He snapped, face flushing as he relaxed "what are- wait, how did you get in?"

"Magic." Discord chuckled "I was knocking on the door, you didn’t answer. But I could hear you pacing about, so I opted to let myself in!"

Sombra recalled him picking the lock back in the school and sighed.

"That was impressive.." Discord wandered over, as Somber stared down at the blade in his hands. he jumped when Discord's hands settled over his on the sword, and the other nuzzled behind his right ear.

"Like I said," Sombra blurted "I did fencing a long time ago..."

Discord let him go, having spotted the framed photo.

"Is this your class?" he asked. Somber nodded.

"That was my last year..." he whispered, sighing as he focused on turning the sword back into a chain.

It was clear the defeat still stung, made worse by the encounter with Cinch, so Discord didn’t press it any further. Instead he decided to try get a smile;

"Wasn’t that old bats face hilarious when the trophy hit the glass?"

Somber bit his lip, then allowed himself a laugh.

"It was pretty satisfying." he admitted at last, looking a little brighter.

Discord grinned “at your service, for all your revenge needs!”

This made Somber laugh even more. Discord’s OTT personality was practically the opposite of his own. But then, didn’t the old adage say “opposites attract”. He felt his face begin to redden as this implication sunk in.

He was saved from further teasing by Discord by his brain grasping at straws and coming up with a valid one for a change. "wait, why are you here?"

"I wanted to give you THIS." Discord held out a box. In it was a phone.

"I already have a phone." Somber was puzzled.

"I know, but this one is tweaked a bit. If my research has worked, it should go off when strong magic is nearby. It's the best I can do, this world isn’t like back home."

"I see." Somber nodded, switching the device on. It looked innocuous enough, nobody would know it was anything off if they just picked it up!

“See this app here?” Discord tapped at one that looked like a standard game icon, marked with a small book icon bearing a star on it “That'll generate an alarm if the mods I built into the phone detect magic surges.”

“That’s impressive.” Somber was startled by how adept Discord was with technology. He brushed the camera app with his thumb, eyebrows raising as a way higher definition picture then he expected flicked to life.

“I programmed tagging into it..look..” Discord curled his hand around Somber's, settling his body close to the professors, and aimed the camera at the bookshelves. The screen flashed, and the picture popped up, lots of little dots speckling it.

“Its made a note of the book titles, and you can search for details using the internet. Fascinating isn’t it?”

Somber chuckled “I never looked at these high-tech phones too closely, I guess you just get used to technology in this day and age. It must seem drastically different to magic?”

“In a way, yes. But these things can do so much it practically IS magic to me!” Discord sounded happy, Somber could hear it in his voice "Its still a full blown cell, just with a few mods to it. If you want, I can copy everything off your old phone onto it?"

Somber nodded, and offered to go make some coffee while he did so.

Somber learnt Discord was something of a whiz with tech, and Discord realised Somber made damn good coffee.

He admired the bookshelves, and Somber talked about some of the trips he'd gone on to get them, about finding some by luck in flea markets and such. He really did relax when you coerced him into discussing something he liked, Discord realised. otherwise, he seemed to live behind that fierce, near unapproachable veneer.

At last Discord reluctantly had to go, and Somber walked with him to the front door. There, Discord slipped an arm around his middle and quickly stole another kiss.

"I''ll get out of your hair now. Very nice hair.." Discord was tangling his fingers in it as he spoke, brushing Somber's neck. Somber swatted idly at his hand, but there was no force behind the gesture.

"Sleep tight..." Discord teased, before slipping out the door again. From the window, Somber seen him get into a waiting taxi, and the vehicle drove away.

"You’d think with all that cash, he'd learn to drive." Somber mused.

He yawned, feeling exhausted. Using that sword seemed to take his energy away.

He removed the clothes Discord had leant him, making a mental note to wash them tomorrow. As he shrugged on a well worn nightshirt and shorts, he noticed the scars across his chest. He ran his fingers over them, a weird shiver running through him.

The thing that'd done this hadn't been of his world, yet he'd helped destroy it. Not something he'd ever imagined in a thousand years could happen in his previously mundane life.

But this wasn't some nightmare he could just wake up from, this was real. And he'd carry these scars for evermore...

He shook his head, buttoning up the nightshirt to hide the reminder his life was changing so rapidly he was in danger of being left behind.

But, maybe not all the changes were bad..?

It skulked around the outside of the school building, sniffing the air, a primal growl echoing from its throats. Multiple eyes scanned the building, looking for a way in.

At last it spotted a skylight, and scaled the wall, melting through the glass. At last. Here was where another of its kind had been slain. Traces of detonated magic hung in the air like smoke. A red line, only visible to its eyes, stood out glaring bright on the polished gym floor.

It crouched, sniffing at the magical echo. This magic had destroyed one of the prisoners. Whatever did this bore hopes signature. That frail light, never sputtering out, had been the bane of their existence during their time in prison.

It swore there and then it would find Hope and rip it to shred, as vengeance.

It lurked in the shadows and watched as the room filled with daylight. These strange bipedal creatures came and went, some shining with magic, others dull. It licked its lips, here was a meal...

The skies opened up and rain pounded down, and so it was that Somber found himself supervising the kids in the gym, alongside Cherilee. She smiled, making conversation as they kept an eye on the boys and girls. Rainbow Dash was heading up a soccer game, with Pinkie Pie galloping up and down the sidelines with pom-poms, hooting and cheering in total glee.

Applejack booted the ball a bit too hard and it bounced into the bleachers and down behind them.

"Oops...mah bad!" the blonde girl grinned sheepishly at an annoyed Rainbow Dash.

"Ah, never mind, I’ll go grab it!" Rainbow Dash wriggled between the compacted bleachers, made so there was room to get between the mechanics. She squeezed between the folded down struts to reach her ball..

That was when she seen a pair of eyes level with her own. Startled witless, she let out a garbled shriek. She tried to run, but something hit her in the stomach, tripping her. Her foot got snagged, and she felt a pinching pain, like something was been drained…

Somber and Cherilee both jolted, running over to the bleachers as Rainbow's yell rang out.

"Oh my goodness!" Cherilee squinted into the gloom "Rainbow Dash?"

"M-my foot's stuck, I cant get out!" She sounded panicked. Somber opened his mouth to ask her to keep still, when he felt a vibration from his pocket. Pulling out the phone, he realised it was the new one Discord had given him. his gut churned. Had something else found them?

"I’m coming!" Cherilee blurted, as she tried to figured out a way to reach Rainbow Dash.

"Lets go.." Somber followed after. Using the phones flash light Somber navigated the mess of struts, ducking and slipping between them. At last they reached Rainbow Dash, whose left ankle was trapped between two of the struts that seemed to have malfunctioned and bent slightly closer in than was normal.

"Heh...gimme a hand, please?" the blue skinned athlete said jovially, but she looked pale despite her bluster.

Somber stared, then spoke to Cherilee

"Grab miss Dash under her arms. I'll push the struts as much as I can, and you need to pull her free right away!"

Cherilee nodded, doing as instructed. Rainbow Dash tensed up anxiously as Somber stepped around so he was facing her, and crouched to grip the struts.

Bracing his feet, he put all his weight into forcing the joints back to their normal position. It creaked, the other joints giving it very little leeway. Somber wasn’t strong enough to move it far, but-

"It's loosening!" Rainbow Dash blurted in relief.

Somber grit his teeth and felt his shoulder aching as he gripped the metalwork so tightly it felt like it was cutting into his hands. There was a tiny squeak, and he felt it give-

"Now!" he gasped. Cherilee gave a small gasp and a grunt, heaving Rainbow Dash back with all her might. The Wondercolt was deposited on her backside a little further back, as Cherilee had to let her go to keep her balance. But she was free. Somber let the joint go, plopping onto his backside with a sigh of relief.

"Thanks, big time.." Rainbow Dash gulped, glad she was free. Together the two teachers helped her clamber back out, where the anxious group of friends and fellow Wondercolt's waited.

"Dashie!" Pinkie Pie swallowed her up in a big blur of hugs and pink hair.

"Oh my stars, are you alright?!" Rarity grimaced when she seen Rainbow Dash's swollen ankle "oh dear."

"Its cool," Rainbow Dash said bravely "I’m tough, I’ll heal before the match!"

Cherilee said she'd fetch the doctor, and Somber nodded. As she darted away, he stretched his back and heard it click, snarling an obscenity under his breath. He looked at at his hands, seeing groove marks from the metal supports on his palms.

"Your covered in dust bunnies." Pinkie Pie made him jump as she sidled over, investigating the swear word.

"Ugh..." Somber realised she was right. His nose itched and he sneezed.

"Excuse you!" Pinkie Pie chirped, before bounding back to Rainbow Dash's side.

Cherilee arrived with the school doctor, who checked Rainbow Dash over and deduced it was a nasty bruise and sprain, and luckily not broken. He bandaged her up and asked her friends to help her hobble to the doctors office so he could fill out a report.

"Thanks prof.." Rainbow Dash said to Somber as she passed. She'd always thought him weird, a total grouch. But since he'd helped free her, she had respect for him. He nodded in response, and she hobbled away with Fluttershy and Pinkie Pie's help!

Soon as he could, Somber hurried away, anxious to locate Discord. But his phone went direct to voice mail, so it took all the patience Somber HAD to wait until the days end.

It’d found him.

The thing had hidden in the dark, using as little magic as possible, and watched the dark haired creature freeing the rainbow one it'd drawn its all important energy from. She'd been a rich host, supplying a power that felt strangely familiar...

But the black haired one with the red eyes. He was the owner of the magic that'd killed its fellow prisoner. It could detect it, a faint red aura radiating from the humans chest as he struggled to free the girl.

Once it dealt with HIM, the other one was next.

Somber finally managed to catch up to Discord at the days end. He told him what had happened as he gave Discord a lift home.

"Crap." Discord groaned. Somber nodded, hands gripping the wheel tightly as he drove.

"How many are there?" he asked.

"Three." Discord rubbed his face and sighed.

"It attacked that Rainbow Dash girl," Somber watched the first spattering of rain cover his wind shield "First the shy girl, now this one."

"Two students have been attacked. Maybe it's coincidence, but back home, those girls had powerful magical elements. Maybe they have special talents here too?" Discord mused.

"Maybe." Somber was too worried to think too much about the girls involvement, he was more concerned with tracking this new threat before the thing found THEM!

But they couldn’t think of any further clues, so they fell silent, each lost in their own world as the car came to a halt in the driveway of Discord's house.

Discord got out of the car, coming around to the drivers side window as Somber rolled it down.

"You’re welcome to stay you know.." Discord chuckled, eyes sparking with mischief. Sombra flushed, reminded of how close they’d slipped.

"I have to get home, all my papers are there and I’m behind as it is.." he said reluctantly. Discord nodded, looking a bit disappointed. So he settled for leaning through the window to kiss Somber goodbye. Quite a few kisses, committing the sweet taste of Somber's kiss to memory until he next got him alone. He finally let the flushed professor go, watching as he drove away into the night.

The side of Somber that wanted to finally experience something other than monotony and a near emotionless daily life raged at him for walking away from the affection being shown to him.

--I...I don't know...-- Somber thought at last, sighing sadly.

Somber duly did try to do as much paperwork as he could, before getting dressed for bed and falling fast asleep.

There was a fuzzy sound, boring into his dreams, dragging him awake. Somber groaned, and reached out to swat at the phone. The thing wasn't on silent, so why was it buzzing- wait, buzzing?!

He sat bolt upright, staring at the buzzing device. It was the phone's warning system again. Heart in his mouth, he practically leapt out of bed, pulling on shoes and his coat. He stuffed the phone in his pocket, grabbed the sword chain, and bolted for the hallway, literally vaulting down the steps-

He stopped dead. There was a THING standing there.

It had three heads, each one uglier then the last. It was big, but semitransparent. Its heads brushed the ceiling, glowing eyes fixed on him. Behind it, the door was undamaged. Open, but unbroken..

--Magic...of course...-- Somber gripped the sword necklace tightly as he glanced around him, before making a dive for the living quarters. The furniture was still pushed back from his fencing practise the night before. He'd have room to fight here...

He tried to use the phone to send a warning. Discord had programmed it with an SOS button. Barely had he hit the switch, something red hot seared across the screen, melting it in a flash. Sombra cried out and dropped it to the carpet. The thing lay unnoticed, flickering faintly as Somber backed up.

"You...killed one of ours.." the first head hissed, its sinister presence filling the room. Somber backed up even more, gripping the necklace, willing it-

"NO!" the other head hissed. Its head darted down, teeth sinking into Somber's shoulder even as he tried to dodge. The baggy material of the nightshirt prevented it from getting too good a grip however.

With a yell, Somber pushed the sword to appear, and managed a wide swipe at the things face. He seen one of its eyes get punctured by the sword tip, felt it release him with a scream of fury.

"Burn!" the third head hissed, and it was a desperate dive that saved Somber from being flambé as he dove behind the couch. The terrifying crackle of flames made him panic. The room was on fire!

"Peek a boo!" one of the three heads appeared over the top of the couch. Sombra yelled, pelting away from it again. But another gout of flames shot over his head and landed between him and the door.

He backed up, turning to face the thing. Thinking about it, it resembled a hydra from ancient legends. From what Discord had described, hydras existed in Equestria, known for their tempers.

One swung its head low, hitting him in the gut. He hit the floor, stopping just short of the growing ring of flames. The air was getting smoggy, he couldn't breathe. With the focus broken, the sword shrunk back to a necklace again.

"Time to die little wretch.." the hydra-phantom cackled as it loomed over him.

Somber gripped the necklace in his hands, looking up at the thing. The heat was making him so tired, but he had an idea. As it lunged all three heads down towards him, he ran AT it instead. He plunged his hand, still gripping the necklace, into the centre of its chest. A red light flashed out, making the hydra screech and stagger back.

Somber was knocked back several feet, feeling the necklace burning into his palm. Raising his head he seen the thing looked angry, the burst eye trickling an icky substance down that particular head.

"I'll see you perish yet!" it snarled, before turning into a blur of darkness and slipping out amidst the flames.

Somber ducked as the window exploded from the heat. he had to get out-!

He bolted for the window, stopping only to grab his bag from the side table, stuffing the photo frame into the outer pocket, then using its weight to knock the glass out. Mercifully this was the ground floor, so there was no danger of bone-breaking force being incurred from the ground below. He huddled on the damp grass, coughing and retching, lungs aching.

Sirens filled the air and he blacked out...

When he came to, he was in hospital, a mask over his moth and nose. Breathing felt easier, but his throat ached.

He heard a muffled snore, and cautiously turned his head. He felt about to pass out from relief when he seen who it was. Discord, slouched in the chair, arms folded over his stomach, looking dishevelled.

He coughed, trying to get his voice to work, but he was too thirsty.

So he settled for moving as much as his stiff, aching body would allow, grasping at Discord's sleeve and tugging it.

"Huh? What? No I didn't abduct that pineapple-" Discord snapped out of whatever fuzzy dream he was having and blinked sleepily at Somber. His brain put two and two together and he sat upright, scooting his chair closer to Somber's bedside and peering worriedly at him.

"Can you hear me?" he asked.

Somber nodded, and Discord looked so relieved it made him feel a funny pang in his heart.

Discord gently stroked Somber's cheek. He looked so pale, eyes tired and a hint of something else, fear.

"You’re safe, I promise." Discord assured him.

Somber nodded, then tried to say he was thirsty...

After a few seconds desperate miming, Discord caught on and brought him some water.

Once sat up in bed, Somber asked what'd happened.

"Somber, I don’t know how else to say this," Discord shook his head, normally amused eyes full of sadness "the damage was extensive. By the time they put it out, I’m afraid most of the lower half of the house was lost."

Somber's ears were ringing, and he felt about to be sick. He stared numbly at the wall ahead of him, aware of a warmth around his right hand. The lower floor, his library...

"I’m sorry." Discord murmured, squeezing his hand. Somber didn’t say anything, just looked over at the window instead.

Discord was starting to really worry, until at last Somber squeezed his hand, and the raven-haired man looked back at him at last.

"Everything? T-the books..?" he said shakily.

"I think a few survived," Discord sighed "I had them take whatever survived back to my house. I traced the phones signal, got there at the same time as the fire department."

He reached up and brushed strands of hair out of Somber's dark red eyes.

"I'm just glad you're alive." He said at last. Somber nodded numbly, still gripping his hand.

He didn’t say much after that, and Discord was concerned. Somber drifted asleep for another hour, then woke, startled awake by a bad dream if Discord had to guess.

After that, Somber insisted he be discharged soon as was legally possible. Before that could happen, the police wanted to talk to him.

Somber told them he'd seen an intruder wearing dark clothing in his house, who'd tried to kill him. Trauma and smoke inhalation went a long way towards fudging the details. When the police left, they seemed satisfied it'd been a bungled home invasion turned to arson.

Discord hailed a cab, and took the insistent Somber back to his house, as the professors was still under investigation.

"Somber." he said softly as they stepped in the front door.

Somber didn't speak, just stood there. He wandered on autopilot until he reached Discord's lab room...

"The report said there was no sign of accelerant, they think the "Invader" used a home-made weapon, perhaps rigged from a lighter-"

"Hydra." Somber croaked.

"What?" Discord asked, walking round to face him. Somber blinked up at him.

"It looked like a hydra." he stammered.

"Somber." It scared Discord a little to see him so distant. He reached a hand out to him...

"I-I’m tired." Somber ducked his out-held hand.

Discord nodded, leading him upstairs to his bedroom, where he made sure Somber was comfortable, staying by the bedside until the poor man fell asleep.

"I’m sorry." he whispered, before leaving the room and heading downstairs.

Author's Notes:

I swear i just did the loudest belch ever....dangit fizzy drinks, stop distracting me!