The next day Somber was back to work. He'd had enough rest at the hospital, and in the previous days. He was bored rigid, and had begged to be allowed to go back to work. Celestia had agreed, adding if he felt unwell he was to come to her or Luna. As one of Canterlot High's teachers, she was concerned for his well-being and so on, Somber got the gist of it, and thanked her for her concern.

"See you later.." Discord smiled as they got out of the car and walked towards the school. Somber nodded, and they went their separate ways. Discord had given him a new phone, identical to his old one...

Somber noticed all the students seemed even more amped up then usual as he walked the halls. He recalled Cinch's visit, and realised the "friendship games" started soon. All over the school posters were displaying the types of events, and lists were up for those who wanted to join different teams.

The teachers he met along the way asked how he was doing, offering sympathy for what’d happened. Somber found their kindness didn’t grate at him like it once had, and he actually thanked them for asking, managing to sound a lot less gruff then he usually did.

His class were lined up outside his classroom, with Rainbow Dash kicking her ball from foot to foot. He told her to put it away and she groaned, but did as she was told.

Then she realised who it was, and did a double take.

"Yer back, Professor!" Applejack greeted him "we weren't expectin' ya."

"Well, the hospital cleared me days ago, I was tired of sitting around." Somber said absently as he held the door open for the kids to file in. The class had heard from the trio Somber had caught sneaking around the burnt house, that their history teacher had been the victim of a bungled burglary. It explained why he'd suddenly vanished, being replaced by a substitute teacher for the last few days.

As he was taking the register, he noticed many kids reading the flyers about the games, seen Rainbow Dash poring over a book on soccer.

"Don’t tell me," Somber remarked as the last kid confirmed their attendance "your heads are full of nothing but these "games"?"

"Yep!" Pinkie waved from the back of the class where she liked to hide so she could rummage in her bag for party supplies and sweets without being seen as easily. “There so many awesome events and-”

Somber rolled his eyes "Yes, I’m familiar with the set-up."

"Do you remember it from when you were at Crystal Prep?" Rainbow Dash asked curiously. The whole class stared first at her, then Somber, who'd gone silent.

Whispers raced around the class. Somber had taught at Crystal Prep?

"That was a long time ago, I left when the school came under new management." Somber said, sounding flustered for a moment.

"You mean that snooty lady we seen talking to Principal Celestia?" Pinkie piped up. Somber just barely suppressed a snort of laughter, instead shifting it into a cough and looking sternly at Pinkie Pie.

"That's no way to talk about a teacher miss Pie, might I remind you we have a duty to show this school has a sense of decorum."

"Is that like that stuff you spray on your underarms?" Pinkie frowned.

"That's deodorant, darling." Rarity shook her head.

"Oh.." Pinkie grinned sheepishly at Somber "okie-dokie-lokie professor!"

Somber sighed, Pinkie was an oddball. She was clever, scoring pretty good on his classes so far, but boy was she absent minded. She'd pull out shebert sticks instead of pencils, and stash her homework in with her supply of balloons and whatnots.

Later on, as his students were absorbed in their test papers, his phone buzzed. For a moment, his stomach tensed, until he recalled he'd set it on silent for messages and calls also. The buzz turned to be from Discord.

[ Thinking of you. That's as far as I’m saying, I don't think id fit it all in this message =D ]

Somber face-palmed on instinct as this message sunk in.

[ Concentrate on your class you dolt! ] he reprimanded him, before locking the phone.

Pinkie finished the question she'd been working on, and looked up from her paper in time to see Somber read his phone screen, and face-palm. Seeing the smartly-dressed, formerly strict and old-fashioned Somber doing such a thing made her want to giggle, especially the look he gave the phone. Whoever sent that message was important, in a good way. She could tell from the barest flicker of a smile that crossed the teachers face.

Pinkie liked to think she was an expert of smiles!

A few minutes later, Somber felt the phone buzz softly by his hand. He rolled his eyes and picked it up, intending to switch it off. Discord's descriptions of what he was daydreaming were hardly appropriate- then eh seen the app on the screen. his stomach sank, this wasn’t good! It was Discord's early warning app.

He stared in shock, hoping he was imagining things-

FWOOMPF.

There was an explosion outside the window. Everybody in class piled up against the windows, faces pressed to the glass within seconds. A shed used to store the groundskeepers tools was up in flames, smoke rising thickly.

"Get back to your desks!" Somber ordered as he strode over. He seen the raging flames and felt a familiar rush across his skin. He clenched his hands tightly, pushing the sensation away.

He felt a familiar burning sensation against his chest and pulled the sword necklace free. The thing was glowing faintly, then it faded. He stuffed it back in his shirt, grateful the students were still rubbernecking and hadn't noticed him.

He seen something darting away, vanishing into the trees, and the sensation faded. He needed to talk to Discord.

"Get back to your desks!" He ordered once more, ignoring their groans. Another glance outside showed Lightshield and several others with fire extinguishers, and someone else on the phone, no doubt calling the fire service.

"I have to make a phone call, all of you get back to your work. Or if that fails, let that cavalcade of nonsense Miss Pie has in her bag amuse you!" he'd gone off on that tangent on seeing Pinkie dump her bag on the desk, streamers spilling out.

He grabbed the phone and ran out the door, hearing it click shut behind him.

"Is it me...?" Rainbow Dash asked in the hubbub that followed "or is he acting weird since he came back?"

"He seems a tad fidgety, but he's had a rough time, I’m sure he'll be back ta normal soon." Applejack shrugged.

"Party!" Pinkie Pie threw confetti in the air, and Rarity sighed, picking bits out of her hair.

Soon as he found an empty hall, Somber rang Discord.

"Hello hands-"

"Not now, we have a problem!" somber blurted.

"Yes, I heard the explosion, my phone did pick up, but didn't show exactly where it was. Felt it however, very disturbing."

"It was the sports shed, just outside my classroom window."

"Hmm...This things really gunning for you..."

"When it attacked the house," Somber sighed, made himself calm down a little "It seemed to want revenge for the destruction of the other one. That and I stabbed it in one of its eyes."

"That’s generally enough to make a crazy thing mad." Discord agreed "can you sense it? Did you-?"

"I got that same feeling, yes..." Somber shook his head uneasily.

"Alright, stay calm. Can you sense it now?"

"No, it disappeared not long after." Somber shook his head.

On the other end of the phone, Discord frowned, tapping a pen against his desk.

"Once classes are over, we'll drive around, see if we can ferret it out." He said at last.

"Alright, I’ll see you then." Somber was abotu to hang up when Discord added;

"Take care, Somber." there was so much said in three words, it made Somber pause, and smile softly.

"Of course." he said in response, before cutting the call. He caught sight of his reflection in the display case across from him, and seen he was smiling in a way he hadn’t seen himself do in a long time. He shook his head, telling himself to get a grip.

--Seriously Discord, what did you do to me?-- he sighed, shaking his head in mild despair.

The rest of that day passed fairly uneventfully, although Somber found it hard to concentrate. He met Discord at lunch, but with the room being full, they had no privacy to discuss the hunting of the shadows, so they ended up not saying a whole lot.

Somber stared out the window as the shops rushed by, drumming his hands on the steering wheel.

"Anything?" he asked. Discord shook his head. Somber sighed, looking down at the fuel gauge.

"Well, time to stop off..." he pulled into the nearest service station. Discord wandered into the shop to get something to drink while Somber held a staring contest with the fuel pump. He found himself humming the anthem for Crystal Prep, and stopped a few seconds later. He didn’t want to think about his old school any more. Seeing Cinch had been traumatic enough. As well as that obviously unhappy student, what had she said her name was? Twilight something?

He went into the convenience shop to pay the bill, and found Discord waiting, a bag held idly in one hand.

"Out of curiosity.." Somber asked as they headed across to the car "in your world, was there a girl named Twilight something?"

"Twilight Sparkle?" Discord finished.

Somber nodded "that’s the one."

"Yeah, she's a Princess, has a big castle in Ponyville. Why do you ask?"

"Well, I ran into a girl by that name during Cinch’s little tour of Canterlot, seems she brought a small platoon of them with her. She bumped into me, seemed interested in the books I was carrying."

"That’s Twilight, always a bookworm.." Discord smiled absently at the memory "So she attends Crystal Prep here?"

"Seems that way," Somber fumble din his pocket for his keys as he thought back to the encounter "but...she seemed utterly miserable. It seems Cinch hasn’t laid off on the students. If this is what she’s doing to the shyer, quieter ones..."

"Its a bit troubling, I’ll admit.." Discord shook his head "I don’t know what we can do though."

"I don’t think there is anything. Sanity only knows how to unseat a tyrant like Cinch."

As he reached for the door handle, Somber felt a shiver run up his back. He halted, one hand resting atop the roof of the car.

"Somber-?" Discord looked at him, then both felt the phones buzz in their respective pockets.

"Lets go!"

They piled into the car, Somber drove off as fast as the speed limit allowed, that feeling sending prickles across his skin. He bit his lip, feeling his face flush at how strange the sensation made him feel.

Discord wondered was he OK, then recalled how sensitive Somber was, and realised the magic was messing with him a little. He wished he could do something, but any spells he had required Somber to let go of the wheel with at least one hand, and he'd soon realised cars required their drivers to be very careful.

"You alright? Can we go any faster?" Discord queried. Somber shook his head.

"It's fine, I’m fine. And not unless we want to get arrested!"

"Ah yes, I keep forgetting about this worlds guards, these "police". I dare say they'll get cross and slam us in whatever passes for a dungeon here."

"Its called a jail, but you’re right. We cant afford to set them off." Somber felt the sensation begin to fade and sighed in relief, then realised that meant they were losing the thing and took a guess at which junction to take, feeling the sensation intensify as they drove.

"I think," he guessed "that its just recently fed, however it does that. It feels more...noticeable."

They were deep in the industrial area, just bordering the west side of Canterlot. here it was all warehouses and industrial estates selling wholesale goods. Past those, there were some fields, earmarked for further construction. Somber looked around as he pulled the car over by the side of a grassy verge.

"Looks deserted." Discord murmured.

"This used to be a big farm, but recently the owners cashed out and moved to Manhattan." Somber remembered the story in the papers, local businesses had been dealt quite a blow. The biggest farm left was Sweet Apple acres, which was the home of one of his students, Applejack.

"Look!" Discord pointed to an old storage building, made of corrugated steel, somehow still standing even as the rest of the farm seemed to have been left to fall apart. Locking the car, Somber set off through the fields, batting the overgrown grass out of the way.

The phones buzzed again as they got close, and Somber motioned Discord to shut them off, they needed to sneak up on this thing.

They crept in through a broken metal panel. inside, the old building was dusty and humid. also very dark. Somber held his breath, his pulse pounding. they waited as their eyes adjusted to the dark...

"Its here.." Somber whispered.

"Oh that I am, little pest!" a voice hissed. Discord grabbed Somber's sleeve and tugged him forward, sending them both stumbling into the centre of the dusty storage shed. Light filtered in through a few busted panels in the roof, making this area a little easier to see.

Discord stared in shock as a three headed monstrosity stepped out of the shadows. As Somber had described, it was missing an eye, and it looked PISSED. It’d gotten much bigger, Somber noted to his horror. When it'd attacked him, it hadn’t towered over him by much, maybe a few feet. Now it was well over two times that, if not more.

"I'll rip these weak bodies of yours apart, and roast your world." it grinned on all three heads as it regarded the two. Then it zeroed in on Somber, snarling furiously.

"And you, oh how I’ll make YOU suffer, wretch. You'll wish id killed you that first night. You have power, raw power, but you’re too weak and short-sighted to realise it!"

Somber moved a hand up to the necklace, feeling it burning his skin.

With a blur of movement, it lunged, forcing the two to scatter in opposite directions. Somber felt the swords reassuring weight as it materialised in its full form. The blade gleamed a soft red, and he felt the power thrumming through him.

He dodged again as one head snapped at him, hearing the snap of its teeth as it missed. Spotting a ladder he all but jumped up it, scrabbling for purchase as he reached the final rung. The temperature was already getting hotter, and he wiped sweat from his eyes and looked around. There!

Somber ran for the pulley as he sensed the thing breathing down his neck. Still suspended in a worn net was some metal scrap, abandoned when the farms owners had left. he lunged for the rope, slamming the blade into it. the rope snapped clean, sending the net and its sharp pointy cargo shearing downwards onto the things main body. The heads retracted, screaming in rage. Looking down Somber seen a dark oily blood leaking from its sides, like oil in water.

--So, you can be hurt!-- he thought triumphantly.

But his triumph was cut short as he heard a cry of pain from below. He stopped in his tracks, concern stabbing his gut. He seen Discord, unconscious, slumped by the end of the far wall. The Hydra was stamping over towards him, and Somber knew he couldn’t let him get hurt.

"Hey, you want a fight you piece of trash?!" He yelled, clutching the sword tightly in his right hand. It stopped, the heads turning to fix on him.

"Lets kill him.." one head whispered.

"Yes, a tasty meal before we kill this troublemaker." leaving Discord, the Hydra charged towards Somber. He ducked and ran along the dented platform serving as a second floor of sorts. With a resounding clang, a clawed paw short out and impacted the metal sheeting ahead of him. He skidded to a halt, attempting to backtrack, but the other arm soon prevented his escape. He backed up, feeling the metal pressing into his back as he confronted all three heads.

"I’m going to tear yours eyes out, seems only fair.." the one-eyed hydra head smirked, teeth glittering "then you'll never see your precious mate again. but rest assured we'll eat him too. You can sit and listen!"

They cackled together as they detailed their revenge on this creature. To their eyes he shone brightly, bearing the element of hope, their jailer in that infernal prison!

Somber's mind did register it was referring to Discord, although the terminology was a bit off.

"Yesss, we can smell him on you. You creatures are so primal, always showing off to attract a better mate."

"You really have no idea, do you?" Somber spat.

"Your world is food for us," The middle head laughed "why should we care?"

"Because.." Somber glared "this world is protected!"

"By two pathetic roaches? Hardly a threat!" One of the paws moved swiftly, and Somber felt the air being driven from his lungs as the claw pinned him in place. The sword dropped to the flooring, shifting back into the necklace form. The hydra somehow scooped it up with the other paw, staring at the necklace.

"So, what now, wretch? You’re powerless!"

Somber closed his eyes, he could feel the link to Elpis, feel it crying out to him, to reunite them.

This monsters little comment about him having raw power flitted through his mind as it cackled, the one missing an eye leaning in closer, sharp fangs extended towards Somber's face.

--Please...I don't want to die..-- he begged, and another thought --this thing took away my home, nearly killed me, and he hurt Discord. This thing has to be STOPPED!--

The head preparing to torture the pathetic little human it was pinning in place, suddenly stopped as it felt a burning sensation in its paw. All three heads turned to look at the paw holding Elpis. It was shining brightly.

As they watched, a beam of red light lanced out, shades of purple and green bubbling around it. It shot towards their captive, hitting his heart. Bright light obliterated him from their sight, and the force of the light left them no choice but to let go of their prey. In the commotion they let go of Elpis, and it flew back to its bearer.

The light faded, and Somber stood tall, sword gripped in his hands. But it'd changed, carved markings running along the blade now. His eyes, once a deep red, now shone with a pale green light.

"You.." Somber glared at the hydra, which was looking more uncertain now.

"What..?" it hissed in unison, how had this thing changed?

Somber ran froward, leaping off the walkway, sword slicing at its middle head. A gaping tear opened across its face, and Somber hit the stone ground, smirking as it stumbled back. he shut his eyes, revelling in finally having the power to take this thing apart.

He sensed it preparing to blast him with its fire, and even as the flame raced towards him, he didn’t move. Then he abruptly swung the sword up, knocking the ball of flame aside where it hit upon a dusty pile of wooden pallets and set them ablaze.

It quickly spread, but the flames weren’t the same. When they touched Somber's sword, they’d absorbed some of HIS power. So now they began to slowly shift towards green at their edges. Wary, the Hydra hissed, backing up.

Somber lunged for it once more, the sword aimed at its barrel of a body. It decided this was too risky, and all three heads nodded in unison before compacting into a snake-like form, and darting away, breaking heat-seared panels away as it escaped. Somber lunged after it, but a coil of black vine wound around his body, catching him in place. Rapidly the vine divided into more, wrapping around his arms, pinning them to his sides, trying to pull the sword from his grasp.

"Coward!" Somber laughed, yet furious at having his long deserved revenge taken from him.

Then a voice pierced the haze. Around him the flames were suddenly doused by another's magic, the air smelling of smoke.

"Somber....?"

Discord stared in shock as he regained consciousness in time to see the explosion of light. He watched as his previously docile Somber became a thing of fury and vengeance, striking the creature a painful blow.

It retreated, not wanting to risk what it had against this altered opponent. Somber yelled something, fury and elation warring in his voice. Discord looked from the green-tinted fire to the faint gleam in Somber's eyes, and was both dumbstruck and worried.

This was another similarity between this Somber and the equestrian Sombra. Their magic. What Somber was showing now bore a strange resemblance to dark magic from his world. Although he still sensed a purity within it, Elpis light. The light Somber was losing after all he'd endured..

He spoke his lovers name and the man he'd spent a glorious night in bed with, slowly turned that gaze on HIM, frowning.

"Why did you stop me?" he asked, sounding hurt.

"You’re advancing too fast my dear Somber..." Discord said softly "That thing was right, you DO have a talent for magic here. But right now you’re in danger!"

He could sense Somber's power simmering beneath a thin veneer of

"From what? Having my revenge on the thing that took my home, my library?!" Somber's furious vice echoed off the walls, the bitterness and sadness over his loss finally bubbling up. Discord understood now, this was what he'd attempted to get out of Somber the night before on the couch. But Somber hadn’t been able to face it, Discord had seen the pain in his eyes, so he'd let it go. Now that was no longer an option.

"Your in danger from YOURSELF." Discord said sharply. Somber stared at him, something creeping into his eyes. regret. Discord pressed it, hating to hurt him, but it was the only way.

"Right now you feel powerful, but if you let that anger overwhelm you, you'll lose what makes you so special. What Elpis came to you for."

"And what’s THAT?!" Somber yelled, a hint of desperation in his voice.

"Your strength, your decency. That strength that got you this far. Not anger, not this. This isn’t who you are, Somber."

Somber refused to meet his gaze, torn between the anger still stewing inside and the realisation his partner was right.

"Trust me, please..." Discord pleaded as he reached up and brushed a hand over Somber's cheek. Somber made a frantic sound, on the verge of giving in to Discord, but one thing remained.

"It took everything from me...why shouldn’t I rip it to pieces?" he whispered.

"We will stop it, but blind fury and vengeance will take you down with them. And I’ll be damned if I’m going to lose you Somber." Discord said fiercely.

Somber stared at him, hearing the passion in Discord's tone, seeing the way he looked at him. something in his eyes sent a warm flush of heat through Somber's body. He bit his lip, recognising the familiar sensation...

"That it.." Discord stepped even closer and kissed him, his hand moving to the base of Somber's neck. He heard Somber utter a soft moan as he continued to kiss him, and hoped this would be enough to break the hold Somber's magic-infused fury held over him. He kissed Somber's neck, whispering;

"You trusted me to make love to you that night, trust me again, now..."

Somber seemed to hesitate, then a lot of the tension seemed to leave his body.

"Discord...?" When Somber spoke next, his voice sounded like it used to. Looking into his eyes, Discord seen they were back to their usual deep red. No trace of the anger that’d filled them minutes ago...

There was a clatter as the sword was let go from Somber's grip.

"Good man..." Discord whispered, kissing him lightly. He seen Somber looking on the verge of crying, and frowned worriedly.

Somber fought to keep the feelings from overwhelming him, and was surprised by Discord wrapping his arms around him, letting Somber rest his head on his shoulder. He was in too much shock to clock on he was tied up, the vines hold wasn’t painful.

"Its alright.." Discord promised "just let it all out, then it wont hurt so much..."

Somber hiccuped, and Discord felt him shiver, then the damn broke. The stress, fear and fading adrenaline all combined together, fighting for escape. Emotions held in place since the night of the fire, only eased by the kindness his lover had given him, ran rampant now.

The desperate, lost cries his dear Somber made were gut-wrenching, but at least he was finally acknowledging what he'd endured. It still worried Discord to listen to the cries of grief and loss nonetheless.

He didn’t say anything, what could he tell him? So he just settle for gently rubbing his back, the spots where the vines didn’t cover anyway. Somber didn’t seem to notice his restraint, he seemed content wrapped in Discord's arms.

Eventually, Somber's hiccups slowed, and he sniffled. Discord brushed away any lingering tears, using the cuff of his shirt to dry them.

"Better?" He asked. Somber nodded mutely. He felt so foolish..

"Hay, no.." Discord poked his nose gently "you've nothing to feel guilty about, Somber."

"Not even going crazy?" Somber asked, face flushed. Discord chuckled.

"Not even that, it's over now." he assured him.

Somber nodded, then something sunk in "Ah, w-what's with this?" He looked down at the vines currently restraining him "I didn’t think THIS was your thing.."

Discord chuckled "I'm sorry about this. I had to stop you from chasing that thing, and the plunder vines were the first thing I thought of!"

"Plunder?" Somber blushed hotly "any reason you named them that?"

"I swear I’m rubbing off on you, that's quite the innuendo!" Discord chuckled "no, it's nothing sexual, they just ran rampant, caused some mess awhile back.."

"I see." Somber blushed, he felt weird, a mix of the after-effect of the adrenaline and something else.

Discord studied his flustered captive.

"Ah, I think I see what’s happened.." he murmured "your magic has, shall we say "awoken". Quite an exhilarating feeling, no?"

Somber squirmed "I’m not sure that’s the word I’m looking for. C-can you get me out of this?"

Discord kissed him, one hand straying to Somber's waist, and he smirked as his theory was confirmed…