"You two can't be serious, right?" Anon asked, crossing his arms as he leaned against the doorway of his shared bedroom.

"We are, Nonny." Discord is probably the best one to handle this." Luna replied, looking over her wither.

"But like... why though?" Anon pressed, pushing himself off the door frame and walking toward his wives.

"Because he unfortunately possesses a great deal of magical power that would make it impossible for Tirek to overpower him. Also Discord being in danger is better than anypony else being in danger, if we're being honest here." Celestia explained, just as she finished writing a letter and sending it off with a spell.

"I mean, I get that. I do. It's just that... I mean, can you trust him? Like, at all?" Anon questioned.

"I'll admit, for once I am inclined to agree with Anon's judgement here. Discord is still not somepony we can trust with something this serious." Raven interjected, walking up beside Anon.

"A little backhanded but I'll take it," Anon nodded, "Do you even know where he is right now? The last time you guys saw him was right after Twilight 'reformed' him." He questioned, with air quotes.

"That's precisely why I've just sent him a letter," Celestia replied, "He should be here soon."

"Oh great. Everyone get ready for raining chocolate milk and a bunch of other bullshit that nobody wants to deal with." Anon rolled his eyes.

Celestia sighed, "While I admit that he is most definitely not a creature I particularly enjoy dealing with, he is the only one that can fight Tirek without any risk of injury. I don't want to put Twilight or anypony else in unnecessary danger when we don't have to." She offered.

Before Anon could make a rebuttal, there was a knock at the door. He turned around and eyed it with suspicion, as if he expected something chaotic to burst forth from it at any moment.

"Think that's him?" Anon asked, cautiously.

"Doubtful. Discord has no use for ordinary doors, and he never bothers knocking before showing up somewhere." Luna answered.

"Come in!" Celestia called.

With that, the door opened, revealing Cadence, Shining Armor, Javelin, and Chrysalis. They all funneled into the large bedchambers of the alicorns and their husband, before spreading out. There was a noticeable distance between Shining Armor and Chrysalis, but neither said anything about it, even though it was painfully obvious that the stallion didn't want to be anywhere near her.

"The crystal guard is securing the borders of the Empire, and if there's any sight of Tirek up north, we'll know. We have the four hundred and thirty second Calvary division en route now. They should be arriving some time tomorrow." Cadence briefed, professionally.

"I'll be meeting with Valorant after this to go over a strategy of defense for Canterlot, should things go south with Discord." Shining added.

Celestia gave a grateful nod, "Thank you, both of you. Although I feel as though you should give Discord some credit. He may make a mess here and there when he does show up, but he's been remarkably well behaved since Twilight and her friends reformed him."

"I would just feel better if we had some way to make sure he actually, you know, does the thing we want him to go do." Anon shrugged.

"Unless you happen to know any spells powerful enough to control a god of chaos, then I doubt that's going to happen." Raven sighed, in acceptance.

"We could send someone with him?" Anon offered.

"Now just who would you send to babysit moi?" A new voice spoke out, seemingly from all corners of the room at once.

"And there he is." Luna sighed.

A swirling vortex of smoke descended from the ceiling obscuring the form of the chaotic being for a few seconds, sending all loose papers and other light objects flying in the room, before in a flash of light, Discord appeared. The draconequus that stood before them, looked like a clumsy amalgamation of different animals, all sewn together onto a long, snake-like body covered in different types of fur and scales. Large yellow eyes with blood-red irises glanced about the room for several seconds, before settling on Anon.

"Oh, there there, Anon my boy! No need to fret! I've been given an important mission, and I intend to do my absolute best, lest I loose the good graces of my new friends." Discord intoned, his body quickly darting forward and wrapping around Anon like an anaconda.

"Oh God... please don't tell me that's what I think it is, rubbing against my lower back..." Anon squeamishly muttered, trying to break free from the confines of Discord's form.

"Discord, release my husband. Now." Celestia ordered, her tone leaving little room for argument.

With a flippant sigh, Discord snapped his fingers, and disappeared with a flash. He almost instantly reappeared with a similar pop and flash, hanging upside-down from the chandelier while holding a cup of tea in his claws. Said cup was also upside-down, but nothing spilled from it, even though there was clearly steaming liquid inside. He idly sipped from his tea, draining not the liquid itself, but rather the cup it sat in, until there was only cup-shaped brown liquid being held in his claw. Smacking his lips in satisfaction, he tossed the liquid out the open window to the ground below, where it promptly exploded.

Anon simply stared in slack-jawed bewilderment at the draconequus's actions, but he was soon snapped from his confusion as Celestia spoke again.

"Are you done?" She asked, clearly getting irritated.

"Oh, fine, fine. I was just trying to lighten the mood a little. You're all acting as if Tirek will be the end of the world." Discord huffed, snapping his fingers and turning into a liquid version of himself.

He quickly formed a puddle on the floor before reforming and resolidifying into his normal shape, much to Anon's continued confusion.

"Tirek will be the end of the world as we know it if he isn't stopped. He almost destroyed Eques once before and that was before the elements of Harmony were sealed away into that tree." Chrysalis spoke up, prompting a confused look from Discord.

Said draconequus quickly leaned over to Celestia, "How does she know about Tirek? Or the elements?" He asked, not quietly at all.

Chrysalis rolled her eyes, "Why are you surprised? It's not like I'm unaware of literally everything that happened before I was hatched. Also, did you forget that I have been living here for the past couple weeks, sharing information?" She indignantly replied.

Discord shrugged, "Eh, I just figured he was a bit before your time. Also I'm surprised they trusted you that much."

Chrysalis maintained a deadpan scowl aimed at the draconequus while he simply maintained his shrugging posture.

"Let's get back on track, Discord." Celestia announced.

"Oh, right. Yes, yes. You need me to go stop Tirek. I will do this, of course, as any good friend would." Discord enthusiastically replied, as he deeply bowed to the solar alicorn.

Everyone in the room raised an eyebrow at Discord, making him huff in annoyance.

"What? Why does that get that look from all of you?" He questioned.

"Oh... no reason." Anon lied.

Flippantly sighing to himself, Discord rolled his eyes and snapped his fingers. A doorknob appeared beside him, and after he quickly grabbed and twisted it, a door materialized that lead into a bright white light that nobody could see into.

"Very well then. I have some things to attend to, but as soon as they're done, I will go and deal with this Tirek situation. I should be back within a couple days." Discord announced.

"Do be careful, Discord. We would all prefer it if you were able to handle things with Tirek as peacefully as possible." Celestia instructed.

"Yes, yes. I'll try not to make a mess of things. Cheerio!" Discord called as he stepped through the door, slamming it shut behind him.

With the God of Chaos now gone, the atmosphere of the room relaxed considerably.

"I guess... I'll go meet up with Valorant now, then." Shining spoke up, turning to leave.

"Alright, we'll see you later then, honey." Cadence said, giving him a quick kiss before he left.

"Well, that went better than I expected it to, at least." Celestia acknowledged.

"Still feel like we're putting too much trust in that guy. Causing mayhem and chaos is literally his thing. Probably the most chaotic thing he could do would be to stab us in the back." Anon noted, shaking his head.

"After that little chat, I am somewhat inclined to agree with Anon." Luna replied.

"You think somepony should go with him to make sure he doesn't do anything we wouldn't want him to?" Celestia asked.

Luna and Anon both nodded, "Or at the very least, let us know before it's too late if he does stab us in the back." Anon shrugged.

Celestia sighed, "I think it speaks volumes about us as a whole, if we show we are willing to forgive and trust those that have wronged us in the past, don't you?" She asked, subtly glancing over to Chrysalis.

Feeling as though the response was directed entirely at her, Chrysalis frowned slightly. Before she could say anything in response, however, Anon shook his head.

"I mean, it's one thing to give someone another chance when they did something wrong, but it's another thing entirely when it's the God of Chaos. Like, fucking up everyone's day is what he lives for. I just want to have at least someone else there to make sure he doesn't fuck us all over." Anon rebutted.

"Who would you want to send to watch him?" Cadence asked, curiously.

"Someone who blends in. Someone that he might not notice at all. Someone who's really, really good at staying out of sight and out of mind." Anon listed, scratching his chin in thought.

All eyes in the room slowly migrated over to Chrysalis, and the increase in attention made her nervously glance over to Anon as he continued to deliberate.

"Hmm... what else, what else? I guess it'd be nice if they could teleport or maybe fly, just so they could get back here sooner," Anon finished, a triumphant look on his face as he glanced over to Cadence, "So, know anyone that fits that bill?"

Cadence's response was simply to look over to Chrysalis. Following her eyes, Anon found the changeling Queen staring at him with a pensive look on her face. All at once, he was hit with the most obvious realization that everypony else in the room figured out as soon as he started talking.

"Wait a minute, Chryssi! You can do all of those things!" Anon exclaimed, enthusiastically grabbing her withers.

"Anon, I don't think Chrysalis wants to be going off on a dangerous mission to ensure Discord doesn't somehow lose or turn to Tirek's side. She wanted to be with her hive." Celestia offered.

Anon pursed his lips in thought while Chrysalis sighed and looked down to the floor, "While that is true, and I do wish to spend more time with my hive now that I have my magic back, Anon is right. Tirek is a threat that even Discord shouldn't take lightly, and my hive won't have much of a home to live in if that monster is able to come back here. It's probably for the best if I go along." She admitted.

"Chrysalis, a-are you sure? You don't have to go if you don't wish to." Celestia responded.

Chrysalis nodded, "I am sure. I'm not thinking of this as me going to ensure Discord doesn't betray us. I'm going in case he needs any help with Tirek. You know, as any good friend would." She smirked.

Anon happily wrapped an arm around her and pulled her into a hug, "Atta girl, Chryssi!" He smiled.

"Thank you, Chrysalis. I can't overstate how much we all appreciate this." Luna added, stepping over to the changeling Queen and wrapping a wing around her wither.

Chrysalis smiled at the affection she was bathed in by the human and alicorn. She glanced over to Celestia just in time for the solar alicorn to join the group hug and nuzzle her cheek against her own chitinous neck. The sudden explosion in affection and love made her blush, and her cheeks turned a shade greener as her wings excitedly buzzed under her elytra.

Standing a bit behind the group, Cadence found a fond smile adorning her face as she watched. Despite her reservations about the changeling Queen, she couldn't help the feeling of warmth and happiness that welled in her heart upon seeing her with her aunts and Anon.

"So, when and where am I going?" Chrysalis asked, breaking the hug, although her blush remained.

"As far as we can tell, Manehatten is where Tirek currently is. We can teleport you there whenever you'd like, but I can't say for sure when Discord will be arriving. He has his own way of doing things but I don't expect him to take more than a few hours to pop over there to find Tirek." Celestia answered.

Chrysalis nodded, "Very well then. Let me speak with my hive for a moment and then I will take you up on that teleportation offer. I may have my magic again, but I'd rather have all of my strength available just in case. Long range teleportation has never been my strong suite." She replied.

"Understandable. Take whatever time you need." Luna smiled.

"You really do look a lot stronger now, since you mentioned it." Anon pointed out.

Chrysalis looked down at her form to find that, much to her own surprise, she did look much stronger than she remembered. The holes were nearly gone in her legs altogether, and there was a healthy layer of meat under her chitin all around her thighs, flanks, barrel, and withers. In fact, she suddenly realized that she couldn't remember feeling hunger at all for days. The praise, combined with her own revelation at her strength returning, made her smile at the human.

"I think I have you to thank for that, for the most part. If it weren't for you, I'd still be on the cusp of starvation." She replied, genuinely.

Anon blushed ever so slightly, "Ah, don't mention it. It's... good to have you on our side. For real."

The two shared a tender look for just a moment, prompting Cadence to squint in confusion at the sight before her. Much as she was surprised by what she was seeing, she was even more surprised by her aunts' reactions to it. Rather than jealousy or anger at their husband for so obviously sharing an intimate moment with somepony outside their marriage, they seemed to be wholly invested in it, and even carried a sense of longing in their eyes that said they only wanted to join in. Why they restrained themselves, she could only guess, but as Chrysalis and Anon finally looked away from each other, Cadence quickly decided she needed to interrogate the human as politely as possible.

"Alright, I should go address my hive. I'll see you all when I'm done and you can teleport me to Manehattan." Chrysalis announced.

"Thank you, Chrysalis. We can't express to you how much we appreciate it." Celestia smiled.

With a grateful nod, Chrysalis took her leave, giving Cadence all the opportunity she needed to walk over to Anon as Celestia and Luna started talking with Raven.

"Excuse me, Anon?" Cadence asked.

"Hmm? What's up, Cadence?" Anon happily replied.

"Can I talk to you for a second?" Cadence asked, "-In private." She hastily clarified.

Anon fixed her with a quizzical look, but simply shrugged, "Alright. Now?"

Cadence nodded, before turning to her aunts, "I'm going to borrow Anon for a second, if that's alright." She announced.

Celestia and Luna nodded, "We have nothing major to discuss at the moment, so feel free." Luna responded.

With a smile of thanks, Cadence swiftly led Anon out of the bedroom and down the hallway. He followed after the cotton-candy colored alicorn for the better part of ten minutes before they arrived at a small balcony overlooking the gardens below. Once they were out and alone, Cadence turned to face him while Anon sat on the railing, his expression as curious as it could be.

"So... what's up? You've never stolen me away for a private talk before." Anon chuckled, good-naturedly.

"I've also never seen you look at Chrysalis like that before, either." Cadence replied, as gently as she could.

Anon's smile quickly fell from his face and he found himself looking anywhere that wasn't the alicorn standing in front of him.

"Before you make assumptions, I'm not trying to police your love life or berate you for your feelings. I just couldn't help but notice up there and I wanted to see if I was just seeing things, or if you actually have developed feelings for her." Cadence asserted.

Anon was quiet for some time. He rolled his tongue in his mouth as he tried to come up with a response, but he swiftly realized that he could not argue Cadence's assessment. Try as he might, he simply found himself unable to refute her claims without blatantly lying to her, a fact which even surprised him.

"I take it from your silence, that I'm right." Cadence pressed.

With a heavy sigh, Anon looked over to Cadence with a sad smile, "I guess I'm just too easy to read. What can I say? She's really not a bad person at all after you get to know her. She did some bad things in the past, but I can't help but feel drawn to her. It's just... I don't know. Feelings are complicated." He snorted in mild amusement.

Contrary to what Anon expected, Cadence's face lit up in excitement, "I'm so relieved to hear that! Anon, this is wonderful news!" She cheered.

Taken aback by her sudden volume, Anon nearly jumped, "Uh, you're taking this way better than I expected you to." He said.

"How could I not be happy about this? I'm the princess of Love! Hearing that Chrysalis of all creatures, has legitimately earned your affections is wonderful news!" Cadence beamed.

Anon let out a small sigh of relief, "Well, I guess that makes sense... still though, it's not like I can do anything about it." He admitted, turning and resting his elbows on the railing as his tone turned to one of melancholy.

Cadence's happy expression immediately vanished, "What? What do you mean?"

Anon sighed, "Well, I've kinda already had a chat with her about my feelings," At Cadence's shocked look, Anon snorted, "She's a changeling, remember? She could read my emotions before I even knew what they meant."

Nodding in realization and agreement, Cadence stepped over to Anon's side, "I see... so you've already talked to her about them... but I'm not sensing a 'she didn't feel the same' from you. Hay, from what I saw, she seemed just as interested in you as you were in her. So... what did you two end up deciding?" She asked.

Anon took a moment to observe the view of the Equestrian landscape below before answering. He watched as the sun shone brightly on the beautiful greenery before him, and even a few pegasai as they fluttered by and rested on nearby clouds. Even with all the beauty before him, his brow remained furrowed in deep thought, his mind reminiscing on the past couple of weeks.

"Well, we both know that it would cause a mountain of issues with all of Canterlot if it got out that I was married to Celestia and Luna, only to turn around and start dating Chrysalis within a month of her showing back up after what happened last year. So... we kinda just agreed to put a pin in it. At least... that's how I understood the conversation." Anon explained.

Cadence slowly nodded, "You agreed to... put a pin in it? Did either of you specify how long you wanted to wait? Or was this more of a... 'maybe one day' kind of thing?" She asked, gently.

Anon dipped his head low enough to rub his temples while he rested his elbows on the railing, "I mean... It was a weird conversation. It's really hard to converse about your feelings when someone can read them all so clearly... it's like..." He trailed off, struggling to find the words.

"You can't lie to her about your feelings." Cadence offered.

Anon frowned, "Well, when you say it like that..."

Cadence chuckled, "I know, I know. As much as ponies don't want to admit it, sometimes, lying about your feelings is part of relationships just as much as telling the truth is. Mind you, I'm only referring to little white lies. Still, you can't hide anything from her. It's more than just not being able to lie, it's that you can't even omit the truth if you don't want to say it. While these are technically good things, I can definitely see why it would be a bit daunting." She explained.

Anon nodded, "I guess so. Still, I don't like phrasing it like that. I try to always be honest with Celly and Lulu, just like they've been ever since..." He trailed off again.

Cadence sympathetically nodded, "I know. That's all in the past though, and you trust them now. I have a pretty good sense of how you function when it comes to your feelings and you aren't the type to keep them bottled up forever. Still though, there are times when they probably drive you up a wall, as with any relationship. That's what I'm kind of getting at."

Anon lifted his head enough to look over to the pink alicorn and raised an eyebrow, "What do you mean?"

Cadence tapped her chin in thought, "Hmm... okay, let me explain it like this. Being able to keep your emotions to yourself is like playing a game of poker and keeping your cards hidden so only you can see them. Are you following me so far?" She asked, receiving a nod in response, "With my aunts, you can keep those cards hidden all you like. There's nothing inherently bad or wrong about that, since like I said earlier, sometimes sharing your emotions and frustrations just leads to more problems than it solves. Chrysalis, on the other hoof, can see right through your cards and knows exactly what you have. So you can try all you like to hide any issues you might have with her or dissatisfactions, but she can immediately see them not just for herself, but also for Celestia or Luna." She explained.

Anon pursed his lips as he took in the love princesses words. He slowly nodded as he digested the information, his face turning pensive as he looked back down to his hands.

"So what should I do then? I mean... even after everything, I've really enjoyed being around her. She's actually pretty damn funny, charming, and even... sexy," Anon sheepishly admitted, "But you're right. If I tried to pursue anything with her... well we'd not only have to deal with the fallout from Canterlot, but how do I even approach Celly and Lulu with that? We're expecting in just over a week. Now isn't the time for this and yet... it's been one of the only things I can think about for the last few days."

After a few seconds of silence, Anon scoffed in mild amusement, "A year ago I was terrified at the concept of even dating two mares at the same time... humans are usually monogamous... now look at me. All strung up on the thought of adding a third mare to my family. Celly and Lulu would probably freak out if I told them how I feel about Chryssi now."

Cadence smiled as she encouragingly put her hoof on Anon's arm, gently squeezing him with the invisible force all ponies seemed to be able to generate with the frogs of their hooves, "Well... I can't say for certain, but I think that my aunts might not be as opposed to the idea as you think they are." She impishly replied.

Anon slowly turned to Cadence, "...Go on..."

Welp, looks like our boy Anon is finally getting Cadence's opinion on his feelings! I wonder what will happen next?

Hope you guys liked that one. It was really tough to get Cadence's dialogue to work here, and I'm still not 100% sure I like it but hopefully you guys do. Anyways, I'll look forward to reading any comments and thoughts you guys are willing to share.

Oh! For anyone interested, I have finally made a discord server! If you want to chat with me, hang out and play games or watch me stream art and such, feel free to join :D

https://discord.gg/zSB8EUuA