Chapter 3: Who was she?

Chapter 3: Who was she?

Umbra shoved past servants, maids, guards, and visitors with an intense fury that caused them to whimper and shake as the Dark Queen approached. Her footsteps echoed through the halls, her presence silencing conversations wherever she went. Umbra hated the silence. Sound would have helped drown out the annoying thoughts swirling in her mind like storm clouds.

What had happened in that room echoed in her mind like thunder. What was she doing? How had she gotten so carried away? She was supposed to be a feared tyrant, one who conquered and enslaved any and all who crossed her path. Not some pleasure whore, entertaining the sick fantasies of the princess of love. By the shadows, how could she ever face Cadence now? How could she look her enemy in the eye? The moment in Cadance's room would hang over both of them forever; imagine if Cadance's lips spilled that secret publicly. No one would ever take Umbra seriously again; they'd see her as nothing but a cheap slut... at least Cadance would be stained with the same brush.

And the words Umbra had said. She wanted to scream, maybe into a pillow like a teenage filly. Why in Equestria had she asked Cadance to call her queen?! This body was a prison, a joke by that accursed demon of chaos, not something to be embraced. With every reflection Umbra passed she flinched in fear; she didn't want to look at her own face. Didn't want to see the alluring dark goddess she had become; she didn't want to like it.

Umbra stormed into her room, slamming the door shut behind her and sealing it with her magic. A rash mistake, she should be keeping her magic hidden, but she couldn't find it in herself to care. At least that was some good to have come out of that meeting; she had at least her original magic back... for as long as it took for Cadance to take it away again. It's not like it would be hard for an alicorn of that power.

Now alone, Umbra sank to her knees before the posts of her bed. She clawed at the top of her knees and buried her face in her thighs, wishing and praying that this humiliating nightmare would be over. That she could just wake up and never have to deal with the consequences of that moment. Perhaps... perhaps it might just be a dream. Perhaps she hadn't demanded that Cadance call her a queen in a dream; perhaps she hadn't indulged in her new sex or her new name; perhaps Cadance wouldn't remember any of this, and Umbra could bury this memory in the back of her mind. Deep, deep in her soul, where she was certain that no pony would ever find it.

But Umbra knew this wasn't a dream, wasn't something she could bury in the back of her mind to never be thought of again. She had to replay the events, and as she did so the questions she had desperately tried to run from started to emerge once again. New questions sprung up, questions that had no root in logic or reason but nevertheless started to take shape. Perhaps Cadance had been lying? Perhaps Umbra was the fool and Cadance the manipulator? Perhaps this was all an elaborate prank to humiliate her once more, and she was now giggling and joking with her husband and perhaps Discord about how she had played Umbra for a fool.

It didn't make sense, as Umbra's logical mind weakly tried to protest to her anxious heart, but Umbra couldn't care about logic right now. Her heart thundered in her chest, and the seeds of doubt began to grow. Perhaps the diary had been planted there? Perhaps to lure Umbra into a false sense of security? A trick, a trap to make her play their perverted games? She wouldn't put it past Discord at least. Wasn't it unbelievable to believe that Cadance, the princess of love, family, devotion, and purity, would willingly debase herself like that? Was she even capable of thoughts that dirty?

Umbra threw her head back. What had she been saying to her before? Why had Umbra indulged Cadance at all? Why didn't she just point and laugh, mocking the princess for being a debased whore? Why had she played the game at all? And why had she suggested she'd be Shining Armor's QUEEN?!

Umbra sunk further. The denial and anger were exhausting, sapping her energy and leaving her with nothing. The adrenaline was leaving her body; she was on the verge of collapse. Was she losing herself? Forgetting the Sombra she used to be, the Sombra she should be? She didn't know; she hated not knowing. She needed to be several steps ahead, not whatever this was!

Umbra couldn't help but think of all the ways Cadance could **** her, all the ways Umbra would be certain to **** Cadance if the roles were reversed. Cadance knew she was a blank flank; even fillies weren't blank flanks. She remembered the howling of the chanting children at the orphanage ringing in her ears, jeering at stupid, childish Sombra, who couldn't get a cutie mark. Who had to be so worthless if he didn't have any special talents? It hurt more than she liked to admit. Seemed petty considering what had just happened.

She tried to climb to her feet but simply ended up throwing herself onto her bed's ruby-red fabrics. They were soft, silky sheets, but they did nothing to comfort Umbra now; she needed... she wasn't sure what she needed right now. All her plans had gone up in smoke, and the worst part was that it was completely her own fault. She'd overreacted and screwed up her control she had over Cadance. Would the alicorn princess be so willing to give up control to Umbra now?

That control... Thinking about it sent Umbra's mind in a new direction. The influence she had over Cadance was so unlike any of the other slaves that she had at the height of her reign over the Crystal Empire. All the dark spells she had experimented with, the mind control helmets, the different corruption spells but none had achieved the same results as a bit of sexual domination in the bedroom. The slaves Umbra had made before had been compliant, yes, but never loyal, never eager like that slut Cadance had been.

Umbra's mind was starting to calm from her panic to calculation. Why was that? There had been no mind control, no magical influence, no dark rituals, nor helmets forged from enchanted crystals. She had simply spoken a few lewd words spoken in an erotic voice, just a shake of her new tits, and a few sexual demands. That was all it took to render a being far beyond her power to her knees. Could she replicate it with other mares? Stallions? Surely not Celestia or Twilight; it had to be a unique case, surely.

She was too tired to think, her calculating mind giving way to an exhausted apathy. How long she would spend in this bed she didn't know. Minutes? Hours? Her mood would shift between moments of restless anger that demanded her to do something, anything! And long periods of lethargy where she would simply stare into the roof of her room as she realized she simply had no clue as to what she could possibly do.

She wondered where Cadance was now. Confessing everything to her husband? Obeying Umbra's instructions to act normal? Perhaps she was concerned about Umbra, the dark queen snorted. Even her thinking would never get as unrealistic as that! Perhaps Cadance and Shining were chuckling to themselves behind closed doors, laughing at how foolish Umbra had been. She clenched the silk sheets, tearing them with her sharp blood-red nails. This was the whole Grogar fiasco all over again.

She grabbed a pillow and screamed into it with all her might. It wouldn’t be enough to end her internal torment, but it was some catharsis at least. At least it would be if she weren't then interrupted by a sinister chuckle. A chuckle that Umbra had grown all too familiar with recently. "You..." She snarled, her head whipping in every direction.

"Me. Oh, I'm so glad you noticed."

"Discord..."

"Yes indeed, thank you so much for reminding me. Minor things like names can be so tedious to remember; you seem to be forgetting yours these days." A chest in the corner that Umbra hadn't realized hadn't been there this morning grew a pair of yellow and red eyes. Then an eagle claw burst out of its side, rummaged into its own contents, and pulled out an all too familiar Lord of Chaos. "Thankfully I happen to remember that I am indeed Discord!"

"Here to rub it in?" She barked, eyes narrowed like daggers, but Discord only smiled.

"Rub it in? Truthfully, I hadn't considered the idea, but now that you mention it. BWHAAAAAHAHA!" He threw his head back in uproarious laughter and pointed a mocking bear paw at the fallen queen. Several camera flashes appeared around her, pictures taken by alternate Discords that also joined the main one in laughing at her humiliation. Umbra didn't give them the dignity of responding, but she dug into the sheets with her hands ever tighter and clenched her teeth enough that she was sure she was filing them away.

Yet eventually Discord had had his fun, laughed himself half to ****, and was soon able to bring himself back together and calm down. "But don't worry, dear old friend; I'm not here to laugh at you. Well, at least I wasn't originally planning to, but you made it so easy." Discord said, his smile infuriatingly wide, and Umbra was so **** to punch him in the face. "I wanted to talk to you about your little affair with the princess of love."

Umbra's blood froze. Had he been watching? Disguised as the door? The rug? The cabinet perhaps? "H-how much did you see?"

"Everything, of course; I even videotaped it." He said, brandishing a recording camera in his eagle claw. "I mean, you did say you wanted somepony to take a recording of the moment. Of Cadance's ever-so-lovely face, something to share with your children and grandchildren, I suspect."

Discord's eagle talon trailed down the side of the camera like he was caressing a family picture frame, with Umbra simply fuming. She knew she was beaten and outmaneuvered; it was everything she had feared. Cadance and Shining Armor might have been merciful, but she knew that Discord wouldn’t be. “What do you want?”

"Oh, so many things. You know I’ve always wanted to turn Ponyville into a racetrack or go to the moon and create a theme park on it. I was thinking Nightmare Nemesis for a name; I’m sure our dear friend Luna would just adore a theme park devoted to her emo phase. Or perhaps I could take all of Twilight’s books and turn them into DVDs of late-night television. I’m sure the princess of books would love that!” Discord started laughing again, wiping tears from her eyes.

“I MEAN, WHAT DO YOU WANT TO DO TO ME?!” Umbra snarled, throwing herself to her feet and storming over to the irritating draqonequus. She tried to slap him, but as her hand flew towards his cheek, Discord's head having split from his neck, causing her to strike empty air.

"Testy, testy, dear. You couldn't fight me at your full power; I wouldn't count on you standing much of a chance with your still magic limited as it is." Discord teased, his headless body giving Umbra's horn a flick. "Congratulations on getting some of that magic back, by the way."

Some? Had Cadance lied and not returned Umbra to true power? She should have suspected, even the princesses weren't that dumb.

Umbra swallowed her anger, brought her fists to her side, and looked to the walls, unable to meet the bastard's gaze. "So what do you want? Or did you just come here to gloat?"

"As much as I might love a good gloat, I'm actually here to give you a...urgh...compliment..." He said with a visible shiver. Umbra quirked an eyebrow at the lord of chaos.

"I'm honored," she said, flatly.

Discord folded his arms. "Alright, dear, there is no need to be snobby." His head held high like a petulant child. "The point of the matter is that I saw you dominate the shit out of that princess of love. Who'd have thought she was such a slut underneath her prudish façade. You really had her eating out of the palm of your hand, and your tits and cunt and your—"

"Okay, I get it!" Umbra snarled as she watched Discord stitch his head back together, still grinning with that troll-like grin. "So what's your point?"

"My point is that you are quite the dominatrix. I simply must compliment you; I even took some notes." Discord said, letting a roll of paper unroll with all his notes he had taken of the sordid affair. It was barely longer than two bullet points. Umbra raised an eyebrow. "Okay, so maybe I'm not a note-taker like my dear friend, but the point is, my dear, that you've got TALENT!"

Discord snapped his fingers, and Umbra found herself disappearing from the bedroom and reappearing on a stage before a crowd of other Discords. She found herself in a new outfit, one she had not worn before. Her cape had returned to her back, but it didn't adorn simmering black armor like it did when she was Sombra. Instead, only a pair of knee-high greaves proved any kind of armor and high-heeled boots designed more for sex than protection, while her breasts had been stuffed in a lace corset that struggled to contain the sheer vastness of titflesh, while her pussy had been only covered by a single lace panty.

She stumbled forwards, confused eyes whipping around in every direction. A huge neon spotlight flashed behind her reading, 'EQUESTRIA'S GOT TALENT!'. Music blared through the air, a spotlight shined onto her from above, balloons fell from the sky, and smoke rose from the floor. A whole audience of different Discords clapped, cheered, whistled, and screamed, and another Discord stood before them, the original Discord, she assumed.

That original Discord was wearing a top hat and a bowtie with a cane in his hands. "Greetings to the newest event of EQUESTRIA'S. GOT. TALENT!" And might I just say we've got quite the handsome audience tonight. He winked at the crowd of different Discords, all of them blushing, waving hands or responding in kind.

The show host Discord, turned on his heel and made his way towards Umbra, who was still reorienting herself to the loud music and flashing cameras. Of course the Discords in the crowd would be flashing cameras at her stumbling around and making a fool of herself. Why wouldn't they be?

"Now then, why don't I introduce everyone to our charming, talented girl for this evening? Please introduce yourself to the crowd." Discord jabbed a microphone into Umbra's chin, her eyes narrowed in fury.

"Go fuck yourself."

"It's such a pleasure to introduce yourself, Ms. 'Go fuck yourself.'" A drumbeat went off from nowhere, but no one, not even the Discord's in the crowd, laughed. Discord found himself pulling his bowtie. "Okay, I admit it; that's the lamest joke in the book of dad jokes, but come on, not even a smile. Pfff... tough crowd."

He waved his hand dismissively, and his showman's smile returned. "In any case, my dears, our very rude guest used to be called Sombra, but that was before I gave her the good old-fashioned reboot, and she now goes by Umbra. "Now why don't you tell me all about your special talent, Umbra?" He jabbed the microphone into Umbra's face again.

"Dark Magic." She spat, staring daggers into Discord's eyes. A loud buzzer went off from nowhere, the kind used in game shows when a contestant gets a question wrong.

"INCORRECT!" Discord shouted, jabbing his thumb upside down. "You can't even do dark magic, remember? You can't make a single dark spell come out of that horn of yours, no matter how hard you try, remember?"

Umbra snarled, but Discord merely flicked the top of her horn again. "Alright, if you want to be shy, don't worry; I'll be free to share it with everypony here. You see Umbra's great skill in BDSM; she is, in fact, a DOMINATRIX!" Discord announced, his arms spread to the sky as confetti blasted out of thin air.

"A what?" Umbra asked, cocking her head. "What's a dominatrix?"

Discord started laughing, then the audience started laughing, then a laugh track started laughing because everyone loves those, don't they? "What the hell is so funny?"

"Eh...he..." Discord's smile started to drop, replaced by a concerned frown. "Wait, you're serious? Didn't the internet teach you anything? Or your parents?"

"What parents?" Umbra snapped sharply. It seemed the reminder of her orphaned status brought out a thin sliver of empathy in Discord because he snapped his fingers again and shut the audience up. Though then he pinched the bridge of his nose. “Oh Celestia and I thought Fluttershy was too innocent. Alright, time for a quick crash course on the birds and the bees.”

He snapped his fingers and four anthropomorphic creatures flew in. Two bees, two birds, all of them having bodies fit for porn or Equestria’s top supermodels. They lined up, blowing kisses to the audience with hands on their hips as the crowd went wild. Umbra rolled her eyes at the blatant fanservice. "Let's see if we can't get our dear old friend Umbra up to speed.

Discord points to the first voluptuous bee; she was wearing nothing but straps and chains that hugged her every curve and contour. "This little bee is called Bondage Bee; she goes absolutely wild when she's tied up nice and tight. When she's nice and helpless before another bee's mercy." Discord pulled the leash around Bondage Bee's neck, and almost immediately she was screaming in orgasm.

Smiling, Discord ignored the second bird in the lineup and went to the next bird. This anthropomorphic sparrow was dressed in a French maid outfit fit only for strip clubs and sex toys. Her head was bowed low, causing her immense cleavage to be displayed. "This little bird is called Submission Sparrow; she gets pleasure doing what others order, being bossed around, owned and doing what her master and mistress want. Just like dear old Cadance, now be a good girl and cum Subby Sparrow."

The sparrow came almost immediately, Discord laughing as he moved to the fourth woman in the lineup. This busty bee was dressed in a blindfold and latex outfit and was completely blind to the outside world. "This little bee is called Masochist Bee; yeah, the alliteration fell apart here. She's a bee who absolutely loves to be hurt; when she's in pain, she's in pleasure. Somewhere out there she has a sister called "Sadomasochist Bee," but alas, it's B.D.S.M., not B.D.S.S.M., so it had to be either Sadist Bee or Submission Sparrow."

Discord shrugged before summoning a long whip and striking the busty bee. Masochist Bee screamed, but her screams of pain were drowned out in screams of pleasure as she fell to her knees cumming in pleasure. Umbra watched each of these three women; they all mirrored Cadance in different ways. The same eagerness to please and the same pleasure they found in being controlled and dominated and insulted. Different parts to the same whole that was Cadance. Cadance had appeared as a freak to Umbra, but was this normal?

"And finally, this little birdy is Dominant Dove, quite the ironic name, and you two have quite a lot in common," Discord said, and he wasn't wrong. They both had similar outfits, and both carried themselves with a level of supreme confidence. Dominant Dove was dressed in thigh-high latex stockings, elbow-length latex gloves, and a latex leotard that squeezed her rack to the point that Umbra was amazed she hadn't fainted. And all across her outfit, Dominant Dove was decorated with spikes. Spiked heels, spiked bracelets, spiked armbands, spiked collars, and spiked headbands.

"I...I wonder what I would look like in that outfit..." Umbra murmured, only realizing that she had spoken out loud when Discord turned to her.

"As well you should, since Dominant Dove here is a dominatrix, just like you were. Show her, Dove." Discord said, materializing a bucket of popcorn into his hands. Dominant Dove wasted no time; she picked up the leash still attached to Bondage Bee and yanked. Hard. "On your hands and knees, slut; I want you to be my stool."

"R-right away, Mistress," Bondage Bee gasped, moving to her feet. Her body was trembling, not with fear but from lust. The same lust that had consumed Cadance just a few hours ago now consumed Bondage Bee.

Dove then snapped her fingers at Submission Sparrow just like Umbra had done with Cadance. “On your knees, whore, and serve my feet.” She demanded raising a single high heel; the busty sparrow women got on one knee and kissed the foot of Dove. Already Umbra was thinking of how sweet that would be to have Cadance do that.

“See right there? That’s what a dominatrix is, a mare who preys on the inner fetish of those like our dear Sparrow friend there. Those who have a need to submit, a dream to give up control, and let their partner conquer them. " Umbra watched the display transfixed, her mind stirring with ideas, thoughts of how much further they could be pushed, how much more pleasure she could extract.

"So much better than cheap mind control helmets, right? So much more fun than fucking lifeless automatons, isn't it?" Discord added, whispering like a teenager sharing his favorite secret. Umbra couldn't argue, so she said nothing but found her head nodding along. "You're enjoying it, aren't you?"

"So, this is what Cadance wants." Umbra sneered, looking at the erotic display before her. "She wants me to treat her like that, wants to be a **** like her, and wants me to dominate her."

"You're half right, my dear girl; don't forget her precious husband. She wants him to become like you. You know a perverted, dominant master who takes what he wants from her. Who treats her not like a loving wife but as a set of holes to fuck and ****. She wants to be his ****, and you know what, she's not the only one." Discord whispered, grinning like a giggling schoolfilly playing truth or dare.

"You?" Umbra asked raising her eyebrow. "I guess you'd just love getting to dominate all your new 'friends.' What man wouldn't?"

"Pfff HAHAHA! Is that what you think? You're a bigger fool than I thought, though I don't deny that there's a bit of a thrill in surrendering the power. I wonder if dear old Fluttershy would be up to the idea?" Discord considered with an awkward cough. The crowd fell silent, and somewhere an absent cricket could be heard chirping.

"Entirely too much information." Umbra said, her arms folded over her chest with an embarrassed blush.

"Right, right, fine," Discord growled, throwing up his hands. "Let's just say it's not just Cadance who wants to be a sex ****; it's a bit of a family tradition. And you know with there being a five to one ratio of stallions to mares, there are plenty of women who think like our dear Princess of Love."

That caught Umbra's attention. What exactly did Discord mean? Umbra wasn't aware of any family members that Cadance had, so what did he mean by "family"? Umbra thought back to Cadance's diary, the talk of a 'mistress' that had imparted this idea onto her. Was this a clue?

"So, what's your point then?" Umbra asked, folding her arms and glaring up at the Lord of Chaos whilst deliberately ignoring the lewd display taking place on the stage before her. "Why tell me this? Why bring me here? Why go through this whole elaborate display?"

Discord snapped his fingers, and the stage disappeared. Umbra found herself back in the bedroom with just the two of them. "As you might have heard, I'm reformed, and I'm trying to be a better draqonequus." He said, holding his bear paw up like a filly scout's honor pledge. "And part of that must be to make ponies happy to make up for my old misdeeds, so perhaps I am here to make Cadance's dreams come true. And besides, wouldn't you like to dominate her, to make her pay for your humiliation?"

Discord's words were striking a chord with her, but Umbra had walked this path before and wouldn't be falling for it this time. "Oh really? Do you think I have forgotten that it was you who inflicted this humiliation upon me?"

"Oh come on, my dear Umbra. This is Equestria! Land of forgiveness and second chances no matter how great a pony's crimes...besides—" Discord snaked his long body around Umbra's body, not close enough to touch though. "Besides, I don't think you had much of a problem with this new body before."

He emphasized that last point by giving her breast a big poke until Umbra waved him off. "You're avoiding my question. What is it you want?"

Discord sighs, obviously disappointed. "Well, I want to help you, of course, make our sweet Cadance's dreams come true. Make her dear husband Shining Armor become her dominant, sexy stud of a master. Make him king, make Cadance his ****, and make you—" He pointed a finger at Umbra's nose. "-his queen."

So he had heard that. Some small part of Umbra had been hoping that he had somehow not heard that part. Umbra's blood-red eyes shifted again to the floor. "Oh come on, my dear Umbra, there is hardly any shame in having a crush. You're a dark, evil queen of darkness. We can't have you blushing like a schoolfilly."

"I am not attracted to him!" Umbra snarled, but that just sent Discord into another tirade of laughter.

“Aren’t you?” He asked, summoning a pin-up calendar of a shirtless Shining Armour working out, lifting a weight, his biceps straining and muscles dripping in sweat. Outrageously, Umbra’s pussy began to drip as she saw it.

Discord picked up on her arousal because he began to flip through month after month of Shining Armour pinups. One where he’s dressed in a pair of trunks, one of him in a firefighter outfit, one of him naked, and… shadows. Was his dick always that big?

Discord smirked and decided to hold onto that picture for just a little bit longer. It was big, as big as both of Umbra’s hands put together, and thick—impossibly thick. Umbra hated to admit it, but it was much better than her old dick as Sombra. She had been as thin as a stick and only about average length.

There was a loud sound of bells and ringing that snapped Umbra out of her reverie. Turning around in panic, she saw a love machine like those you’d see in a carnival had appeared. At the bottom it said 'total turn-off,' and at the top it said 'Daddy-take-me-now.' As one would imagine, Umbra's score was at the very top of the machine.

"See, don't even try to deny it; he's a complete stud wrapped in a shy man's body. He's sexy and studly; he even might be a key to unlock my closet, because he's definitely unlocking yours."

Umbra was flushing with shame, her hands once again curled into fists. She wanted to deny it, wanted to pretend that she could offer some proof to dissuade it, but the truth was that she wasn't so sure now. "So what are you going to do about it?"

"Why, to help you, of course! Believe me, I know all too well how hard it is to be in love, to try and play the role of the all-evil, all-powerful Saturday night villain for so long and then fall in love with the sweetest, kindest, most beautiful pony in all of—" Discord paused, looking at Umbra as if he hadn't remembered she was still there. He coughed loudly. "-moving swiftly on. The point is I get the frustration of falling in love with those damn forgiving ponies.”

“I’M NOT IN LOVE!” Umbra screeched more loudly than she meant to. The words felt traitorously hollow no matter how loud she shouted them.

“Of course you’re not; you’re in lust. Which you know is basically the same thing.” Discord said, but Umbra was just rolling her eyes, not able to be bothered with his antics any more. “In any case, I’ve been getting distracted; the point of the matter is twofold. One is that I’m giving you a gift, and two is that I’m putting some security measures in place.”

“Security measures? That hardly seems like you.” Umbra asked, and to her delight this time it was Discord who was gritting his teeth.

“Fluttershy’s been teaching me about the importance of ‘responsibility’ and 'thinking things through’ blurghh!” Discord said, physically retching at the words and summoning a sink so that he can wash his hands of the words. “But in any case I’m offering you two gifts and a few safeguards.”

He snapped his fingers, and in an instant Umbra felt a wash of power roam over her; chains around her heart were released, and more of her old magic was returning to her. Not just the basic constructs and levitation, but the full set. The ability to destroy, to unleash her true power, to read minds, to change species, and to become shadows once more… with one exception.

“Where’s my dark magic?” Umbra demanded, fury eclipsing her common sense. She nearly had everything, her ultimate power, everything but the power she depended on the most.

“Didn’t I mention, dear, that I was being responsible now? How irresponsible would I be if I let you run around with dark magic, enslaving the minds of whoever you pleased? Puh-please.” Discord asked, rolling his eyes. “And don’t think I’ll let you go about conquering the Crystal Empire.”

Discord popped out one of his eyes and placed it on Umbra’s head. “I’ve got my eye on you. And that’s not all I wanted to add.”

Discord snapped his fingers, and Umbra could feel a chain placed around her magic, not unlike one of those magic inhibitors. Not for all her magic, just one small part of it. “Can’t be having you turn back into Sombra now. What kind of responsible Draqonequus will I be if I let a criminal get away with her crimes without punishment?”

Damn it all! Even when something went right for her, there was always a caveat, always something that would get under her skin. To deprive her of any true victory, but she refused to show her annoyance. “You’re playing with fire, Discord, playing with dark, dangerous fire."

"Oh ho ho, my favorite kind, my dear, but make no mistake, I don't intend to repeat my old mistakes. I won't let you try and take over the Crystal Empire like you did with Ponyville, my dear, at least not by ****. There are many more interesting ways, after all, ways these ponies might in fact welcome." Discord said, his voice almost sing-song in nature. "Am I understood?"

"Yes, we're clear," Umbra growled, wanting nothing more than to punch the smug asshole in the face.

Discord brightened up like a child on Hearth's Warming. "Oh, excellent. Now, don't think of this as a punishment but as an opportunity. After all, there are so many different ways a mare can do things that a stallion cannot. There is more than one way to rule Equestria, after all, and you could have ever so much fun. Even prepared a surprise gift for you when you get far enough."

Discord snapped his fingers and summoned a book in his hands. Umbra recognized it almost immediately as being Cadance's journal. The same journal that had started this whole mess in the first place, the one that had documented all of Cadance's depraved fantasies. The ones that had allowed Umbra to manipulate Cadance, to make her the Dark Queen's bitch, her ****. She had been thinking about using it to take control of the Crystal Empire, to regain her power, and now it seemed Discord was giving her his blessing.

Was it a risk worth taking? Umbra hesitated. She didn't have much more to lose; she had even gained her magic back, but she knew that it would be just like the Lord of Chaos to give her false hope just so he could yank it away. But then again, what was the alternative? Keep wallowing in this gilded cage? Hope that some other miracle would happen? Another villain would rescue her to make her a part of her plan again?

"You're a strange one, Discord, but I suppose that makes sense for you." She flipped her hair behind her ear and stretched her smile into a seductive grin. The princess whore wanted her husband to be corrupted, to be made a pervert? Umbra could easily grant her that wish; perhaps Cadance might not be so glad that she did. "I suppose I might just need to thank you one day, that is, if you stay true to your word."

"Heh, I assure you goodness is its own reward." Discord said, forming a fake halo and wings with his magic. "Oh, and by the way, Shining Armour's on his way to the gym right now."

Umbra smiled; she was back. This opportunity, wise or foolish, she would take it. When the royal couple of the Crystal Empire were her depraved **** bitches, she would be once again the true ruler of the Crystal Empire. She made her way to the door, a skip to her step and a mission in her mind.

"There is just one more thing, Umbra..." Discord added, one finger raised. For the first time he looked nervous, unsure of himself. Umbra raised an eyebrow, delighted that even he could be afraid. "After you corrupt Shining Armor. Once you have him unleashing his dominant side and using his loving wife as a precious sex ****. Could you convince him to share? Me and Fluttershy would love to trade every once in a while. She has mentioned that she would love to be dominated by that hunk, and I myself always found love so perfectly…chaotic.”

Umbra almost burst out laughing. Was this the real reason he was doing this? And all that bullshit he had said about being a better Draqonequus. Still, he was a powerful foe; it would be wise for Umbra to string him along.

“I might consider it, so long as you prove plenty… compliant.”

She closed the door, ending this conversation, if nothing else, on her own terms.