//------------------------------// // Chapter 89- Reception Ultimatum // Story: Of Flame and Shadow // by Garuda IV //------------------------------// The sun had just finished setting as everypony was moved out to the Canterlot gardens where Dark and Twilight's wedding reception was being held. With so many ponies in attendance, the ball room wasn't nearly big enough to hold the event, so, with a suggestion from Cadence, Pinkie had organized it outside where everypony could attend and enjoy themselves. She also remembered to add in a safe place where the younger ponies to play and some fun of their own. Much like the inside, the reception area was filled with white decorations, ranging from cloths strung from tree to tree with lights, to the white tablecloths decorating the tables, and to the actual chairs. With all the different kinds of ponies attending, there were different kinds of foods aligning the food tables. While a few were set with punch bowls, some held some of the more sophisticated types of foods that the nobles would appreciate, while others held the more variant and enjoyable kinds, courtesy of Applejack's and AJ's cooking, along with some help from Pinkie and Pinks. With the party having something for all to enjoy, everypony was pleased to be there. But, while some weren't quite taken with idea of having Vinyl Scratch supplying them with the music initially, the addition of Octavia's music had turned it into a music genre all of its own, which caused some of the nobles to look back and rethink their prior opinions. Plus, with Vinyl's experience with all of the places she'd DJ'd at, she'd developed a feel for the crowd and kept toned down a little to match the mood of the party. While everyone was enjoying themselves and mingling with each other, the two newlyweds were standing off to the side as they were approached by each pony who came in to attend, receiving their congratulations and best wishes for a happy and bright future. And while Dark and Twilight were both very happy by all of this, they were standing like this for the last forty minutes, welcoming everypony and listening to them. "This is getting kinda boring," Dark quietly said to his new wife. "I know, Dark, but it's just how things are," Twilight told her new husband before glancing up at the silver crown upon his head. "Besides, you're a prince now, so you might as well start getting used to it." "I guess," he sighed before chuckling. "It's kinda funny. We're married and I'm a prince now, but I don't feel all that different than I did when I woke up next to you yesterday morning." "I know what you mean, and I agree. Although, if I'm to be perfectly honest, I think that I actually love you more now." Dark smiled. "Because we're married now?" "Mhmm." Chuckling, Dark leaned in and shared a kiss with Twilight. "Yeah. I can agree with that." "Sorry, but we're not interrupting you two, are we?" Looking away from each other, Dark and Twilight saw Aques, Aero, and Pyre standing before them with Aero holding Aurora's glowing egg. "No, you're not," Twilight answered for her and Dark. Glad that they weren't bothering them, Aques closed the gap and pulled both of them into a hug while Aero coiled around them in her own special hug. It didn't last long, though, as Aero uncoiled herself to let them all go. "We're all very happy for you two," Aques said. "Yeah," Aero chimed, holding up Aurora's egg. "Especially Aurora. She's so happy that her egg hasn't stopped glowing since the actual wedding ceremony." "Thank you," Dark thanked. "We're glad that you were all able to make it." "Yeah, about that," Pyre began. "You see, we had only enough time to stick around for the ceremony." Dark and Twilight's expressions fell a little before the latter spoke. "You're not staying longer?" Aero placed her free claw on Twilight's shoulder. "I'm sorry, little sister," she said with a hint of sadness, "but we can't wait any longer. It'll take us about a week to complete the ritual for contacting mother and father, and we want to get it done as quickly as possible before Inferno tries something." "I... understand." Seeing her mood dampened by this, Aques wrapped her arms around Twilight in a gently hug. "We're sorry, Twilight," she apologized, "but it has to be done. Otherwise, we would love to stay longer." "It's alright, I get it." Aques gave a soft squeeze before letting Twilight go. "Don't worry. When we're all done, we'll come back and spend plenty of time together to make up for it." "What about Aurora?" Dark asked. "If you three are going to be busy for the next week, and me and Twilight on our honeymoon, then who's gonna look after her egg and Spike and Soul?" "Fissure's got that covered," Pyre answered. "And just incase, we've also got the Dazzlings to agree to look after them," Aero added. "Besides, they did a good job the last time, and that Sonata mare seems pretty nice." Twilight looked over to Dark. "She does seem like the friendliest one of the three, and she's been good to Soul too." "Yeah, can't overlook that," Dark agreed. "Good. In that case, we better get going." With a wave, Pyre spread his wings and took off into the night sky. "What if we need to get ahold of you?" Twilight asked. "Sorry, but we'll be out of touch during the time of the ritual," Aques explained before giving her and Dark a wave. "Besides, you two will probably still be on your honeymoon by the time we're all finished up, so you won't be missing on anything. Anyway, we'll see you soon." Dark and Twilight watched as Aques followed after Pyre, leaving Aero behind. "Guess I better find the Dazzlings and let them hold onto Aurora's egg," she mused. "If you want, we can look after her," Dark offered. "Thanks, but you two are busy enough as you are. We've seen all of the ponies you've had to deal with, so I don't want to trouble you with anymore." "It's really no trouble, Aero," Twilight said. "Maybe, but still-" "Hey, Aero! Let's get going already!" Aero sighed at the sound of Pyre shouting for her and handed Aurora's egg over to Dark and Twilight. "Alright. Well, I guess I'll see you two in a week." Giving them one last hug, Aero flew up to join Pyre and Aques as they flew off and disappeared into the night sky. With them now alone again, Dark tucked Aurora's egg beneath his wing where it would be safe. At least, until they found the Dazzlings and gave her to them to look after. "Too bad they couldn't stay longer," Twilight commented. "Yeah, but if they say that it's important, then we can't really complain about it." Seeing that nopony else was coming to them at the moment, Dark and Twilight began moving towards their table. Before they could get there, though, Applejack approached them, and she wasn't alone. "Heya, Twilight, Dark," she called to them before wrapping them both in a quick hug. "So, how've y'all been? Pretty happy Ah'd bet." "We are, Applejack," Twilight replied. "Although, we've been rather busy with everypony coming to congratulate us." "Well, it's ta be expected Ah suppose," she said with a shrug. "By the way, there's somepony who's been meanin' ta see ya." Applejack motioned a hoof for the other mare to approach them. She was a pale-blue earth pony with turquoise blue eyes, and what looked like a midnight navy-blue mane with teal-blue highlights. "Hello, Your Highnesses, and congratulations on your marriage," she said. It took her a moment, but Twilight was able to remember who this pony was. "Thank you, Rara," she thanked before cocking her head to the side. "Or do you still prefer Countess Coloratura?" "Just Rara, Princess. I've dropped the Countess gig long ago." Twilight smiled while Dark stepped forward and offered a claw to her. "So you're Rara." "Yep, that's me," she said, shaking Dark's claw. "In that case, I should thank you." Rara looked confusingly at Dark. "Why? What did I do?" "Remember that letter you sent to me and Twilight?" Dark reminded her and getting a nod from her. "You were one of the few ponies who'd sent letters of approval for Twilight and I being together after it was made public. I just wanted to thank you for you being so approving of us where so many weren't." "Oh. Well, you're welcome," Rara thankfully said. "To be honest, I don't really understand why ponies were so upset about it." "Heh, not like they'll have much room ta say in it anymore, huh, Rara?" Applejack chuckled. "No. I guess they won't." Dark chuckled in agreement. "So, how do you know Twilight and Applejack, Rara?" "I met Princess Twilight during a concert I was participating in," she said, smiling as she looked back on the choice she'd made with dropping Svengallop that day. "As for Applejack, we met when we were fillies one summer at Camp Friendship. Since then, we've written to each other. And yes, we did lose touch after a while, but we managed to rekindle our old friendship, and have been keeping in touch ever since." "Well good for you two." "Thank you." Rara was about to add on more, but was interrupted when her stomach started rumbling, causing her to blush in embarrassment while the others snickered. "Uhh... excuse me." "No, no, it's fine," Twilight chuckled. "You go on and grab something to eat." "O-Okay. Thank you again for the invitation, and congratulations on the marriage, and the foal." "Thank you," Dark and Twilight both thanked. As they watched Rara disappear into the crowd, Applejack and Dark looked at Twilight when they heard her stomach growling too. "Sounds like somepony else is hungry," Dark chuckled. "Or is that our foal?" "At this point, I'm not really sure," Twilight sighed. "In that case, y'all better go on and join the others at the table," Applejack said. "Besides, Ah'm pretty sure that Twilight and your kid aren't the only ones who're hungry, right, Dark?" "... yeah... I guess it has been a while since I last ate." "And when was that?" Twilight asked with a raised eyebrow. "... last night?" Applejack nodded. "In that case, you two go on and grab yourselves somethin' ta eat. If anypony still wants ta meet with ya, then Ah'll just tell them ta come back later. Ah'm sure they'll understand when Ah tell them that you two wanted ta take a break ta get somethin' ta eat. Oh, and if ya want, Ah can look after Aurora's egg while you're busy." Twilight and Dark looked at the egg tucked beneath his wing. "Are you sure you can handle it?" Twilight wondered. "Sure Ah'm sure. Y'all can trust me on this." Sharing a look with Twilight, Dark reached under his wing and pulled out Aurora's egg for Applejack to take. When she did, she held it securely against her chest with a foreleg. "Thanks. Again, Ah'll keep an eye on her while you two are busy doin' your thin'." "Alright. Thank you, Applejack," Twilight thanked. "No problem, sugarcube. Now go on with ya." Listening to her, Twilight and Dark made their way through the crowd and towards the long table sitting out for them, and their bridesmaids and groomsstallions. However, before they got there, Twilight spotted somepony out from the corner of her eye and smiled. "Hey, do you think we could go see one more pony?" she asked. "Really? I thought you were hungry?" Dark questioned. "I am, but I really want for you to meet her." "Alright, if that's what you want, then we can spare a moment to meet her." "Great!" Grabbing his claw, Twilight dragged Dark off to the side to where she saw the pony. Once she got close enough, Twilight waved her down. "Hey! Moondancer!" Hearing her name being called out, Moondancer looked over to see Twilight and Dark approaching. "Hello, Twilight, and congratulations on your marriage," she said, sharing a brief hug with Twilight. "Thank you," Twilight thanked before the broke up. "I don't believe that you two have met yet. Moondancer, this is Dark, my husband," she blushed. "Dark, this is my friend Moondancer. She led the one who helped me disable the amulet that was jamming the portal and bring you back to Equestria." Dark smiled and took Moondancer's hoof. "So you're Moondancer. Twilight's told me a nice bit about you." "And I've heard quite a bit about you yourself," she said, shaking his claw. "Although, it's nice to finally meet you in person." "You too. Also, thank you for helping Twilight in bringing me back home." "You're welcome... besides, it wasn't like I could exactly pass it up." "You mean with the undead apocalypse and all of that, right?" "Well, that, and Princess Celestia pays really, really well," she admitted, getting a chuckle from Dark. The three of them stood there talking for a while before Twilight's stomach rumbled again, reminding her and Dark about what they were doing and excusing themselves to get a bite to eat. Taking their seats at the center of the table, they looked over the food that was sitting before them and began picking at what they felt like eating. Although, a special request had to be made as Twilight's food cravings started kicking in again. Thankfully for her, the meat that she craved was easily concealed by the silver plate cover, shielding it from everyone. After some time had passed with Dark and Twilight having finished their first plate of food, they were starting to get into their second when the sound of something tapping against glass was heard. As the party quieted down, everyone looked over to see Shining with a fork and glass cup held in his magic. "Thank you, everypony," Shining thanked. "Now, seeing as how I'm the best stallion, I guess that I'm supposed to make some speech. Although, it would've been nice if I had one for my and Cadence's wedding reception." Shining then pretended to cough as he called out Iron Guard's name, causing a number of the attendees to snicker while the stallion in question simply grumbled and took another swig of his punch. "Anyway, speech... speech, speech, speech." Shining turned to Dark and Twilight. "Well, I suppose that I should start by congratulating Equestria's newest royal couple, but then again, I pretty much did that already, along with most of you I'm sure." Hearing a chorus of agreeing murmurs, Shining continued. "So now, onto the bride." His eyes softened as he saw his sister looking up at him, eagerly awaiting to hear his words. "Twily. My LSBFF. Growing up together, I never thought that I'd see the cute little filly that I grew up with would grow up to be such a beautiful young mare. And much like Princess Celestia said, I didn't think that you'd find somepony that you'd wanna marry either. Heck, even mom and dad can agree that they didn't think so either." "I don't know what you're talking about, Shining," Night called out for everyone to hear. "I didn't think that for a second!" "Oh, don't you start going on saying that, Night," Velvet scolded him just as loudly. "I can admit that I was concerned for Twilight, but at least I was able to keep it under control. You were so worried that it got to the point where you actually started to wear a groove into the floorboards when you started pacing around the house." There was a moment of laughter at Night's expense. Huh. Well now I know who I got that old habit from, Twilight mused as the laughter died down. "Yes, I'm sure that just about all of us thought that at some point," Shining agreed. "But now, seeing her sitting here in this beautiful wedding dress of hers, I can proudly admit how wrong I was. It also fills me with joy knowing that she'll be spending the rest of her life with somepony she loves and trusts. But, I ask that you just make sure that you save some of that for the rest of us, Twily, because no matter what, we'll all still love you." Her eyes watery, Twilight got up from her seat and went over and hugged Shining. "I'll always have enough love for you, BBBFF," she said before placing a sisterly kiss on his cheek. Hearing a few "Aawws" from the crowd, Shining then placed a kiss of his own on Twilight's forehead and let her go to sit back down. When she was seated, Shining's eyes lock onto Dark's and started to stare. A few seconds of silence later, Dark frowned. "I'm not kissing you." This joke of a statement from Dark caused a round of laughter. "Good. Neither am I," Shining chuckled. "Soooo... Dark. Dark, Dark, Dark. The kirin who's married my sister... heh. You know, if somepony had told me that a year ago, I probably would've thought of them as insane and sent them to the loony bin. Strange how things can turn out, huh? Anyway, what to say about you? Hmmm...." A small smirk was plastered on Shining's face. "Well, I'm sure that just about everypony has witnessed how tough you are, am I right, everypony?" The ponies shouted in agreement. "Yeah, I thought so. But, what you don't know is Dark's weakness." "And what's that?" Dark chuckled, only for Shining's smirk to widen. "My daughter biting you." Shining chuckled as Dark's eyes widened. "Nopony outside of our family knows this, but during the week of Hearth's Warming when the family was together, Dark was being munched on by Skyla." There were a few coos at the mental image they were given. "Yes, it was cute, watching Skyla sitting on Dark's head and munching on his ear. But, what he didn't know was that Skyla was teething at the time, and later that day, she then bit his tail." "I still don't know how she managed that," Dark said. "I mean, seriously! There should be no way that a little filly like her can bite my tail and hurt it like that!" The party was filled with laughter and snickering. While they did find it funny, there were a good number of them who also found it cute. Letting them have their fill, Dark waited unit they started to die down before facing Shining with a small frown. "Did you seriously need to tell everypony that?" he groaned. "You mean that the Coliseum Champion and a hero of Equestria and the Crystal Empire crumbled before the might of a little filly munching on his ear that he practically begged for us to take her from you?" Shining teased with a chuckle. "Yes. Yes I did. Besides, you're my little brother now, and as your older brother, it's my job to pick and tease you. But honestly now, I really am glad for you to be apart of this family, Dark. While we've had our ups and downs in the past... okay, a lot of downs, mainly being my fault, I have come to respect you over time. You're magically and physically strong, almost always ready for a fight, and easily one of the toughest stallions I've ever seen. Of course, on the other hoof, you've also shown to have this softer side of you. You're understanding and are willing to listen, and are willing be there to help those who need it. And let's not forget about how good with foals you are. With how I've seen you handle and interact my little Skyla, and with how protective I've heard you've been with Twilight and your unborn filly, I'm sure that you'll be an excellent father for your guys' daughter. I guess what I'm saying, Dark, is that in the end, you have all the requirements that I would have for somepony to be with my sister. And so, it is with that that I welcome you to this family with open hooves, my brother." Seeing Shining doing just that, Dark stood from his chair and joined Shining in a hug. After a moment, Shining released Dark and watched as he returned to his seat beside Twilight with her grabbing ahold of his claw. Seeing them happy like that, he subtly wiped his eyes and cleared his throat. "Now, I know that traditionally, the best stallion is supposed to say some famous line or poem for them, but seeing as how I can't think of any at the moment, I think that we can just skip that part and go straight to the end here." Shining then raised his glass. Seeing what he was getting at, everyone else raised their glasses to join him. "To Twilight and Dark! May you live long, healthy, and peaceful lives together! Good luck to your future together and with your future children, and my Celestia bless you as she smiles down upon you." "You bet I will!" Celestia shouted, causing everyone to briefly chuckle. Finished, Shining raised his glass. "To Twilight and Dark! Cheers!" "CHEERS!" With the speech and toast over with, everyone drank and cheered before Vinyl started up the music again, this time switching to a more song with a more upbeat tune to it. As the ponies finished their drinks, they started to either talk amongst each other, or had moved to the center to dance with the music. After almost half an hour had passed, Vinyl stopped playing her music and was now letting Octavia take over as she began playing a slow song. While Octavia continued to play, Vinyl took a mic and announced that it was time for Dark and Twilight's first dance. Smiling, Twilight took Dark's claw as the two of them made their way to the center of the dancefloor. Once there, they turned to face each other. With the music playing and the others backing away to give them room, they shared another look before Twilight leaned forward and slid her hooves around Dark's neck, holding him close while Dark in turn brought an arm around to hold her back. Locked in their hug, the two slowly began to shift around as they slowly started to sway with the music. Moving in sync with each other, Twilight relaxed as she felt Dark keeping her secured from stumbling. Letting out a contented sigh, she closed her eyes and leaned her head against Dark, focusing on the two of them as they slowly danced to the music. Hearing Twilight's sigh and feeling her leaning against him, Dark glanced back out of the corner of his eye and smiled as he saw the peaceful smile on her face. Smiling himself, Dark mimicked her actions as he too closed his eyes and breathed a quiet, peaceful sigh. Feeling at peace dancing with her, Dark let himself relax a little and leaned up against Twilight, turning his full attention to her as they danced to the music, while the rest of the world around them had seemingly vanished. Nine minuets and two songs later, it was time for the others to join in for some slow dancing. As most of the couples came to participate, Vinyl threw on a disc of slow dance music and let it play so that she could join Octavia on the dancefloor. Soon enough, the floor was full again as couples began dancing with each other. As the music continued, Twilight opened her eyes and looked at the other couples as she and Dark danced at the center. Along with her seeing Vinyl and Octavia, she could also see her parents, Shining and Cadence, Sunset and Twi, Discord and Fluttershy, Fancy Pants and Fleur De Lis, Big Mac and Cheerilee, and somehow, Spike with all three of the Crusaders and making it work for them. However, it was a certain pair that had caught Twilight's eye. Nuzzling against him, Twilight got Dark's attention and pulled back to where they could see each other. "Something wrong?" Dark quietly asked. Twilight nodded her head to her right side. "Look." Curious, Dark looked over to his left and immediately spotted what Twilight was referring to. He blinked his eyes to make sure he wasn't seeing things, but sure enough, Dark saw Fissure off to the side with Maud leaning against his chest as the two of them danced. Seeing them, Dark let out a small chuckle. "Well, didn't see that coming." "Me neither," Twilight agreed. "Although, given Maud's love for just about everything that is rock-based, I shouldn't really be surprised by this." "Still, it is nice to see." "Yeah, it is. And who knows? Maybe they'll actually become a couple and in time, get married themselves." "Maybe. They do seem like they make a good pair." "Mhmm." Letting them be, Dark and Twilight returned their attention to each other as they continued to dance. Several minutes later, they were stopped when Dark felt a tapping on his shoulder. Taking a look, they saw that it was Night who was standing there beside them. "Excuse me," he said, "but would you mind if had a dance with my daughter?" Seeing Twilight nod, Dark smiled and gave her a quick kiss. "Sure you can." Letting her go, Dark stood back to let Twilight dance with her dad. Smiling at the two of them dancing, Dark made his way off of the dance floor and stood on the side as he watched them. "This has been quite a night, hasn't it?" Maintaining his smile, Dark looked back and saw Luna approaching him with Celestia right behind her. "Yeah," he sighed. "Easily the best I've ever had... or seen." "I'm glad to hear that," Celestia said. "By the way, I'm curious about something." "What is it, Dark?" "Why haven't I seen any of those Dragon Sneeze Trees around Canterlot? They were up last year, so where are they?" "Are you wanting them around?" Luna asked. "No. I'm just curious is all." "Well, if you must know, Dark," Celestia began with a small smile, "we're currently putting them to better use." "Like what?" Her smile turned to a mischievous smirk. "Oh, you'll find out soon enough." Dark gave her an unsure look. "Should I be worried?" "No. You have nothing to worry about." A moment of silence passed between them before Luna spoke up with a small smile. "So, how does it feel?" "How does what feel? Being married?" Dark wondered. "While that would be a valid question, it's easy to see how you feel about you two being married, so no." "I guess so. So then, what do you mean?" "I'm talking about your crown." Dark glanced up at his circlet. "Well, it fits, surprisingly." "I would hope so. We had Anvil reforge it to appropriately fit you." "Okay, I see- wait, reforged? From what?" "... do you truly not recognize it?" Dark looked up again and began eyeing it out. "I don't think so. Why? Should I?" "Yes. As it turns out, that crown was actually reforged from the one that you brought back with you after your battle with King Sombra." His eyes widened as he looked back at Luna. "You mean this is Sombra's old crown?" "Was his old crown, but reforged for one more deserving of it," she corrected. "I did tell you after all that I would return it to you, did I not? Consider it my wedding gift to you... that is, if you're alright with it. I can understand if wearing such a thing that once belonged to a pony the likes of him is unsettling to you." Dark took another look at the crown upon his head. "Well, it's not like I really had any actual plans for it, and it would've been a waist of good metal." "So you like it then?" Luna asked. Dark smiled. "Yeah, I do. Thank you very much for this, Princess Luna." "You are most welcome, and don't worry about accidentally melting or overheating it. Anvil has inscribed runes on the inside of your crown to make it fireproof." "... didn't think about that one. Thanks for telling me that." "You're welcome." A few minutes later, Night let Dark back to dancing with Twilight as he went to join Velvet over at their table. But, the dancing didn't last for too long, though, as the music suddenly stopped, catching the attention of a particular pony. "Hey! Who touched my music station?!" Vinyl snapped. "Easy there, Vinyl," Octavia soothed. "But nopony touches my tunes... well, except you." "I know, love, but if you'd take a moment and look, you'll see that it's Pinkie Pie who's stopped the music." Standing on her hind hooves, Vinyl peered over the crowd to see Pinkie over by her music station. "... okay, she's cool then." "Why do you think she stopped the music?" "Okay, everypony!" Pinkie said through a microphone. "It's time for the groom and bride to cut the cake!" "Never mind," Octavia deadpanned. "Mmmmmm. Cake," Vinyl said, licking her lips. Hopping back down, Pinkie bounced through the crowd and behind one of the garden's hedges. Moments later, Pinkie and Applejack were both pulling around a twelve-layer white wedding cake that somehow nopony had see, despite it standing taller than the hedges. Seeing Pinkie and Applejack pulling the cake to a stop by the food tables, Dark and Twilight walked over to it. When they got there, Applejack stood there to the side with a long cake cutting knife in her hoof. Using their magic, Dark and Twilight took the knife from Applejack and brought it towards them. With their two magical auras dancing around the knife's handle, with smooth motions, they cut the cake for each of them to take a piece from. However, when Dark picked up his piece to give to Twilight, he looked at it with a small grin, one that Twilight noticed. "Dark? What are you thinking?" she cautiously asked. "When you looked into my memories, did you see the one where I was looking at my mom and dad's wedding album?" he asked. "I did. Why?" "Do you remember the pictures of when they cut their cake?" "I do. They each took a piece and-" Twilight's eyes widened for a second before she furrowed her brows, now seeing what Dark was getting at. "No." Grin widening a little bit, Dark raised the claw holding the cake. "No, Dark." Dark ignored her and slowly closed in on her, not even stopping when she raised a hoof in warning. "Noo. Don't you dare- eeekk!!" Though she saw it coming, Twilight wasn't ready when Dark suddenly thrusted his hoof forward and smeared the small piece of cake on her mouth. Hearing him and most of their guests laughing, Twilight calmly licked her lips clean while using her magic to clear away what she missed. Waiting a few moments, Twilight stood there for everyone to calm down. When it got to the point where they were now just chuckling, Twilight picked up the piece of cake she'd cut for Dark with her magic and held it alongside her head with a small smirk of her own. "Sooo, you think that's funny?" she sweetly said, causing Dark to freeze and for his fur to stand on end. Looking between Twilight and the cake, Dark gulped and took a nervous step back. "Uhhhh, now, Twilight, honey, let's take a moment here and talk about this for a second," Dark uneasily said, only to watch as Twilight's smirk turned to a grin. "Sure, dear, we can talk about it." While her voice sounded sweet and innocent, Dark wasn't fooled as the look on her face was anything but. However, like with Twilight, while Dark saw it coming, he couldn't react in time as Twilight smeared the cake over his entire face, leaving it covered in white cake and vanilla frosting. With his eyes closed and covered in cake, Dark stood and listened as Twilight and everyone else laughed at him now. However, Dark wouldn't let this go as he had another mischievous idea. Wiping the cake off of his eyes with his magic, Dark opened them and saw Twilight standing there with a hoof over her mouth as she was now giggling at him. With her distracted, Dark stepped closer to her and closed the gap by planting a surprise cake-covered kiss on her lips, earning him a squeak of surprise from Twilight. It only lasted for a moment, but it was long enough that Dark had transferred a good portion of the cake covering his lips over to Twilight's, who, while still surprised by it, liked her lips clean with a pleasant hum. Their silliness aside, the two of them did a second take, this time without any mischief. With them having their own pieces, they then began to cut slices for the others as well. Of course, with how big the cake was, they had to take it slowly. That is, until Pinkie provided a much larger cake cutting knife that she then proceeded to use in cutting the cake herself into equal pieces for everyone. It wasn't long after that that everyone had their own piece of cake and were now enjoying it, either by sitting at a table, or standing and chatting with others. Of course, as everything must go, all good things must come to an end. An hour and a half later, the wedding reception was coming to a close, and Dark and Twilight now found themselves standing before a white carriage with their bags packed, ready to take them to a private beach for their honeymoon vacation. But, before they could leave, there was one more thing that needed to be done. "Alright, everypony!" Twilight called, "I need all of you unmarried mares up front! That includes you, Princess Celestia, you too, Princess Luna! And remember, no using your wings or magic!" Ignoring a few groans for the rules she'd set, and one from Luna for having to participate, Twilight smiled and waited for the crowd of females to gather for the catching of the bouquet. When all that who were participating had gathered, Twilight turned her back to them and, with her bouquet in her hooves, tossed it high over her head and back towards the crowd. Turning around, Twilight and Dark watched as the bouquet bounced off of the sea of hooves reaching for it. However, to their surprise, along with everyone else's, Sweetie Belle was tossed up towards the bouquet by to pairs of hooves that looked like they belonged Apple Bloom and Scootaloo. However, just before she could grab ahold of it, Sunset leaped up to catch the bouquet, unaware of the incoming filly, which caused them to collide against each other and send both of them tumbling down to the ground. It was then that Twi was spotted as she tried for a shot at grabbing it, but due to her not being used to jumping with four legs, she lost her balance and crashed against Maud, causing her to stoically slide along the ground by the force she was pushed with, and incidentally, allowing the bouquet to fall into a pair of waiting hooves. With the bouquet caught, every mare stopped grabbing for it and backed away to reveal the "winner". Much to everyone's surprise, the one who'd caught it, albeit by accident, was Fluttershy, who was now staring at the bouquet with her face red, mouth agape, and eyes wide in surprise. She remained like that until the sounds of cheering sounded around her, snapping her out of her stupor and causing her to shyly hide behind her mane. Of course, while most of the attention was on her, a number of the males and a few females smirked and turned their attention to Discord, who was nervously pulling at the collar of his suit with a claw. Happy for Fluttershy, Dark and Twilight chuckled and watched as she slowly made her way over to Discord and stood beside him, both of whom were looking away with fierce blushes on their faces. Giving one last chuckle, Dark cleared his throat, catching Twilight's attention as he grabbed hold of the carriage door. "Well then, shall we be off, my princess?" he asked, causing her to giggle at him. "Yes, my prince," she smiled. Chuckling, Dark opened the door to allow for Twilight to hop in. Lowering his head, he bowed and held out his claw for her to hop in- "Dark! Get away from there!" Immediately Dark was alerted by Twilight's fearful shout and quickly found himself being held beside Twilight in her magical hold as she flew away from the carriage and back towards the crowd. Confused as to what had gotten Twilight so scared to act like this, as soon as she sat him down on the ground, Dark looked back to the carriage, only to experience an assortment of mixed feeling at what he saw. "You know, it was rather rude of you to not have invited me to your wedding, Dark." There, lounging on the seat in the carriage was Light, wearing his white trench coat and his katana sheathed on his belt. Frowning, he stood up and casually made his way out of the carriage for all to see. "After all, I am your brother, and the only family you have left." Getting ahold of himself, Dark stood between Light and Twilight with his wings unfurled, while Twilight, now standing behind Dark, looked over him and prepared a low-level paralysis spell for Light. "Not anymore," Dark stated. "Twilight's my family now. And why would we let you come anyway? You may be my brother, Light, but you've spent most of our lives hating me, then you up and abandoned our village when you were supposed to get us help, tried to kill me and Twilight, knowingly tried to throw the world out of balance, and worse of all, you went on and allied yourself with the Inferno! The same dragon who's put our village through hundreds of years of Tartarus!" Light blinked. "So?" Before Dark had a chance to respond, stone spikes erupted from around Light, holding him in place with barely any room for him to move, less the stone spikes pierce his hide. Hearing the heavy footsteps, Dark looked back to see Fissure walking up alongside him and Twilight with a hardened look on his already stone face, while the royal guards and the off-duty crystal guards all surrounded Light and to protected Dark and Twilight. "You will pay for harming Dark and Aurora," Fissure rumbled threateningly. While everyone expected him to express fear, instead, Light chuckled as he stepped forward and phased through the stone spikes. Surprised by this, Fissure caused another stone spike to erupt from directly beneath Light, only for that to pass harmlessly through him as he continued to walk forward closer to Dark and Twilight. Not wanting to let him closer, the guards fired blasts of magic while others charged him with spears, all of which he phased through. Now just a few yards away from them, Light stopped and smirked while Celestia, Luna, Shining, Cadence, and all of Dark and Twilight's friends rushed to their side. "How are you here?!" Shining demanded. "Nothing should've gotten past my barrier!" "Relax, you stupid prince," he said with a look of amusement. "This is just an illusion. I'm not actually here." Not believing him, Celestia lit her horn and began to scan the area where Light stood, and sure enough, she found nothing. "He's telling the truth," she reluctantly said. "This is not the real Light." Dark looked from Celestia back to Light. "What do you want?" "A few things," Light began. "First, I wanted to see this wedding of yours." "You were here the whole time?!" "I was, and to be honest, I'm still surprised at you. I never thought that I would see the day where you actually got married." "How is it that our guards patrolling the barrier haven't found you?!" Luna demanded. "You're supposed to be smart. Figure it out for yourself," he snarked at Luna. "If you were here the whole time, then why didn't you show up sooner?" Twilight asked, maintaining her horns power incase this was all a trick. "After all, letting all of this happened with Dark doesn't sound like something that you'd do." Light gave Twilight a smile that sent shivers down her spine. "That's because, my new big sister, that this was one of my three wedding gifts to you two." Dark recoiled his head in surprise. "What?" "My first gift was that I didn't crash your guys' wedding." Light paused for a moment. "You know, this is the part where you should thank me." "You still crashed the party, though," Pinkie growled. "Yeah!" Pinks shouted. "And anypony who crashes a party is a party pooper who should be kicked out!" Light ignored the Pinkies' comments as he continued. "Anyway, onto my second gift-" "Thanks, but we'll pass," Dark interrupted. "Oh, but you'll like this," he assured. "For my second gift, I've come to inform you that three days from tomorrow, Inferno will be launching his attack on Canterlot." There was a loud collection of gasps from everyone present. "That was a very foolish and stupid thing to say," Luna coldly said. "Why would you tell us when he's attacking and give us time to prepare?" Light gave a low, sinister chuckle. "Because that's where my third gift come into play." He turned his attention solely on Dark. "I'm giving you a choice, Dark. On the day of Inferno's attack on Canterlot, you will have to chose on who you'll fight. Either me, or Inferno and his army." Dark snorted. "Not happening." "Oh, but that's where you're wrong," Light said with a toothy grin. "You see, you will chose one. After we last met, I went on ahead and hid one of Inferno's magma bombs in each of Equestria's major cities, including Ponyville." There were more gasps and a few ponies who were now on the verge of panic. "Of course, that doesn't include Canterlot." "Why are you doing this?!" Celestia demanded. "To see what Dark will choose." Dark gave a small growl as Light continued. "Before you lies two choices, Dark. This first being that you can stay and fight alongside everypony against Inferno's invasion. But if you do, then I'll detonate all of the bombs and destroy each city." While Celestia and Luna glared heatedly at Light, Dark narrowed his brows and glared at Light. "And the other?" Dark hesitantly asked. "The other is that you can fight me and I won't detonate the bombs. Of course, you'll have to leave everypony here behind to fight Inferno's army by themselves. And if you do come, then I don't want to see anyone else with you. You will come alone, without any support, without any of those Shadow Wraiths of yours, and without that scythe that you took from Sombra. Oh, and just so you know, it'll be to the death." "Why his scythe?" Twilight questioned. "Sombra told me about his scythe and the power it held before Dark killed and looted it from him. I'm also willing to bet that that's the reason that Dark managed to hold off all of those dragons, flaming manticores, and salamanders on the landing platform back in Vulcan." So he knows about the power of Dark's scythe, but not of his sword, Twilight mentally figured. In that case, he probably thinks that the scythe is Dark's source of power and wants to separate it from him in hopes of having an advantage over him... but still, can Dark do it? Could he bring himself to fight Light and... kill him? "So, there you have it, Dark," Light finished. "There are your two choices. Either fight me and abandon everypony, or fight alongside everypony and forsake Equestria." Light's body began to fade away. "Don't worry, you don't need to decide just yet. I'll find out on the day we're supposed to fight. Until then, enjoy what time you have left with your wife and friends. It may be the last chance you'll ever have." "Wait! You didn't tell us where or what time you'll be wanting to fight him at!" Sunset pointed out with only Light's head remaining as it too slowly faded. "It time will be at noon. As for the location, it'll be where all of this started for us, back in Stonewall Village," he answered before his face turned serious. "And remember, if I see anypony other than Dark there at Stonewall Village, if Dark arrives and doesn't fulfill the conditions that I set for him, or if anypony even tries to find the hidden bombs, the deals off and I'll reduce each of your cities to rubble!" Up on the side of Canterlot Mountain, Light's eyes cleared as the illusion of himself vanished. With his power to bend light, and thanks to the spellbook Aurora gave him during his time as her apprentice, Light was able to make not just an illusion, but one that he could see, hear, and speak through. Standing in a dome that kept him invisible, along with Gunter, who'd accompanied him, and their flaming manticore mount, Light smiled as he heard the panicked echoes coming below from Canterlot. "There we go," he said with a satisfied sigh. "That's what I wanted to hear." "What? Ponies screaming in a panic?" Gunter questioned. "Yes. It'll help keep those patrolling guards distracted while we leave and regroup with the army." "Good, because I need to get back to them as soon as I can and go over our attack plans with them." Light snorted. I still can't believe that Inferno made that idiot his new general. Turning his back to the Canterlot, Light hopped onto the front seat of the flaming manticore's two-person saddle, with Gunter jumping on in the second seat right behind him. "By the way, what in Tartarus were you thinking calling Dark out to fight you one-on-one?" Gunter questioned. "I mean, he's tougher than we are, and both magically and physically stronger than us. Not to mention that magic he used to kill everyone when he came to Vulcan." "Do you really think that I would challenge him like that without a plan?" Light huffed in annoyance. "I already have several measures in place to counter his powers, so shut up." Both mounted, Light took one last look to see that all of the guards were trying to control the panic and dispelled the dome of invisibility to fly off into the night sky. With Canterlot now on the other side of the mountain, and seeing no pegasi following after them, Gunter leaned forward to speak to Light. "So," he began, "why'd you say that to them?" "What part?" Light questioned. "The part about the bombs. There's no such thing as a 'magma bomb', and as far as I know, you didn't plant any sort of explosives anywhere." "I know that," Light smirked, "but they don't. And if I know Dark half as well as I think I do, then he'll come to me. After all, he now believes that if he doesn't, hundreds of thousands of ponies, it not more, will die, and it'll all be on him."