After spending some time waiting for Twilight and Cadence to removing their makeup and getting out of their royal regalia, the two mares and stallions were ready to leave... or were just about to. Shining was still wearing his Draconium armor and was being stubborn about leaving it behind, but that changed after a warning from Cadence, caused him to run to their room and remove his armor. Coming out of their room, Shining walked over to the others and made their way out.
Exiting the castle, Twilight took the lead with Dark by her side while Cadence and Shining stayed behind, mostly because Shining wanted to keep an eye on them to make sure they didn't try anything behind his back. Walking down the sidewalk of one of Canterlot's roads, Dark began glancing around nervously. Each step he took meant one more step to being closer to seeing Twilight's parents. And while he was happy to see her looking forward to this, he was having a hard time containing the worry that was building up. As he looked around, he saw ponies either going about their business, or glancing curiously at them. While there was nothing of any significance, there was one pony that had ducked down into an ally upon spotting them. Not paying him much mind since he only caught a brief glimpse, Dark's thoughts returned to the problem at hoof. Seeing as how distracted and silent Dark was being, Twilight decided to try and figure out what was up.
"Hey, Dark," she spoke to him. "Is everything alright? You look a bit distracted."
"Just a little nervous about meeting your parents is all," Dark sighed, causing Twilight to cock an eyebrow at him. "Alright, a bit more than just a little."
"Is it really so bad to meet them?"
"Well, no. It's just that... what if they don't like me? I don't want to mess up my first impression with them, and I'm already having myself a small freak-out over it."
"Dark, everything will be fine," she told him as she placed a reassuring wing on his shoulder. "They're both loving and understanding parents. Besides, I believe that you and my dad will get along just fine."
"Anything that I should know about them ahead of time?"
"Nothing really."
"What about when mom starts asking about foals?" Cadence asked behind them.
"C-Cadence!" Twilight nearly shouted with a maddening blush.
"What? You know she's going to ask."
"That doesn't mean that you should bring it up!"
"Mothers," Dark sighed with a headshake.
"No kidding," Shining agreed. "You wouldn't believe how she was the first time I brought Cadence home as my fillyfriend."
"Shining Armor," Twilight smiled, "are you actually helping Dark with this?"
"Oh, no. I'm just trying to make him even more nervous."
"Well, at least he's being honest about it," Dark grumbled.
"Don't you worry about him," Cadence assured him. "I'm sure that there'll be a nice dirty baby diaper for him to change when we get there."
"That's right, you and Twilight were saying something about a foal yesterday!"
Cadence giggled. "I take it that you like foals?"
"Definitely," Twilight answered for him. "You should've seen him with the Cake Twins. Now I wish that I had taken a picture of it to show to everypony."
"What happened?"
"Pound Cake flew onto Dark's muzzle and latched onto it giggling while Pumpkin Cake levitated herself onto his head and began munching on his ear."
Hearing the two giggling at this story, Dark turned away from them to hide his embarrassed blush while Shining rolled his eyes.
"Sounds like he's got a way with foals. I'll bet that he'll be a great father someday," Cadence commented, causing Twilight to go silent as her blush returned.
"It's quite a bit early to even start thinking about that, isn't it?" Dark questioned.
"You're darn right it is," Shining told him. "The day I let you two do that is the day that you beat me in a duel."
Dark cocked an eye at him. "You might want to reword that statement to something more in your favor."
"What? Do you really think that you can beat me?"
"Considering that it was Twilight who stopped me from barbequing you after you attacked me in Ponyville, I'd say yes."
"Easy you two," Twilight told them. "There'll be no fighting here on the road, sidewalk, or at home."
"Yes, Twilight," the two stallions answered simultaneously.
"Good," she smiled before looking back ahead of her. "It shouldn't be too far from mom and dad's house now. About another five blocks if my memory is correct."
"It's eight actually," Shining corrected.
"Really? Guess I've been away longer than I thought I have."
"When was the last time you saw them?" Cadence asked.
Twilight tapped her chin in thought before shrugging, clearly having no answer to that question.
"In that case, I believe that it's been a long time coming that you've visited them."
"I suppose so," Twilight replied before becoming all giddy again. "Ooh, I can't wait to see them again. They're going to be so surprised."
Dark chuckled at seeing how joyfully excited Twilight was being, making his worries about meeting her parents fade a little. They continued down the path for a while before a question came to Dark's mind.
"I just thought of something," he spoke up, "if that meeting was so important, then why wasn't Prince Blueballs there?"
Hearing what he said caused Shining to snort while the two princesses managed to stifle their giggles.
"When you say 'Blueballs'," Cadence began, "are you talking about Prince Blueblood?"
"Yeah?"
"Well, after how you saw him act yesterday, would you want Blueblood to attend such an important meeting like that?"
"... touché."
Another fifteen minutes passed before Twilight stopped in front of a nicely sized, white, two story house. Taking in a deep breath, Twilight walked up the small flight of stairs and knocked on the door. Patently waiting, they soon heard hoofsteps walking towards the door before it opened, revealing a middle-aged unicorn stallion with a light-blue coat, dark-blue mane, and bronze eyes. Seeing who it was at the door, the elder stallion smile widely before suddenly hugging Twilight.
"My little girl," he smiled. "It's great to see you again."
"Night? Who's at the door?" a voice in the house asked.
Turning around the corner was a middle-aged unicorn mare with a light-gray coat, a two-toned white and pink mane, and light-blue eyes. Seeing who was at the door, she rushed over and started peppering Twilight's face with kisses, causing her to laugh while trying to escape the loving assault.
"Hello, mom, dad," Twilight laughed.
"Oooh, sweetheart, we were so worried about you when we heard you got sick. How are you feeling?" her mother frantically asked.
"Perfectly fine, mom."
"Hello, Shining, Cadence."
"Hello," they both said.
Seeing the fourth party member, she stopped her kissing barrage on Twilight to look at him.
"And who is this?" she asked.
"Oh, right," Twilight said as she nervously shuffled her hooves together. "Mom, dad, this is Dark Flame, my coltfriend. Dark, this is Twilight Velvet and Night Light, my mom and dad."
Hearing that caused the two elder married couple to blink in surprise. As Velvet began looking between her daughter and her coltfriend, Night started eyeing him out. Feeling as though he was being judged, Dark figured this would be a good time to try and make a good impression on them.
"Umm... hello, sir, ma'am," he greeted. Sir and ma'am? What the hay was I thinking?!
His impression, while a little bit awkward, wasn't a total bust as Velvet smiled at him.
"Well, he seems polite enough," she commented. "Now why don't you kids come on in. Spike and Skyla have been playing together all morning and are currently taking a nap upstairs."
Giving his thanks, Dark followed in after the others into the house, seeing a staircase leading upstairs on his right before heading into the open living room to his left. It wasn't anything too special as a fireplace sat against the far wall with a shelf with pictures of their family and a pink crystal sitting on top of it, a window looking out over the streets on his left, and the kitchen to his right. Surrounding the fireplace were a few reclining chairs, a love seat, and a couch. Where Night took the recliner, Shining and Cadence took the love seat, and Twilight sat on the center of the couch, patting on the spot next to her for Dark to sit. Silently and nervously, he made his way over and sat himself down as Twilight started to lean up against him, an act of which caused Night and Shining to give Dark certain warning looks.
"Would anypony like something to drink?" Velvet suddenly asked.
"Some lemonade would be nice," Twilight requested.
"Same with me please," Cadence mimicked.
"Some cider for Shining and I if you would, hon," Night asked with Shining nodding.
"Alright," she said before turning to Dark. "And what about you, Dark?"
"Umm, I'm alright, thank you," he nervously said.
"Alright. If you change your mind, don't hesitate to ask," she told him before heading off into the kitchen to fetch their drinks.
There was an awkward silence for a while before Velvet returned, levitating a pair of ciders, lemonades, and a cup of tea for herself. After distributing the drinks and sitting down on the other side of Twilight, Velvet looked curiously to her daughter.
"So, sweetie," she began, "how is it that you two met?"
"You remember my friend Rainbow Dash?" Twilight asked, getting a nod in return. "Well, she and I were flying over the fields south of Ponyville when we found Dark lying unconscious on the ground."
"What happened that caused him to pass out like that?" Night asked.
"We don't know. His memories leading up to a few days prior to when we found him are lost to him, so nopony knows, not even him."
"That's sad to hear," Velvet said before looking over to Dark. "So then, what do you do for a living?"
"Used to work as a blacksmith," Dark answered.
"Really now?" Night inquired. "What happened?"
"It... got burned down. Now I'm working on the Apple's apple farm in Ponyville as a workhoof."
"From smithing to farming. That's quite a different job, isn't it?"
"Yeah," Dark chuckled. "It took me a while to get it right, and for me to figure out a way for me not to accidentally get my tail caught while bucking the trees."
"Speaking of your tail," Velvet began, "what are you exactly? You look like a pony, but at the same time, you're not."
"I'm a kirin," he explained. "They're the hybrid offspring of a pony and a dragon."
"So one of your parents is a dragon?"
"Not exactly. You see, both of my parents were ponies, no dragons. The reason why I'm a kirin is because I was turned into one."
"But what kind of magic can do that?" Night questioned.
"The type that nopony should be exploring. This was caused by a dying dragon in an attempt to preserve his life."
"How does that work?"
"All that I know is that he used some magic to insert his soul into my body. Good thing too, otherwise I'd be a goner."
"So you have two souls inside you?" Velvet asked.
"That's correct. Apparently he wanted to use my body as his new vessel of sorts, but I was somehow able to make his soul take a back seat while mine remains in control."
"That's quite a story," Night said before looking over to Twilight. "Speaking of dragons, how was the meeting with that king?"
"Oh... that. Well, do you know about the circumstances behind it?" Twilight asked.
"Just that it was about a village that was attacked by dragons."
"Alright then, so about as much as Cadence and Shining knew. In that case, I'll make this quick and simple. Dark was from that village, and he's an only survivor."
"Oh, dear, I'm so sorry to hear about that," Velvet said. "Are you doing alright?"
"Yeah, I'm doing fine," Dark said with a slight nod.
"How did you manage to get away then if the others didn't?" Night asked.
"... let's just say that the dragon who changed me was very powerful, and his magic helped increase my own natural magic."
"Speaking of your magic," Velvet began, "what's your cutie mark? It looks like two different types of fires."
"Sorta. My special talent is fire magic and dark magic."
"Excuse me, I don't think I heard you right," Night said as he rubbed an ear with a hoof, "did you just say that your cutie mark pertains to dark magic? As in forbidden evil magics?"
"A bit harsh, but yes."
With a serious look on his face, Night turned to Twilight. "Sweetie-"
"We all already know about it," Twilight interrupted, "including the princesses. And before you start, Princess Celestia already gave Dark permission to practice dark magic."
"And?"
"And so far he's only mildly studied it. He's learned a few spells, but nothing harmful. There was even a time where Dark had to use one of them to help him see when he lost his eye sight."
"He lost his eyes?" Night questioned, causing Twilight to slap a hoof over her mouth. "How did that happen? And why are they restored now?"
As Shining, Cadence, and Twilight looked nervously to each other, it was Dark who spoke up with the answer. However, while he still didn't trust Shining all that much, he'd told Twilight that he'd not fight him, which would've more than likely happened if he didn't answer this right.
"There was an... accident, and my eyes got cut," Dark told the parents. "As for how they got healed... well... you can thank Discord for that."
"You mean the Lord of Chaos healed you?"
"It was actually Fluttershy who asked him to," Twilight told them.
"Yeah, it was kinda neat. All she did was call out for him and there he was," Dark added.
"It sounds like you tend to get yourself into a bit of trouble," Night observed.
"It's not like I'm trying to. For some reason, trouble seems to find me."
"While we're on the subject of trouble, I heard from a few nobles that Prince Blueblood was threatened yesterday by an orange-colored stranger," he said as he eyed Dark suspiciously. "You wouldn't by chance know anything about that, would you?"
"Little pansy," Dark muttered to himself before answering Night. "I might."
"And why did you threaten a royal prince?"
"Because the prick wouldn't stop bothering Twilight."
Night cocked an eye brow at Dark. "Continue."
"He tried asking Twilight out to his suite for dinner, she said no. He held onto her hoof tighter and asked her again, to which she again denied. It was the third time that I had enough, grabbed his foreleg, and told him that he'd lose it if he didn't let her go and leave her alone."
"And you actually would've done it?" Shining questioned.
"To be honest, I was ready to do it long before it got to that point, but Twilight shook her head telling me not to."
"Well, I think that you just might've earned a few points with me there for protecting my little sister."
"... did you just compliment me?" Dark surprisingly asked.
"Don't get me wrong," he corrected, "I still don't trust you with her, but at least I known that you won't let ponies like Blueblood be like that with her."
"Admit it, Shiny," Cadence smirked, "you're starting to warm up to him."
"Not on his life."
Dark just shrugged. "One small victory at a time I guess."
"I still don't like you, just to be clear."
"Yeah, yeah, I know."
"Something going on between you two?" Velvet asked.
"Shiny's just being a protective big brother for me," Twilight told her.
Seeming to buy it, Night nodded before his attention was drawn towards the creaking of the stairs. Looking over, they saw Spike quietly walking down before seeing everyone present. Upon spotting Twilight, Spike ran around the couch and jumped up to hug is surrogate sister.
"Hey, Twilight," Spike said smiling happily. "How did the meeting go?"
"Umm... well, Spike..." she tried to explain, but didn't want to tell him about what happened with Dark.
Patting the little dragon on the head, Dark took over. "There were a few hiccups, but other than that, it went well."
"Great. So, how did the king look?"
"He has red scales with orange spines and eyes, and he stood almost as tall as the ceiling in the throne room."
"Whoa. But wait, how did they get in then?"
"Magical amulet that shrank them to fit inside," Twilight explained.
"That's neat," he said before plopping down on Twilight's lap and leaning back against her.
"You're looking rather comfortable," Dark said as Spike gave out a satisfied sigh.
"You're just jealous that it's me sitting here like this and not you," Spike smirked.
Feeling embarrassed, Dark covered his face with a wing. "Why didn't I see that coming?"
"Is this what it's usually like for you, sweetie?" Velvet asked Twilight.
"Just about," she sighed. "Spike will tease Dark, and Dark will tease Spike back. But it's all in good fun in the end, and they'll just laugh about it later on."
"Sounds like they get along pretty well."
"Yeah, they do."
"I'll bet that he's good with foals too," Velvet smirked, causing Twilight to blush.
"Well... yes, he is."
"So then, should we be expecting any happy news soon?"
"Mother!" Twilight wined as she too began hiding her face behind her wings, which in turn caused Spike to start laughing at them.
"I told you she'd ask you, Twily," Cadence said.
"I know, but it's still embarrassing," she said, her voice muffled behind her feathery wings. "And he's sitting right here."
"If it helps, I'm just as embarrassed as you are, Twilight," Dark told her while still behind his own wings.
"Oh, come on now, dear," Velvet said, patting Twilight's shoulder. "It's nothing to be so embarrassed about."
"But we've only been officially together for two weeks," Twilight said, peeking an eye over her wing.
"Officially you say? Then how long have you two been together 'unofficially'?"
They looked to each other before Dark replied. "If we had to say, it would be roughly three weeks."
"So what made it official?" Night asked.
"When I finally asked her to be my fillyfriend. I tried asking her before, but I got interrupted."
"And I even tried making an advancement on him, but like with Dark, I was interrupted," Twilight added.
"I wonder how that happened?" Shining mockingly asked.
"Shining," Cadence warningly spoke. "Be nice."
"I am being nice. Besides, what can you say to them about me that's not as embarrassing as mom talking to them about foals?"
Cadence smirked mischievously. "How about the fact that you cried the first time we did it?"
Upon hearing that, Dark and Spike both shot a small stream of flame out of their noses before falling onto the floor laughing loudly, Twilight and Velvet both sat with their mouths agape, Night was holding his sides while laughing as loud as Dark and Spike, and Shining was sitting there frozen in place from her letting that secret out. After a few minutes of this going on, Cadence waved a hoof in front of Shining to try getting his attention... it didn't work.
"I... I think you broke him!" Dark said in-between laughs.
"Um... wow, Shiny..." Twilight tried speaking, but was at a loss of words.
"Shining my boy," Night chuckled, getting his laughing fit under control, "you've just made my week."
They continued their laughing spree for a few more moments until a sound caught their ears. Quieting down their laughter, they could hear the cries of a foal from upstairs.
"Oh, dear," Velvet sighed. "Now we've done it."
"I'll go get her," Cadence said as she got up to go fetch her daughter.
Picking themselves back up, Dark and Spike hopped back on the couch while Shining was finally snapped out of his shock by the sound of his foal crying. A few minutes later, Cadence walked back in with a little alicorn foal in her hold who had her mother's mane colors, her father's blue eyes, and a coat a few shades darker than her mother's. Of course, seeing her caused Dark start smiling at how cute and adorable the little filly was, especially after she cutely yawned from being woken up.
"Look, Skyla," Cadence softly spoke to her little daughter, "Aunty Twilight is here."
Understanding her mother, the little foal turned her head to Twilight and started reaching her little hooves out to her while making baby sounds. Laughing lightly at her eagerness, Cadence brought Skyla over to Twilight and put her in her forelegs while Spike scooted over between her and Dark to make room. Looking down at her little niece, Twilight giggled and started to gently nuzzle Skyla while she tried to wrap her forelegs around Twilight's face.
"Hello there, Skyla," Twilight softly greeted her, causing the baby filly to start making happy gurgling sounds while bearing a toothless smile.
To Dark, seeing Twilight holding her niece like that was one of the most heartwarming sights that he'd seen. Then again, little foals always make things cuter. Noticing the look that Dark was giving them, she brushed his shoulder with a wing to get his attention.
"You want to hold her?" she asked.
Glancing from Twilight and the foal to her parents, Dark saw that while Cadence smiled, Shining appeared to be in protective father mode.
"Thank you, Twilight, but I don't think that's such a good idea," Dark told her. "You know, with me being a complete stranger to her and all."
"Well, would you like to say hi to her at least?"
Seeing Shining relaxing a little bit, Dark figured that it wouldn't hurt. With a nod, Twilight turned to him and presented to him the foal in her forelegs. Skyla, who was looking intently at Twilight, turned her head to see the new face in the house. Cautiously, Dark lowered his head down, but was careful to not get too close incase she didn't like him.
"Hello, little Skyla," Dark softly spoke to her.
Seeing as she wasn't crying, Dark slowly lifted a claw closer to her, but didn't touch. That was, until she lifted her hooves up and started touching his claw. A few moments later, she grabbed it and guided it down closer for her to inspect. She felt the rest of his claws, seemingly already familiar with them thanks to Spike before she started munching on one of them.
"Seems like she likes you," Twilight observed.
"Looks like it," Dark slowly said. "But I'd still rather not take any chances just yet."
Hearing his voice again, Skyla looked up from the claw in her mouth to Dark's face. Looking back down to her, he saw that she removed his claw from her mouth and grip, and was now reaching her little hooves up to him. With a mental shrug, Dark lowered his head down so she could touch it. And like with the Cake Twins, Skyla began poking, prodding, and feeling Dark's face. It wasn't until she started poking his mouth that he playfully munched on her hoof with his lips, causing the little filly to happily squeal. Feeling like she was alright with him, Dark leaned down and softly nuzzled her, causing her to laugh as she tried to hug his face. Retreating his head, Dark saw her looking back up to him, still laughing and holding her forelegs out to him.
"I'd say that she likes you," Cadence smiled. "You can go ahead and hold her if you want."
With a slight look on unease, Dark looked from Cadence to Twilight, who smiled back at him before giving him the foal to hold. Taking Skyla in his arms, Dark got her cradled down in the crook of his arm before looking down to see her squirming around and trying to bury herself into his coat. Hearing a tired yawn from her, Dark also used his wing to help him hold her.
"Looks like somepony's tired," Velvet said looking at the little foal. "And comfortable too."
"It's probably Dark's body temperature," Twilight said. "Since Dark's a kirin, that also means that he has a fire sac like Spike does, which makes him warmer and more snuggly. Kinda like one of those heat blankets."
"Looking at our little granddaughter, I'd guess so," Night nodded before looking over to Dark. "You seem like you know what you're doing."
"I used to help my mom foalsit back... before then," Dark solemnly said before redirecting his attention to the foal in his arms.
"While we're talking about foals," Velvet began, "how about we look at the family album?"
"Mom?" Twilight questioned. "You're not going to start showing Dark embarrassing baby photos of me, are you?"
"Why not?"
"Yeah, Twilight," Dark smirked. "Why not? Besides, you've already poked at my memories and found some embarrassing things about me."
"It's decided then," Velvet smiled before getting up. "Honey, would you mind getting the family album for me while I get us some more drinks?"
"Sure, dear," Night answered before walking towards the stairs.
"And, Dark, would you like something to drink this time?"
Dark sighed in defeat. "A lemonade if it's alright?"
"Of course, dear. Same as before with everypony else?" she asked, getting sounds of confirmation from them.
"You don't drink?" Shining questioned.
"I tired, but alcohol isn't for me. Plus, it leaves a bad taste in my mouth and makes my breath smell bad," Dark answered.
"What's wrong? Can't handle your liquor?"
"Just the opposite actually. Since I'm part dragon, alcohol doesn't affect me. Even a full bottle of Applejack's hard apple cider didn't even get me so much as tipsy."
"... so you can drink without any repercussions, but just don't want to?"
"Pretty much."
"Hey, kids," Night called as he reached the bottom stairs, "I found the album."
"Perfect timing, dear," Velvet said as she walked back in with everyone's drinks.
"Great. Now, everypony gather around on the floor so we can embarrass you kids some more," he chuckled.
Following his words, everyone gathered around Night as he opened to the first page while Velvet passed out the drinks.
"Now, we're going to skip ahead from when your mother and I met, and go straight for the baby photos."
"Daaaad," Twilight and Shining whined in unison.
"Oh come now, Shining," Velvet spoke up, "you should be used to this by now. As for you, Twilight, it's about time that you got your fill like your brother has."
With a small groan, Twilight took Dark's wing and draped it around her to hide herself from them.
"I can't watch," Twilight said under his wing, which to the others looked more like an orange blanket than a wing.
"I just now noticed," Night spoke before starting, "why is it that your wings have fur and not feathers or dragon scales?"
"The dragon who turned me was a Scaleless Dragon," Dark explained, "so when he merged with me, the wings that I sprouted had fur on them."
"So you weren't born with them?"
"Nope. I was born a unicorn and got these wings after we merged."
"Huh, neat," Night said before turning back to the album. "Anyway, let's start with Shining Armor."
"Do we have to?" Shining complained.
"You are up first, so why not?"
Turning to the first of many baby photos, everyone saw a picture of Velvet holding a newly born Shining Armor. Of course, everyone didn't think it was embarrassing, but rather that it was cute, especially with how big his eyes were. Next up were pictures of him covered in baby food, and a few of him taking a bath. Those were the ones that caused them to laugh while he tried to shy away. Next up were baby pictures of Twilight. While she had poked her head out from behind Dark's wing to see the photos of Shining, seeing hers come up caused her to hide again. Like with Shining, Twilight's first photo was with her mom holding her just hours after birth with an anxious Shining Armor looking up at her.
"Aww, she looks so cute," Dark gushed, causing Twilight to squeak.
"That she does," Night chuckled before turning the next page. "Ah, now here we have Shining trying to feed Twilight."
"That was the last time I ever tried to feed her," Shining said as he looked over the photo of him covered in baby food while baby Twilight looked to be laughing at him.
"It was so cute how you would try to feed her, though," Velvet smiled. "Ohh, and here they are playing together in the bathtub."
"Hehehe, you two look so cute together," Dark chuckled.
"Guys don't do cute," Shining pouted.
"Really? Because I was told that I pull it off pretty well."
"What do you mean by that?"
His words catching up to him, Dark slapped his free claw over his mouth, but the damage was done as he looked under his wing to see Twilight giving him a mischievous smirk. Knowing what she was thinking, Dark's eyes widened.
"Nooo. Twilight, don't you dare," Dark warningly told her.
"Oh, I dare," she said back before popping her head out to speak to everypony there. "You remember the Prank Wars our friends and I hold each year?"
"Yes. It's how you caught the Feather Flu, right?" Velvet answered.
"... yeah. Anyway, Dark got pranked pretty hard," Twilight giggled. "Guess what happened to him? And no, Spike, you can't tell them, same with you, Cadence."
"Did he get that classic pie to the face prank?" Velvet wondered.
"Nope."
"Is it the old hoofshake buzzer?" Night asked.
"Nope."
"Did he get castrated?" Shining joked.
"... actually," Dark slowly began, "you're not too far off."
"Wait," Velvet quickly spoke, "does that mean no grandfoals from you and Twilight?"
"Mom! Please!" Twilight whined. "No, that's not it. What happened was that Dark got turned into a mare for the day."
"... say what now?" Night questioned.
Dark sighed. "Discord was apart of the Prank Wars too and decided that it would be funny to turn me into a mare for the day."
Shining was about to burst out laughing when they heard Skyla tiredly coo. Remembering the sleeping foal in the room, Shining instead went for silently laughing at Dark.
"So, Dark," Cadence said while struggling to hold back her own laughter, "how was it being a mare?"
"Super awkward. Not only that, but our friends also decided to dye our coats to match the others. So Twilight got my coat and mane colors, and I got hers."
"So you had to spend all day walking around Ponyville looking like a kirin version of Twily?"
"Pretty much," he sighed.
"Thankfully," Twilight said taking over, "everypony knew what that day was for us and didn't bother to question it."
"Didn't help that Spike went on ahead and gave every guard and the princesses a photo of us like that."
"Totally worth it," Spike happily said.
"Anyway," Dark redirected, "I believe that we were looking at some baby photos?"
"Yes, right," Night said before turning to the next page. "Aww, this ones cute. Twilight's first birthday."
"That's a lot of frosting."
"I still don't know how she got all of that frosting on her face," Velvet chimed. "I didn't even think that there was that much to start with."
"All I remember was that it was banana cream flavored," Twilight spoke, earning her looks from the others.
"How is it that you remember that?" Night questioned. "It was your first birthday."
"I have no idea," she shrugged. "I just do."
"Oh, here's a good one," Velvet said pointing to a photo in the bottom corner. "Here's a picture of when Shining first met Cadence at the playground."
"Wow, Shining. That young and you were chasing fillies around already?" Dark smirked.
"Actually," Night began to correct, "it was Cadence that was chasing around Shining."
"Really?"
Cadence blushed. "I might've had a small schoolfilly crush on Shining when I saw him."
"And I'm glad you did," Shining said before kissing her.
"I think that we're all glad that you did," Twilight smiled before looking down to see her niece still asleep in Dark's arm. "You think we should put her to sleep in her crib?"
"Probably should," Cadence agreed once their kiss finally ended. "Though I don't think that she'll like moving from her current napping spot."
"Well, you're her mom, and if you say that she probably should, then I guess it better be," Dark said before handing the Skyla over to her mother, the sudden shift causing her to whimper. "It's alright, little one. You're going back to mama now."
Taking Skyla into her magic hold, Cadence brought the filly over to her and held her close.
"It's alright, mommy's here," she cooed, causing the baby's whimpering to go silent upon hearing her mother's voice.
With her sleeping peacefully again, Cadence started making her way up to put Skyla down in her crib to sleep. Once she was up the stairs, Velvet was the first to speak up.
"You really are good with foals," she said.
"I actually think I got lucky with her," Dark replied. "I'm usually nervous when meeting foals that young and am afraid that I might scare them."
"Why would they be afraid of you?" Twilight asked. "You're definitely kind and gentle enough with them."
"Yes, but you never know with them. I saw one foal who was afraid of their grandmother just because she wore glasses. Now, if little Skyla saw these," he said before opening his maw and pointing at his fangs, "how do you think she'd react? The poor little thing would probably be scared to dea- actually, never mind that last part."
"I suppose she would be scared of you if she did see them."
"I know it makes me a little uneasy," Night said.
"Now, dear, there's no need to get nervous just because he's got sharp teeth," Velvet told him. "Besides, we've been around Spike enough that we should be used to it by now."
"I am used to sharp teeth. What I'm not used to is them being that big, and on a pony no less."
Dark was about to correct him until he thought it would probably be better for him not to.
"Then again," Night continued, "perhaps I'm just being an old worrywart."
"It's alright, sir," Dark said, "I understand that you're not entirely comfortable with me."
"Well, I'm glad to see that you're reasonable about it," he said with an approving nod.
"Didn't sound very reasonable with that Gunter guy," Shining said.
Hearing that name caused Dark to glare at him.
"Never speak his name around me," he hissed... literally.
"Dark," Twilight softly spoke as she gently rubbed his back with a hoof, "is what you said about him being a traitor true?"
"Yes, plus you guys heard him admit that, right?"
"We did. It's just that I still find it hard to believe that a pony would betray another pony like that."
"Well, it unfortunately did."
"So then that's why you never wanted to talk about how you got that scar of yours?"
"Yeah," he sighed.
"So what happened to him exactly?" Shining questioned. "I heard you say that you attacked him, but why didn't he have a mane or tail, and how is it that he was covered in so much metal plating?"
"After he betrayed me, I used my magic to set his body on fire."
"Come again?" Night questioned. "You set a pony on fire?"
"The guy pretended to be my friend so that he could betray me to the dragons for his own personal gain. And in doing so, he would've handed the village over to them, which he admitted that he was alright with."
"Sounds like a pony who deserves to burn in Tartarus."
"Why do you think I chose to set him on fire?" Dark questioned. "He was already going to, I just helped progress it."
"So those metal plates are covering the damaged skin?" Twilight guessed.
"That would be my guess. I honestly didn't expect him to have survived that. General Razor Claw must've brought him back to the Dragon Kingdom with him. It's the only explanation for how he still became aligned with them and why he's still alive."
"Sounds like this meeting was rather exciting," Spike chimed.
"Like I said, it had a few hiccups."
"Apparently," Night said before Shining started whispering in his hear, causing him to raise an eyebrow. "You know, that's not too bad of an idea there, Shining. Maybe a little bit much, but I don't see the harm in it."
"What are you two talking about?" Velvet asked.
"Shining just gave me the idea of taking Dark out for a little bit, if you two are alright with it."
"How long do you think you'll take?"
"An hour or two," Shining shrugged. "Depends really."
"As long as you three are back before dinner."
"Can I come with you guys?" Spike asked them.
"Sorry, buddy," Shining said rubbing Spike's head, "but it's just the three of us."
"So, what do you think, Dark?" Night asked.
"... well... " Dark was trying to say, but felt Twilight tapping him on his shoulder.
Turning his head towards her and leaning down, Twilight leaned up to whisper to him.
"I say that you should go," she told him.
"Are you sure?" he whispered back. "I mean, this is Shining we're talking about. You know, the guy who's tried to kill me once, twice if you count dinner last night."
"I know, but my dad will be there too. And knowing Shiny, he won't do anything to you while dad's around. Besides, this'll be the perfect time for you to bond with them, and to make Shining warm up to you."
"Alright, if you say so," he said, earning him a small peck on his cheek for trying before turning to Night and Shining. "Alrighty then. So, where are we going?"
"We have an place in mind if you don't mind a little walk," Shining told him.
"In that case, after you two," Dark said before finishing off his cup of lemonade. "Thank you for the drink, ma'am."
"You're welcome, and please, you don't have to call me 'ma'am'," she told him.
"In that case, is it alright if I can call you Velvet then? If it's all the same to you, I'd rather not call you by your first name."
"I wouldn't think that you would with my daughter having the same name," she laughed.
"Yeah. It would get a little confusing," Twilight giggle.
"Well then, we'll be off," Night called back was he lead the two younger stallions to the door. "We should be back in an hour, two tops."
"So," Velvet began as she looked at the clock, "it's 5:30 P.M. right now, so you three will be back by 7:30 at the latest?"
"We should," Shining answered.
"You three have fun," Twilight said as she waved them goodbye.
Few seconds after they left the house, Cadence came back down from tucking Skyla away. Confused as to where the guys were, she looked to Twilight and Velvet.
"Where are the guys?" she asked.
"They went to hang out before dinner," Twilight answered.
"... are you sure that it's a good idea to let Shining be with Dark like this?"
"With dad around, everything will be fine."
"Is something wrong with those two?" Velvet asked. "Because I've seen Shining giving Dark the stink eye."
"Well..." Twilight tried explaining. "Shining might've found out about Dark beforehoof and handled it badly."
Velvet sighed. "I know that he can be protective of you, but honestly, he really should lighten up about it. Dark actually seems like a decent stallion."
"There are very few things that would set Dark off, and most of them are in another kingdom."
"I don't think that we'll have to worry about him," Cadence said before making her way towards the kitchen. "Now, do we have anything that I can munch on? I'm feeling drained and need to replenish myself."
"Why would you feel drained? And what took you so long in putting Skyla to sleep anyway?" Twilight asked.
"Well," she began with a slight blush, "she was hungry, so I had to feed her."
"... oh."
"So, Dark," Night started to say as he, Shining, and Dark made their way down the sidewalk, "I never got to ask you where you've been staying since my daughter found you."
"... oh," Dark nervously spoke. "Well... with Twilight actually."
"... you mean to tell me that she's been letting you live with her?"
"I told her that I would take an inn when we first met, but she said that she wouldn't allow it."
"And now you're living under the same roof as an unmarried couple?"
"... yes?"
"... you know, kid, you're not helping yourself here," Night firmly spoke. "That being said, I admire your honesty."
"Thank you?"
"But that doesn't mean that I approve. If nothing else, you'll just have to prove yourself further to me."
"Say what now?"
"Have you been to the Canterlot Coliseum yet?"
"No, sir, but it's on my list of places to visit. Twilight and Cadence have explained it to me and it sounds like it would be fun."
"Well, you're in luck then," he told Dark as the Coliseum came into view, "because if you want my approval, then you'll have to fight to earn it."
"But I thought that you liked me?"
"Perhaps a little bit. While I'm happy for my little girl, I'm still not so sure about you. From what I understand, you have a rather violent history-"
"I lived in a village that was attacked by dragons on a weekly basis, so of course my history is filled with violence," Dark defended himself.
"-you use dark magic-"
"It's apart of my cutie mark, thus apart of who I am. Surely you can't blame that on me since I was born to it."
"-but the biggest reason is because of Blueblood," he finally finished.
"... I'm not following."
"From what I've heard, that prince is a royal pansy. He won't get his hooves dirty, so he'll just get somepony else to do it for him instead. More than likely somepony bigger, and with a lot of fighting experience. While I am proud of what you did for my daughter, you should expect to face stronger foes now that you've made an enemy of him."
"So you're having me fight as a way to prepare me to defend Twilight if need be, and to prove to you that I can do it?"
"Long story short, yes."
"I suppose I should be thanking you then. In that case, I'll be more than happy to prove myself to you, sir."
"And that's another thing," Night said. "The 'sir' thing, while respectable, is also a little annoying to me, so you can call me Night if you want."
"Yes, si- I mean, yes, Night," Dark corrected himself.
"Good. Now let's hurry up," he ordered the two before they broke into a gallop straight for the Coliseum.
In a shady store located in Downtown Canterlot, a young stallion was pacing around angrily. He'd almost been seen by Dark as he was casually walking down the streets of Canterlot earlier that day.
"Damn that Dark," he said to nopony. "Why is he here in Canterlot? And with the royal couple and that princess no less?"
His ranting was interrupted as two hooded-cloaked ponies entered his store. One wearing a tattered, gray cloak, while the other's was an ivory-white. Not wanting to risk being discovered, he dawned his own cloak, threw the hood up, and went out front to greet his customers that entered the shop that he'd recently "inherited" from his dead "Uncle".
"Welcome," he half-heartedly welcomed them. "Is there something specific that you're looking for?"
"Yes, hello," the ivory one returned with a haughty tone. "I was wondering if you had any special items."
Getting the meaning, he gestured the two to follow him into the back room. Closing the door behind them, the shopkeeper then turned to face them.
"Anything specifically special that you're looking for?"
"Ugh, just tell him already!" the gray one said impatiently. "I want him dead as soon as possible. Plus I have to be back within the hour, less I feel my boss' wrath."
"Be silent you peasant!" the ivory one barked.
"Have you forgotten of whom I serve?"
"I know, but as much as I want Dark gone too, we can't run into this rashly and have the princesses discover us. For this, we must be subtle about it."
Hearing this name got the shopkeeper's attention.
"You wouldn't by chance be talking about Dark Flame now, would you?" he asked, causing his visitors to snap their attentions to him.
"You know him?" the ivory one asked.
The shopkeeper glared beneath his hood. "I've tried to kill that bastard several time now, each of which ending in failure. I now patiently wait here running this shop until I can make my move during the spring... or if an opportune moment should present itself."
"If you want him dead too," the gray one began before lowering his hood, "then perhaps we can come to an agreement."
The shopkeeper's eyes widened at who was standing before him. He had heard that he was dead, thought, by the looks of half of his body being covered in metallic plates, it wouldn't be much of a stretch to say that he was half-dead. It was then that the shopkeeper began to chuckle, which gradually turned to maniacal laughter.
"OH, YES!" he gleefully shouted. "Gunter, the Betrayer, you have found yourself an ally with me."
"How do you know about me?"
"I know things," the shopkeeper smirked before turning to the ivory one. "And who would you be?"
"Like I am about to reveal myself to a lowly leech like you," he huffed. "Besides, I must keep my identity a secret from the nobles and royals."
"If you want my cooperation, then you will tell me. Besides, I have my secrets as well. Why do you think that I'm still wearing this cloak while indoors?"
"... very well then," he relented before revealing himself. "I am Prince Blueblood. Now that I have revealed myself, it's time that you showed who you are."
"... fine," the shopkeeper too relented before dropping his hood, eliciting a loud gasp from Gunter.
"What is it?" Blueblood asked his him.
"You," Gunter whispered, his eyes wide like he'd seen a ghost.
"Yes, me," the shopkeeper smirked. "Me, me, me. Now, if you tell anypony or dragon about me, I'll kill you."
"What happened to your head?"
"None of your business, that's what."
"Enough of this!" Blueblood snapped. "Now tell me who this pony is. You seem to be familiar with each other."
"... all you need to know about this guy is that he's with us and that he wants Dark just as dead as we do, if not more."
"Very well then, but how much more are you talking about?"
"You heard about the attack on Ponyville, right?" the shopkeeper asked.
"Yes, what about it?"
He wickedly grinned. "That was my doing, all to either kill Dark, or make him suffer by losing what was most precious to him."
Blueblood went silent for a moment before speaking back up. "That was you?"
"Yes. Now, I believe that we have business to discuss. Also, it should go without saying that what anypony sees or hears in this room is to never be spoken of again, less we all become executed."
"Agreed," Gunter and Blueblood replied in unison.
"Good. Now that we've agreed to our little... partnership, we can begin. So, what is it that you want?"
Reaching beneath their cloaks, Gunter brought out a golden woven bracelet while Blueblood brought out a piece of glass the size of his hoof, and sat them both on a nearby table. Taking a look at them, the shopkeeper became curious.
"What's up with this piece of-"
"Be careful with that!" Blueblood nearly shouted. "That isn't just a mirror fragment!"
"... seriously? A mirror fragment is your big plan?"
"Be silent and listen. What we have here is a fragment of a mirror portal." This got the two other stallions' attention as Blueblood continued. "It used to be in the Crystal Empire, but during its transfer to Princess Twilight's castle, it became damaged. Something about a gray pegasus mare with a blond mane and weird eyes, but I digress. Anyway, it secretly went into repairs at Canterlot Castle, and this shard came from it. Princess Celestia was so careful to keep it a secret from the common ponies that she didn't even see me come in and snatch the shard away."
"... you said that it came from a mirror portal?" the shopkeeper questioned.
"Not just a portal, but one that leads to an entirely different dimension. A parallel one in fact."
"Interesting. So then, what's the plan?"
"Do you have a magical focusing lens?"
"I might have one or two laying around."
This pleasant news brought a sinister grin to Blueblood. "Then here's the plan; You need to somehow craft these three pieces together to make a magical amulet. Once you do, somepony will have to use it on Dark and send him to that dimension. Here's the tricky part, though. The power in the mirror fragment will have enough magic for only one use, so whoever fires it cannot miss."
"So we're going to banish him to another dimension," Gunter summarized.
"Correct."
The shopkeeper smirked. "You're not thinking big enough."
"Excuse me?" Blueblood questioned dangerously.
"I can make this amulet of yours, but I can also do more to contribute."
"Go on."
"You said that this is a parallel dimension, meaning that there'll be a version of all three of us there. My plan is that after I craft this amulet, I'll make contact with my other self and tell him ahead of time. Once we banish Dark, he'll be there to fight him." His smirk grew more sinister as he began to madly chuckle. "And here's the best part. When they fight, either he'll kill Dark, or Dark will kill him and spend the rest of his life in their dungeons for murder. Regardless of the outcome, Dark will either be dead, or he'll be locked away in the place that we banished him to."
"... I'm starting to like you," Blueblood complimented. "For a peasant that is."
"How long until you can have this amulet ready?" Gunter wondered.
Looking over the materials, the shopkeeper figured out a rough estimate.
"Probably a week at the earliest, but most likely it'll be closer to two," he replied.
"Good to know. Now, if you two will excuse me, I need to get going before King Inferno uses me as a trip snack," Gunter said before throwing his hood back on and turning to the door.
"Before you go," the shopkeeper said as he rummaged through some stuff and brought out a bottle, "take this with you."
"What is it?" he asked as he eyed the bottle filled with a dark-blue liquid.
"It's a potion that'll allow you to communicate with us, seeing as you won't be around to stay in touch with."
"How much?"
"Considering we're partners, and that it's for this operation, it's free. Just be sure to not drink it until you reach your king's castle or whatever he lives in. It only has a two week duration, so that way it'll still be active when we set our plan in motion."
"Great," he said as he tucked the potion away. "In that case, I best be off."
The traitorous stallion then ran out of the shop, leaving the two remaining stallions alone together. Once he was sure he was gone, Blueblood turned back to the shopkeeper.
"That wasn't a potion, was it?" he questioned, his eyes narrowed.
"How'd you know?" the shopkeeper smirked.
"There's no potion of that color."
"True. What I gave him was a bottle of nightshade mixed in with some food coloring to make it not look like a bottle of poison."
"And you just told him to drink it why?"
"Do you not recall how I called him 'the Betrayer'?"
"Yes, I do."
"Then tell me why you think it would be a good idea to trust somepony like that?"
"I see your point, but what's stopping you from doing the same to me?"
"Poisoning a royal would draw too much attention and be far too dangerous. Besides, he knew of my identity, and I did tell him that I would kill him if he told anypony about me. And wouldn't you know it, he told you about me." He paused for a moment to gleefully chuckle at the soon to be ironic death. "It's rather ironic I think, how the betrayer has become the betrayed, and he doesn't even know it."
Dark stood dumbfounded as he stood before the Coliseum gates. He knew that it was big, but this was far bigger than what he'd thought it would be. It didn't help him that the outside of the stadium was lit by hundreds of torches, making it look even more grand to him than before. As he continued to stare at this wonder, Night chuckled at him before poking his side.
"Hey, Dark," he called, snapping him from his stupor. "Come on, the sign-in booth is this way."
Following Night and Shining, the three made their way in. Walking through the monstrous two-foot thick gates, they soon came to a booth ran by a tan pegasus with a black mane and green eyes who was roughly Night's age, being flanked by a pair of security guards. Upon seeing the three, the older stallion's face lit up.
"Night Light, you old dog!" he warmly greeted.
"Good to see you too, First Strike," Night returned with a hoofbump before turning to Dark. "Dark, this is First Strike. He's a retired guard who works here as the match coordinator."
"Ah, so you brought in some fresh meat, eh? Does he know what he's getting into?"
"My daughters have already told him apparently."
"Alright," he nodded before turning to Shining. "Shining Armor, it's been a while since I've seen you here. You know, the crowd and gladiators here were starting to miss you. You'd always give them a good show."
"Hehe, that I did," Shining chuckled.
"Anyways, what can I do for you, Night?"
"Dark Flame here is here to prove his worth to me by competing in a one-on-one duel."
"Alright. Now does he have an opponent, or will we have to provide one for him?"
"We've got somepony in mind."
"Great. Just to let you know, there are a few matches ahead of him, so it's going to be roughly a forty minute waiting cue. So with that, new blood, why don't you follow this guy and he'll show you to the preparation room."
"Yes sir," Dark replied before following one of the guards away to prepare for his match.
"So then," First began once Dark was out of earshot, "who's this challenger of his?"
Forty-five minutes have passed since Dark entered this room. To his surprise, the damage absorber that was required to be worn by the competitors was actually a magical bracelet. Once he slapped that on, he was allowed to pick out from the varying selection of armors and weapons. He was again surprised by the vast number of gear that they had with hundreds of different types to choose from. Not wanting to be slowed down too much, Dark took some black pants, a black jacket, and a black waist cape, which all had hidden chainmail woven in-between the layers of cloth. Not wanting to go into this without a weapon, he went over to the weapons rack, picking out a greatsword before tossing it onto his back, a built-in enchantment on the jacket holding the sword firmly in place. Feeling just about ready, Dark then casted a fireproof spell on his gear so he wouldn't accidentally burn or melt them while fighting.
Hearing the horn blowing, Dark walked up to the metallic gate and walked into the next room. Soon as the first metallic gate slammed shut behind him, the one in front of him opened up, leading him into the arena. Despite the sun almost setting, Dark saw hundreds of ponies cheering in the stands, waiting for another good fight. As he walked towards the center of the arena, he saw Night sitting at the front row on the right side towards the center. Dark gave him a nod, which was returned before looking over to the opposing gate, wondering who his opponent would be. Looking up above him, Dark saw a crystal floating above the center of the arena projecting images of the arena itself with a pair of heath gauges at the top. Turning his attention away from the floating crystal, he began looking to the opposing gate before a voice echoed throughout the Coliseum.
"Welcome to the next battle!" the announcer spoke, causing the crowd to erupt. "Tonight we have a rather special match. A nopony versus a veteran, rather unfair if you ask me." The announces paused for a moment as half of the crowd began to laugh. "Now, without any further ado, I give you our first competitor, the newbie, Dark Flame!"
Hearing him being called a newbie caused the crowd to laugh again. Becoming annoyed by the mocking, Dark began to growl as a few flames left his maw. Resisting the urge to roar out loud and possibly blow out somepony's eardrum, he instead tried to calm himself.
Just calm down, he mentally told himself. Wait until the other guy shows up and silence them by beating him down.
"Alright everypony, that's enough for now," the announcer said. "Now, onto our other challenger. While I generally announce the name of our competitors, this pony I feel doesn't need one as he's already well known by the Coliseum, and throughout Equestria. And so, here he is!"
Seeing the other gates open, Dark patiently waited for his challenger to appear. He didn't care who it was, with Twilight's father's approval for him on the line, he wouldn't-
"What the hay?!" Dark shouted.
Walking through the darkness of the gates was Shining Armor in his Draconium armor, and with his Draconium sword attached to his hip. While the crowd was erupting at seeing Shining back, neither he nor Dark spoke until they were both standing thirty feet away from each other at the center of the arena.
"So, Dark," Shining began as he started drawing his sword, "ready for round two?"