Prismatic Dusk 2

by Blueninetails

Epilogue

8 Years later

Dusk and Rainbow are now happily married, and the couple couldn't be happier. Rainbow was beyond ecstatic when Dusk proposed a couple of days after the first anniversary of them dating, performing a Sonic Rainboom just a few meters off the ground when she excitedly flew up into the air at a break-neck speed, nearly taking a portion of Ponyville with her in the resulting waves of aftershock. Dusk of course was also incredibly happy when Rainbow said, 'yes', but was more contented to letting all that energy out with a few extra skips in his step over the next several days after the fact.

The ceremony was just a simple affair, just a few of their friends and family present as it was held in an open field outside of Ponyville on a nice cool day. At least that was what they had hoped it would've been. After word got out of Prince Dusk's engagement, which wasn't much of a surprise to most really as it had become popular gossip for some time now among a few select ponies, it quickly became a big deal. In the end, it took a couple of months to organize, even with Dusk's meticulous planning, and they had the wedding at the castle in the Crystal Empire with many in attendance. An unfortunate oversight when it came to a wedding involving royalty, which was probably another reason why, aside from near-immortality, Princess Luna or Princess Celestia never married anypony. At least the overall ambiance was spectacular, the crystal ponies made sure as they had placed crystal shards at key points around the castle to increase reflected light in and around the structure; and, of course the reception was beyond awesome, especially with Pinkie in charge of the event.

Naturally, being married to 'Prince' Dusk Shine, Rainbow now held the title of princess, which of course was cool, but she didn't care. As a princess, she was given the quite a few privileges, including the power to demand the attention of certain members of the Royal Guard, but it also meant she was expected to attend certain events as a formality of her title. Luckily, Dusk picked up on her displeasure at some of these events and opted to either leave early or point her to an area where she could escape for a few minutes before being missed.

Rainbow eventually did get her chance to become a Wonderbolt about 6 years ago, though she had the chance to join sooner if she were to flaunt her princess title, but rejected the offers. She'd rather get in herself than abuse her standing, which suited both Spitfire and Dusk just fine. Furthermore, she held off due to another, more life-changing reason: she was pregnant.

At first, Rainbow was uncomfortable about the news, but eventually accepted it. Eventually she became incredibly excited at the prospect of becoming a mother. Despite the associated ups and downs of pregnancy, including the fact she was under medical advisement to stay grounded till she gave birth during the last couple of months (she made sure to let Dusk know how much that irked her), Rainbow just took it as a challenge and counted the days till she was officially a mom. Eventually, she gave birth to a healthy pegasus filly they both named Snow Drift. Snow had a very, very light-cyan coat, violet eyes, and a purple-ish mane and tail that had a darker purple streak on them.

After all those times Dusk listened to Rainbow bemoaned at being grounded during her pregnancy, he half-expected her to take to the skies again as soon as she could. Rainbow surprised him by opting to stay grounded for 7 additional months. She always hovered close to Snow and made sure her daughter wouldn't get hurt, and she hardly left the filly alone. She became such a doting mother.

It was only after Snow was just over a year old that Rainbow took to the skies for air tricks again, and Dusk and their friends convinced Rainbow to continue her pursuit of becoming a Wonderbolt. Initially she was hesitant to do so, but after many encouraging words from Dusk and all their friends, she agreed and continued her training. It took a bit of getting use to once she did become a Wonderbolt: Rainbow was gone for about 3/4th of the year each time with shows and training and only kept contact with one another through letters when she was gone. The extended times she was away made coming back home to her family all the more sweeter, and more worthwhile to be in her husband's loving hooves and play with their daughter once more.

Normally she would've spent more time at the academy during training regiments, thus more days away from home, but due to her fast flying, Spitfire allowed her the occasional chance to return home from Cloudsdale to spend the night with family, on the condition she gets back in time for roll call and that she follows her orders without question. The occasional promise to Soarin to return with a treat or two, which Spitfire forbade the stallion from buying outside of vacation hours, did also ensure Soarin would cover up her disappearances when Rainbow did leave without Spitfire's permission.

This year though, Rainbow had only come home twice rather than the multitude of times that was her usual like she had done in the past.
----------------------

Dusk made an audible yawn as he finished writing down the latest findings in his current research project regarding the usage of high-frequency regeneration spells as a way to encourage plant growth in highly damaged areas, and closed his log book. Closing the book, he stretched his wings out before proceeding to levitate the book to a nearby desk. Currently the alicorn was sitting in a room that he designated as his personal lab and study.

Dusk looked at all the loose-leaf notes, which were still left askew all over the floor around him, before turning his attention to the clock, "Half-past nine...I could've sworn it wouldn't take this long to finish my study for today. I probably should-" then paused as he saw a plate sitting on the floor, with food, and a note attached.

Levitating the plate over to himself, he looked at the note.

Dear Dusk,
Tried getting your attention so you could eat dinner with us, but you, once again, didn't budge. I cooked your favorite meal tonight: a tossed lettuce, tomato, and spinach salad, a daisy sandwich with sauteed mushrooms, and a slice of apple pie with whip cream (I gave you the can, so you can put it on yourself and not have a gross milk cream on top); and, no, I'm not gonna get you, or let you get, hayfries. You should know why.

Dusk smirked, but bowed his head in frustration. He liked hayfries. It was quick, easy, and overall a tasty treat to munch on when he got hungry. Problem was, it was his own rule that restricted him. To show fairness to his daughter, as well as further encourage her to eat healthy, if she had to eat healthy, so did the rest of the family.

Also, a letter came in for you from you-know-who, so I hope you finish up whatever you're doing, because it's hard enough trying to keep Snow in the dark about the letter. If you're reading this after midnight, I'm probably asleep already, and you're gonna have to ask for it tomorrow. I need my beauty sleep.
Signed, Barb.

PS: Sorry about the quills. Snow wanted to help, and tried getting your attention by putting them in your mane. At least none of them broke, right?

"My...mane...?" he asked out loud as he brought a hoof up to his mane, immediately feeling about ten quills that were stuck into his mane just behind his head. He merely shook his head as he pulled them all out with his magic, before hearing a light fluttering sound.

He immediately recognized the sound and smiled as he pretended to be unaware by trotting over to a center table, placed nine of the quills away, and used one as he pretended to be getting ready to write more notes, waiting for just the right moment.

Another fluttering sound, and also some light wing beats now that he's paying attention.

"Right above me. So...the ceiling this time...?" he silently mouthed to himself before mentally sighing, "Picked up a new trick I see." and started calculating just how high the ceiling in the room was and the expected fall speed.

Fluttering, followed by a small shout, then a light grunt as Dusk quickly caught the intruder in a levitation spell.

He looked up and saw Snow hanging upside down, her violet eyes staring back at him, and a scowl on her face.

"Dad! That's not fair!" she exclaimed as she crossed her forelimbs. Her chest going in and out, as if to show she was panting as well, probably from her flying.

"Perhaps, but you could've seriously hurt yourself. Pouncing me from above?" he asked in a scolding voice, "You'll hurt both of us, especially if you land on my horn." he added, placing Snow onto the table.

Snow's wings fidgeted, embarrassed that she didn't realize such an important detail sooner.

Snow was much like her mother, Rainbow Dash, she had a natural fondness for the air and was quite the competitive little filly, openly taking certain things as challenges for her to overcome. In fact, the little pegasus was actually quite the prodigy, when it came to flying, for her age. Already familiar with the basics, due to her getting into what flight book she could find and asking her Aunt Scootaloo for tips, she knew how to achieve lift and proper wing orientation to move properly. The only limiting factor at the moment was her age and the size of her wings. Being still fairly young, her wings were naturally too small and under-developed to fully let her fly at her full potential, which she ended up compensating for by pushing herself and exerting a lot of energy just to achieve a hover.

The talent of course absolutely thrilled Rainbow to no ends, and it went even further when Snow stated she took interest in following her mother's hoofprints, and wanted to join the Wonderbolts as well. It did come with some downsides though, as Rainbow and Dusk had to make an active effort to make sure certain flight books were out of Snow's reach, especially Rainbow's Wonderbolt Manuals, which contained most of the team's highly-advanced flight tricks. Not that it stopped the filly from trying.

"Just be more careful next time, okay...?" Dusk asked as he watched her fidget in embarrassment, which was rather cute to see to say the least.

Snow nodded as she let a smile back on her face just before she jumped and latched herself to her father's face, forcing Dusk to take a step back.

Snow made a sound that was halfway between a giggle and a growl as she play-assaulted her father, taking little nips at his mane, before eventually calming down and began nuzzling his head.

Dusk pulled her off his face with a levitation spell, hovering her just in front of him, with a more tender smile on his face. He returned the affection with some nuzzling of his own onto her forehead.

"So, why did you come in here? It's a little too late to play, in fact you should be getting ready to sleep now; and, your Aunt Barb already brought me dinner."

"Because Mommy sent us a letter!" she cheerfully replied

"Sorry, Dusk." he heard Barb's voice as the dragoness came into the room as well, still wearing her favorite apron that she wore every time she cooked or cleaned around in the kitchen, "I turned my back for few seconds to finish putting away the clean dishes, then...next thing I know she just cheered and ran off."

"You know what? Don't worry about it at all, Barb. After being alone in my lab all afternoon, it's a welcome distraction." he replied as he put Snow down again, who proceeded to jump onto Dusk's back so she could look over her father's shoulder, "So, we received a letter from Rainbow Dash...?"

Barb nodded as she reached into the pocket on her apron and pulled out the letter before letting Dusk's magic envelop it, "I actually put it on one of the higher shelves in the main room. I guess it wasn't high enough."

Taking the time to properly open it, so as not to accidentally tear the letter itself, before taking it out. Though it was rather clear that Snow wished he wasn't so cautious opening it as she impatiently fluttered her wings.

"Hey guys! Sorry about not writing back earlier this month, Trottingham's having some SERIOUS problems with their postal service as of late. Something about working conditions, I dunno." Dusk read out loud, being proper to be expressive in his voice where it counted, "Anyway, I hope you guys are doing great. Dusk, that you've been getting enough sleep, and not acting all freaked out like whenever something happens. Snow, that you've been practicing those wing movements. Hopefully I can actually fly with you without you piggy-backing on your dad's, or MY, back real soon. And, Barb, same with you and your wings. Seriously, how cool with that be if all of us went on a quick flight together as a family."

Barb let out a small laugh at the thought, "Doesn't she ever stop thinking of flying? She's gonna be on break from being up in the air for a majority of the day, and she's still thinking of getting back up there." she remarked, as she looked over her shoulder at her own wings, which despite it being at a good size for flight, rarely ever saw much use.

"Honestly..., I think you'd be asking too much of her to stay grounded, unless she has to." Dusk remarked before turning his attention back to the letter.

"Boring stuff over with, now for the better news, I talked to Spitfire and she's willing to let me off two weeks early this time around so I'm gonna get back by-"

"Mom's coming home tomorrow!" Snow excitedly cheered out loud as soon as she saw the written date on the letter.

"If the date's right, yes, she'll be back first thing tomorrow." Dusk remarked as he brought a hoof up to the ear that was closest to Snow and began rubbing it.

"Wow, I didn't think Spitfire let ponies off on break that early." Barb remarked.

"Rainbow probably caught her while she was in a good mood, or something. Either way, it doesn't change the fact we'll need to make sure everything is prepared to welcome Rainbow back home." he stated, earning an affirmative nod and salute from the dragoness.

"But what's that there?" Snow asked, pointing at the bottom-right corner of the letter, where there was a drawing of a flame in a circle.

Both Barb and Dusk looked at it, before Barb said, "Kinda looks like one of your mom's mouth-drawings."

"How do you know it's a drawing?"

"You draw little things too when your bored. Don't think your Dad and I don't know about those doodles on the back your math homework."

"It probably is. I can't figure why she would though." Dusk remarked before re-folding the letter and looking at Snow, "In any case, it's time for you to get to bed, Snow."

"Awww!" she complained.

"You know the rules. Besides, earlier you go to sleep, the earlier you'll get to see Mommy tomorrow."

That seemed enough to convince her, as Snow nodded and proceeded out into the hallway and towards the bathroom to brush her teeth before going to bed. Barb and Dusk didn't move and looked at each other with smirks as they waited, which wasn't very long, as the little filly quickly galloped right back in and gave her father a hug.

"Good night, Dad."

"Good night, Snow, sleep tight and I'll see you tomorrow morning."

She then turned towards the dragoness, "Good night, Auntie Barb." and with that, Snow turned to leave for the bathroom.

"I'll follow her and make sure she does go to bed. I'll probably get some sleep after that, so I can get an early start on breakfast," Barb stated, as Dusk gave her back the letter, "especially since Rainbow tends to eat quite a bit for breakfast."

"Thank you, Barb. I'd appreciate it." Dusk stated just before Barb put the corner where the flame drawing was into her mouth and let a bit of her flame breath onto it.

"Well, I am your top assistant, and your kinda-adopted daughter, afterall." and gave the now-burning letter back to Dusk, who took it in his magic aura, before she turned to leave, "Just do me a favor, and make sure you don't stay up all night. Otherwise, you're gonna look horrible come morning."

Dusk merely gave a nod, as Barb left, leaving him in the room alone with the letter burning in a vibrant green flame. Dusk watched it for a few seconds before the flames started turning orange and used magic to quickly extinguish the fire. What he held now was almost the same letter, minus the flame drawing in the corner, and the sides now singed.

What was burned off was actually a layer of magic that cloaked a hidden message, that could only came off specifically with Barb's flame breathing. It was a matter that only he, Barb, Rainbow, and the Princesses were aware of.

Dusk re-opened the letter and started reading the hidden message:

Barb, if I find out you're reading this before Dusk, I'm SOOOO gonna go on a pranking spree with Pinkie against you.

Hey there Dusk, I'm just gonna assume you read everything I wrote before having Barb burn it to ashes to see this, so I hope there's no problem with the idea. Afterall, it does mean I'll be able to stay home a little longer next time and be with you guys.

Also, I changed my mind about what I said about Snow those years ago when she was born, I guess it wouldn't be totally unawesome if we gave her an extra playmate to play with. Plus, who knows, maybe we can get lucky and you'll get that little pony to teach your magic smarts to.

"What...?" he mentally asked himself.

Talk to you more when I get home.
Your awesome wife,
Rainbow

Dusk flipped the letter just to check if there was anything else written. Finding nothing though, he looked back at the front of the letter and quickly re-read the message.

He was about to ask what idea Rainbow was saying, but stopped short as he groaned and facehoofed. Just how much more was there in the original letter? After Snow's interruption, he just gave the letter to Barb to burn. Great now what?

Nevermind, he'll be able to ask Rainbow herself tomorrow. For now, it's for the best he gets some sleep so he could wake up early and give Rainbow a proper welcome. Dusk quickly putting all his notes into a neat pile on his desk, and placing his inkwell and quill where they belong, before turning to leave.

Just as he was about to leave, he felt a sudden gust of wind from behind him, which blew all his notes from the table and onto the floor. Looking back, he noticed the window of the room was now open and the mild night winds was now blowing into the room. Dusk raised a brow as he went over to the window. He could've sworn that he had locked that window hours ago.

After taking a quick peek outside, and finding nothing to explain the unlocked window, he looked at the lock, and found it to be still properly attached to the window and undamaged in anyway to suggest it had worn out. Unable to find a proper explanation, he closed the window again and engaged the lock, before giving it a gentle shake to see if it could actually unlock somehow.

"Hm...?" he then shook his head, dismissing the topic for now, before going back towards his table and proceeded to gather all his fallen notes, and look through them to make sure they were properly in order. Which could've gone a lot faster, if it didn't consist of a mixture of his study notes and some important papers he was looking at for Mayor Mare.

As he meticulously went about reorganizing, he failed to notice that he was once again no longer alone in the room; and, that the intruder was now seated only about a foot from him. She smirked amusingly as she merely waiting, before shaking her head and making sure her rainbow-colored mane didn't look too messed up from the flight.

"Shouldn't you get some sleep too, Egghead...?" Rainbow asked.

"This shouldn't take very long, I'll be upstairs and in bed in a moment." Dusk replied without really thinking or taking his attention away from what he was doing.

"You're always buried in your work. I hope you still remembered to take care of Snow."

"Of course! As much as Barb or Scootaloo are always readily available to help, I do understand the base importance of a child having interactions with his or her parents."

Rainbow gave a slight snort in response and waited. After another five seconds, she got her response.

Dusk's ears perked straight up, his eyes shot wide open, and all the papers he had been holding and moving around in his aura suddenly froze.

"Rai-!" he was gonna say, before Rainbow promptly interrupted him with a sudden kiss on the lips, causing him to drop all the papers back onto the ground.

"Shh! Not so loud, or Snow's gonna hear you." she stated in a hushed tone once she pulled away.

"But..., what?!"

"To make this short, I arrived earlier this evening, napped on a cloud up until now, I came in through the window that I specifically asked Barb to unlock for me in a separate letter, and I don't want Snow to know -even though I absolutely missed her, and would love nothing more than to just keep her all to myself for the next few days- because if she knew I was already here, she and I would never get a wink of sleep tonight."

Dusk blinked a couple of times, and his ear twitched in response.

"That about answer your questions?" Rainbow asked with a cocky smirk.

Dusk hesitated for a moment, before asking, "Why are you here so early?"

"What...? Can't your totally, awesomely, cool wife come back home when she wants to...?"

"Well, yes..., of course...., but I thought you would be coming back tomorrow morning."

"I could have..., but I didn't. Wanted to get a headstart on my early vacation time. Besides, gives us plenty of time to talk about my plan."

"Yeah..., about that..." Dusk replied nervously as his ears flattened against his head.

Rainbow shot her husband a curious expression before it changed to an annoyed one. She groaned before asking, "Let me guess, you DIDN'T read the whole thing before having Barb burn away the spell...?"

Dusk could only offer a nervous grin, before Rainbow facehoofed.

"Okay, so how much did you read? Please tell me you at least read a bit of it first before letting her burn it."

"I did. I got as far as you saying you'd be back by tomorrow."

Rainbow rolled her eyes, "Well, at least you were pretty close to the end. The rest, in short, is that I talked to Spitfire about taking my name off for the last three shows during summer and all of fall's flight shows, so I'm going to do the Spring shows and the first three shows of summer, then I'm gonna cash in some extra vacation days to stay at home."

"B-but that's only half a year's worth of performance!"

"Yeah, it is." Rainbow remarked as if that's no big deal.

"Wouldn't something like that be too much? I mean, if you did, how did you convince Spitfire to allow you that much vacation time without breaching contract?"

"Not when you're me." she replied with a proud smile, "I did Spitfire some serious favors this year, so I managed to convince her to let me have lots of vacation days."

"What exactly did you do to convince her to let you claim more than a hundred days worth of vacation time in one year?"

"Well..., okay, it's not eeexactly more than a hundred days worth of vacation." Rainbow nervously admitted, "The last summer half at least, I'm just gonna be near Cloudsdale to train some of the new recruits instead of doing shows."

"That's still at least 90 days out of one year though..."

"I kinda pulled double shift this last month and a half, filling in for Fleetfoot while she was out of the office, which is why I didn't sneak off of the base as much as usual."

"I see." Dusk nodded in understanding, "What happened with Fleetfoot? I hope she's okay."

"She's fine, don't worry about it, she just had a rough patch settling in to being a married mare; but, she should be all good once we all report back come next Spring." Rainbow replied, "Anyway, apparently I did so well, some of the sponsors and higher-ups are proposing the idea of Spitfire promoting me to the next rank."

"That's good news!"

"One problem though, it might mean I'd have to displace Fleetfoot." Rainbow explained, earning a surprised look from Dusk, "Since she was gone for so long, and I was her replacement, they figured why not just make it official; but, Spitfire and Soarin aren't too keen on letting a long-time friend of theirs know that I got her job."

"Right..., I can see how that might not go so well."

"And, that's where my idea comes in. I figured if Fleetfoot got into this problem by taking time off, what's stopping me from doing the same? I'd just do my job as always around the academy, then take some personal time till the team's sponsors get back into having Fleetfoot as part of the main team."

"You do know, you could've just rejected the promotion offer, and said you're content with the position you have now."

"Yeah, well..., this was a more fun option. I get to stay home, help teach Snow a few pointers, have time to attend some of Pinkie's parties again, and I get more time to just hang out with you." Rainbow stated, saying the last bit in an affectionate tone as she scooted closer to Dusk, making sure her side touched his.

Dusk could only offer a smile, as he stretched out a wing and laid it across Rainbow's back, finding that logic hard to argue against.

"Welcome home, Rainbow Dash. It's good to have you back."

"Great to be back." she simply remarked before affectionately nuzzling the side of his face.

After another brief moment to merely enjoy the feeling of having her beloved husband's wing on her back again, and sharing a quick kiss, Rainbow asked, "So..., to the other letter. What...what do you think...? Or do you need me to explain that one too?"

Dusk gave a silent chuckle, "I think I understood that part, but are you sure...? I mean, if I'm understanding you correctly, you want another foal...?"

"Sure, why not? I think it'll be fun to have another set of hooves running around."

"Well, I certainly don't mind the thought."

"Awesome!"

"You know, we're gonna need to start planning now. We're gonna need to prepare a few things if you're absolutely sure about this."

"Good thing I married you then." she remarked as she pulled away from his side, "Betcha you'll already have a list of what we'll need in your head by tomorrow morning." she added jokingly with a smirk and lightly elbowed him.

"Preparing for a foal...? You know that's only wishful thinking. We did that with Snow, and we were just barely fully prepared with her."

"You're gonna get a headstart though. You actually get to know this time around."

"Still..."

"Okay, fine," Rainbow groaned as she stood up, "as you know by now, I'm off for break for the next few weeks or so, so do your thinking then let me know when you've decided." she added with a smirk and a flick of her tail on his snout, as she turned towards the window.

"Where are you going?"

"I gotta go through the window. I have a feeling that Snow isn't gonna miss seeing me if I go though the halls." she explained as she unlatched the window and pushed it open, "See ya when you get to bed, Dusk." she added just before disappearing out into the night.

Dusk chuckled, silently wondering if Snow would actually see Rainbow before the little filly falls asleep. Snow had her own bedroom by now, and while separate from his and Rainbow's, she still had to pass in front of their door to reach her room. Well, he certainly hopes so, Snow still needs her sleep. Minutes ticked by as he continued sorting out his papers, which didn't take as long as he originally thought; and, considering he hasn't heard a cheerful scream, yet, he could only presume that Rainbow managed to slip into their bedroom without Snow noticing her.

With the task done, and his papers now properly organized, he could finally go about his nightly routine and get some sleep, and maybe mull over Rainbow's little proposal while he's at it. He was still a little unsure about the idea, but he wasn't lying that he didn't mind the idea either. Actually, thinking about tomorrow, maybe he can mull over that later, maybe tomorrow night after dinner, he'll need to focus more on how tomorrow will turn out, and he'll more than likely need the energy for it.

After bidding Barb a good night, he went about his nightly routine, before quietly slipping into his and Rainbow's bedroom. Rainbow was already in bed and apparently tried hiding the fact she was back by moving their pillows away and was laying down at the head of the bed, already fast asleep. Dusk bemusingly smirked before gently poking her to wake her.

Rainbow woke up, granted still half-asleep, and looked at him and tried to see if he's considered her proposal, but the look on his eyes seem to let her know what he decided. With a bit of a nod, Rainbow shifted so she would be sleeping in her usual position as Dusk used his magic to put their pillows back where they belonged, before getting into bed as well.

As soon as he was comfortable, he felt Rainbow back up into him so her back and wings were pressing against his barrel. Letting a smile on his face, he gently wrapped his forehooves around her and positioned his head so her's was underneath his chin.

Rainbow let out a contented sigh, "Did I already tell you how awesome it is to be back home?"

Dusk chuckled lightly, "Yes...Yes, I believe you did; but, I don't mind." then gave a yawn, just before the two snuggled a little tighter and the two peacefully fell asleep.

Author's Note:

Again, apologies for taking so long to finish this. Anyway, I hope you guys liked it, and that it was up to par with the original story.

Thanks for reading, and also a big thank you for all of you who waited so long to see this concluded, thank you for patience, and I hope to see you next story.

-Blueninetails (aka: Sky Feather)

Comments

[NoLongerSober]

Good to see this finished. :3