Of Flame and Shadow

by Garuda IV

Chapter 42- Repercussions

Dark was unsure of the time of day it was when he finally began to awaken. Last thing he remembered, he was laying on the cool crystal floor of Twilight's castle when Twilight prodded him with a hoof and asked him a question. After giving her a groaned response, his consciousness slipped from him.

Stupid teleportation sickness, he annoyingly thought. Perhaps there's a way to cure it, or at least reduce its effects to a mild-headache.

Feeling the rest of his body starting-up after his brain, Dark felt something warm covering him as he laid on his side, along with something soft supporting his head.

Did somepony put me to bed? Hehe, haven't had anypony do that to me since mom from when I was a small colt. Must've been Twilight, seeing as how she was the last one who I heard before falling unconscious... again.

Mentally smiling at the thought of her looking out for him, Dark tried to move his claws that were folded against his chest, but immediately felt them brush up against something. Regaining his senses even more, he then noticed that what he felt covering his body and back didn't feel exactly like a blanket, but instead the feathers of a wing. Cracking open an eye, Dark's vision was met with a familiar lavender coat. Smiling at her, he shifted his gaze up as much as he could without moving his head to see that Twilight had cuddled with him, her head resting on his while her wing and foreleg had pulled him tight against her.

Huh. So, is this how it usually is for Twilight? To wake-up while being held close somepony else like this? Dark wondered, a small smile creeping back onto his muzzle before he closed his eyes shut again. Well, I suppose that I could get used to this. Especially with how warm, soft, and overall snuggly she is.

Putting any other thoughts out of his mind for now, Dark was relaxing himself to go back to sleep when he heard a soft, yet rather cute yawn from above him. Looking back up to Twilight's face again, Dark saw her as she began rubbing her tired eyes with a hoof. Feeling that he had some wiggle room with her hoof preoccupied, Dark slowly lifted himself up the bed.

Feeling the sudden movement, Twilight looked down to Dark just in time to see him give her a surprised kiss. Falling into it, Twilight gave a satisfied moan as she returned it, letting it last much longer than the one they'd shared yesterday as humans. Only when they needed to breathe again did they part lips from each other.

"Good morning, beautiful," Dark whispered with a quick peck.

"And a good morning to you too," Twilight giggled, pulling him close against her again. "I know that it's only been a week, but I really missed this."

"Me too. Even with the heavy blankets that Sunset provided for me, I could still feel the chill of the lack of body heat next to me when I slept."

"I know exactly what you mean. Once you've shared your bed with somepony you love, it just isn't the same when they're gone."

"Yes, but thanks to you, I'm home again."

"And I'm very happy that you are," she told him with a kiss. "How are you feeling though?"

"Alright... why?"

"Well, you've been asleep for quite a while. I was actually starting to get a little worried about you that something had happened."

"Really? How long was I out for?"

"About eighteen to nineteen hours, give or take. I didn't exactly have the time when I got you to bed."

"Wow, that is a long time. Stupid teleportation sickness."

"Yeah, I kinda figured that that was part of the reason for you sleeping like this. Especially after Sunset told me about how they found you."

"Speaking of them, are they alright?"

"They're doing just fine," Twilight said with a smile. "The police arrived there a few hours after we left."

"It took them that long to get there?"

"Well, as it turns out, that gang had some sort of transmission device in the school that intercepted any phone calls they made to the police, and redirected them towards one of them."

"So they didn't know about what was happening at Canterlot High until it was too late."

"Yes. Although, according to Sunset, your little raid on their base made it to the news. Of course though, there isn't any sign of what had happened there to have caused it."

"Okay, but how are the girls?"

"Again, they're all fine. Though the students and teachers were a bit scared from the school being controlled by a gang like them, things have started to settle down and are now going back about their business as usual."

"That's good to hear. I hope none of them got into any trouble with those police guys."

"Besides some statements from them about what happened, they've been released. None of them are in any trouble and they also managed to tell their story without mentioning you, me, or the guards."

"Smart. But, now that I think about it, how come the guards were so calm about them being a human? I mean, I have the excuse of being turned into a kirin, and then a mare before I became a human, but what about them?"

"Simple, I told them what to expect and made a magical projection image of what I looked like as a human to give them an idea of what they'll look like."

"Ah."

Letting the conversation die down for a while, the two began to simply lay there in bed, enjoying the company of one another as Twilight held him against her chest again. After some time had passed, a worried thought came to Dark.

"Hey, Twilight."

"Hmm?"

"Did anypony by chance find the guy who sent me there?"

Feeling Twilight giving an angry snort, Dark looked up to see her upset face. Noticing his slightly concerned look, Twilight released a stressful sigh.

"We did."

"Good-"

"But he go away."

"Oh. Wait, how did he get away?"

"He used some kind of spell to blind everypony and made his escape."

"Ah. Well then, I guess I could see that."

"That's not all though," she quickly added. "Dark, we managed to get a look at this pony."

"Really?! Who is he?!"

"That's just it, nopony knows who he is. But..."

"But?"

Twilight sighed as she looked worryingly at Dark. "We believe that he may be an alicorn."

Dark's eyes snapped wide at this new information. "What? But how?"

"We don't know. All we know is that this pony has wings and a horn. However, nopony saw him ever use his horn when he casted his blinding spell on us."

"Huh, you know, I don't think that he ever used his horn once when he confronted me."

Twilight nodded. "We think that his horn might be a fake, but we're not completely sure yet."

"Well, at least we know what he looks like now. It'll be much harder for him to hide. Speaking of which, where did you guys find him?"

"In Canterlot, right under the princesses' noses."

"Bet they're not happy about that."

"Not in the least. Princess Luna is rather mad about it and has sent her night guard up north to track him while she tries to get more information out of his known accomplice."

"Somepony else was in on this?! Who?!"

Twilight's brows furrowed. "Blueblood."

Hearing that name immediately caused Dark to emanate a low, threatening growl from his throat while baring his fangs slightly.

"When I get my claws on his scrawny neck, I'll-"

"Better not," she interrupted. "As much as I would like to personally see to his interrogation, he's our only source of information on who this pony is. Besides, you'll see him during his trial in a few days."

"While he deserves to be put on trial, if you want information from him, then just give me a few minutes alone with him and I'll get him talking... without hurting him of course," he quickly added.

"I understand. Besides, how do you think I got him to tell us about where that pony was?"

Dark looked at Twilight surprised. "Twilight, what did you do to him?"

Twilight smirked and innocently answered, "Oh, nothing much."

While the thought of what she'd probably had done was slightly off-putting, Dark also found himself allured by it. Reaching back up, Dark passionately kissed Twilight. Feeling a figurative fire burning in his chest, Dark rolled on top of her, their lips never parting. A few moments later, they separated, both panting for breath while Dark smirked at her.

"You're a dangerous little pony, aren't you?" he asked before giving a yelp of surprise as Twilight rolled them over with her now on top.

"Only when I want to," she smirked back. "Now, I need your help with something."

"Oh? And what would that be?" he playfully asked, though having a good idea with the bedroom eyes she was giving him.

"This last week has been rather stressful for me, and I need a way to... relieve that stress. So," Twilight lowered herself, their muzzles barely touching, "care to help me out? And I don't mean with your longue like the last few times, I mean all the way."

"Are you sure about this? I mean absolutely sure?"

"I am."

Dark gave her a hungry, throaty growl. "Well then, who am I to refuse such a request, My Princess."

---

Spike snored loudly as he slept in the basket bed in his bedroom. During this past week, he'd been busy between helping Twilight and Moondancer with first trying to fix the portal, then helping them in trying to locate the jammer that was blocking it. And what time he did have left he spent with his three fillyfriends, but mostly with Sweetie Belle, seeing as how she had taken Dark's disappearance the hardest between the four of them. That was, until Twilight had brought him back yesterday.

After hearing about his return, the four tried to make their way up to see him, but were stopped by Twilight when she blocked their paths and told them that he was sleeping. While Spike and the fillies were a little bummed that they couldn't see him, she did say that she would tell them when he woke up.

As Spike continued to snore in blissful sleep, he was soon awoken, not by the sun's rays in his eyes, but by something else entirely. Groggily sitting up, he wiped his eyes with his claws when he heard the sound again.

"What the heck is that noise?" he mumbled to himself as he continued to listen. "Is somepony nailing something into the wall."

Passing it off as Twilight working on a project of some kind, Spike tossed the blankets back over him and tried to tune-out the noise so he could go back to sleep... it wasn't working. Not only was the thumping getting louder, but it seemed that the speed of it was picking up as well. It wasn't until another ten minutes of listening to this had passed that Spike gave an irritated huff as he sat-up in his bed.

"Alright, that's it! What the heck is going on-"

"RAAAAAAWWWRRRR!!!"

"GAAHHH!"

Shouting in fear, Spike dove back under the safety of his blankets, his green draconic eyes fearfully peeking out from beneath them.

"What the name of Celestia was that?! A dragon?!" he worryingly asked himself.

Shaking in his bed, Spike waited for anymore sounds to be heard. Either that, or for Twilight to come running or teleporting into his room to checkup on him.

Wait, if Twilight isn't here yet, then where could she...

Spike's eyes widened in fear at the thought of whatever that was getting to her. With the safety of his sister overcoming his sense of fear, Spike threw off the covers and jumped to his feet.

"Don't worry, Twilight, I'm coming to save you!"

---

Dark and Twilight were laying side-by-side on their backs, both covered in sweat and panting for breath from the exertion of their... stress relief.

"That... was... wow," Twilight said between breaths.

"I take it... that you liked it?" Dark panted.

"Definitely. I thought that what... we did before was great... but that doesn't even... compare to this."

"Well then... I'm glad that... you liked it so much."

Twilight rolled over and began nuzzling beneath Dark's chin while Dark draped an arm and wing over her.

"All thanks to you. Although, I still can't believe that I finished twice before you did."

"I know, though just barely," Dark agreed. "I thought that your alicorn stamina would've caused you to outlast me."

"Must be because you're part dragon. By the way, what was up with you roaring like that?"

"I... have no idea actually," he answered confusingly. "I didn't intend on it, but when the time came, I just had this... urge to roar."

"Huh."

"You think it might be because I'm part dragon again?"

"Maybe. I'll have to look into a book that tells about the mating habits of dragons."

"Well, if you do somehow manage to find one, you should probably read it away from Spike," Dark chuckled. "Speaking of him, it's a good thing that we had a soundproof barrier up so he couldn't hear us."

Twilight's eyes snapped wide open in realization.

"Umm, yeaahhh, about that..."

"... yes?" he asked with a cocked eyebrow.

"I may have forgotten to cast one before we started."

"Wait, so does that mean that Spike-"

Dark was interrupted when the doors to the bedroom were thrown open and slammed against the wall. And there, standing in the doorway was Spike, wearing a pot on his head with a pillow tied to his body for armor and wielding a frying pan in each of his claws.

"Don't worry, Twilight! I'm here to save..."

Spike's little warcry drifted off when he saw Dark and Twilight laying in bed, both looking at him with heavy blushes and nervous looks. Taking a quick look around, Spike saw that everything in their bedroom was perfectly fine. Seeing that everything seemed to be alright, Spike lowered his frying pans and walked over to them.

"Uh, hey, guys," he awkwardly greeted them. "You two wouldn't have by chance heard something banging against the walls and a loud roar, would you?"

Dark and Twilight looked to each other with the same embarrassed looks of Spike essentially catching them.

"What should we say?!" Twilight quietly shouted in worry.

"I don't know!" Dark quietly returned. "Should we lie to him and tell him some story?"

"I don't think that he'll buy one at this point."

"Well, if we can't lie or makeup some story, then what are we suppose to tell him? The truth about what we were doing?"

"You know, just because you two are whispering right in front of me doesn't mean that I can't hear everything that you two are saying," Spike impatiently told them.

Turning their attention back to each other, Dark and Twilight looked into the other's eyes, silently wondering if they should. With a nod from Twilight, Dark gave a small sigh before turning back to spike.

"So... you really wanna know?" he nervously asked.

"I do," Spike assured.

"Alright, fine. Well, you see... um... hey, remember when you and I had 'the talk'?"

"Ugh! Please don't remind me about that. And why are you bringing that up anyway?"

"Well, remember what I told you about what two ponies do when they love each other very much?"

"Unfortunately, I do. They get together and-"

Spike stopped himself when he realized where Dark was going with this. Eyes wide and jaw dropped, Spike looked disbelievingly over to Twilight, who gave him a shy nod, confirming his suspicions.

"Umm.... well then..." he slowly said, his face turning red from learning what happened. "If you two will excuse me, I'll leave you two alone while I try to forget what just happened."

Dark and Twilight stayed silent as they watched the little dragon quickly run out of the room and slam the door shut behind him. Once the sounds of his claws echoing down the crystal halls fell silent, the two let out a breath of relief.

"Well..." Twilight slowly began as she tried to find the words. "That was..."

"Unfortunate for him?" Dark finished with a guess.

"Yeah, let's go with that," she confirmed before sighing. "I can't believe that we forgot to create a soundproof barrier around the room. Or, at least I forgot to create one."

"You can't blame all of this on yourself."

"Why? Are you able to cast a soundproof barrier?"

"I can't, though I can dampen the sounds with my shadows."

"Okay, so we both messed up then. What were we thinking?"

"Well, we weren't," he chuckled, causing Twilight to join.

"Should we checkup on Spike?"

"I think that it might be best to just give him some room for now. I'll go talk to him about later it. Besides, he already knows about this sort of stuff. I'm just happy that he didn't catch us in the act."

"Yeah, that would've been really awkward and embarrassing if he did."

"Yeah. So, what now?"

"Well, Pinkie has a 'Welcome back to Equestria' party ready for you for when you woke-up."

"Of course she does," Dark happily chuckled. "Do you know when it'll be?"

"Since you're awake, it'll probably be today somewhere around noon, if not sooner. That way we can have the party before leaving for Blueblood's trial in Canterlot."

"Oh... right... him. When is his trial anyway?"

"In three days, but they would like for us to be up in Canterlot the day before. Besides, it'll give us a chance to see my parents again."

---

It was a few hours before sunset when the train carrying everyone finally arrived at Canterlot. While the party that Pinky had thrown was fun, especially with how happy their friends and the Crusaders were to see him back, and how hungry he was, Dark had to excuse himself so that he and Spike could talk about earlier. To his surprise though, Spike seemed to have gotten over most of it and was handling it rather well. Spike later explained that it was mostly out of shock from hearing what they told him... and what he heard through the walls that he was acting like that. Although the talk did go well, Spike did tell Dark that he was still a little bit unnerved by it, but a promise from Dark that they wouldn't do it again without some kind of soundproofing spell seemed to put Spike a little more at ease.

Now though, as the train slowed down into the snow-covered Canterlot Station, those thoughts returned as Dark looked out the window to see Cadence, Shining, and a half-dozen of their crystal guards waiting for them at the platform. As he continued to worry, his thought became interrupted when he felt a hoof on his shoulder.

"Hey, you alright?" Twilight asked.

"I'm... not sure," Dark unsurely answered her.

"What's wrong?"

"Well, it's just that I'm a little worried of them finding out about what we did is all."

"You're talking about this morning, right?" she clarified, getting a nod from Dark. "I understand what you mean, but I wouldn't worry too much about it. Besides, the soreness is gone now and I can walk just fine again."

Dark turned his head to hide his embarrassed face away from Twilight.

"Yeahhh, sorry about that... again."

"It's alright, it was well worth it to me."

"Heheh. Alright, if you say so."

"Hurry up, you two," Spike told them, causing both of them to turn around to see their friends and Spike heading towards the doors. "You'll be left behind if you say on any longer."

Grabbing their bags, Dark and Twilight made their way out of the train and over with their friends who were already being greeted by Cadence and Shining. Upon making eye contact with them, Dark took Twilight's bags from her before she ran over and gave them both a big hug. Once they let each other go, Shining and Cadence led Twilight, Dark, Spike, and their friends towards the castle.

"Ooh! I missed you two!" Twilight happily told them.

"Us too, Twily," Shining smiled before seeing Dark walk over to them.

"Shining," Dark said with a nod.

"Dark," Shining returned with an acknowledging nod of his own. "So, according to the princesses, you're suppose to be the Lord of Death?"

"Yeah."

"And you didn't tell my parents or Cadence and I this why?"

"Because I didn't know what you guys would do if I did. I mean, I would have a good idea of what you'd do, but not your parents. Especially since Twilight and I are together... they don't know, do they?"

"No, they don't," Shining sighed before looking seriously at Dark. "However, if you want to keep their trust, or what would remain after they learn of what you are, you should tell them yourself before they hear it from somepony else."

"Yeah, I know," Dark said in agreement, "but how should I go about it? Last I saw, your dad seemed alright with me, though still unsure, while your mom welcomed me. Also, and don't get me wrong here, but why do you seem so willing to help me with this?"

"I'm doing this more for my parents because if they do learn about you from somepony who's not you, then they'll be hurt by it."

"So then, you're doing this as a way of looking out for them?"

"Yes, but I'm also doing it because I did tell you that I'd give you a chance, right?"

"Yeah, I guess you did," Dark smiled. "Oh, by the way, Shining, you wouldn't by chance know of where I could find a jeweler in Canterlot who does custom-made orders, would you?"

Shining's eyes snapped wide in surprise and anger.

"You're not going to do what I think you're going to do, are you?" he threateningly asked.

Dark, in turn, just looked back confusingly at him.

"Uhh, I don't think so. I just thought that I'd do some early window-shopping before Hearth's Warming next month. You know, get ahead of the pack before the rush is on."

"Oh... sorry about that. Well then, I might know of a place or two."

While the two guys were busy talking, Twilight and Cadence were having a conversation of their own.

"So, Twilight," Cadence began, "I see that you managed to get Dark back and return Equestria back to normal."

"Yeah," she tiredly sighed, thinking back on what she had to do. "I won't lie, it was very stressful trying to track where that portal jammer was. Even more so than I'm usually used to."

"That's another thing that I noticed. You seem to be very relaxed and stress-free for what stress you've been through, even if it was just a day ago. That, and you seem to have this glow about you."

"What do you mean by 'glow'? I didn't cast any spells to make me do that."

"That's not what I meant, Twilight," Cadence smirked as she leaned in closer. "I mean the sort of glow that one emanates after having been intimate with somepony."

Twilight's face immediately lit-up before quickly looking away from Cadence, which caused her to giggle and drape a wing over her.

"I'm not making fun of you, Twilight. If anything, I'm happy that you found somepony who you love so much, and who loves you in return. Even if that somepony does happen to be Death Incarnate."

"B-But, how did you know that we... did it?" Twilight stuttered. "I still don't get it."

"There are several subtle hints that caught my eye, but it was mostly after you two stepped off of that train that I noticed. When you did, I could feel that the love between you two was much stronger than what it was the last time we met."

"Really? I mean, yeah, I love him, but I didn't think that it would be that big."

"Let me give you some advice, Twilight. Not as the Princess of Love, but as your sister-in-law. Keep doing what you can to show him that you love him, and he'll do the same for you in return, if not more."

"I will," Twilight smiled before looking at Cadence with a hint of worry. "Just please don't tell mom, dad, or my brother about this?"

"I promise that I won't tell our parents or Shiny about what you two do behind closed doors," Cadence smirked.

"Thank you."

"Although, you did forget to mention Aunty Celestia and Luna in that promise."

Twilight looked to her in horror. "You wouldn't."

Cadence didn't give a return answer. Instead, she remained quiet as they continued along to the castle with a mischievous smile on her muzzle.

---

By the time they all arrived inside the castle, everyone had a thin layer of snow covering their coats. That is, everyone except for Dark and Spike, thanks to their fire sacs keeping them too warm for the snow to settle on. Taking a quick moment to clear the snow off of them, they followed Cadence and Shining to their guest rooms to unpack. Of course, Cadence smirked at Twilight and Dark when she lead them to their shared room, much to Shining's discomfort. While he was willing to give Dark a chance, he didn't like the thought of his sister sharing a bedroom with him.

With everypony unpacked, they all split-up to head on their own until they would gather for dinner. Until then, Twilight, Dark, and Spike made their way back through the light-snow shower to see their parents. As they made their way down the home stretch, Dark began to act nervous, to which Twilight noticed.

"Nervous about the same thing as before?"

"No, not this time," Dark replied.

"Okay, so what's troubling you then?"

"Well, Shining and I talked-"

"What did he say to you this time?" Twilight asked accusingly.

"Nothing really, just a good point that me made."

"Which would be?"

"About your parents learning about what I am. You know, about me being the Lord of Death."

"Are you worried about how they'll react?"

"Yeah," he sighed. "I've been trying to make a good impression on them, and I'm worried that all of that will go down the drain once they hear about it."

"Alright, but why did Shining tell you to tell them?"

"He thought that it would be better for them if I told them myself, instead of them finding out from another source."

"Well, I guess we're about to find out," Spike chimed as he stopped up in front of them, "because we're here."

Paying attention, Dark saw that they actually were standing in front of their house. Walking with them up to the door, he took deep breaths to try and calm his nerves. A moment after Twilight knocked, the door was opened by Night, who didn't waste any time in hugging his daughter and Spike.

"Ahh, my kids! How have you two been?"

"Just fine, dad," Twilight answered with a hug.

"Me too," Spike nodded.

"Good. And how about you, lad?" Night asked Dark, giving him a hoof/clawshake.

"Alright, sir."

"Again with the 'sir'?"

"Sorry, but I can't help it since that's how I was raised to treat others."

"Heh, I know. It's fine."

"Honey? Is somepony here?" Velvet asked.

"Twilight, Spike, and Dark are here."

"Well what are you waiting for? Let them in already."

Chuckling, Night motioned for the three to come on in. Brushing the snow off their hooves and claws, the three followed Night into the living room where they were about to sit down at until Velvet came into the room.

"Welcome back, sweetie," she greeted Twilight with a hug and kiss.

"Hello, mom," Twilight returned.

Letting go of her, Velvet went for Spike next.

"And how's my young dragon doing?"

"Just great," Spike happily answered.

"Oh? And why's that?"

"Because he's got himself three fillyfriends," Dark smirked, causing Spike to glare at him.

"Oh my goodness! Three?!"

"Umm.... yeah," Spike meekly replied.

"Hah! That's my boy!" Night exclaimed. "Even if we're not related by blood, you're just like I was when I was your age."

"Well then, you'll have to bring them over someday for us to see. And don't think that I forgot about you, mister," Velvet said to Dark before walking over and giving him a motherly hug.

Though surprised by it initially, he quickly recovered to return it with a hug of his own, once again remembering what it felt like to be held by a caring mother. With their greetings all finished, everyone took a seat and got themselves comfortable.

"So, I take it that you three are here for the trial tomorrow?" Night figured.

"We are, and so are our friends," Twilight confirmed. "How did you know about that?"

"Besides it being in the papers, Shining and Cadence came over earlier today with Skyla and told us a little bit about it," Velvet told them.

"Oh. Okay."

"So, could you tell us about why Blueblood is being put on trial? It wouldn't by chance have anything to do with that 'living dead' thing a few days ago, would it?"

Dark and Twilight looked back to each other. While he was still nervous and unsure, a warm smile and nod from Twilight was all that he needed. Taking in a deep breath, Dark began to tell them.

"In a way, it does," he began. "And there's a reason that I wanted to see you two, other than the sake of just see you."

"Oh?"

"I... have something to tell you two."

"Ooh! Is it grandfoals?! Is Twilight-"

"No, mom," Twilight quickly interrupted, "I'm not pregnant."

"Could've fooled me from how things sounded this morning," Spike muttered, earning him a bop on the head from Twilight.

"Wait! What?!" Night asked in alarm.

"Nothing!" Twilight and Dark answered in unison, causing Night to glare at Dark while Velvet had a shimmer of anticipation in her eyes.

"Dark," Night called in a semi-threatening tone, "are you doing the dirty with my daughter?"

"Umm..." Dark nervously spoke as he tried to shrink himself down into the couch.

"Oh, Night, leave the young stallion be," Velvet scolded. "Twilight is a grown mare, and what she does with Dark is none of our business."

"Thank you, mom," Twilight thanked.

"Fine," Night begrudgingly conceded while continuing to glare at Dark. "But just so you know, I keep a castrating knife hidden in my room."

Hearing this caused Dark to snort, which in turn earned him some looks from everyone else.

"I'm sorry," he apologized with a chuckle. "It's just that that's the exact same thing that my dad told my sister's coltfriend, but only so that he would scare them. Although, he never actually had any."

"Umm, Dark?" Twilight whispered. "My dad actual has a castrating knife hidden in his room."

Looking from Twilight to Night, Dark saw a small smirk creep its way up on his lips.

"... okay, never mind then." Why the hay does he even have on of those?!

"Anyway," Velvet redirected, "what was it that you wanted to talk to us about, Dark?"

"Oh... right..."

"Yes, you did say that what you wanted to tell us involved Blueblood and the living dead thing," Night added.

"Well... alright, I don't know any other way to say this, so I'll just be straight with it." Dark briefly paused to steady himself before dropping it on them. "I'm the reason for why the dead were walking Equestria."

"How so?"

"Because I'm the Lord of Death."

"I don't get it," Night said confusingly.

"I am Death, Lord of Death, Death Incarnate, take your pick."

"Dark, what are you saying?" Velvet asked.

"Exactly what I said. Much like how Princess Celestia and Princess Luna represent the sun and moon respectively, I represent death. And as such, my presence here in Equestria keeps the balance of the dead in check."

Slowly, Night got out of his chair and walked over to look Dark in the eyes.

"And any reason why you've never bothered to tell us before?"

"Because, sir..."

"Well?"

Dark sighed. "I was afraid of how you two would take it."

"And what about you?" Night asked Twilight. "Did you know about what he is?"

"Yes," she answered. "I found out about the same time as Dark did."

"So, you weren't born into it?"

"No, sir, I wasn't," Dark replied. "Remember when I told you about the dragon that attacked my village?"

"Yes, what about it?"

"He was the Lord of Death before I was. It's like I told you before, I was just a unicorn before he turned me into what I am."

"And are you alright with this, Twilight? About your coltfriend being what he is?"

"I am," she nodded.

Sighing, Night turned around and sat back in his chair.

"You've left me with quite a predicament, Dark. On the one hoof, I find myself feeling uncomfortable knowing what you are and am not sure if I can trust you now. Especially with my daughter."

"Dad-"

"On the other hoof, though, from what I've seen and read from the occasional letter that Twilight would send us, you also seem to make her happy. I'm sorry, but while I want to like you, lad, I'm just going to need time to think about this." Night paused to look over to Velvet. "What about your thoughts, honey? You've been rather quiet lately."

"I don't really see a problem with it," she answered, getting looks of relief from Dark and Twilight while Night looked confused. "Again, Twilight is a grown mare. And besides, even if Dark is this 'Lord of Death', that doesn't mean that anything about him has changed, right? He's still the same young stallion that Twilight introduced us to last month."

"Thank you, Miss Velvet," Dark thanked.

"You're welcome. Now, back to Blueblood and his trial. What did he do exactly?"

"Long story short," Twilight began, "Blueblood made a partnership with a known fugitive which resulted in Dark being sent to another world."

"Okay, but that can't be all of it, can it?"

"Remember the pony who orchestrated the attack on Ponyville?"

"Wait, you mean Blueblood allied himself with him?"

"Yes. Not only that, but them sending Dark to that other world was the cause of that undead dilemma we had. Since Dark was no longer in our world, the dead became unchecked as they weren't actually dead, and the spirits rose from their graves. It wasn't until Dark returned back to Equestria that everything was set right again."

"Well, we're glad to have you back," Velvet said to Dark.

"There's more though," Twilight continued. "From what I was able to get out of Blueblood when I paid him a visit, it turns out that the wanted stallion had contacted that world's version of him and ordered him to kill Dark."

"He almost did too," Dark said, shuddering briefly as he remembered his time chained in that room.

"Well, as much as I would like to see him finally brought in," Night began, "I'm willing to bet that he'll just get away with-"

"No he won't!" Twilight fiercely interrupted. "Princess Celestia and Princess Luna have both had enough of Blueblood. With the crimes that he's committed, along with Celestia knows how many other crimes that he's been stacking up on, he won't get away with it. Not this time."

"Are you sure, sweetie?" Velvet asked.

"Oh, I'm sure. It hasn't been made public yet, but they've already revoked his title as prince, and is currently awaiting in the Canterlot Dungeons for his trial."

"What do you think his sentence will be?"

"That, we'll have to wait and find out tomorrow."

"Well, I don't know about you all, but I wouldn't mind him getting the me sentence," Dark said, earning him confused looks from everyone.

... they didn't get it? Well, I thought that joke was clever.

---

The next day rolled around as everyone was gathered in the massive, circular courtroom. While the circular room had seats set like a stadium as each row was slightly taller than the one in front of it, on one side of the room was the double doors, across from it were the four thrones where the princesses would be presiding, and in the center, a raised platform for the defendant.

While the trial was set to start in ten minutes still, the room was still being filled with both nobles and commoners with many others waiting in the hallways to get a peek at what would be happening. Fortunately, thanks to Celestia's warning of how packed the room would probably be, everyone found their seats before the rush was on. They each managed to get a front row seat with the girls sitting by each other, followed by Spike, Dark, Shining, Velvet, and Night on the end. Noticing that somepony was missing, Dark looked over to Shining.

"Hey, Shining?"

"Hmm?"

"Where's Skyla?"

"Some of the castle staff are looking after her," Shining replied. "After all, I don't think that a courtroom is a place for young foals."

"I guess not," Dark said before catching a glimpse of Night and letting out a small sigh, one that didn't go unnoticed.

"Something wrong, Dark?" Velvet asked before noticing who Dark was glancing at. "Ahh, I see. Still thinking about yesterday?"

"Yeah. I knew that you two might not of liked what I had to admit to you, but I guess that I wasn't actually prepared for it. Although, I suppose I should consider myself fortunate that I didn't get kicked-out of the house after I told you two."

"There's no need to worry about that. Besides Twilight, I wouldn't have allowed it. And as for Night, he'll get over it. He just needs some time is all."

"So, you told them?" Shining spoke.

"Yeah, I did," Dark said with a solemn nod. "Is there anything that I can do to get back on Night's good side?"

"Like I said, just give him some time and he'll come around," Velvet assured.

"Speaking of coming around," Shining began, pointing towards the other side of the courtroom, "look at what decided to join us."

Following the direction of his hoof, they saw that Shining was pointing at four dragons that had walked in and taken a seat, each of them standing a few heads taller than the average pony.

"Why are they here?" Dark wondered.

"If I had to guess, I'd say that your disappearance had also impacted the Dragon Kingdom."

"If that's so, then why didn't King Inferno come here?"

"He probably didn't want to. Last I remember, you two were on unfriendly terms and you chokeslammed General Razor Claw."

"Technically that was Nocturne's doing."

"Either way, we now have four unknown dragons attending this trial."

As soon as he looked back to the dragons to get a better look at them, Dark quickly adverted his gaze when he saw the four sets of draconic eyes locked directly onto him. As he began to wonder how much longer it was going to be before this thing would start, Celestia, Luna, Cadence, and Twilight walked into the room and took their seats. Striking her gavel, Celestia quieted the room so that they could begin the trial.

"Guards, bring him in."

Seconds later, four guards lead Blueblood by his chains through the doors and towards the stand where they then chained him down to it. With him secured, the guards then stood down and off to the sides.

"Blueblood," Celestia spoke, "you are being charged with twenty counts of embezzlement, fifty counts of blackmail, forty-five counts of bribery, ten counts of fraud and forgery, one count of knowingly assisting a wanted fugitive, and one count of harassing a Princess of Equestria."

"We would also add 'Dooming Equestria' to your list of crimes, seeing as how you were key in nearly bringing about the zombie apocalypse, but it was decided as a group to leave that out," Luna added. "Unfortunately."

"How do you plead, Blueblood?" Cadence asked.

"Wow," Dark whispered, leaning over towards Shining, "how does one stallion manage to do all of that? And how the hay did they even find out about all of that?"

"Trust me," Shining whispered back, "when they really want to find something, they'll find it."

"This is highly unnecessary, Aunties and cousin," Blueblood spoke. "After all, aren't we-"

"Silence your rambling and answer the question!" Luna barked.

"I won't say anything. And besides, even if I did do all that I was accused of, you have nothing connecting me to them."

That foolish idiot, Dark mentally groaned.

"Blueblood," Twilight finally spoke. "Incase you've forgotten, it was I who you've been harassing."

"I remember no such thing," he smugly said.

While Blueblood's calm demeanor was shown as Twilight's face turned to anger, a low growl quickly caught his attention. Turning his head towards the source on his right, Blueblood saw that it was coming from Dark, who was barring his fangs at him. Not wanting to press his luck with Dark, Blueblood looked back to the princesses, albeit with slightly shaky knees.

"Then again, I may have been wrong before."

"So, do you admit to it, or not?" Twilight questioned.

"Alright, so maybe I did."

"I'll take that as you admitting it. Now, about the other charges."

"I stand by what I said before on those."

"Blueblood," Celestia spoke up, "Luna has seen into your dream knows about how you helped supply the materials and plotted with the wanted fugitive. That alone is enough to incriminate you. As for the other charges," Celestia conjured several tall stacks of papers and dropped them onto the floor with a loud thud that echoed off the walls of the courtroom, "here we have records of every illegal act that you've ever committed."

"Really?" Blueblood mocked. "If so, then why didn't you use them on me before?"

"If we did, you would have used your royal status to dismiss the charges," Luna answered. "No. We held onto these so that when we finally did charge you with them, there would be so many of them that even you wouldn't be able to squirm your way out of it!"

"Blueblood," Cadence firmly called. "If you have any dignity left, you will admit to these crimes. You have nowhere left to run."

Feeling like his wall were closing in around him, Blueblood glanced over towards Twilight.

"It's over, Blueblood," she told him. "We have witnesses and physical evidence."

Now knowing that he was indeed trapped, Blueblood hung his head in defeat... or so everyone thought. Seconds later, they could hear a light-chuckle that gradually became louder and more maniacal. Seeing that Blueblood had snapped, the guards each pointed their spears at him. Controlling his laughter, Blueblood looked back with crazed, wide-eyed at the four princesses, namely Twilight.

"You're right, it is over," he said, his voice now having taken a disturbingly higher tone.

"Dark," Shining whispered, "I'm getting a bad feeling about this."

"Like what?"

"Like something's going to happen soon. Be ready to act fast, just incase."

With a silent nod, Dark began channeling his dark magic into his claws while Shining subtly charged his horn.

"Then will you admit to these charges and resign yourself peacefully?" Twilight asked hopefully.

"Oh, no. I didn't say that."

"Then what do you mean?" Celestia questioned.

"What does it matter?" he countered, his eyes now bloodshot and his mane becoming untamed. "Yes, I admit that I wanted to court Princess Twilight, but I couldn't do that while she was already being courted by that demon, Dark!"

"Don't!" Shining hissed at Dark, holding him back with a hoof.

"That's why I did what I did. It was to get rid of him so that I could have you all to myself." Blueblood sighed sadly. "Unfortunately, he's returned and I've come to a realization."

"And that would be?" Twilight pressed.

Blueblood gave her a sinister grin and raised his hoof. "That if I can't have you, then nopony can!"

As soon as he dropped his hoof, several magical blasts from unicorns around the courtroom were all fired at Twilight. Since they'd never expected this of Blueblood, the four alicorns watched in slow motion as the blasts of magic converged on Twilight. But, before anyone could see what had happened to the youngest princess, there was a flash of pink light which was instantaneously accompanied by the room being flooded in darkness.

Even though it was just a thick, black fog, no one could see or hear anything during the few moments it was up for. A few seconds later, the darkness receded, revealing Shining standing protectively in front of Twilight with his barrier protecting all four princesses, while Dark stood outside of it, pinning the unchained Blueblood and eight other unicorn stallions down to the floor by the shadowy tendrils protruding from his shadow-covered wings. With shadowy mists flooding off of his wings, arms, and tail, Dark turned to face the princesses, his eyes blood-red with fury.

"Your Highnesses," Dark spoke, his voice taking on that of Nocturne's. "Permission to execute them all on the spot?"

"While I would like for nothing more then that at this point," Luna spoke, "somepony had unfortunately decided to ban the death sentence some hundred years ago."

His eye-color now turning red, Dark slowly began circling around Blueblood.

"Then... what should we do with them?"

"Considering that we can now add 'attempted royal assassination' to the list of crimes," Celestia said taking over, "I can now pass this without any regrets. Blueblood. Your crimes are great and many, and now you must face them. As of now, you are hereby officially stripped of your royal title-"

"What?!" Blueblood shouted, disbelievingly.

"-your estates and assets will be seized and donated to the orphanages of Equestria-"

"No!"

"-you and your assassins will all spend life in the Canterlot Dungeons-"

"You cannot do this!"

"-and lastly, you shall all be dehorned."

That final part of his sentencing was what silenced him. Looking fearfully between the four, Blueblood looked for any sign from them that they were bluffing. When he saw how serious they were, though, he began to panic.

"No! Please! Please don't do that!" he begged. "Please! I'd rather die then lose my horn!"

"It has been decided, Blueblood," Luna coldly said.

Becoming desperate, Blueblood turned to Dark.

"Please! You have every right to do it! So please! Kill me!"

After what you did to us? Yeah right, Dark thought before looking down to him and shrugging nonchalantly.

"Sorry, but you heard the princesses. No death penalty allowed. Besides, they already gave you your sentence."

With a flick of his shadowy tendrils, Dark threw Blueblood and his assassins over to the door. Once they stopped rolling around, they were immediately seized by the four that escorted Blueblood, and guards guarding the door.

"And with that, court is adjourned," Celestia announced, striking her gavel to signify the end of the trial.

"If I may," Dark spoke, "could I have Your Highnesses' permission to help escort them to the dungeons?"

"Granted," Luna said with a nod.

With a bow, Dark turned to catch-up with the guards. While he walked over towards them, he looked over to the four dragons who had attended. Now getting a better look at them, Dark saw they were red, blue, white, and brown, but also that they were somehow different from normal dragons. While the red and brown one looked a little more bulky than the average dragon, the white and blue ones were more serpentine and lacked wings.

Realizing that he'd been staring, Dark shook his head clear and saw that they were each looking back to him. Before he could do or say anything though, they each gave him a small smile and a nod. What happened then confused Dark as the red one burst into flames, the blue one dispersed into water, the white one vanished in a slight breeze, and the brown one sank into the stone. A few seconds later of staring in the spot where the four had just been, Dark remembered that he had an escort to overlook. As he returned to normal and walked with them down the hall though, one question continued to bother him.

Who were those four?

---

Dark was having dinner with Celestia and Luna by their request after they caught him wandering the halls. After they sat down, they asked why he was still here when the others had all gone over to Twilight's parents' house to eat. Once he told them about how he told her parents that he was the Lord of Death and thought that some time apart would give Night time to think about it, they understood.

"I do hope that Night Light will come around soon," Celestia spoke. "How did Twilight take your decision to stay behind?"

"She understood where I was coming from, but she wasn't completely for it at first," Dark told them. "Thanks to Shining, though, she agreed and went with them."

"Sounds like Shining Armor has been better to you," Luna noticed.

"He has. We talked a little bit after our match at the Coliseum, and he's decided to give me a chance."

"Well, I'm glad to hear that," Celestia said.

"Thanks, but now I have to try and get Twilight's dad to like me again."

"What about Twilight Velvet?"

"She seemed alright with it."

"She is an understanding mare. Now if only that could rub-off on Night Light."

"He's a stallion, and we all know how stubborn we can be."

"... you do know that you just made fun of yourself, right?" Luna asked.

"Yep."

"Very well then. At least it's good to see that your talk with Night Light hasn't dampened your humor."

"Yeah," Dark sighed. "I just hope that he'll come around by the time Hearth's Warming gets here."

"Does that mean that you'll be staying with Twilight and her family during the holidays?" Celestia wondered.

"I will. It'll be... different from what I'm normally used to, but I'll be okay."

"I'm sure you will, and I'm also sure that Night Light will come around by then," Celestia smiled.

"So, Dark," Luna began, "what happened with you at court?"

"Huh?"

"Your eyes turned red and your voice changed."

"Oh, that. Well, I know that Nocturne said that it happens when I get mad, but I'm surprised that he hasn't been trying to take over my right-half again like he did the first time during that meeting with King Inferno."

"If we could return to the subject of the trial," Celestia redirected. "I'm sorry about Blueblood, Dark."

"Why? He's in the dungeons now, so what can he do to me?"

"More than you know," Luna told him before Celestia continued.

"You see, Luna and I have been trying to keep your relationship with Twilight a secret from the masses, but thanks to Blueblood, the news is now out."

"Okay, but what's wrong then?" Dark wondered.

"Now that the nobles and the Canterlot Elite know about you two courting, it's possible that most of them will try to slander your name and try digging into your background to find dirt on you. However, there are some, like Fancy Pants, who may not mind and might be more accepting of it."

"I've heard about him from Rarity, he sounds like a nice stallion. As for those who don't approve, they're welcome to try, but I'll just ignore their slander until they get bored of it."

"Well then, I wish you the best of luck with them. Luna and I know of how much of a pain they can be, so feel free to come to us for advice if you feel the need," Celestia smiled before leaning her head on her hooves, her warm smile now a knowing smirk. "On a different note, something has come to my attention, Dark."

"Okay?"

"Well, I heard from a certain pink somepony that you and Twilight have... taken your relationship to the next level," she told him, causing Dark to facetable and cover his face to hide his blush.

This is going to be a long dinner, Dark mentally groaned. And if Princess Luna doesn't start teasing me soon, then it'll probably be an even longer night.

Comments

[Lady Lightning Strike]

Who were those four?

Elemental Scaleless Dragons. Though why they decided to visit his trial is beyond me.

[Titan Commander Sebaste]

Dang, Blueblood dun goofed up! And those dragons... I have a feeling that we'll be seeing them again...

[outerjay]

7062223 becoues he is technically related to them now i guess cos wornt the scaleless dragons all like brothers and sisters or something

[Garuda IV]

7062448 You're correct, they're all siblings.

[Kingmoonwar19]

More PLZ ps I omost put pore plz

[Brony4726]

What happened then confused Dark as the red one burst into flames, the blue one dispersed into water, the white one vanished in a slight breeze, and the brown one sank into the stone.
Ooh yay! Family reunion!

[Hewolf]

"Tomorrow, but they would like us to be up in Canterlot the day before. Besides, it'll give us a chance to see my parents again."

this sentence makes no sense, from farther down it says they leave the next day, but according to this sentence they had to leave today

[Garuda IV]

7159785 Fixed it. Thank you for pointing out that typo.

[Midnight V]

Two things I love about this chapter. One, the "me sentence" pun... *slow clap*. Two, Dark being oblivious to the four elemental dragons, as seen by their exits. Dark... you oblivious bastard.

[Cosmic Flare]

Yes, 'if I'm wrong sorry' Dark has one more new sister to meet. I think? She is Life.

[DracoBrony]

What happened then confused Dark as the red one burst into flames, the blue one dispersed into water, the white one vanished in a slight breeze, and the brown one sank into the stone. A few seconds later of staring in the spot where the four had just been, Dark remembered that he had an escort to overlook. As he returned to normal and walked with them down the hall though, one question continued to bother him.
Who were those four?

Really? Really Dark? I know you can be dense but come on!

[Dark Nightshade]

Oh, wow. The other Elemental Scaleless Dragons! Awesome!

[Prince Jules Moonshade]

7842690 I basically said the EXACT same thing.

[TheQuiet_1]

Only when they needed to breathe again did they part lips from each other.

I know this isn't the first time you said this but I realized that shouldn't they be able to breathe out of their noses. Well I guess you need some reason for them to stop kissing. ?

[Icy Creation]

Why do I have the feeling that he is going to end up on good terms with all of the Incarnate dragons except Life?

[fangblade24501]

"This last week has been rather stressful for me, and I need a way to... relieve that stress. So," Twilight lowered herself, their muzzles barely touching, "care to help me out? And I don't mean with your longue like the last few times, I mean all the way."

That paragraph near the very beginning of the chapter you spelled tongue with an l instead of a t

Figured I'd just let you know

[AetherToast]

"Fine," Night begrudgingly conceded while continuing to glare at Dark. "But just so you know, I keep a castrating knife hidden in my room."

I know this is years old but I gotta get this terrifying thought out about this. Dark can regenerate, repeat is therefore possible.

[AstralFlare42]

With a bow, Dark turned to catch-up with the guards. While he walked over towards them, he looked over to the four dragons who had attended. Now getting a better look at them, Dark saw they were red, blue, white, and brown, but also that they were somehow different from normal dragons. While the red and brown one looked a little more bulky than the average dragon, the white and blue ones were more serpentine and lacked wings.

Scaleless Dragons.