Of Flame and Shadow

by Garuda IV

Chapter 44- Hearth's Warming Eve

Dark let out a silent yawn as he awoke in Twilight's bed with the morning sun. After a bit of talking from Night, and coming to a few agreements, he was allowed to sleep in Twilight's room, provided that they wouldn't do anything funny while everypony was asleep. Of course, they weren't planning on it anyways as Spike had a bed basket of his own in Twilight's room too.

Looking down to see the sleeping mare snuggled up against him, Dark softly kissed her forehead, which in turn caused her to stir with a smile. Instead of it waking her up though, Twilight buried her face into coat, determined to stay asleep. Glancing over at the clock though, Dark figured that if they didn't get up soon that somepony would come and get them. But, although things between him, Shining, and Night seemed better, he didn't want to push his luck with them yet and began nuzzling Twilight awake.

"Ten more minutes," she complained, her voice muffled by Dark's coat. "I missed my old bed."

"Twilight, it's already 8:30," Dark told her. "If we don't get up soon, they'll send somepony to come get us."

With a small grumble, Twilight reluctantly opened her tired eyes and looked up at Dark.

"Fine, but the day after Hearth's Warming, we're sleeping in late."

"How late are we talking? Not that I have anything against it, it's just that your family is here and I figured that you would want to spend as much time with them as you could."

"That's true," she said before thinking to herself. "Alright then, after we get home then."

"Okay."

"Oh! What about your forge though?"

"Since I didn't know how long we would be staying up here for, I closed it down for this week and next week."

"So, that means that there's nothing to get in our way of us spending some time together then?"

"None at all," Dark chuckled. "Well, except for Spike maybe."

"Oh, I'm sure that he'll be busy spending time with his fillyfriends when we get back. Speaking of which."

Before he could blink, Dark found himself on his back with Twilight laying on top of him.

"Umm, you sure this is a good idea?"

"What? Don't you want to make out too?"

"You know that I'm all for it, but between Spike sleeping just a few feet away from us, and everypony else-"

*Knock, Knock, Knock*

"Twilight? Dark? Spike? Are you three up yet?"

"Go figure," Twilight sighed before giving Dark a quick peck and rolling off of him. "Yes, mom, Dark and I are awake."

"Well then, is it safe for me to come in?"

"Yes, Mrs. Velvet," Dark answered with an eye roll.

Opening the door, Velvet peeked her head in to see them still in their beds.

"Did I wake you with my knocking?"

"No, mom, you didn't," Twilight replied as she hopped out of bed and stretched. "I just missed sleeping in my old bed and overslept."

"Oh. Well, there'll be plenty of time for that later. Breakfast is done, and I just wanted to get you two and Spike before it started to get cold."

"Thanks, mom. We'll be right down."

"Alright, sweetie. Though, you might want to do something about that bedhead of yours before you come down. You too, Dark. You both look like me when I let my little Twilight try to cast a spell to style my mane."

"It was one time, mom," Twilight whined. "And I was five at the time."

"I know, but it was still cute how you wanted to make me pretty. Oh, and Dark, remind me later on to tell you the story about Twilight and the entire tub of ice cream she ate when she was only three."

Before Twilight could say anything, Velvet left them and headed back downstairs. With her awake and her family expecting them, she walked over to her dresser to brush her mane down while Dark got up and began stretching out, causing his wing joints to give an audible popping sound. Feeling more awake and loose, he walked over to Spike's bed and nudged him.

"Too early, let me sleep," Spike muttered.

"Okay, I'll just eat your portion of breakfast then," Dark told him, causing the little dragon to snap awake.

"You wouldn't."

"I don't know, Spike. He could if he wanted to," Twilight said as she finished combing her mane. "Your turn, Dark."

With a nod, Dark went over to the dresser and began combing his mane with his brush. A few seconds later, his mane was tamed and then walked over to join Twilight and Spike as they began to join the rest of the family. Walking in, they were greeted with the sight of everypony already sitting at the table waiting for them. Apologizing for them keeping them waiting, the three took their seats at the table before everyone began.

While they made for some talk, most of their attention was on Skyla as Cadence tried to feed her some of her baby food. After some time passed though, Dark offered to take over feeding Skyla for her so that she could get something warm to eat, which she was grateful for. While he was able to get the young filly to eat the rest of her food, her actions said that she wasn't full yet, but Cadence didn't want her eating too much, seeing as how she already had eaten more than what most foals her age would have.

With a unhappy grunt, Skyla began pouting, which in turn caused Dark to nuzzle her to make her feel better. Unfortunately for him though, it worked as before he knew it, Skyla had gotten herself out of her high chair, flew onto Dark's head, and began munching on his ear. Although he seemed alright with it, what he didn't know was that she had started teething.

"Ouch!"

"You alright?" Cadence asked.

"Yeah," Dark replied, trying to flick his ear out of the foal's mouth. "She just bit my ear is all."

"Oops. Sorry about that. I forgot to warn you that Skyla started teething a few weeks ago."

"Great, so now she's trying to eat my ea- aaahh! You know, dragons are considered predators to ponies, and as a half-dragon, I could very well add ponies to my diet. So, why is it that I'm having my ear being eaten by a baby pony?"

"Because it looks cute," Twilight answered while stifling a giggle.

"It may look like it, but it definitely doesn't feel like-" Dark silenced himself as he winced in pain from teeth biting down on his ear. "Could somepony please take her from me?"

"Oh, alright, you big baby," Twilight playfully teased, taking Skyla into her magic and holding her in front of her to nuzzle. "Aww, who's a cute wittle filly who wikes to chew on Darky's ear?" she asked, causing Skyla to joyfully laugh at her.

Looking away in embarrassment, Dark downed the last of his food before going to wash his dishes in the sink. With breakfast done and taken care of, Dark and Night went out back for some firewood before joining the others in the living room. Taking over, Shining set the logs in the fireplace while Spike lit it with this fire breath. With a nice fire warming the room, they each laid down as Velvet pulled out a board game for them to play together. After ten minutes into it, Night was the first to speak.

"So, you kids excited for tonight?"

"Definitely," Twilight answered with an eager nod. "Besides the Hearth's Warming Ball, I'm also looking forward to the play too. Too bad that my friends and I won't be participating in it this year."

"What play?" Dark questioned.

"... the Hearth's Warming Play. You've seen one before, right?"

"Never even heard of it."

"What?!" everyone yelped in surprise.

"Why not?" Twilight asked him. "You do know what Hearth's Warming is about, right?"

"Yes, I know what the day is about, but I've never seen the play before because we didn't exactly have the luxury having one."

"Oh... right. Sorry about that."

"Don't be, it's all good. But, I'm curious though. If we're going to this play, are we going to have to wear something fancy, or will we be going as we are now?"

"Probably as is," Night answered. "However, once it's over, we'll have less than an hour for us to get back here, get dressed, and return back to the castle."

"Which shouldn't be a problem since I could just teleport everyone from the play, back home, then up to the castle," Twilight told them.

"What about Dark's teleportation sickness?" Spike reminded.

"Right. I forgot about that."

"What's the runtime of the play?" Dark asked.

"We'll have to leave early to avoid the crowd, but it starts at 5:30 P.M. and lasts for about an hour and a half. Why?"

"In that case, we'll be fine. It'll be nighttime outside, so I'll just Shadowport."

"Before we do that though," Spike began, "could we open presents, Twilight?"

"Why don't we wait until after the Ball," she answered him. "That way, you can have something to look forward to later tonight."

"Wait," Dark interrupted, "you two open your presents the day before Hearth's Warming?"

"It's a sort of tradition of ours. When Spike was younger, he was so excited that couldn't wait until morning to open them, so we decided to open our presents the day before."

"Huh. So, do you open all of them or just the ones between you two?"

"Just ours. As for ones from anypony else, we wait until Hearth's Warming morning to open them."

"Good, then I'm in no rush to wrap yours and place it under the tree," Dark smiled teasingly.

I should've thought about that before saying it, she though to herself while mentally facehoofing. "Okay then. That just means that you won't get yours until tomorrow too then."

"I can wait," he smirked. "But can yo- YAHH! Skyla!"

Yelping in pain, Dark looked over to his tail to see the baby filly giggling at him with his tail in her forehooves.

How did she even do that?! he wondered surprisingly. My hide is tough enough to block a sword in mid-swing and not leave a scratch or even make me flinch, so why is a baby filly able to make me fell pain just by biting my tail?!

"I swear, she's doing this on purpose now," Spike spoke, saying basically what Dark was thinking.

"Skyla," Cadence called with a strict, motherly tone, "stop biting Dark. It's not nice and it hurts him when you do that to him."

Looking sad for being scolded, she dropped Dark's tail, walked over to his head, and began to nuzzle him apologetically. Feeling his annoyance melt away at the sight of her, Dark sighed and nuzzled the little filly back, letting her know that she was forgiven. With a soft coo that turned into a yawn, Skyla walked over and hunkering herself down between Dark's arm and neck, trying to bury herself as close against his heated coat as she could. Comfortable with how warm she was, she closed her eyes and quickly drifted off to sleep, leaving Dark slightly confused as he watched her.

"How can she be tired so soon?" he wondered. "It's not even noon yet."

"She was up and bouncing around early this morning," Shining explained. "I'm actually a little surprised that she didn't fall asleep right after she was done eating."

"Should we get her back to her crib then?"

"Why would you want to?" Twilight questioned. "Seeing her sleeping against you like that is really cute."

"Are you saying that you like seeing Dark with a sleeping foal?" Velvet asked.

"Yes, I- wait, no- I mean..."

"Oh, calm down, sweetie. I'm just joking with you."

"If that was suppose to be a joke, then I'm not laughing," Night said with folded forelegs.

"Yeaaahhhh," Shining slowly said. "Sorry, Dark, but I'm with dad on this one. While I'm alright with Skyla taking a nap like this, the thought of a foal from you and Twilight is just... no."

"You guys," Cadence sighed before looking over to see Dark burying his face behind one of his wings. "Just ignore them, Dark. I for one wouldn't mind."

"Isn't it a bit early for us to even be discussing this?" Dark asked, his voice muffled by his wing.

"I'd rather not think about it," Spike chimed. "If you two did have a foal, then that would mean that I would have to change its diapers."

Hearing a groan from his side, Dark peeked an eye out from beneath his wing to see Twilight burying her reddened face into his side while using her magic to drape his other wing over her.

"You know what?" Velvet began. "Now I'm a little curious."

Oh, great. What now? Dark mentally groaned.

"What would the birthing process be like?"

WHAT?!

"Would Twilight be giving birth to the foal, or since Dark is half-dragon, would she have to lay an egg?"

"Oookaaayyyy! That's a conversation!" Dark piped before quickly and gently giving Cadence the somehow still-sleeping Skyla back. "If you'll excuse me, I'm going out to the back yard to cool down for a bit."

"And I'll be in my room if anypony needs me," Twilight immediately said before teleporting herself out of the room.

The room was silent once Dark and Twilight left, minus the light snoring from Skyla. Taking a moment to get over what was just said, everyone turned their shocked faces over towards Velvet.

"Okay, maybe I went a little overboard with that one," she said before sighing.

A few silent seconds later, Cadence got up and began walking over towards the stairs.

"I'll go talk to Twilight."

---

Closing the door behind him, Dark went out into the fluffy snowfall, walked over to a nearby snow pile, and buried his head in it ostrich-style. As he kept his head plunged in the snow, he hoped that it would help cool down his face, which he could swear was a deep crimson before he left.

Twilight's probably just as embarrassed by that as I am, he thought, the coolness of the snow starting to become knowing to him. I should probably go try and talk her down after I'm finished here.

"Well, that was quite a discussion topic if I've ever heard one."

Snapping his head out of the snow, Dark looked over to the direction of where the voice came from. As he looked, he saw who he remembered to be the white dragon from blueblood's trial last month, floating just a few feet off from the ground. Now that he got a closer look though and wasn't in any rush, Dark could see the ice-blue eyes, feminine curves, and that its sleek and slender fur coat was as white as the snow falling around them.

Wait, a dragon with a fur coat instead of scales?

Eyes wide and jaw hanging slightly open, Dark looked at one of the Scaleless Dragons. Quickly going through the list of the other five, it didn't take him long to figure out who this one was.

"Excuse me," he nervously spoke, causing the dragoness to giggle, "but you wouldn't happen to be Aero, would you?"

"Maybe," she playfully teased. "And you are Dark, the new Lord of Death, if I'm not mistaken."

"Umm..."

"Oh, relax. You're not in any trouble," she told him, seeing his nervous shifting and darting eyes.

"Really?" he unsurely asked as Aero landed on all fours just a few feet away from him, now noticing that she was just as tall as he is.

"Really. I was curious as to what happened to our eldest brother, and even more so as to who his successor was."

"Umm, if you don't mind me asking-"

"Dark, let me interrupt you for a second. I don't have any intention to harm you, so you don't need to be so nervous around me. Besides, you're more or less our brother now."

"What?!"

"Since Nocturne is dead and you've taken over his position as Lord of Death, you're now our youngest sibling. And please don't ask me how or why mother and father placed that rule. I honestly don't know myself."

"Well, Nocturne isn't exactly dead. You see... wait. Mother and father?"

"Oh. So, you don't know about them then?"

"No?"

"Well then, I'm not telling~" Aero sang teasingly before looking curiously back at Dark. "Now, what was that about Nocturne not being dead?"

"Well, you see, when we fought, I managed to severally damage his body, which forced him to transfer his soul into my body to try and use it as his new vessel."

"Typical," she sighed. "He's always been stubborn when it came to losing, but how is it that you're in control?"

"We have no idea. We've talked about it several times and couldn't think of anything other than he simply didn't succeed."

"Obviously."

"On a different note, are you up for talking some more?"

"Of course I am," she smiled. "It's actually part of the reason why I'm here."

"Well, I was curious as to why you and the other three were gathered at Blueblood's trial."

"Oh, that. Well, once we saw that the balance of death was disrupted, we went to King Inferno to ask him if he knew what was up with Nocturne. Turns out that, to his great displeasure, he told us of a pony-turned-kirin living in Equestria who took our brother's place. So, naturally, we all became curious as to what this new Lord of Death was like. Once I caught wind about a pony prince who was placed on trial that involved you, we had to see it. And, we must say that we weren't disappointed from your performance. Your reaction time and how you handled them showed your power and restraint, though your wanting to end their lives on the spot wasn't much of a surprise."

"Because I'm the Lord of Death and it's implied?"

"That, and because I think that I now understand how you feel for that purple alicorn in there. So, tell me, is she your mate?" she asked, turning Dark's face red again as he look away, which also caused her to squee in joy. "So, she is! Tell me, how did you two first meet?"

"Alright, but first, why were there only four of you there?" Dark wondered. "Last I knew, there were six Scaleless Dragons. And with me sorta being one of them, and you and the other three being there, where was the last?"

"You're talking about Aurora, correct?"

"Yes. Besides Nocturne and I being one, she was the only one who wasn't there. Do you know why? I would've figured that if you four were gathered like that, so would she."

"I... don't know why," she slowly said going into thought. "Come to think of it, none of us have seen or heard from her for almost a half-year now."

"Huh. Weird. Has anyone gone to checkup on her?"

"No, we haven't. We tend to leave each other alone to our own business... mostly. Although," Aero smirked, "you and those two stallions looked like you had a good time when you left that bar yesterday."

"Were you spying on us?"

"Sorta. Mostly you, though."

"Why didn't I, or anypony else for that matter, see you then? I mean, an exotic white dragoness like you would be rather hard to miss."

"Remember, little brother, that I'm the Lady of Air. And, while my sister Aurora can turn invisible by bending the light around her, and you with your shadows, I can become the wind and be seen like it-"

"Which isn't really visible at all," Dark finished with a facepalm. "Figures. You turned into air itself when you followed us."

"You got it. Now, about that mare you're with."

Walking over and taking a seat beneath the overhang on the back porch, Dark began telling Aero the story of how he met Twilight. It started with Nocturne's attack on Stonewall Village, which quickly lead to his meeting Twilight in the hospital, and the events that transpired after that. After an hour and a half of storytelling, Dark had finally ended with what happened today.

"Well then, as happy as I am for you and her, this situation with you and us must be rather awkward," Aero spoke, sure that Dark was finished. "To go from slaying dragons to now being apart of a family of the most powerful dragons that have ever roamed the world."

"... I actually didn't think about it like that," Dark said, scratching the back of his head.

"Are you alright with it, though?"

"I... guess it wouldn't hurt. I mean, I was the eldest sibling in my family, so it would be an... experience, to be the youngest one for a change."

"So, you're okay with it?"

"Sure, I suppose I am."

With joyous laughter, Aero leaped over to Dark and gave him a bone-crushing hug. Once she finally put him down, Dark popped his back.

"Not that I'm complaining, but are the others like that, or is it just you that's normally like that?"

"Just me," she happily answered. "While Aques, Fissure, Pyre, and I were of the same clutch, I was the last of us to hatch, which made me the youngest of us... before you that is."

"Ah. Now I see."

"But, that doesn't mean that I'm not happy that you decided to agree to join our family, because I am."

"So, does this mean that I'll be seeing you more often, and that I'll get to see the others soon?"

"If you would like. As for the others, you'll see them in time. While Aques and Fissure would probably be willing to come see you now if I asked them to, Pyre probably wouldn't because he doesn't like the winter time. You know, because fire and the cold don't mix very well."

"Understandable," Dark nodded in agreement before remembering something. "Hey, as the Lady of Air, how much do you know?"

"Depends on what your asking."

"Well, remember that pony I told you about that sent me to that other world?"

"The one who sent you to that world where you lost your magic and ran into that world's Lord of Death? Yes, what about him?"

"Do you-"

"Dark? Are you out here?"

Looking over to his right, Dark saw Cadence opening the door and looking around for him. Once she spotted him, she was about to walk over to him, but froze in place as she saw what was sitting on the other side of him.

"Dark... what's a dragon doing here?" Cadence slowly asked.

"Oh, right," Dark said, looking from Cadence to Aero, and back to her. "So... umm... Cadence. This is my sister, Aero, the Lady of Air."

"... I'm sorry, you lost me."

"You know how I'm the Lord of Death?"

"Yes?"

"And how there are six dragon siblings who each represented an aspect of nature?"

"Yes, but what does- oh..." Cadence's voice trailed off as she understood what Dark was getting at. "Wait, did you know about this, Dark?"

"Actually," Aero began, "he didn't until I told him just after he came out here and buried his face in the snow."

"That was over an hour ago. Almost two."

"Sorry about that. How's Twilight doing?" Dark asked.

"She's calmed down a bit, but she's still a little bit shaken up by what mom said."

"Yeah, me too," he sighed. "I should've gone to her instead of coming out here. No offense, Aero."

"None taken," she shrugged. "Besides, I agree that that sort of topic would make me a bit uncomfortable if it were directed at me."

"Wait, you heard?" Cadence questioned.

"Sorry. I've been keeping an eye on Dark since yesterday and might've overheard what that older mare said."

"So, you were spying on him?"

"Not 'spying', just looking out for my little brother is all," Aero said while ruffling Dark's mane with a claw, causing him to grumble. "Ooh, I'm so going to enjoy this."

"You mean treating me like a little colt?" Dark questioned, slightly irritated.

"Oh, it's not that bad. Besides, think of all of the things we can teach you. Like magic for example. Speaking of which, what kind of magic do you prefer?"

"I specialize in dark and fire magic."

"While talking out here is nice and all," Cadence interrupted, "could we perhaps bring this inside? It's a little cold out here for me."

"Would that be alright?" Aero wondered. "You know, considering what I am and all."

"We already have Spike inside, and he's a dragon. And if you really are Dark's sister, then I don't think that it would hurt. But, before we head on in, do you eat ponies?"

"Oh, no. The only meat that I eat is fish, crab, some small land animals like squirrels and rabbits, and the occasional bird. Ponies I don't care for."

"Good to know."

Turning back around, Cadence led Dark and Aero back into the house and into the living room where everyone was gathered again. While Cadence and Dark walked into the living room, Aero waited in the kitchen, not use to meeting groups of ponies like this. Seeing Twilight sitting on the couch, Dark walked over to her and began nuzzling her cheek.

"You doing alright now?" he asked.

"I'm... better," she replied, nuzzling him back.

"I'm sorry that I didn't come to see you right after that."

"It's alright. I needed some time to myself anyway to calm down anyway."

"Good, because while I was outside, I met somepony... or rather, somedragon."

"What?"

Looking back to the kitchen Dark called out, "You can come in now."

Tentatively, Aero poked her head out from the corner and looked in. While everyone besides Dark and Cadence gave a surprised gasp at seeing the dragoness in their house, Dark gave her a motion to come over and join them. Slowly as to not spook them, she walked over and sat on the other side of Dark.

"Hello," Aero waved.

"Umm, Dark?" Twilight slowly spoke. "Who's she?"

"This is Aero, the Lady of Air, and as it turn out, my sister," Dark answered.

"WHAT?!" everyone in the room shouted.

"What do you that mean she's your sister?!" Twilight yelped.

"Turns out that since I'm the Lord of Death, that kinda makes me a sibling to the other Scaleless Dragons."

"And please don't ask me how that works," Aero requested, "because I don't understand it myself. All that I know is that it just does."

Twilight was about to question her until they heard a crying from upstairs.

"Sounds like Skyla's awake," Cadence sighed. "I'll go get her."

As she left, everyone sat in silence, partially ashamed that they woke the foal with their shouting. A few minutes later of everyone eyeing Aero, Cadence returned with Skyla sitting on her back. Sitting back down on the couch with Shining, Skyla slid off of her mother's back and immediately locked her eyes onto the white dragoness sitting beside Dark. Curious, she hopped off of the couch and made her way over to them, reaching her hooves for them to bring her up.

Seeing her, Dark took her in his magic and lifted her up onto his lap. Looking from her spot, Skyla peeked her head out from around Dark's arm to look at Aero, who in turn looked curiously back at her. Slowly creeping out from under Dark, she made her way over to Aero and tentatively poked at her. Everyone watched her with slight worry as the foal continued to get a feel of their new guest. Feeling more comfortable with her, Skyla proceeded to climb up her and sit on top of her head.

"I guess that she likes you," Cadence said, seeing how comfortable her daughter was with the dragoness.

"I'm... not sure what to do here," Aero nervously admitted. "I've never had a baby pony sit on top of my head before... or any sort of infant for that matter."

"You get used to it," Dark shrugged. "Just be careful of her munching on your ears."

"So... Miss Aero, right?" Velvet unsurely asked.

"Just Aero is fine," she told her.

"Alright then, Aero. So, what brings you here today?"

"Just looking out for Dark here. Also, I'm sorry for intruding on you all like this."

"Oh, not at all. I'm just surprised that he has siblings after what he told us about his old village. Even if they are dragons."

"Yes, and I'm sorry that my eldest brother did that. But, by his title, Dark is essentially our little brother now."

"Can you please not call me that?" Dark frowned.

"Hey, I had to deal with that for thousands of years, now it's your turn," she smirked, causing Dark to plant his face in the couch while Skyla laughed at him. "Now, I believe that you were asking me something before we were interrupted?"

"Hmm? Oh, yes. I was wondering if you might know where that hooded pony went off to? Last we were told was that he was seen heading north."

"Yes, that would be correct," Aero confirmed, gaining everyone's undivided attention. "However, while he is up north, I can't sense him."

"What does that mean exactly?" Shining questioned. "Is he dead?"

"He's not. If he were, then I would be able to feel him. No. He's either hiding in a cave, an icy crevice, inside a dense forest, or inside a building of some sort. Something that's protecting him from the howling winds of the arctic north."

"That's a lot of ground to cover," Cadence spoke. "Not to mention that it's the middle of winter, so a search right now would be dangerous for us to conduct."

"Do you think that he'll attack again, Dark?" Aero asked him.

"I wouldn't doubt it. He's gone after me three times since I left the ruins of Stonewall Village."

"Now, you said that he came close to being captured right?"

"Yes, though you might wanna talk to Twilight about that, seeing as she was there."

Dark leaned back in the couch so Aero and Twilight could talk face-to-face.

"Yes. Princess Luna and I were there," Twilight began explaining. "We managed to find out where he was living and had the building completely surrounded by several dozen of the royal and lunar guards."

"Alright, but how did he escape with dozens of guards and two princesses there?" Aero wondered.

"He used some kind of magic that blinded everypony. The weird thing though was that he was never once seen using his horn to cast the spell."

"That is weird. Tell me, was there anything unusual about the light that he blinded you with?"

"Actually, there was. While it was a bright white light, it also had an assortment of colors added to it. Come to think about it, it actually reminds me of the-"

"Aurora borealis?" Aero finished.

"Yes. How did you know that?"

"My sister, Aurora, would always implicate those into her spells, and nothing in this world besides my siblings and I know about that detail... unless..."

"Unless what?"

With a look of realization and worry in her eyes, Aero gently plucked Skyla from her head and sat her down on Dark's lap.

"I'm sorry, everyone," she apologized, "but I need to go checkup on something with my eldest sister. It was a pleasure meeting you all. Also, Dark?"

"Yeah?"

"Expect to hear back from either myself or one of my- excuse me, our siblings, before the end of the month. Oh, and Happy Hearth's Warming."

With a quick bow, Aero's body was whisked away in a slight breeze up the chimney and out of the house.

"Sooo," Night slowly began. "What just happened?"

"Looks like she just thought of something and had to go," Twilight answered him.

"Too bad," Spike sighed. "I was hoping to talk to her, seeing as how she's the only other dragon that I've met who seems nice and hasn't tried to hurt anypony."

"She did say that she or one of the others will come to visit us."

"I suppose."

"Well now," Velvet said, clapping her hooves together, "why don't we move away from that last part and return to our Hearth's Warming Eve fun? After all, it's a time where we're suppose to spend time together and be happy. Also, I'm sorry about what I said earlier, Twilight, Dark. I shouldn't have talked about such a topic so openly like that, and I definitely didn't mean to make you two feel so uncomfortable."

"It's okay, mom," Twilight said, getting up and giving her a hug.

"And what about you, Dark?"

"Now that some time has passed, I've gotten over most of the embarrassment from it, so yeah, all's good," he replied. Although, she did make a good point. Oh, great! Now I'm starting to wonder if- no! No! No! No! I shouldn't be thinking about stuff like that. Especially with Night and Shining right here.

With a motion from Velvet, Dark was removed from his thoughts and walked over and joined her and Twilight in a hug. Once they were done, Velvet looked happily at Dark.

"And speaking of being happy, it makes me happy to know that you still have a family of yours, Dark. Even if they're not directly related to you and that they're dragons."

"Thank you," he thanked. "Although, it is a little weird for me. To go from having lost my entire family to suddenly being welcomed as a sibling to a group of dragons it just a little too much for me to fully grasp."

"Regardless of that," Twilight said, nuzzling his cheek, "we're still happy for you."

Feeling more comfortable after hearing their words, Dark gave a happy sigh before nuzzling Twilight back. It didn't last long though as the sound of Night clearing his throat caused them to separate.

"Well," Night began speaking, "as nice as this is and how glad we are for you, Dark, we should probably get ourselves something to eat before we head on out to watch the Hearth's Warming Play."

Following his lead, everyone followed Night into the kitchen to help make themselves a late lunch. Once they were done, they talked while playing some more games, making sure to avoid anything related to the topic from last time. Soon enough, it was time for them to depart for the play. With it being held in Canterlot Castle, they were able to get in with little struggle, especially when Celestia had a group of guards at the front entrance to escort them to their box seats. Once they were brought to their seats, they were met with Celestia and Luna waiting for them.

"Hello, everypony," Celestia greeted them as they walked in.

"How has everypony's day been?" Luna asked.

"It's been... interesting," Twilight answered for them.

"Oh? How so, Twilight?" Celestia wondered as she took her seat beside her.

"Well, for starters, we had an interesting and unexpected topic that we talked about that I won't bother to go into detail with."

"Alright... anything else?"

"Yes. Turns out we had a surprise visit from Aero, the Lady of Air."

"Isn't that the name of one of the Scaleless Dragons?"

"Yep."

"Why would... Aero is a she, right?"

"Yes. Aero is a female."

"Alright, but why would she come to see you?"

"Turns out that when Dark became the Lord of Death, he also became apart of their family," Twilight smiled. "She came over to see him and told him that they've accepted him into their family as their youngest sibling."

"My, my," Luna spoke. "That must've be quite a surprise for you, Dark."

"Yeah, it was," he agreed. "To be honest though, while it's definitely good news and it does make me happy, this whole thing hasn't quite sunken in for me yet."

"I would imagine so," Celestia said. "After all, this is quite a turn of events for you, isn't it?"

"Yeah."

"So, where is she now?"

"She left in a hurry and didn't tell us where she was going. What we figured though was that it involves her, or rather, our eldest sister, Aurora, somehow. Anyway, she said that either she or one of the others will get in touch with me before the end of the month."

"That's nice of her to let you stay in touch like that," Celestia said before the lights started to go dim. "Oh. The play's about to start."

Once the lights were dimmed down enough, a pony in a weird-looking outfit walked out to center stage and began narrating the story. As he spoke, the curtains behind him drew back, revealing the scene to go with his narration, which would change as the story progressed. After a time, he left the stage for the actors of the play to take over.

As the play continued, Dark became more invested into it. While he already knew about the Six Founders and personally found it somewhat boring, he never thought that it would be so interesting when put into a play like this. So focused on it Dark was that he didn't notice Twilight glancing over at him with an amused smile.

By the time the play was done, Dark had a different view of their history, but not enough to make him want to study it thoroughly. When the curtains finally closed for the final time, everyone in the audience applauded for the performance, including Celestia and Luna. But, while the performance was over with, they still had to stay to announce the performers of the play, more so out of respect and politeness than anything else. When they all gave their final bows, everyone got up out of their seats and stretched their limbs before filing out.

"So then," Celestia began, "should we still be looking forward to all of you attending the Hearth's Warming Ball tonight?"

"We'll be there, Princess," Twilight answered. "We're going to have to teleport back home to get dressed before heading on over though."

"Alright then. In that case, I'll be looking forward to seeing you all very soon."

With a wave and their thanks, Twilight teleported everyone except for Dark back to her parents' house.

"Are you not going with them, Dark?" Luna questioned.

"Since I get teleportation sickness, I'm going to use my Shadowport instead to get back," he replied.

"You still get it?" Celestia wondered.

"Yeah. You wouldn't by chance know of a spell to cure me of it, would you?"

"I'm sorry, but I do not. If anypony would know of a spell like that, it would be Twilight."

"If so, then she probably doesn't know either, otherwise she would've cured me of it by now."

"Well then, I suppose we shouldn't keep you any longer."

"Guess not," he said before bowing to them. "Thank you for inviting us to watch the play, and I'll see you two soon."

"You're welcome, Dark. I'm glad that you enjoyed it."

With one last bow, Dark Shadowported himself back to Twilight's parents' house. Arriving at the inside of the front door, Dark walked upstairs towards Twilight's bedroom where his suit was. Seeing as how the door was closed though, he figured that Twilight was already getting her dress on and decided to wait out in the hallway until she was finished. He didn't have too wait long though, for after only fifteen minutes of waiting, the door opened, causing Dark to stare dumbfounded at Twilight.

The dress she wore was a light-blue with white trimming on the hems with the upper part having a V-neck with a single strap going around the back of her neck, holding it up in place. The back of the dress was open from the center of her back and upward, giving her wings plenty of freedom, but not revealing enough to be considered inappropriate. Noticing the perfume she was wearing, Dark also saw the makeup and pink eyeshadow Twilight had applied. Though she used very little of it, it was enough for it to easily stand out. And although her mane being pulled back into a bun wasn't anything too fancy, it didn't make her look any less beautiful to Dark.

"So, I take it that you like it?" Twilight giggled, noticing the look Dark was giving her... and the thin strand of drool hanging from the corner of his mouth.

Snapping himself out of his stupor, Dark slurped the drool back up and looked to her both embarrassed for how he acted, and how seeing her made him feel.

"S-Sorry about that," he apologized to her. "Yes, I do like it. You look very beautiful with that dress."

"T-Thank you," Twilight blushed. "Sorry if I took so long."

"Don't worry about it. I'd say that it was well worth it, but you really didn't take very long considering all that you did."

"That's because of how I can multitask with my levitation. But enough of that, it's your turn to get ready."

Taking a moment to give her a quick kiss, Dark walked past her and into the bedroom for his suit. Opening one of the dresser drawers, Dark was met with the sight of his folded suit.

Why didn't I just put it into my Shadow Storage beforehoof? he wondered. Would've saved me a lot of time and effort putting it on later... same with my Nightmare Night costume now that I think about it.

Sighing at his shortsightedness, Dark levitated out the suit and began putting it on. It was a little bit difficult, considering that he barely wore clothes like this, but after a struggling ten minutes, he finally had it on. Looking into his bag's side-pocket, he found some mane gel that was recommended to him that would give his mane an extra shine, and applied it on. Taking one last look in the mirror, Dark looked over himself.

His suit was comprised of a black tailcoat tuxedo jacket with a lavender vest and bowtie, and a silk black shirt beneath the vest. While Dark and Rarity went over the design, with his coat being an orange color, Rarity was having some trouble with trying to find the appropriate colors to compliment it other than yellows, oranges, and reds. In the end though, she decided that the black for his tuxedo and shirt would best compliment his coat, and went with lavender for the vest and bowtie because of how they matched Twilight's coat.

With his suit on snug and his mane styled back and shining, Dark left the room and went down to meet up with Twilight and the others who were waiting for him. Night and Spike both wore a black tuxedo and tie with a white shirt, difference being that Spike had a black top hat, Shining wore the same uniform that he wore to his wedding, Velvet went with a dark-blue dress with sparkles, Cadence had on a pink dress with gold hems, and Skyla wore an adorable little red and green dress.

"Wow, Dark," Twilight blushed, "you look rather handsome in that tuxedo."

"Thanks," he thanked, testing out the shoulders. "I've never worn one before. Pretty surprised of how comfortable it feels."

"I know," Night nodded in agreement, "but I'm curious though. Why did you go with a vest and bowtie of that color?"

"Rarity's idea. She thought that it would be appropriate for me to wear colors that matched Twilight's coat."

"Oh."

"Not to sound impatient or anything," Cadence spoke with Skyla on her back, "but we should probably head on over to the castle. The Ball will be starting soon."

With a nod of agreement, Twilight teleported herself and the others to the castle gates with Dark Shadowporting right behind them. Arriving at their destination, they all walked in, noticing the wreath-covered halls that lead the guests to the ball room. Walking down the halls, they gave a polite nod to the few guards that they passed, along with a few nobles who walked by.

After a few more minutes of walking, they finally made it to the open doors of the ball room and looked around the room. All around were pillars of sculpted ice, along with more decorative ice sculptures relating to Hearth's Warming, and several dozen round tables with white cloths draped over them for those who wanted to sit down and relax. Off to the far wall was a long buffet table with punch bowls, light foods, and some pastries and other treats for the guests to snack on if they chose to. On another wall was a stage where the Canterlot Orchestra was playing festive music for the guests. And towards the center near the stage was an open area for those who wanted to dance.

But, most noticeably of all were the floor that looked like it was covered in ice and a thin layer of snow, and the ceiling, which Twilight went to explain that it was enchanted to look like they were outside in the light snow. Of course, the "snow" that fell and "ice" on the floor weren't anything more than just a magical illusion. As they walked farther into the ball room with the other guests, they were approached by Celestia and Luna wearing a green and red dress respectively, to match the holiday.

"Hello again, everypony," Celestia greeted them. "How are you enjoying the Ball so far?"

"We actually just got here, Princess," Twilight answered as she and the others each bowed to her and Luna.

"Please," Luna waved. "There is no need for bowing from any of you. After all, tonight is a night for ponies to enjoy themselves and be merry."

"That is it, Aunty Luna," Cadence smiled.

"Well then, may you all enjoy the Ball," Celestia said to them. "And Happy Hearth's Warming Eve."

Giving their own Happy Hearth's Warming Eve, the group went further in before separating into their own groups. While Night, Velvet, and Spike took Skyla and headed on over to the buffet table, the two couples went over to dance. Upon seeing the royal couple and Twilight, the other guests bowed and gave them room for them to dance. But, while Shining and Cadence were calm, Twilight and Dark became aware of the eyes watching and judging them, but mostly Dark.

Once the orchestra started playing another slow song to dance to, both couples began to dance. Soon after, the others followed, dancing with a partner of their own. For Dark though, while he felt more comfortable dancing with Twilight than before, he was still wary of the gazes that fell upon him from everypony watching.

Keep it together, Dark, he mentally told himself. Just do what Shining told you and keep your eyes on your partner.

Looking away from the surrounding ponies, Dark looked directly at Twilight's as they continued to dance. Seeing her looking lovingly at him with a soft smile, Dark couldn't help but return both with his own.

"You look like you're doing better," she whispered. "Like you've calmed down a bit."

"Well," Dark began whispering back, "being with you does tend to have that affect on me."

"Sweet talker."

"It's true though. How many times have I started getting upset or nervous about something, and then you come and calm me back down?"

"I... I'm not sure, actually."

Giving a soft chuckle, Dark leaned his forehead down against Twilight's and closed his eyes as they continued to dance. And though it surprised her at first, Twilight quickly recovered and closed her eyes too, focusing on the closeness that they were sharing.

"Well, either way, I'm incredibly lucky to have you in my life now."

"And I'm lucky to have you in mine."

As the two continued to dance, Shining and Cadence glanced over to see them dancing with their eyes closed, and leaning their heads against each other. While Cadence looked happily at them, feeling the love they were both emanating, Shining gave a small smile.

"Heh, looks like he took my advice," he said with a small chuckle.

"Oh? And what would that be?" Cadence questioned.

"Remember when you and I had our first dance in front of a group of ponies?"

"I do. I remember you being all nervous about dancing with me because of everypony watching."

"Well, as it turns out, Dark was having the same worries that I did. So, I told him that he should just keep all of my attention on his partner."

"That was very thoughtful of you, Shiny. I'm really proud of you. Especially with how far you've come from how you acted with him before."

"Yeah," he sighed. "Guilt can do that to you."

"You know, you never did tell me what it was exactly that happened that lead you to hating kirins like that."

"I know, and I promise to tell you... and him. Just not right now though. Now isn't the time for such a story."

"I wasn't expecting to hear it right away, silly. Perhaps when we get back to the Crystal Empire?"

"Sure, I can do that."

Feeling happy with finally getting to know about what happened, Cadence gave a content sigh before leaning her head against Shining. While the two couples were simply dancing and enjoying the closeness of each other, the eldest couple, along with Spike and Skyla, were watching from one of the tables, each with a plate of food that they got from the buffet table.

"Hey, Night," Velvet spoke as she leaned up against his side, "don't they remind you of how we were when we were younger?"

"Which one are you talking about?" Night asked.

"Both of them. Twilight and Dark remind me of when we went to our high school dance, and Shining and Cadence of when we danced after our wedding."

"Yeah, I can see that."

"Mhmm. Also, I'm really happy and grateful that they both found somepony special for them."

"Yeah. While Shining and Cadence we both saw coming for some time, I didn't expect Twilight to find somepony like Dark."

"Night," Velvet said, her voice hinted with warning.

"Don't worry, Velvet, I won't do anything to interrupt them," he sighed. "Besides, looking at how happy and at peace they make each other, I'm having difficulty trying to dislike him."

"If you want, I might have a story or two to tell you," Spike said while feeding Skyla some pudding.

Chuckling, Night ruffle his spines. "Thanks, Spike, but I think that I'll let them be for tonight."

Leaving them be, Night and Velvet returned to their meals while Spike continued to feed Skyla. As the song continued on, Dark and Twilight soon lost track of how long they'd been dancing together. With both of their eyes closed and their attention focused on each other, what was actually ten minutes that had passed felt like an hour, and neither of them cared. A few minutes later, Dark opened his eyes and nuzzled Twilight to gain her attention.

"Hey," he softly spoke.

"Hmm?" she muttered, her eyes opening to see Dark look lovingly at her.

"I love you."

With her front legs wrapped around the back of his neck, Twilight pulled herself closer to whisper into his ear.

"I love you too."

Pulling away to look into each other's eyes again, they both soon found themselves leaning in. Getting caught in the moment, and with their surroundings completely forgotten, Dark and Twilight kissed. While soft and sweet with nothing but love behind their kiss, it was still enough to catch the attention of the others around them. Even after the song they were dancing to had ended, neither of them noticed as they were both in their own world at the time. Even when the broke their kiss, their interlocked gazes kept them from remembering where they were exactly. It wasn't until they heard the sound of somepony clapping that they were finally reminded of what was going on around them.

With looks of embarrassment and worry in their faces for their act of public affection in front of everypony, they were expecting ponies to start complaining, but were instead calmed when the number of clapping hooves begin to grow. Soon enough, the entire ball room was filled with clapping, cheers, and even a whistle of approval, which they both saw came from Celestia. Even Night was in on it, albeit with a look of slight reluctance.

Looking back to each other, Dark smiled to Twilight and remembered one of the rules with dancing at a social event that Rarity had taught him. Taking a step back, Dark bowed to her, and she to him in return. Feeling slightly tired from the dancing, Dark and Twilight made their way over to the table her parents, Spike, and Skyla were sitting at. Once they got there and took their seats, the music started back up and the ponies began dancing and talking again, no doubt about the kiss that was just shared.

"Oooh, I wish I brought my camera with me," Velvet gushed. "That was simply adorable."

"Moooommm," Twilight whined embarrassingly.

"What? It really was sweet."

"Personally, I'd say that it was more romantic than anything," Cadence chimed as she and Shining both took their seats at the table. "Although, I'm surprised that you two would be so open about showing your affections for each other like that. You wouldn't by chance have done that to make a statement to the nobles and Canterlot Elite, would you?"

"Wha- no!" Dark answered. "W-We were just caught in the moment and-"

"Relax, Dark, I know. I'm just teasing you two is all."

Sighing, Dark got up from his chair. "I'm heading on over to the buffet table. You want anything, Twilight?"

"Sure. Could you get me some of those crackers and cubed cheese please?"

"Sure," he chuckled. "That was actually what I was going to get." He paused when a scent caught his attention. "Is that salami that I smell?"

"Yep," Spike happy replied. "They've got a plate of it over there, though nopony has touched it, besides me that is."

"Sweet."

"Wait," Shining interrupted, "since when did you start eating that meat?"

"Remember when I was stuck in that other world?" Dark asked.

"Yeah, but what does that have to do with the salami meat?"

"While I was there, I was accidentally introduced to meat, and as it turns out, salami was one of the later ones that I had. It's really good in sandwiches, and better with crackers and cheese, but only with cheddar though. I tried it with Monterey jack and quickly learned of how much of a mistake that was." Seriously, even cardboard is tastier than that cheese.

"Well... okay then."

"Okay. Oh, did you want me to get you anything to drink while I'm at it, Twilight?"

"A cup of the punch please," she replied with a smile.

Nodding, Dark left the table and made for the buffet. Along the way, he was greeted by random ponies that he would pass by, but it was a certain pair at the buffet table that really caught his attention. One was a white unicorn stallion with a blue mane, moustache, and eyes, wearing a white tuxedo with a pink bowtie, and a single monocle over his left eye. And the other was a white unicorn mare beside him with light-purple eyes, and a pink and white mane who wore a white silk dress. Seeing the stallion waving him over, Dark made his way up to them to see what they wanted."

"I must say, that was quite the scene you and Princess Twilight made," he told Dark.

"Sorry about that," Dark apologized. "We got caught up in the moment and forgot about everypony around us."

"It's quite alright."

"It was actually a heartwarming sight to see," the mare said. "Although, I'm not sure that everypony would agree."

"Yeah," Dark sighed before remembering his manners and reaching out a claw. "Oh, sorry about that. I haven't introduced myself to you two yet. My name is Dark Flame."

"Ah, so you're the one that the Canterlot Elite and nobles have been talking about," the stallion said, taking Dark's claw with a hoof and shaking. "Well, it's a pleasure to finally meet you. My name is Fancy Pants, and this lovely mare here is my fillyfriend, Fleur De Lis."

"Charmed," Fleur politely said before shaking Dark's claw.

"So, you two are Fancy Pants and Fleur De Lis," Dark said with some surprise. "Well then, let me say thank you for the letter that you two sent. It was a welcomed change of pace compared to the letters of grief that I've been getting lately."

"I know what you mean," Fancy agreed. "Most of the Canterlot Elite and nobles aren't too fond of the idea of a pony coming from out of nowhere and suddenly courting Princess Twilight like that."

"Don't remind me," Dark groaned. "I've had enough of that from Blueblood."

"True. However, I must say that you're nothing like what everypony has claimed you to be. They say that you're a savage and unsophisticated brute and such. Some have even gone as far as to call you a changeling, believing that you've put Princess Twilight under some kind of mind control spell and getting her to be your fillyfriend."

"I suppose I could see that, but that's not true in the slightest. Besides, from what Twilight has told me, changelings haven't been seen since their failed invasion of Canterlot."

"True, but that doesn't stop ponies from talking."

"No, it doesn't," Dark sighed in agreement before he remembered why he came here in the first place. "I'm sorry about this, but while I am enjoying getting to talk with you two, Twilight is probably wondering what's taking me so long with the food and drinks. So, if it's alright-"

"Say no more," Fancy said with a raised hoof, "we understand that you need to get back to her. It was a pleasure talking to you, Mr. Dark."

"You too, Mr. Fancy Pants, Miss Fleur De Lis. Perhaps next time we can talk longer?"

"That would be nice," Fleur answered for them. "After all, we are curious as to where you came from, considering that nopony seems to know about you before you showed up in Ponyville."

"Sure. Have a nice night you two, and Happy Hearth's Warming Eve."

"And a Happy Hearth's Warming Eve to you too, sir," Fancy said, giving him a friendly smile before he and Fleur walked away.

Quickly glancing over the table, Dark began using his magic to levitate a pair of plates and cups to him before he began filling them. With the food and drinks collected, he made his way back to the table and placed Twilight her snack and drinks in front of her.

"Thank you, Dark," she thanked.

"You're welcome."

"So, what took you so long? You didn't get lost on your way there, did you?" Shining joked.

"Nope, but I did run into Mr. Fancy Pants and Miss Fleur De Lis while at the buffet table."

"Those two are some of the nicest Canterlot ponies that you'll ever meet," Twilight told him. "And even though Fancy Pants and I have butted heads together a few times, he's still a good pony to get along with."

"He definitely seems like it."

As the night progressed, everyone enjoyed their time together. They ate, shared some stories, and danced a few more times. But, even though they were enjoying themselves, they were starting to get tired and were ready to call it a night. Seeking out Celestia and Luna, they each thanked them for the invitation before heading home for the night.

Once they got there, Spike ran directly towards the tree and picked out his present from Twilight.

"Can I open it now, Twilight?! he eagerly asked.

"Sure, go ahead," she giggled.

With much enthusiasm, Spike began tearing open the wrapping paper until he held the box in his claws and opened the lid. With a look of joy, Spike brought the item out of the box.

"It's the newest comic of Power Ponies!" he cheered.

"That's not all, Spike. Take another look."

Curious, Spike looked back into the box to see comics layered on top of each other. Picking through them, he found fifteen different and new copies of them until he hit the bottom. Reaching a claw in, he brought out a brown, leather book.

"What's this? This isn't like any kind of book I've ever seen."

"That's because it's been imported from the Dragon Kingdom," Twilight explained. "That there is a book on everything that there is to know about dragons."

"How did you get this?" Spike asked in awe.

"I may have been keeping in touch with an elderly dragon that I met a few months ago."

"'An elderly dragon'?" Dark questioned. "You wouldn't by chance be talking about Rin from that meeting with King Inferno, would you?"

"That's the one. He's actually a really nice dragon once you get to know him. Even if it's only by letter."

"Thank you, Twilight!" Spike thanked while giving her a hug.

"You're welcome, Spike," she returned.

"Now it's your turn."

Smiling, Twilight walked over and took her present from Spike from under the tree. Sitting down, she unwrapped the paper to reveal a picture of her and Spike just after she hatched him. But, what was most noticeable though was the obsidian picture frame around it. Surprised, Twilight looked over to a smirking Spike.

"How did you get this?"

"I made it."

"You did? How?"

"I actually got the idea from watching Dark working the forge one time. You see, what I did was that I went out, found some rocks, and used my fire breath to melt them down until they were molten. After that, I collected it in a mold of the picture frame and dunked it under some cold water to quickly cool it off, which turned the rock into obsidian."

"Thank you, Spike," she thanked, pulling him into a hug. "I love it. And even more so because this was our first picture taken together."

"You're welcome, Twilight. Happy Hearth's Warming Eve."

"Happy Hearth's Warming Eve to you too, Spike."

With the small gift opening finished, everyone made their way upstairs to get ready for bed. That is, all except for Dark, who made his way to the basement table where the giftwrapping papers and ribbons were. After putting his suit into his Shadow Storage, Dark pulled out the ornate box from it and sat it on the table.

I really hope that Twilight will like this, he thought as he began wrapping it in a purple and gold wrapping paper.

Wanting to get it right, Dark had to try several times before he finally got the box wrapped up nice and tidy. Placing a ribbon and a name card on top of it, Dark cleaned his mess and went up to the living room to place the gift under the tree. Feeling satisfied, Dark let out a loud yawn before deciding to head on up to bed.

Opening the door to their shared room, Dark walked in to see Twilight out of her dress and over by her dresser mirror, finishing up on removing the makeup that she had on while Spike already asleep in his bed basket. Making his way over, Dark walked up alongside her and wrapped an arm around her in a hug.

"You were really beautiful tonight," he told her. "Kinda wishing that somepony had a camera with them now."

"I know what you mean," Twilight agreed. "You really did look handsome in that suit of yours."

Giving her a quick kiss, Dark let Twilight be with removing the last of her makeup and crawled into bed. No sooner did he get himself comfortable did he hear the lights turn off and feel Twilight crawling into bed too. Remaining still, he let her find her favorite spot against him and started snuggling together. With the long and eventful day they had, sleep was quick to take them, but not before a few words were shared.

"Hey, Twilight?"

"Hmm?"

"Happy Hearth's Warming Eve."

"Happy Hearth's Warming Eve to you too."

Comments

[Titan Commander Sebaste]

So now we find out who the stalker was... What a twist!

[tk4]

7109523 I suppose that makes sense, haha

[Gem of Memory]

Hehehe....From eldest brother to youngest sibling what a twist

[Truthseeker]

Wait a second...
1. Pinkie said that her provider of Holy Water was dead.
2. Discord cannot affect any magic of life or death and he could not pinpoint where Dark had vanished from or to, and we know who made the mirror shard medallion.
3. The fifth elemental dragon has been missing for a while.

Pieces fall into place... well shit. Our protagonist's BROTHER killed the elemental Dragon of life! Fuck!

[Hipparcos]

7483770 It took you this long to get it?

[Sidetrack]

"Oh, no. The only meat that I eat is fish, crab, some small land animals like squirrels and rabbits, and the occasional bird. Ponies I don't care for."

is she saying she doesn't care for the taste of pony, or that ponies she doesn't care for is one of her tastes?

[Garuda IV]

8615161 It would be the former. She does not like to eat ponies of any kind.

[Amos Anon]

"Okay, maybe I went a little overboard with that one," she said before sighing.

Ya Think?

[Bronzedragon]

Monterey jack and quickly learned of how much of a mistake that was." Seriously, even cardboard is tastier than that cheese.

sacrilege! to the stake with the heretic. The next thing you know he will be knocking brie.

[Icy Creation]

7785636
OR, Aurora is the pony that's been trying to kill him. I mean, since she is Life Incarnate, she could change species to a pony, and since she is also Light Incarnate, she wouldn't have had to use her horn for the blinding spell.

[AstralFlare42]

"Remember, little brother, that I'm the Lady of Air. And, while my sister Aurora can turn invisible by bending the light around her, and you with your shadows, I can become the wind and be seen like it-"

Oh................................................................................................................................................................................Crapbaskets.