> Prismatic Dusk 2
>  by Blueninetails
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

> Chapter 1
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

"WOO-HOO!!!" Pinkie shouted at the top of her lungs. "Best After-Coronation Party Ever!"

"I agree." Elusive nodded, "I'll admit this is the first time I have ever been so reluctant about leaving a party for a good night's sleep."

"Whoever planned is totally a party genius!"

"Uh, sugarcube, YER the 'party genius' who planned it." Applejack reminded her as she, Elusive, Pinkie, and Fluttershy started out of the grand ballroom. All four headed towards their respective guest rooms at the castle after a long night of celebrating Dusk becoming an alicorn.

"Oh yeah." She remarked in wonder before promptly giggling.

"Where's Dusk and Rainbow?" Fluttershy timidly asked as she noted their two friends weren't following them. "Aren't they coming too?"

"I believe he mentioned about having a word with the Princess regarding a concern he has about his new position as prince." Elusive replied

"An' ah'd bet a barrel of mah family's best cider that Rainbow's with 'im." Applejack added with a wide smirk.

"Well, considering they're special someponies, that may be a given under many circumstances. Quite romantic really."

"Yep!" Pinkie agreed.

Applejack and Fluttershy remained silent in agreement as the four of them pressed on.

Back at the Ballroom, Dusk stood there in front of Princess Celestia and Princess Luna. Rainbow wasn't too far behind as she stood behind Dusk, listening intently on the conversation.

"You have no need to worry about that Dusk, I can promise you that near immortality is a trait that only Luna and myself hold. In all regards, you should have similar lifespans as your friends and everypony else." Celestia stated

"We hope that's what you were hoping to hear." Luna added

"Very much so Princesses." Dusk replied with a sigh of relief before feeling Rainbow take a couple steps forward so the pegasus was now directly beside him. Looking at her from the corner of his eye, he was greeted by the top of her head pressing itself onto the bottom of his chin.

Both Princesses smirked at the scene in front of them. Luna was resisting the urge to giggle.

"Also, we would like to apologize for how Princess Blue Belle acted tonight," Celestia added, "it was most unbecoming of a mare of her status."

"Oh, it was quite alright. I really should be the one apologizing." Dusk stated with an embarrassed look. "I sincerely apologize for Rainbow's behavior towards Princess Blue Belle." He politely bowed.

Rainbow turned her head away and scoffed. "Speak for yourself Dusk."

"It's quite alright, I think I can understand Rainbow's motive for her actions."

"Tis funny, isn't it sister?" Luna whispered to Celestia, "The first stallion she decides to court seriously, and he happens to already be taken."

Celestia couldn't help but giggle in response.

"Oh, yes, I almost forgot to mention. My faithful student, I unfortunately do have a unique request for you."

"A request...?"

"Yes." she replied with a nod, "During the party, a guard approached Luna and myself about a pony requesting an audience with you."

"An audience...with me?"

"I tried to explain that wasn't one of your duties, especially for a pony who was recently had his coronation, but he insisted that he must speak with you."

"Well, um, who was this individual?"

"He didn't say, but given his appearance I could hazard a guess." Celestia replied as her gaze fell on Rainbow Dash, "Though, I may not have been able to answer anyway, even if we had known his name."

"Why not?"

"He requested that I didn't tell you anything about him. He had heard how you tend to react under certain circumstances, and didn't want to cause you undue stress."

"..."

"In any case, I told him I would allow it as long as you agreed to see him, and that you would set the meeting place and time. Though, I would advise you to wait for at least four days to pass."

"Four days...? Why four days?"

"Considering his request falls as a royal audience summons, I need time to assign a few guards to act on standby for you. Unfortunately, I have my own duties to attend to, and Princess Luna is planning to visit Baltimare for a few days on business, so we don't have many guards available to act for that position."

"Hm." Dusk thought about it for a brief moment, "Well, I'm not sure if I'll be able to see him for at least a month. I had already planned out my entire month, including time for friends and as well as Rainbow. I only really have the next two days available, seeing as the coronation had already forced me to take all my previous plans and put them on hold until I can return to Ponyville in a couple of days."

"I suppose there are a few things that will never quite change with you, is there?" Celestia commented with a smirk, "It's still an issue though, a month may be too long."

"What about his brother, Shining Armor?" Rainbow rang in, "Isn't he a former Royal Guard?"

"Prince Shining Armor is a viable option, but I'm afraid he and Princess Cadance had already planned to leave tomorrow morning to continue their duties as the rulers of the Crystal Empire." Luna replied, "Not to mention the furthered training of their own guards."

"Well, why don't I do it? I'm by his side anyway." Rainbow suggested

"You...? You wish to fulfill the position of Prince Dusk's guard?" Luna asked with a raised brow.

"Why not? I'm already one of Equestria's heroes, I already know how to fight a little bit, and I'm a guaranteed future Wonderbolt." Rainbow noted with a smirk on her face.

"I'm uncertain that qualifies you for the position of a guard."

"I think I can agree with Princess Luna, Rainbow Dash. There's more to being a guard than those things you just listed." Dusk agreed.

"You're just saying that because I bet you don't want to be caught staring at me while I'm wearing a suit of armor again like you were doing during the last Hearths Warming Eve play." Rainbow remarked with smirk.

Dusk didn't respond but turned his head away as a blush formed on his cheeks.

Princess Celestia gave another giggle in response before a smirk formed on her face, "Perhaps not, but perhaps not completely a bad idea in itself."

"What...?" Dusk asked as all three ponies shot the Princess a surprised look.

"Correct me if I'm wrong, but Rainbow has spent a few weeks at the Wonderbolt training camp, has she not?"

"Well..., yes she has, but what-" Dusk replied as he looked at Rainbow, who looked back at him, both sharing a curious expression on their faces before Princess Celestia interrupted him.

"While only a few weeks at the training camp certainly does not amount to the training required for a guard, I did recieve a positive report from Captain Spitfire about Rainbow's leadership qualities, as well as her capabilities in respect to how well she managed each obstacle."

Princess Luna brought a hoof to her chin as she thought about the matter as well. It was true, she had gotten a chance to look at the report herself, and Rainbow had done exceptionally well.

"The first few weeks of basic training is actually somewhat similar to how any of the guards are trained. We test them for their endurance, speed, and response time, and improve them as needed through further training." Celestia explained, "Besides, I have a feeling this individual may be a pony that Rainbow can handle if needed."

"Are you sure?"

Celestia gave a kind smile and nodded in confirmation.

"Well alright, I'll trust your judgement Princess. Any chance I can give him my response that I will be accepting his request for the audience?"

"He mentioned where he'll be staying for the night at a nearby hotel." Luna replied, "I can personally give him the message myself. Just settle when and where your wish to meet with him."

"Well..., what about some time tomorrow between 10am and noon? At the...let's see...at the library, maybe?"

"You wish to meet with him at the library?" Luna asked as she raised a brow.

"I was kinda hoping to do some light reading about flight basics before I started the actual flying lessons with Rainbow."

"If that is what you prefer, than so be it." Luna stated with a shrug, "Shall I give him this message?"

"Yes Princess, and...thank you."

"Tis not a problem." She said with a smile before turning to leave.

"Rainbow Dash, if I may ask, when do you usually awaken?" Celestia asked

"Um, well...um...about 7am I guess. Just a bit after the sun rises." she replied

"Good, I'll send a guard to fetch you and take you to the armory." she stated, earning a semi-surprised look from Rainbow. Noticing the expression, Princess Celestia explained by saying, "As I mentioned before, the request is of official royal business, so it would only be appropriate that you look the part as well."

"Cool, so I do get some awesome armor to wear." Rainbow stated with a wide grin.

"Indeed you do." Celestia replied with a chuckle, "It is of course only temporary since it will not be a perfect fit, and you by any regards will only serve as a temporary guard for Dusk."

"Yeah, I think I can understand."

Princess Celestia nodded, "Well, unless either one of you two have any further questions, shall we take our leave as well?" she stated as she started toward the door

Dusk and Rainbow didn't object as the two followed behind their leader and left the hall as well.

The following morning the group of friends were at Canterlot train station, along with Prince Shining Armor and Princess Cadance. They were bidding the royal couple their farewells before they boarded the train, which seems to have been delayed, and returned back to the Crystal Empire.

"Congrats again lil' bro. Still pretty unbelievable that you got the chance to be an alicorn on top of becoming a prince. I've never seen mom cry so much in happiness before." Shining Armor stated as he roughly rubbed Dusk's head, almost knocking off the crown that was sitting there.

"Same goes for you, Shiny." Cadance remarked silently to herself as she smirked.

"Yeah, I know." Dusk remarked as he readjusted his crown, "I just gonna figure out how to use these now." Dusk flapped his wings once.

"Don't worry, it's not as hard as you might think." Cadance stated, "Are you guys sure that you can't come over to the Crystal Empire for Summer Sun Celebration? You're all more than welcome to come celebrate with us."

"As tempting as the offer is Princess, I'm afraid most of us will have to decline." Elusive replied, "We've already made some plan or another for that day back at Ponyville."

"And the Princesses want me to help out with the celebration here at Canterlot." Dusk added.

"That's okay, we understand." Cadance stated as she nodded in understanding

"Well, you're all welcome anytime to come and visit. Just send us a note first though, so we'll know not to schedule any important meetings at the same time." Shining Armor explained before his eyes went over to Rainbow, who seemed to be fighting with how the body armor piece was situated around her wings and hips. "Something wrong, Rainbow Dash?"

Rainbow groaned as she flapped her wings a few times as she tried getting the armor to sit in a way that didn't press against the base of her wings without giving her the impression that she had a big butt, not really caring that every one of her friends were now looking at her.

"It's this armor. How in Equestria do you guys wear this thing? It's annoying my wings, I can barely open them without this armor pressing into the base of 'em, and I'm pretty sure it's trying to hug my flank."

"Well, remember, most of us guards are stallions. So I guess most of them don't really fit quite as well with mares."

"I know Princess Celestia said it would be an imperfect fit, but I didn't think it was this imperfect." she complained, "Also, what the hay is wrong with the color? I thought I was getting a gold armor like the other guards. This thing almost looks bronze."

The armor Rainbow was wearing really did look like the armor all the royal guards wore, minus the fact it looked almost bronze and the emblem that went across the chest was a yellow circle with a blue crescent moon inside it.

"That's because what you're wearing is what most of us guards called 'Spit-shine armor'."

"Spit-shine armor...?" Dusk asked in a curious tone.

"It's the armor all the new recruits are given when they start training. The bronze look is because it's made of cheaper metals that offer the same protection, but would be cost effective compared to the actual one if any of the recruits managed to damage them."

"That answers one question." Rainbow remarked.

"But that don't much answer the new question." Applejack rang in, "Why's the durn called a 'spit-shine armor'?"

"That's because most recruits get too lazy to properly clean the armor themselves, so they just spit on it and wipe it off with a rag."

"Ew!" most of them remarked in disgust, especially Rainbow, who stuck her tongue out.

"How unsavory." Elusive added.

"Relax, we do clean them up properly when the armor is returned to the armory." Shining Armor explained with a chuckle, "That type of armor is really just meant to teach recruits to properly keep their armor clean, and store them away properly when were not using them. It's not really needed during basic training, since we're not really fighting anything, not even a training-dummy. It's meant to be re-useable as well, that's why it doesn't fit perfectly. Recruits just use it till they reach the point they decide they want to stay and continue training, or decide the guard life just isn't for them and leave."

"And if they stay, then they're given the real deal right?" Dusk asked

"Yes." he answered with a nod, "After that, they decide whether they want to be a Day-guard or a Night-guard and are measured for the armor that will be made to fit them personally."

"I guess that's cool." Rainbow remarked, "At least I know it's clean. You're sure it's clean, right?"

"You are talking to a former captain of guard, so I'd say Shining knows what he's talking about." Cadance reassured, just before they heard a train whistle.

Looking to see, it was the Crystal Empire Express.

"Well, it looks like Shining and me are off now. See you around Dusk Shine." She then gave Dusk a quick hug, as the train slowed to a stop at the station, "Hope we see you all again soon."

"See you all later. Again, congrads on becoming a prince lil' bro." Shining gave final wave before following after Cadance and boarded the train as well.

As soon as Shining Armor and Cadance were on board, the train door closed and gave one more whistle before it started moving. They remained there and waved until the train was well out of sight, then proceeded to look at one another.

"Well..., shall we all head back to the castle then?" Elusive asked

"Ya'll can if ya want. 'Shy and mahself are headed ta the heart of Canterlot." Applejack stated.

"We were, um....thinking about getting a bite to eat. I mean if that's okay..." Fluttershy tried explaining as Applejack licked her lips at the thought of getting a hearty meal.

"Ooo! You're gonna get something to eat? Can I come? Can I come?" Pinkie asked enthusiastically.

"Hold onta yer horseshoes Pinks, o' course ya can tag along." Applejack replied with a chuckle.

"Well, I hope you three have fun in the city. I may join you later if you haven't returned." Elusive stated before giving a quick yawn, "I for one plan on going back to bed. I'm still rather tried after last night's party."

"What about you and Rainbow, Dusk? Are you and Rainbow going to do some flight training?" Fluttershy asked.

"We're headed for the Canterlot library. I want to get some reading done on flight before I'm to meet a pony in regards to a summons."

"A summons?" Applejack asked

"It means somepony made a request to personally see Dusk in regards to a matter." Elusive explained, "Getting thrown immediately into the royal business, Prince Dusk Shine?"

"I guess you could say that." he remarked with an embarrassed grin, "Also, it's just Dusk. I may be a prince now, but I'd rather that you guys don't address me that way. Your all my friends afterall, there's no need for formalities."

"So where does that leave Rainbow Dash? I don't think she'd be too interested in such things."

"As a matter of fact, I am." Rainbow rang in.

"Apparently, according to Princess Celestia the summons is of official royal business, so guards are needed for the sake of my safety. Problem is though, there's not enough guards available for the job at the moment. So, Rainbow decided to volunteer."

"Her...? A guard?!" Elusive asked incredulously, "Well..., she certainly is aggressive enough I suppose."

"Oh! That's why she's wearing that armor that ponies apparently spit on to clean, but is actually clean because your brother said so, right?" Pinkie exclaimed.

"Wouldn't 'ave been mah first choice fer a body guard." Applejack remarked with mocking smirk.

"Hey! I can be guard if I wanted to!" Rainbow shot at the farm pony.

"Princess Celestia approved of the idea. She trusts that Rainbow will be able to protect me if need be, and I'm willing to trust her judgement." Dusk explained.

"Well, if the Princess thinks it's a good idea, then ah say go fer it." Applejack stated

As the group of friends went their separate ways, Rainbow Dash decided to fly ahead of Dusk and Elusive back to the castle, figuring as a temporary guard she should make sure it was safe before Dusk arrived. Dusk didn't mind Rainbow did so, it gave him a moment to just talk to Elusive and catch up with the other unicorn stallion. The two mostly ended up simply chatting about Elusive's new business connection at Canterlot, and about a book that Fluttershy had recently taken a liking to and brought up rather frequently to Elusive during the last time the two hung out.

As soon as they both arrived at the castle, the two friends went their separate ways as Dusk headed for the castle library and Elusive started back toward the tower where his room was located. As Dusk made his way to the library, he did notice something that made him raise a brow in curiosity. Despite Princess Celestia's statement the previous night about there not being enough guards on hoof to be around Dusk during the summons,  there seemed to be plenty posted around the castle's perimeter. There were about three posted at the south-facing wall, two near the garden, and four were near the main castle entrance.

As he made his way the library, he noticed Rainbow hovering near two guards that stood at the entrance into the garden, which he did understand was needed. At least 10 ponies entered the garden daily for the garden's upkeep, and maybe a family or two who came to visit the garden every other day; and, with two ways into the castle from the garden, it made sense that the garden always had a few guards posted either inside or just around it.

From the looks of things, it appeared she was trying to get them to respond to a question she's probably asked for the up-teenth time now. Particularly though, she seemed to be focusing the question more toward the one on the left.

"I'm gonna ask you again, and I want an answer. What's with all the guards? I thought Princess Celestia said there wasn't going to be a lot of you hanging around today."

"..."

"..."

"..."

"Well, are you going to answer me...?" Rainbow demanded as she shot the stallion a glare

"..."

"Rainbow...?" Dusk called out, making himself known to the pegasus, as he approached them.

"Oh, hey, Dusk." she responded, not really turning to look at him, before regarding the guard once more, "Well...?"

"Do I...Do I want to ask what you're doing?"

"I think it's rather obvious what I'm doing. I'm asking why we were misinformed about the guards."

Neither made a sound as Rainbow waited for a reply, though she was getting impatient. Dusk looked at the guard, who remained silently stoic as ever, then to Rainbow, before finally breaking the silence.

"Rainbow, if I may, may I try asking?" he offered

Rainbow didn't reply, but backed off from the guard before promptly crossing her hooves as she remained in a hover in the air.

Dusk cleared his throat as he positioned himself in front of both the guards, "Sirs...?"

That seemed to work, as both guards looked at Dusk.

"If I may inquire. My companion and myself would like to know why there are so many guards seemingly available today?"

Both guards remain silent as they look at one another, before the one on the left replied, "I'm sorry, your highness, but we don't quite understand. What do you mean by so many available guards?"

"I'm expecting to meet a pony today in regards to aforementioned pony's request for an audience with me today; but, we were told that there wouldn't be enough guards available today to properly protect me if the meeting turns badly. Yet, it seems there's more guards posted around the castle than usual today."

"That is actually due to the fact Princess Luna will be leaving for Baltimare soon, your highness." the other guard explained.

"I'm still new to the whole royal status thing, so you can skip the formality and just address me as Dusk Shine." he interjected, as Rainbow landed back down on the ground with her mouth open.

"As a result, much of the night-guard and Princess Luna's personal guard are still present around the castle."

"Oh, so that's the case."

"Yes, your..er, I mean, Dusk Shine. Also, while we are present, our orders are to stand guard where we usually are, so unless something happens that would require more than a couple of guards, we will stay where we are posted."

"I understand. Thank you for explaining."

"Wait, why did you answer him? I know he's a prince now and all, but I'm a guard too, even if it's temporary." Rainbow complained.

There was a moment of silence as the guards seemingly didn't acknowledge Rainbow's complaint at all.

"Are you two going to answer her question?" Dusk eventually asked, "It's rather rude to just ignore her."

One of the guards finally turned to look at her before saying, "We apologize for the rudeness ma'am, but we have to keep an air of professionalism when working."

"As you stated, we addressed him due to his new status as a Prince of Equestria; and, disregarded you due your position being temporary. It also stands that based on your armor, you're just a recruit, so we'd outrank you and it is not necessary for us to address you unless there is an emergency situation or potential security risk." the other explained, "Even if you are Prince Dusk's marefriend."

"Also, there is the matter that a few of the guards know you just try getting a reaction out of us." the first guard added, which earned a groan from Rainbow.

Dusk resisted the urge to audibly chuckle before pretending to cough into his hoof as he shook off the urge. "Well, if that will be all, we'll be taking our leave. If you will though, since you're both here anyway, let us know when the pony I'm suppose to meet arrives."

"As you wish."

"Thank you. Come on Rainbow, I'm already behind schedule." Dusk stated before proceeding into the library.

Rainbow hesitated a moment to look back at the guard ponies before proceeding to follow Dusk into the library.

Upon entering, Rainbow found Dusk already seated near a table and just about to open to a page in a Flight Basics book. Dusk opened the book to the first page then looked toward Rainbow, who proceeded to smirk before taking to the air and landing beside the new alicorn.

For a few minutes, Rainbow remained by Dusk's side and see how nice it is to have a wing draped around her for once. Afterall, it was only fair since she had done it to him several times already, and that was beyond fair in her opinion; and, while she didn't like the idea of being too gushy, especially while wearing actual official guard armor, she would've been lying if she said the feeling of another wing draped over her wasn't at least a bit thrilling.

Afterwards, Rainbow took a seat halfway between the desk where Dusk was situated and the door that lead in and out of the building, and tried to look as close as she could to a professional guard as possible. Though that seemed to be only just so as she quickly became bored just sitting there staring at the door, and quickly let her eyes wonder about the library. It did keep her busy for some time, mostly as a way to distract her mind from the silence that surrounded them, before that got boring too and Rainbow had to focus on another thing. This time she focused on her wings and started picking at her feathers with a hoof, seemingly going about cleaning her wings.

Dusk occasionally looked up from his studies to look at his own wings, as well as see if he could open and close it on command properly, and to also look at Rainbow. Dusk took a unique interest in seeing how quickly Rainbow would get bored, seeing that Rainbow was never one to sit still for an extended period of time, with reading Daring Do, sleeping, and eating being the only real exceptions he knew about. So far, she seemed to be doing a pretty good job emulating a duty-bound guard, granted a bored duty-bound guard.

After about an hour of waiting, Rainbow started to get drowsy and yawned audibly. Looking at the clock it was half-past ten, the pony had another hour and a half to get there before he was late. Giving another yawn, Rainbow started looking about for something to lay her head on for a brief moment. Unfortunately, the only thing within sight that looked soft enough to use was currently under Dusk as he had gone from the table to the one and only pillow in the room to use as he sat flat on his stomach reading a book. She was about to consider asking for the pillow, until another idea came to mind and she let a smirk form on her face.

Rainbow quickly took to the air before landing right next to Dusk so that her back was turned to him, earning a curious look from him. Rainbow proceeded to pull the helmet off her head and put it aside before falling backwards and letting her head land right on the side of Dusk's abdomen.

"Ooof...! Rainbow!" He yelled at her.

"What...? Don't tell me a mare like me managed to hurt you that badly." She stated as shifted around to find a comfortable position.

"Well...no...not very much; but, you could at the very least explain what you're doing."

"Easy, I'm tired and you have the only pillow in this stupid building. Your belly is the next best thing."

"You could've just asked Rainbow." he remarked before opening the wing closest to the pegasus and draped it over her, though it did cover just the upper half of her body.

"Yeah, but that's not as fun as doing this instead." Rainbow decidedly nuzzled the purple feathers that were less than an inch in front of her face.

As another hour passed, Rainbow completely passed out as her light snoring seemed to indicate. Rainbow had already re-shifted herself so she was now laying on her side. Dusk was back to reading, and had also already taken his wing off of her. Occasionally, he'd steal a glance or two, before letting a tender smile form on his face. Rainbow did always look more attractive when she was at peace.

Dusk was about to look up at the clock when he heard a knock at the door of the library.

One of the guards proceeded to stick his head in, luckily for Rainbow it was at an angle where the guard didn't notice her, before saying, "Excuse me sir, but your guest has arrived."

"Oh good, give me a moment to return this book then you can let him in."

The guard pony merely nodded before pulling his head back out and closed the door behind him.

"Rainbow...Rainbow wake up." he nudged her with a hoof before using his magic to push her back into a sitting position.

"Wha...huh...?" she mumbled as she woke up, "What's the big deal Dusk? I was having a good dream."

"That pony is here. Hurry up, otherwise it won't be just me who will know you were sleeping on the job." he replied and gently placed the helmet onto her head, while also placing the book back onto the table.

Rainbow gave a yawn as she tried rubbing the sleepiness out of her eyes, before repositioning herself to try looking as official as ever.

As soon as the door began opening, Dusk made one final adjustment to the crown that sat on his head for presentability sake. As the pony started walking in, Dusk and Rainbow were taken back by his appearance.

The pony in question was a pegasus stallion who looked rather similar to Rainbow Dash, his coat was deeper blue color compared to hers, but had the iconic rainbow mane and tail.

Dusk was about to open his mouth to address him, but Rainbow was quicker to respond.

"You...?"

"Rainbow Dash...? Is that...Is that you?" He asked as he got a closer look at her.

"Dad, what are you doing here?"
> Chapter 2
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

"Wait..., that's your father?" Dusk asked outloud to Rainbow, who either didn't hear the question or she merely ignored it. Not that it was that surprising really, the stallion's mane is more than enough to suggest that.

"Since when did you become a royal guard, Dash? I thought you always wanted to be a Wonderbolt." Rainbow's father stated.

"I still do." Rainbow shot back.

"Really? That armor you're wearing sure looks pretty heavy for a Wonderbolt."

"This has nothing to do with that, Dad, the armor is for a one-time deal I'm doing."

"Excuse me if I come off as rude, but are you the pony who asked to see me?" Dusk asked as he walked over to them

"Oh! Right, my sincerest apologies Prince Dusk Shine." Rainbow's father replied as he gave a bow.

"That's quite alright...Also, you really don't need to bow."

"Why...? Isn't that what I'm suppose to do when addressing Equestrian Royalty?"

"Well..., yes, but...I'm still getting use to this stuff." Dusk groaned.

"Anyway, yeah, I'm the one who asked to see you."

"Well, my current authority isn't really that great at the moment, but I'll see what I can do to help."

"Don't worry, I'm sure you're more than capable for this, and probably the only pony who could. Before we do though, I must ask: why is my daughter standing here wearing royal guard armor?"

"Oh, um...Princess Celestia informed us that due to this request technically falling under as an official royal summons request, it was necessary that I have a guard present."

"And, that's where I come in. I offered to guard him." Rainbow added as she puffed out her chest.

"Oh, is that how it is?" Rainbow's father replied with a chuckle, "Well, I suppose I should be somewhat proud of her for it. Not many ponies get to say their kid got the chance to be a royal guard. As for the other thing, I was hoping on merely spending the day with  my daughter and finally meet her special somepony face-to-face."

This earned a surprised look from both Dusk and Rainbow.

"Don't look at me like that, you had to have known this was gonna happen sooner or later. Dash made it a point to tell me that she was now dating you in several letters over the past few months. You must understand; it's my job to look after my kid." he explained, "I just felt like getting it over with and saving us both the irritation of doing it later."

"Dad, you didn't have to do this." Rainbow stated

"Well..., I suppose I did expect to do this eventually, I guess I...I just haven't prepared myself fully to do so yet." Dusk replied in an embarrassed tone, "I don't think you needed to ask for an audience to do this though."

"You'd think so, but you're probably one of the hardest stallions I've ever tried to get in contact with. Whenever I'm free from work, something happens that calls your attention away. When you're free, I'm bogged down in paperwork. Would've sent a letter to Dash about it, but she'd probably delay it more." he explained, "So why not ask for an audience? I finally get to meet you, and I'm allowed to use it as an excuse to get out of work for the day."

Dusk didn't reply immediately as he contemplated the situation. True, he did have to do this eventually. He and Rainbow had been seeing one another for quite some time now, it's pretty close to a year now since they had started dating, and their bond only gets stronger each day. Problem was, it seemed like a fairly large step, he hadn't even done this with Rainbow Dash and his parents yet. Granted, his parents had met Rainbow several times already, but it was never really in the same context as to now.

"Well, you did go through all the trouble to do this, so I guess I wouldn't mind following through with this plan of yours." he replied after a moment of thought.

"That's the spirit! Knew you wouldn't let me down. Now, I really didn't have any particular set plans for the day. So I guess I'll just follow you around as you go about your royal business for the time being. We can talk along the way."

"I don't really have a lot to do in regards to being a prince. I'm still relatively new, my work -if any at all- is mostly within the council, and I'm still not certain if any of the current council members have fully come to terms with me becoming royalty."

"Everyday life then, I don't mind. Like I said, I don't exactly have anything else better to do today."

"Alright, but just so you're aware, I'm gonna conclude this as an audience request, and will begin considering it a personal matter from here on out."

Rainbow's father nodded in understanding.

"Excuse me for asking, but I don't believe you ever formally introduced yourself."

"Oh," he replied before facehoofing as he chuckled, "of course, where are my manners? My name's Rainbow Blaze, though a few of my friends call me Spectrum."

"Nice to make your acquaintance Mr. Rainbow Blaze." Dusk then put a hoof out toward the  other stallion

"The pleasure's all mine, Prince Dusk Shine." Spectrum replied back as he shook Dusk's hoof.

"Just 'Dusk' will be fine."

"Dusk...Yo, Dusk." Rainbow Dash whispered to him, nudging him a few times

"What is it Rainbow?" he whispered back as Rainbow pulled off to the side.

"Are you sure Dusk? I mean, you don't have to do this today if you don't want to."

"Your father has a point Rainbow, this is something that had to be done eventually. Why...? Do you and your father have some...unresolved issue or another?" he asked in a careful tone.

"What?! No, no, Dad and I were always cool with one another, it's just that...You sure you want to do this today...?"

"Positive."

"Alright..., if you say so Dusk." Rainbow replied with a nod.

As the next hour came and went, Dusk, Rainbow, and Spectrum, pre-occupied their time in the Royal Garden as they munched on some food, compliments of Princess Celestia. They had gone to the garden mostly because Spectrum had never actually seen the garden in person before, and it seemed like a pretty good idea considering they were fairly close by anyway. While there, they bumped into Princess Celestia, who was personally seeing the progress of the gardeners that day, just before she had to rush off so she wouldn't be late to a meeting with her agricultural adviser. Before she had to rush off though, she asked for one of the servants to bring the trio something to munch on after hearing Rainbow Dash's stomach.

"If you don't mind me saying so, sir," Dusk said, Rainbow already munching away on her third slice of cake, "what do you do for a living? I mean, I'm sure it's nothing you needed to put aside just to see me."

"I work at the Weather Factory, as the Senior Rain Officer."

"Senior Rain Officer?" Dusk asked, hoping that Spectrum would go into deeper detail about the position.

"Second Class." he remarked rather proudly.

Rainbow rolled her eyes at the statement, "It's not that impressive of a position, Dad, it's not even the highest position for the Weather Factory."

Spectrum chuckled in response, "Maybe not, Dash, but I didn't hear you say that when you were a filly, and I was just a Rain Officer. In fact, I believe you were rather impressed that I was in charge of a team half of what it is today."

Rainbow merely snorted in response, and took another bite of her treat.

"How many ponies are on your team now that you've gotten a higher job position?" Dusk asked

"About 60 last time I checked." he replied, before taking a quick pause to take a small bit of his food just for taste, "It's a managing-type position most of the time, helping plan the rain cloud allocation for Canterlot and Trottingham and every settlement, town, and city in-between."

"That's quite a size-able amount of area, especially Trottingham."

"No kidding," Spectrum chuckled, "That city is in the top three when it comes to rainfall. I do travel around though to the towns and cities as needed, but otherwise it's a nice job as long as things go without a hitch." he then looked at Rainbow, who was almost done with her food, and had parts of it all around her mouth, "I could've sworn your mother and I taught you better table manners than that, Dash."

"Huh?" was all Rainbow could say, before looked down at her muzzle and licked whatever bit of food that she could reach around her mouth.

"You always seemed to do that, even when you were just a filly. Hm..., there's an idea, tell me Dusk, mind hearing a little bit more about Rainbow Dash? There's quite a few stories I can tell you of her Flight Camp days."

That immediately caught Rainbow's attention as her eyes widened and she started shaking her head.

"Rainbow's never really mentioned much about Flight Camp to me, I guess it would be interesting to hear it." Dusk replied, not noticing that Rainbow was shaking her head.

"Here's a good one." Spectrum stated with a grin just before starting.

For almost two hours Spectrum recanted what he knew about his daughter's Camping days, which unfortunately were rather embarrassing for Rainbow to have Dusk know about.

"I'm quite aware about Rainbow's tendency to be aggressive when she's pushed to that point, but I never thought she was that...rambunctious as a little filly." Dusk replied

"Like you wouldn't believe. I think it got to the point I was starting to worry the camp would kick her out."

"Hey, it isn't my fault that Billy liked picking fights with me." Rainbow stated defensively.

"Yes, but you did continue the fight Rainbow." her father stated, "I think that's enough hearing about my daughter and myself for now. What about you, Mr. Dusk Shine? Care to tell me more about yourself?"

"Well..., there really isn't very much to say about myself to be honest. I mean other than being Princess Celestia's personal student, I'm just a librarian."

"Not according to my daughter." he remarked, "Dash mentioned you're actually quite the talented individual."

"I think she's just exaggerating the facts a little." Dusk nervously remarked, though a slight blush from the obvious compliment quickly formed on his cheeks.

"Exaggerating my blue feathers, Mr. I'm-Princess-Celestia's-personal-student! Come on Dusk, why hide something that makes you cool?" Rainbow asked with a smirk as she looked at him.

"Because, it's not like most of what I do is actually that impressive, Rainbow Dash. I mean, sure, I'm rather well-practiced in a variety of different spells, but most are rather foalish at best. I can teleport short distances, instantly heat up an object, and I know a spell that would add a mustache to anypony's face, how is that impressive?"

"You also used a spell to add wings to Elusive -something even you admitted was a difficult spell, saved Ponyville from a raging baby ursa, finished a spell that a centries-old dead guy couldn't finish, and convinced me...ME...to actually consider reading a book. Do you have any idea how many of my past teachers would be patting your back right now?"

"That 'dead guy' happens to be a very important, historical figure in unicorn history, Rainbow Dash." Dusk remarked as he shot a glare at her.

Rainbow seemingly ignored his statement as she continued talking, "You have more talent in magic than any unicorn three times your age, Dusk. So why brush-off something like that...?"

Dusk sighed in frustration, "Let me change the subject." then looked at Rainbow's father, "If you don't mind me asking, since this is suppose to be a 'meet the parents' kind of event, will I be meeting your wife, Rainbow's mother, as well?"

"Mom...?" Rainbow asked as her ears suddenly perked up to full attention position.

"Oh, yeah, you will later this afternoon." Spectrum replied, "She works as part of the recreation department for Cloudsdale, particularly in early flight training, and she'll probably be there until she gets out of work later."

"So, she's a teacher I take it...?" Dusk asked, a little different from what he expected to hear, but didn't complain. Being a teacher is a rather respectable position.

"Well, it actually is mostly classroom stuff, so I guess you could say that. Though I think she prefers the title of 'coach' better."

"That's because 'coach' sounds cooler." Rainbow remarked.

Dusk smirked in response, not really saying anything, before looking towards Rainbow's father again.

"Also, if you two wouldn't mind, could you keep the fact I called in sick today between the three of us?" Spectrum stated in hushed voice, "The missus doesn't need to know that I didn't go to work today."

Rainbow readily agreed with a grin and firm nod, before gesturing that her lips are sealed

Dusk was understandably less willing to agree compared to Rainbow Dash, but agreed to not say a word about the matter. He wasn't sure if there was any relationship issues between Rainbow's parents, or if Rainbow's mother had an even greater disapproving stance when it came her husband's use of sick days, but decided it would be better he doesn't cause any unnecessary strain between Rainbow's parents.

"Anyway, back on subject, to be honest with you, Dusk, I was mostly interested in what you had to say about yourself and not what my daughter had mentioned in her letters." he continued, "It was actually a bit shocking to both her mother and myself that the one she fell head-over-hooves over was a librarian. For a while we thought she was just pulling our tails and was trying to prank us."

"Hey, Dusk's a cool librarian, Dad." Rainbow remarked

"I understand that Dash. You've probably expressed how cool he is more times than I care to remember in all of your letters." then looked back toward Dusk, "You see, given Dash's personality, we assumed that anypony she ended up falling for, and possibly marrying, would've been more like her: strong, athletic, and especially having a strong interest to be in the air. So imagine our surprise to hear that you were a pony who strongly valued knowledge, enjoyed being indoors, and a pony who pretty much couldn't fly. Well..., at least you use to." he chuckled as he pointed out Dusk's new wings.

"Well, I can't really argue with that. I had the same impression of Rainbow Dash as you and your wife had, so it was probably just as surprising to me to hear that she did indeed like me." Dusk admitted, "Not that I have any complaints, of course." he added before looking at Rainbow from the corner of his eye, and giving a gentle smile.

Rainbow merely replied back in kind with a smile of her own.

Spectrum chuckled at the scene before him, able to see that spark in both Dusk and Rainbow's eyes that very much reminded him of when he and his wife first met.

After promptly finishing the food that had been provided to them, Rainbow was more than eager to stretch her wings and burn off the calories from one of the sweeter dishes that had been provided. She had been mostly on the ground for a good portion of the day, working hard to portray herself as a guard; and, had also decided now was as good as anytime to begin teaching Dusk a few basics of flying.

Initially, Rainbow wanted to get Dusk airborne as well, but to her displeasure, he refused. While he had been able to take off and glide for his own coronation, he only took a crash course on the basics -and, he did admittingly cheat a little by casting a spell on himself, he wanted to take it slow to avoid injuring himself. So, he was pretty much just standing on the ground getting coached on how to move his wings properly from Rainbow, who was hovering in slow circles around him.

Spectrum merely watched the two from the sidelines, mostly musing to himself how strange the scene in front of him was playing out, it was...unusual to say the least. In front of him, he was watching his daughter, still clad in armor, minus the helmet, throwing commands at Dusk, who still had his crown on, on the same lessons he had taught her as a young filly. In short he was watching a prince take orders from a trainee guard.

The older pegasus silently chuckled to himself, "Well, this is turning out to be an interesting first meeting." he muttered before hearing the sound of hooves approaching from behind.

"Good afternoon you two." Elusive shouted out to Rainbow and Dusk.

"Huh? Oh, hey there Elusive." Rainbow greeted.

Dusk greeted the unicorn with a quick nod, before Rainbow poked him and getting him back to training.

Elusive then looked to Spectrum, "And, a good afternoon to you, sir." he politely greeted.

"Nice to meet you." then looked towards Rainbow and Dusk before looking back at Elusive, "A friend of Dusk and Rainbow's, right?"

"Yes, indeed I am. My name is Elusive."

"Oh, yeah, the up-and-coming tailor, nice to meet you, my name is Rainbow Blaze." he extended a hoof out to the unicorn.

Elusive accepted it and shook hooves with him, "A pleasure making your acquaintance. By any chance do you have any familial relations with Rainbow Dash? You seem to have some resemblance to one another, and I do mean more than just her mane and tail."

"Well, I am her father, so I hope she does."

"Oh, I beg your pardon."

Spectrum waved hoof, dismissing the matter, "I'm spending the day here at Canterlot to catch up with my daughter, and finally get to meet the stallion who won her over."

Elusive nodded in understanding, "Then, perhaps I should just pa- Wait, are you the one who asked for an audience with Prince Dusk Shine?" Spectrum nodded in response, "I'm not sure if you needed to go as far as needing to do that just to meet him."

"You'd be surprised how difficult it was for me actually."

"Hm..." Elusive quickly mulled over the statement, "Actually, having known Dusk for quite some time now, I may be inclined to believe you. He does tend to be difficult to distract once he starts any of his research or reading."

"Just work on getting that movement right for now Dusk, and you should be ready for a good flight in no time." they heard Rainbow state, as she and Dusk made their way toward Elusive and Spectrum.

"If you say so Rainbow."

"Trust me Dusk, you will."

"Finished with training for the day?" Spectrum asked them.

"Yeah..., Dusk just needs to practice a few motions is all." Rainbow replied

"Rainbow Dash, Dusk, pardon my rudeness, but allow me to quickly pass on my message before I take my leave." Elusive rang in.

"Why the rush?"

"Your father informed me what's going on right now, that this is a family catching up with you and meeting your stallionfriend kind of situation, and I do not wish to be so intrusive of the matter."

"I'm sure my dad wouldn't mind, he's pretty awesome like that."

"Well, I guess it would give me somepony else to talk to just in case you decide to drag Dusk off somewhere for a quick kiss without me seeing." he stated as he placed a hoof on his chin before smirking.

"Dad! Seriously...?!" Rainbow exclaimed as Dusk nervously grinned and blushed

"I'm your father, Dash, and I am allowed to embarrass you once in a while in front of your special somepony." he merely remarked, earning a groan from his daughter.

"It does seem Rainbow's father doesn't have any problems with you staying, Elusive." Dusk stated after clearing his throat to detract from his embarrassed blush.

"Yes, it does appear that way; but, I must still insist that I have no place in this kind of situation."

"Understood. So what was this message you wanted to tell us?"

"I just wanted to inform Rainbow Dash and yourself about where the others were in case you were interested in finding them. Applejack returned to her room at the castle for a bit of an afternoon nap, Pinkie went to Doughnut Joe's for a chat and baked goods, and Fluttershy is going to be with Barb and myself at Silvershoe Park."

"Is there an event going on there?" Spectrum asked

"Nothing too extravagant, just the message regarding a particular migratory butterfly species being there, which Fluttershy is rather elated about." Elusive replied with a smirk.

"Yep, that's definitely something 'Shy would go for." Rainbow remarked.

"Speaking of Barb, where is she anyway?" Dusk asked Elusive, "I know she was still sleeping in her bed when we left the castle to see Shining and Cadance off, but I haven't checked on her since."

"Apparently, she had slept in most of this morning, before going off to talk to an old acquaintance of her's by the name Moon Dancer. Right now she's back in your room, said something about needing to take care something real quick for you before accompanying me to Silvershoe Park."

"Hm, I don't recall asking Barb to do anything for me today..." Dusk thought to himself as he wondered if there was indeed something he had asked of her, before saying, "Okay, thank you for letting us know Elusive."

Elusive gave a nod before heading back towards Dusk's room, hopefully Barb was done with whatever she was supposedly doing.

The three sat in silence for a brief moment, before Dusk decidedly asked, "So, um...any idea when your wife will be arriving?"

Just then a shadow from a passing pegasus flying overhead was cast upon them. Looking up, they saw a pinkish pegasus with a deep-blue mane and tail flying in a spiraling fashion down towards them, before landing right next to Spectrum.

"Perfect timing as always sweetie, we were just talking about you." Spectrum stated

"Mom!" Rainbow exclaimed as she quickly glomped her mother.

"Careful! You're not exactly a little filly anymore, Dash." she stated as she laughed at her daughter's enthusiasm, "Also, why are you wearing armor...?" she asked under her breath.

"I'm still just as awesome though, right?"

"You know I can't answer that, I'm your mother, my answer is always 'yes'." she remarked, earning a proud grin from Rainbow.

"Dusk, this is my mom, Fire-" Rainbow was saying before stopping as she noticed Dusk's expression, which looked to be quite shocked as his eyes were as big as dinner plates and his jaw hung open, "Dusk...? Yo, Dusk, you there...?"

Rainbow looked at what Dusk was looking at, which was apparently her mom, before looking back at him and saying, "Wait are you gawking at my mom?!"

"No...I mean, yes, but...not in the same sense you're probably thinking." he replied before turning his attention back to the older pegasus mare, "My sincerest apologies for staring, it's just that...You're name is Firefly, right?"

She raised a brow in response, "Yeah..." she replied, wondering if they had actually met before.

"As in, Sergeant Firefly...?"

"Wow, Sergeant, huh?" she remarked with a smirk as she scratched her chin, "I haven't been called that for, how long now...?"

"Wait, what...?!" Rainbow asked outloud

"More than fifteen years I think." Spectrum rang in

"Yeah, that sounds about right. I haven't been called that in over fifteen years. How in Equestria did you know that? Have we met...?"

"Well, not directly, per say. Do you recall a stallion by the name of 'Shining Armor'...? I'm his younger brother."

"Of course I remember him, other than him marrying Princess Celestia's niece, he was one of the better cadets I trained back in the hay day." she replied, before giving Dusk a look over, "His brother, huh...? Hm, I guess I can see that. Your jawline is kinda similar, but you're a little on the shorter side though I think."

"Hold on!" Rainbow shouted, "Mom, you're in the military?!"

"Was."

"Since when...? How come you never told me about that?!"

"You never asked." she replied with a shrug, "I joined before I met your father, figured it was something impressive I could add to my resume for later. Anyway, I resigned when you were five so I could be closer to home, and be there for you as you grew up. Besides, by then your father already started earning enough that I didn't need to earn a military-mare's paycheck to help us get by."

Rainbow gave a groan in response, which earned a chuckle from her parents. Dusk did try offering her a kind smile to ease some of her frustration, but Rainbow could tell he was just as amused as her parents were.

As the day continued, the group eventually moved from the garden area to Dusk's old personal lab when he was still living in Canterlot. The room itself was initially the castle armory when it was first built several centuries ago, back when the number for needed guards was a fraction of what it was today, before it was used as storage for old, worn out guard armor that was no longer used, then into the lab it is today. Princess Celestia let Dusk have the hardly used room as a place to study since it was relatively close to the library, and it allowed Dusk the freedom to create a mess of papers without irritating other ponies when he got into one of his usual study and research modes.

For the most part, the room had been kept intact since Dusk since last used it, with the exception of particular piles of papers being neatly piled onto a table and  placed beakers and flasks neatly onto shelves.

The four mostly chatted about the details of Dusk's study of magic under the Princess, about some of the adventures they've been on, and how Dusk and Rainbow's relationship had started and gone so far. Rainbow's parents did have some concerns about some of the adventures, since some of them Rainbow had never mentioned to them once. Rainbow did try easing their concerns, saying 'it was no big deal' or 'Hey, they still managed to do it unharmed', not that it helped that much.

As the time approached to sunset, and Dusk gave a sigh as Rainbow and Firefly excused themselves for a moment to go into the hallway, the old lab was starting to feel cramped with four ponies occupying the space inside, and both mares were more than eager to get somewhere a bit more spacious. After having the basement of Golden Oaks Library as his lab for months now, with all the extra space for scrolls, his research books, and machinery, even Dusk had to admit the smaller-in-comparison room was bit more stuffy than he last remembered.

Spectrum gave a yawn as he stretched out his wings, before letting out a light chuckle and saying, "Bit of a slower day than I expected for being in the company of a prince. Still, I suppose it's better than having to worry about whether the cloud quota was met today and whether any accidentally drifted off somewhere it shouldn't."

"I did say I was quite new to the job."

He gave a nod in response, "I wonder if the elites here are still just as nosy about things as they are when they show up elsewhere."

"I'm sure not all the social-elites around Canterlot are as...intrusive as you're making them out to be"

"Oh, I'm sure they aren't, but if it's fine with you, I think I'll wait till after I meet some more of them. Don't get me wrong, I know a lot of them are good ponies at heart, but so far any of 'em I've met seem to take more interest in my job than anything else."

"Oh...?"

"The last one I met threatened to get me fired actually. A middle-aged mare came to the factory about two months ago fuming about how the factory could schedule a rainstorm on the day her husband's garden party was scheduled to take place; and, to my...luck, she was from Canterlot, so she was told to file the complaint with me." he stated as he rubbed the side of his head, "I may manage all the weather teams within my sector, but I just run the logistics. I make sure it rains as needed based on my boss's numbers and the supposed climate of the area.  Something as local, like the day it's gonna rain, is really up to the LOCAL weather team to determine and implement."

"I suppose I could understand that at least. Having grown up in Canterlot, you do quickly learn how easily irritated some ponies will become when their intended itinerary for the day is ruined." Dusk admitted, silently also remembering how so few in the council have accepted him as a prince at the current moment.

Spectrum nodded before looking out towards the door that leads out into the hallway then back towards Dusk, "Seeing that our pretty mares are gone now, how about we have a stallion-to-stallion talk. Tell me...why DO you love my daughter?"

"Oh, um...well..."

"It's a simple question really. Why do you like Dash? As you indicated yourself, you're an intellectual, a pony of academia, so what made you interested in an athlete?"

Dusk remained silent for a moment, before saying, "Admittingly, I don't really think about that, about how Rainbow is more athletically inclined compared to me. Honestly, now that I think about it, Rainbow and myself probably would never have gotten this far if she was as intellectually inclined as I am."

"Oh! Really now...?" he remarked, now extremely interested in what Dusk had to say.

"Yes," Dusk replied as he briefly nodded, "I'm certain of it. As much I'm sure I would've had a more enjoyable time if she was as intellectually inclined as I, in the long-term though, at some point we probably we would've argued a lot because of how critical I can be with particular subjects of study and how stubborn Rainbow Dash can be."

Spectrum couldn't help but chuckle under his breath.

"I love her because she IS that stubborn, thick-headed athlete that she is. She's strong, brave, she's loyal beyond reason, beautiful, and it is hard not to be impressed by her flying skills." a pause as he smiled, "I know I can trust her to never abandon me or our friends. She's just...more, more than I could've ever hoped to have in a marefriend like her."

Spectrum smiled, "Good, that's good to hear."

At that point, they both heard an angry shout come from the hallway. Both stallions looked at each other before quickly making their way out into the hallway, where they saw Rainbow sitting on the ground as Firefly was in mid-hover with an angry stare at her daughter.

"You're the one who asked me to do this, Dash, you asked me to help you improve your stance as a guard, and, right now I'm looking at the sloppiest stance I've ever seen in my life!" Firefly shouted.

"I didn't think it meant you'd go crazy on me, Mom! Also, what kind of crazy tactic is shouting out at a trainee for making a mistake?"

"'Crazy'...?! You dare question your own mother and commanding officer?"

"Yeah, I dare!"

"I'll have to teach you respect then." and raised a hoof to hit Rainbow.

Rainbow froze for a moment before ducking, expecting the hit, but it never came as a purple aura surrounded Firefly's hoof.

"What's going on here?" Dusk asked out loud as he quickly put himself between Firefly and Rainbow, Spectrum not to far behind him, but taking a position just right next his wife.

"Dash asked if I could help her improve her appearance as a guard, so the actual ones won't think less of her while she's a temporarily one. Though I'm not sure if that'll actually work." she replied, saying the last part in more hushed tone.

"Yeah, at least that was the idea, until my mom went all crazy about it." Rainbow complained

"Call it what you want, Dash, but I didn't make Sergent for nothing."

"Well, I have no quarrel with your tactics, but I can't tolerate you inflicting physical harm on Rainbow to do it." Dusk stated, letting Firefly's hoof go.

"So, you'd even protect Rainbow Dash from being punished by her own mother?" she asked in a stern voice.

Dusk didn't answer right away as he looked at Firefly then over his shoulder toward Rainbow Dash. Rainbow merely looked back at him with her head cocked to the side. Eventually he turned his attention back towards Firefly and nodded, "Yes, but not for the same reason I think you're suggesting. I'm not sure how Princess Celestia approaches how the guards are trained, but right now Rainbow is serving under me and I don't approve of physical altercations to correct issues -even though, technically, this is no longer royal business, but personal. Also..., it's because Rainbow is my marefriend." he turned to look at Rainbow, "I don't want to see her get hurt, even if it means having to stand between you and her."

Firefly merely glared at him, as if silently challenging him. Adamant of his decision, Dusk held his ground, though he'd be lying if he said he wasn't at least a bit intimidated by Firefly.

Firefly scoffed as she smirked before looking towards her husband, "So, is that enough for you, Blaze, or do you want me to intimidate the kids more?"

"I think I got what I wanted out of it."

"Awesome." a pause as she scratched the back of her head, "I didn't leave the military just to shout at Dash and pick a fight with the Princess's personal student."

"Wait, huh...?!" Dusk asked

"You tell them, Blaze, it was your dumb idea anyway."

"Hehe..., well, you see, I...I wanted to test you is all, Dusk." he explained in a nervous tone.

"'Test me...'? Test me on what exactly?" Dusk asked

"Test you on how readily you're willing to protect Dash."

"Like I'd need something like that." Rainbow remarked, "Come on, Dad, I don't need somepony else looking out for me. I'm a full-grown mare, and I know how to fight for myself."

"Of course, you are your mother's daughter afterall; but, there are other things out there that I know you won't be able to defend yourself from, so I needed to know who I'm leaving you with can do that." he then looked at Dusk, "I suppose I do owe you an apology for that."

"No, it's okay, that won't be necessary, I think I can understand the motive. Though, simply asking me would've worked just the same."

"Our actions speak louder than words. If I had asked you, what could've you told me that would've ensured me that you're not just telling an old fool, like me, exactly what he wants to hear?"

Dusk opened his mouth to reply, but quickly hesitated as he thought about it. He actually couldn't think of a proper answer, at least for the moment, and nodded.

"If that's that, mind if we grab something to eat?" Firefly asked, "I've only had a daisy sandwich all day, and I'm starving."

"I don't see why not." Blaze replied as he looked at his wife, "How about we go to your favorite restaurant here. What was it called again...Cuisine de la Mer, I think it was."

"Sounds about right. How about you two?" she asked as she looked at Dusk and Rainbow, "I mean, if you're not hungry, or if you've had enough for the day, especially after that crazy stunt of mine..."

"I guess I could go for something right about now." Dusk replied, "What about you, Rainbow?"

"Sounds cool, I am pretty hungry anyway." Rainbow replied with an eager grin.

With that settled, they made their way to the restaurant. Rainbow's parents mostly lead the way, as Dusk wasn't even sure himself where it was, despite that it was within reasonably good trotting distance from the castle. The restaurant mainly served tropical-style dishes with a slight focus on seafood. As a restaurant located so close to Canterlot castle, it was naturally a high-end, classy, know-proper-etiquette kind of  eatery. The group was allowed into a secluded area that overlooked the majority of the restaurant, and was usually a place meant for the high-ranking elites of Canterlot, including royalty. It was a good thing they got that table because Dusk and Firefly were the only ones who showed any semblance of proper table manners, as Rainbow Dash and Spectrum made it rather obvious they didn't know enough proper etiquette.

Dusk merely looked at both, with more focus Rainbow Dash of course, with utter amusement, while Firefly could only look away in embarrassment. Now, Firefly would never say she was a fancy mare, especially since she has no issues with throwing away table manners when at home, but couldn't Spectrum at least try when they weren't.

Once their meals were done and paid for, and the sky was now quite dark, the four stood out in front of the restaurant as Rainbow's parents prepared to bid the two younger ponies a good night.

"Now you remember to come visit more often, Dash. Letters are fine and all, but that doesn't excuse you for not dropping by at least to say 'Hello' whenever you're in Cloudale." Firefly remarked as she gave her daughter a hug.

"Yeah, I get it, mom." she replied and hugged her mother back

"Take care of yourself, Dash. Also, like your mother said, drop by and visit more often, who else am I gonna talk to when I want to complain about work." Spectrum stated with a chuckle.

"Oh, don't chew her ear off with those stories. She probably already has enough to deal with from all those adventures she apparently goes on." she then raised a brow as she realized something, "You know, now that I think about it, Blaze, you were here before me."

"Uh, yeah...so I was..." he replied with a nervous grin.

"And you didn't say anything about Dash's flight camp days as much I thought you would during our chats. Did you already tell them?"

"Yeah, he has." Rainbow remarked as she glared at her father, "And, a lot of 'em were kinda embarrassing. What the hay?!"

"Well, I figured it might've been helpful." he embarrassingly admitted.

"Helpful...?! How could-" she was saying before she groaned, "Dad, is this another test thing?"

"Well..., it was an idea between your mother and I."

Rainbow groaned in annoyance.

"Just hear us out here, Dash."

"In what way did you think it was helpful?" Dusk asked, genuinely curious.

"Well, we figured it would be more helpful for your relationship if you knew more about Dash."

"Here, I can explain it better." Firefly said as she rolled her eyes, "Here's something embarrassing you can learn about Blaze, this prism-brain didn't actually figure out I was a royal guard till AFTER we were married." she mentioned to Dusk and Rainbow, who gave a surprised reaction.

"I might've known it if you actually told me you were before we were married."

"'If I told you'...?!" she repeated with a smirk in an incredulous tone, "I told you five times before we were married that I was a guard."

"I-I don't remember, how can you be sure? I've never even seen any indication that you were a guard."

"Okay, how about the date that when we first came to this restaurant? You picked me up for that date just outside the gate near the barracks. Didn't that at least hint at it? Or...perhaps during said date, I was wearing my uniform and the badge that showed I was a Sergent." she replied with a large, amused grin.

Spectrum could only give an embarrassed smile as he rubbed the back of his head, admittingly recalling said night that Firefly was indeed wearing a casual uniform.

Rainbow was now on her back laughing loudly, her forehooves wrapped around her stomach as the armor she was wearing clattered loudly at her movements, while Dusk was trying to suppress his, as his scrunched-up muzzle seemed to indicate.

"Okay..., so maaaybe I really wasn't paying as much attention to that detail as I should've."

Firefly smirked, "You think?" then paused to shake her head and look towards Dusk and Rainbow again, "Anyway, because of that, for a while we kinda felt that maybe we didn't know each other as well as we thought we did, and made our marriage feel weird. Weird enough that we almost let it fall apart before it had even started."

Dusk coughed into his hoof before nodding, "I see."

After a moment of silence, at least long enough for Spectrum to shake off his embarrassment over his wife's admission, he said, "Thanks for taking the time to see us today, Dusk, I certainly appreciate it."

"Likewise." Dusk said as he extended a hoof.

"Now you take good care of Rainbow Dash for us, you hear? Especially on those adventures of yours." he said as he shook hooves with Dusk, "Firefly and I are putting our trust in you that you will. Make sure we know it's well placed."

"I promise, I will do my best to protect her."

"Hey, Mom, how about before you guys go, how about you give me those pointers about my guard stance." Rainbow rang out with a grin

"Seriously...?! The day's over, Dash, so unless you actually plan to sign-up, I doubt it would even matter."

"Come on, Mom, it'll be something awesome at least; and, it'll be way easier since you don't need to shout at me anymore."

"I wasn't kidding about that shouting stuff I said earlier, Dash." she remarked with an unamused look.

"Just let me try at least."

Firefly remained silent for a brief moment, then sighed, "Fine...First, put you're helmet back on, and show me your guard stance, again."

Rainbow did so, and assumed her earlier stance from when she and Dusk were at the library.

Firefly waited a moment to see if Dash would make any final adjustments and corrections before delivering her thoughts, "That's your stance? I've seen foals with cardboard armor do a better job. I'll tell it to you again, but I'll adjust things manually." she stated as she trotted over to Rainbow's right side.

"First off," she then whipped Rainbow's hind leg with her tail, "get off your tail! Unless you're taking a break, no sitting on the job."

"Ow! HEY!" Rainbow yelped as she got onto her four hooves.

"Wings tightly at your sides, hooves facing forward, back straight, chest out like a proud eagle, and finally, eyes forward." Firefly pressed on, physically poking or adjusting where Rainbow needed it, "And I don't care how cute you find Dusk, or if your father is behind me trying to make you laugh with one of his faces." she added then quickly faced her husband.

Spectrum wasn't trying to, but the lack of eye contact with his wife seemed to suggest he was thinking of trying.

"Remember, unless addressed by your superior -which, I guess is technically me here- or either the Princesses or Dusk, you are to keep facing forward. Good..., what do you think Dusk? Look good to you?"

Dusk gave Dash a good look over to assess her pose. Dash did for a brief moment look at Dusk, but was quickly reminded to look forward with a tap on her nose from her mom. Dusk did linger a little bit at certain points, the armor and pose really accentuating some of the main traits he actually loved Rainbow Dash for: strong, brave, and loyal. He did make a slight adjust himself, by straightening out the frill on the top of the helmet, which afterwards he nodded in approval.

Neither Firefly or Spectrum couldn't help but chuckle at the notice that Dusk did actually smile as he was observing Rainbow.

After telling Rainbow that she can relax again, the two older pegasi bid them a good night and finally took their leave as they flew back to Cloudsdale side-by-side, a slight conversation about how Spectrum did beat her to Canterlot sparking between them. Afterall, sure, Spectrum got out earlier than she did, but she was a faster flier than he was.

Now left alone again, Dusk and Rainbow lingered for a moment, until Rainbow's parents were no longer visible, before making their way back to the castle.

"Well, this was certainly an eventful day." Dusk remarked as Rainbow once again snaked herself under Dusk's wing so it would be drapped over her back as they walked.

"No kidding. By the way, you seriously owe me like a ton of random personal secrets about you now, because it's unbelievably unfair that you heard a lot of personal things about me and I don't know any about you."

"I doubt there's anything about me that you shouldn't already be aware of by now. I don't have exactly many things about me that are really worth keeping a secret about. I'm an introverted and studious librarian who until he came to Ponyville decided books were more important than interacting and making friends with other ponies."

"Well, what about your brother, we didn't even know you had one until you got that invite for his wedding a couple of days ago."

"It honestly never crossed my mind that it was imperative for me to mention him to either one of you guys. Also, neither one of you ever really asked."

"Okay, what about your diary?"

"Journal." Dusk corrected her

Rainbow raised a brow and smirked in amusement, before saying, "Journal" as she rolled her eyes, "What about that?"

"It didn't really have much in the way of personal secrets, if anything most of what was written in my journal were records of my day-to-day life and personal researches. The only real personal secret written in it was the one regarding my feelings for you." he explained then brightly smiled, "Which is a secret you're already aware of."

Rainbow couldn't help smiling herself, then pressed moved herself closer to Dusk so her body was pressed up even more against his, which would've been more welcoming if the frill on top of the helmet wasn't being pushed up into his face.

"Alright, what about that dance? I wanna know something about that."

"Dance...? What dance?"

"I dunno...that weird dance you were doing with Cadance. How'd it go...? 'Sunshine, sunshine...something about ladybugs...'" Rainbow explained, saying the lines of the song in a monotonous way, as if she was embarrassed just for knowing about it.

"Wait! You...! How did you-?!"

"I saw you and Cadance doing that during the down time when we were trying to fix up everything for the 'actual' wedding."

"..."

"Well...?" she asked with a very cocky smirk, "What was that dance about?"

Dusk hesitated for a moment, then sighed, "Well, its something Cadance taught me when I was a still a colt and she was still foalsitting me. It was like a...secret hoofshake between me and her."

"You know, it was probably cool when you were a colt, but now..." she stated trying to hold back her laughter, "It just looked ridiculous!" she shouted as she let our her laughter, "It probably would've been less ridiculous if you were a mare or something."

Dusk's cheeks merely turned a shade of red in embarrassment as he pulled away from the laughing mare.

Rainbow continued to laugh for a moment longer, seemingly not caring that others around them could hear her, before finally pressing herself back up against Dusk as her laughter started to cease. She nuzzled him lightly, which did ease his blush slightly, before allowing her position to practically mirror her pose previous to Dusk pulling away from her, the frill included.

"You know..., it's nightfall, and the whole business regarding that summons is done, you don't need to wear that armor any more."

"What about you? You're still wearing your crown, Prince Dusk Shine." she replied with a smirk, "Yeah, I know, but I think I'll keep it on for a bit longer. I mean, it seems kinda cooler now that I know my mom used to wear armor like this one."

"As if everything has gone full circle?"

"Yeah, I guess something like that."

The two then fell into a peaceful silence as they walked the remaining distance to Dusk's room at the castle. Initially, Rainbow was suppose to head back towards the armory and return the armor, but figured it could wait till tomorrow since it was borrowed out during day guard shift and it was now the night shift.

"Just remember to return the armor first thing tomorrow morning, Rainbow. I'd rather not you or myself get in any trouble just because you decided to hold on to that armor longer than intended."

"Yeah, yeah, yeah."

"Well, have a goodnight Rainbow. I'll see you tomorrow morning." and gave the pegasus a hug and kiss on her cheek, which she returned in kind with a strong hug and lots of affectionate nuzzling.

After pulling apart, Dusk turned to open the door to his room, but before walking in he looked back at Rainbow, who hadn't moved an inch from position.

"Something wrong, Rainbow?"

Rainbow scratched back of her head, before saying, "No....well, kinda. I was hoping you'd be cool with it if...you know, if I can stay with you for the night."

"You want to sleep with me tonight?"

"Wouldn't be the first time. What's wrong that I want to spend more time with my stallionfriend?"

"Nothing, nothing's..." he relied with a grin as he looked away then back at her, "Okay, if that's what you wish. Please, mares first." and stepped aside so Rainbow can go in.

Rainbow grinned then fixed her standing posture as she trotted in trying to look official, not that it stopped her from letting her tail lightly brush up against the underside of Dusk's chin.

He didn't say anything as he followed soon after Rainbow, as a lone thought about the fact it would be soon be one year since he had the fortune of calling Rainbow Dash his marefriend, what should he do to commemorate the occasion?

"I wonder if that jewelry store is still around?"
> Epilogue
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

8 Years later

Dusk and Rainbow are now happily married, and the couple couldn't be happier. Rainbow was beyond ecstatic when Dusk proposed a couple of days after the first anniversary of them dating, performing a Sonic Rainboom just a few meters off the ground when she excitedly flew up into the air at a break-neck speed, nearly taking a portion of Ponyville with her in the resulting waves of aftershock. Dusk of course was also incredibly happy when Rainbow said, 'yes', but was more contented to letting all that energy out with a few extra skips in his step over the next several days after the fact.

The ceremony was just a simple affair, just a few of their friends and family present as it was held in an open field outside of Ponyville on a nice cool day. At least that was what they had hoped it would've been. After word got out of Prince Dusk's engagement, which wasn't much of a surprise to most really as it had become popular gossip for some time now among a few select ponies, it quickly became a big deal. In the end, it took a couple of months to organize, even with Dusk's meticulous planning, and they had the wedding at the castle in the Crystal Empire with many in attendance. An unfortunate oversight when it came to a wedding involving royalty, which was probably another reason why, aside from near-immortality, Princess Luna or Princess Celestia never married anypony. At least the overall ambiance was spectacular, the crystal ponies made sure as they had placed crystal shards at key points around the castle to increase reflected light in and around the structure; and, of course the reception was beyond awesome, especially with Pinkie in charge of the event.

Naturally, being married to 'Prince' Dusk Shine, Rainbow now held the title of princess, which of course was cool, but she didn't care. As a princess, she was given the quite a few privileges, including the power to demand the attention of certain members of the Royal Guard, but it also meant she was expected to attend certain events as a formality of her title. Luckily, Dusk picked up on her displeasure at some of these events and opted to either leave early or point her to an area where she could escape for a few minutes before being missed.

Rainbow eventually did get her chance to become a Wonderbolt about 6 years ago, though she had the chance to join sooner if she were to flaunt her princess title, but rejected the offers. She'd rather get in herself than abuse her standing, which suited both Spitfire and Dusk just fine. Furthermore, she held off due to another, more life-changing reason: she was pregnant.

At first, Rainbow was uncomfortable about the news, but eventually accepted it. Eventually she became incredibly excited at the prospect of becoming a mother. Despite the associated ups and downs of pregnancy, including the fact she was under medical advisement to stay grounded till she gave birth during the last couple of months (she made sure to let Dusk know how much that irked her), Rainbow just took it as a challenge and counted the days till she was officially a mom. Eventually, she gave birth to a healthy pegasus filly they both named Snow Drift. Snow had a very, very light-cyan coat, violet eyes, and a purple-ish mane and tail that had a darker purple streak on them.

After all those times Dusk listened to Rainbow bemoaned at being grounded during her pregnancy, he half-expected her to take to the skies again as soon as she could. Rainbow surprised him by opting to stay grounded for 7 additional months. She always hovered close to Snow and made sure her daughter wouldn't get hurt, and she hardly left the filly alone. She became such a doting mother.

It was only after Snow was just over a year old that Rainbow took to the skies for air tricks again, and Dusk and their friends  convinced Rainbow to continue her pursuit of becoming a Wonderbolt. Initially she was hesitant to do so, but after many encouraging words from Dusk and all their friends, she agreed and continued her training. It took a bit of getting use to once she did become a Wonderbolt: Rainbow was gone for about 3/4th of the year each time with shows and training and only kept contact with one another through letters when she was gone. The extended times she was away made coming back home to her family all the more sweeter, and more worthwhile to be in her husband's loving hooves and play with their daughter once more.

Normally she would've spent more time at the academy during training regiments, thus more days away from home, but due to her fast flying, Spitfire allowed her the occasional chance to return home from Cloudsdale to spend the night with family, on the condition she gets back in time for roll call and that she follows her orders without question. The occasional promise to Soarin to return with a treat or two, which Spitfire forbade the stallion from buying outside of vacation hours, did also ensure Soarin would cover up her disappearances when Rainbow did leave without Spitfire's permission.

This year though, Rainbow had only come home twice rather than the multitude of times that was her usual like she had done in the past.
----------------------

Dusk made an audible yawn as he finished writing down the latest findings in his current research project regarding the usage of high-frequency regeneration spells as a way to encourage plant growth in highly damaged areas, and closed his log book. Closing the book, he stretched his wings out before proceeding to levitate the book to a nearby desk. Currently the alicorn was sitting in a room that he designated as his personal lab and study.

Dusk looked at all the loose-leaf notes, which were still left askew all over the floor around him, before turning his attention to the clock, "Half-past nine...I could've sworn it wouldn't take this long to finish my study for today. I probably should-" then paused as he saw a plate sitting on the floor, with food, and a note attached.

Levitating the plate over to himself, he looked at the note.

Dear Dusk,
Tried getting your attention so you could eat dinner with us, but you, once again, didn't budge. I cooked your favorite meal tonight: a tossed lettuce, tomato, and spinach salad, a daisy sandwich with sauteed mushrooms, and a slice of apple pie with whip cream (I gave you the can, so you can put it on yourself and not have a gross milk cream on top); and, no, I'm not gonna get you, or let you get, hayfries. You should know why.

Dusk smirked, but bowed his head in frustration. He liked hayfries. It was quick, easy, and overall a tasty treat to munch on when he got hungry. Problem was, it was his own rule that restricted him. To show fairness to his daughter, as well as further encourage her to eat healthy, if she had to eat healthy, so did the rest of the family.

Also, a letter came in for you from you-know-who, so I hope you finish up whatever you're doing, because it's hard enough trying to keep Snow in the dark about the letter. If you're reading this after midnight, I'm probably asleep already, and you're gonna have to ask for it tomorrow. I need my beauty sleep.
Signed, Barb.

PS: Sorry about the quills. Snow wanted to help, and tried getting your attention by putting them in your mane. At least none of them broke, right?

"My...mane...?" he asked out loud as he brought a hoof up to his mane, immediately feeling about ten quills that were stuck into his mane just behind his head. He merely shook his head as he pulled them all out with his magic, before hearing a light fluttering sound.

He immediately recognized the sound and smiled as he pretended to be unaware by trotting over to a center table, placed nine of the quills away, and used one as he pretended to be getting ready to write more notes, waiting for just the right moment.

Another fluttering sound, and also some light wing beats now that he's paying attention.

"Right above me. So...the ceiling this time...?" he silently mouthed to himself before mentally sighing, "Picked up a new trick I see." and started calculating just how high the ceiling in the room was and the expected fall speed.

Fluttering, followed by a small shout, then a light grunt as Dusk quickly caught the intruder in a levitation spell.

He looked up and saw Snow hanging upside down, her violet eyes staring back at him, and a scowl on her face.

"Dad! That's not fair!" she exclaimed as she crossed her forelimbs. Her chest going in and out, as if to show she was panting as well, probably from her flying.

"Perhaps, but you could've seriously hurt yourself. Pouncing me from above?" he asked in a scolding voice, "You'll hurt both of us, especially if you land on my horn." he added, placing Snow onto the table.

Snow's wings fidgeted, embarrassed that she didn't realize such an important detail sooner.

Snow was much like her mother, Rainbow Dash, she had a natural fondness for the air and was quite the competitive little filly, openly taking certain things as challenges for her to overcome. In fact, the little pegasus was actually quite the prodigy, when it came to flying, for her age. Already familiar with the basics, due to her getting into what flight book she could find and asking her Aunt Scootaloo for tips, she knew how to achieve lift and proper wing orientation to move properly. The only limiting factor at the moment was her age and the size of her wings. Being still fairly young, her wings were naturally too small and under-developed to fully let her fly at her full potential, which she ended up compensating for by pushing herself and exerting a lot of energy just to achieve a hover.

The talent of course absolutely thrilled Rainbow to no ends, and it went even further when Snow stated she took interest in following her mother's hoofprints, and wanted to join the Wonderbolts as well. It did come with some downsides though, as Rainbow and Dusk had to make an active effort to make sure certain flight books were out of Snow's reach, especially Rainbow's Wonderbolt Manuals, which contained most of the team's highly-advanced flight tricks. Not that it stopped the filly from trying.

"Just be more careful next time, okay...?" Dusk asked as he watched her fidget in embarrassment, which was rather cute to see to say the least.

Snow nodded as she let a smile back on her face just before she jumped and latched herself to her father's face, forcing Dusk to take a step back.

Snow made a sound that was halfway between a giggle and a growl as she play-assaulted her father, taking little nips at his mane, before eventually calming down and began nuzzling his head.

Dusk pulled her off his face with a levitation spell, hovering her just in front of him, with a more tender smile on his face. He returned the affection with some nuzzling of his own onto her forehead.

"So, why did you come in here? It's a little too late to play, in fact you should be getting ready to sleep now; and, your Aunt Barb already brought me dinner."

"Because Mommy sent us a letter!" she cheerfully replied

"Sorry, Dusk." he heard Barb's voice as the dragoness came into the room as well, still wearing her favorite apron that she wore every time she cooked or cleaned around in the kitchen, "I turned my back for few seconds to finish putting away the clean dishes, then...next thing I know she just cheered and ran off."

"You know what? Don't worry about it at all, Barb. After being alone in my lab all afternoon, it's a welcome distraction." he replied as he put Snow down again, who proceeded to jump onto  Dusk's back so she could look over her father's shoulder, "So, we received a letter from Rainbow Dash...?"

Barb nodded as she reached into the pocket on her apron and pulled out the letter before letting Dusk's magic envelop it, "I actually put it on one of the higher shelves in the main room. I guess it wasn't high enough."

Taking the time to properly open it, so as not to accidentally tear the letter itself, before taking it out. Though it was rather clear that Snow wished he wasn't so cautious opening it as she impatiently fluttered her wings.

"Hey guys! Sorry about not writing back earlier this month, Trottingham's having some SERIOUS problems with their postal service as of late. Something about working conditions, I dunno." Dusk read out loud, being proper to be expressive in his voice where it counted, "Anyway, I hope you guys are doing great. Dusk, that you've been getting enough sleep, and not acting all freaked out like whenever something happens. Snow, that you've been practicing those wing movements. Hopefully I can actually fly with you without you piggy-backing on your dad's, or MY, back real soon. And, Barb, same with you and your wings. Seriously, how cool with that be if all of us went on a quick flight together as a family."

Barb let out a small laugh at the thought, "Doesn't she ever stop thinking of flying? She's gonna be on break from being up in the air for a majority of the day, and she's still thinking of getting back up there." she remarked, as she looked over her shoulder at her own wings, which despite it being at a good size for flight, rarely ever saw much use.

"Honestly..., I think you'd be asking too much of her to stay grounded, unless she has to." Dusk remarked before turning his attention back to the letter.

"Boring stuff over with, now for the better news, I talked to Spitfire and she's willing to let me off two weeks early this time around so I'm gonna get back by-"

"Mom's coming home tomorrow!" Snow excitedly cheered out loud as soon as she saw the written date on the letter.

"If the date's right, yes, she'll be back first thing tomorrow." Dusk remarked as he brought a hoof up to the ear that was closest to Snow and began rubbing it.

"Wow, I didn't think Spitfire let ponies off on break that early." Barb remarked.

"Rainbow probably caught her while she was in a good mood, or something. Either way, it doesn't change the fact we'll need to make sure everything is prepared to welcome Rainbow back home." he stated, earning an affirmative nod and salute from the dragoness.

"But what's that there?" Snow asked, pointing at the bottom-right corner of the letter, where there was a drawing of a flame in a circle.

Both Barb and Dusk looked at it, before Barb said, "Kinda looks like one of your mom's mouth-drawings."

"How do you know it's a drawing?"

"You draw little things too when your bored. Don't think your Dad and I don't know about those doodles on the back your math homework."

"It probably is. I can't figure why she would though." Dusk remarked before re-folding the letter and looking at Snow, "In any case, it's time for you to get to bed, Snow."

"Awww!" she complained.

"You know the rules. Besides, earlier you go to sleep, the earlier you'll get to see Mommy tomorrow."

That seemed enough to convince her, as Snow nodded and proceeded out into the hallway and towards the bathroom to brush her teeth before going to bed. Barb and Dusk didn't move and looked at each other with smirks as they waited, which wasn't very long, as the little filly quickly galloped right back in and gave her father a hug.

"Good night, Dad."

"Good night, Snow, sleep tight and I'll see you tomorrow morning."

She then turned towards the dragoness, "Good night, Auntie Barb." and with that, Snow turned to leave for the bathroom.

"I'll follow her and make sure she does go to bed. I'll probably get some sleep after that, so I can get an early start on breakfast," Barb stated, as Dusk gave her back the letter, "especially since Rainbow tends to eat quite a bit for breakfast."

"Thank you, Barb. I'd appreciate it." Dusk stated just before Barb put the corner where the flame drawing was into her mouth and let a bit of her flame breath onto it.

"Well, I am your top assistant, and your kinda-adopted daughter, afterall." and gave the now-burning letter back to Dusk, who took it in his magic aura, before she turned to leave, "Just do me a favor, and make sure you don't stay up all night. Otherwise, you're gonna look horrible come morning."

Dusk merely gave a nod, as Barb left, leaving him in the room alone with the letter burning in a vibrant green flame. Dusk watched it for a few seconds before the flames started turning orange and used magic to quickly extinguish the fire. What he held now was almost the same letter, minus the flame drawing in the corner, and the sides now singed.

What was burned off was actually a layer of magic that cloaked a hidden message, that could only came off specifically with Barb's flame breathing. It was a matter that only he, Barb, Rainbow, and the Princesses were aware of.

Dusk re-opened the letter and started reading the hidden message:

Barb, if I find out you're reading this before Dusk, I'm SOOOO gonna go on a pranking spree with Pinkie against you.

Hey there Dusk, I'm just gonna assume you read everything I wrote before having Barb burn it to ashes to see this, so I hope there's no problem with the idea. Afterall, it does mean I'll be able to stay home a little longer next time and be with you guys.

Also, I changed my mind about what I said about Snow those years ago when she was born, I guess it wouldn't be totally unawesome if we gave her an extra playmate to play with. Plus, who knows, maybe we can get lucky and you'll get that little pony to teach your magic smarts to.

"What...?" he mentally asked himself.

Talk to you more when I get home.
Your awesome wife,
Rainbow

Dusk flipped the letter just to check if there was anything else written. Finding nothing though, he looked back at the front of the letter and quickly re-read the message.

He was about to ask what idea Rainbow was saying, but stopped short as he groaned and facehoofed. Just how much more was there in the original letter? After Snow's interruption, he just gave the letter to Barb to burn. Great now what?

Nevermind, he'll be able to ask Rainbow herself tomorrow. For now, it's for the best he gets some sleep so he could wake up early and give Rainbow a proper welcome. Dusk quickly putting all his notes into a neat pile on his desk, and placing his inkwell and quill where they belong, before turning to leave.

Just as he was about to leave, he felt a sudden gust of wind from behind him, which blew all his notes from the table and onto the floor. Looking back, he noticed the window of the room was now open and the mild night winds was now blowing into the room. Dusk raised a brow as he went over to the window. He could've sworn that he had locked that window hours ago.

After taking a quick peek outside, and finding nothing to explain the unlocked window, he looked at the lock, and found it to be still properly attached to the window and undamaged in anyway to suggest it had worn out. Unable to find a proper explanation, he closed the window again and engaged the lock, before giving it a gentle shake to see if it could actually unlock somehow.

"Hm...?" he then shook his head, dismissing the topic for now, before going back towards his table and proceeded to gather all his fallen notes, and look through them to make sure they were properly in order. Which could've gone a lot faster, if it didn't consist of a mixture of his study notes and some important papers he was looking at for Mayor Mare.

As he meticulously went about reorganizing, he failed to notice that he was once again no longer alone in the room; and, that the intruder was now seated only about a foot from him. She smirked amusingly as she merely waiting, before shaking her head and making sure her rainbow-colored mane didn't look too messed up from the flight.

"Shouldn't you get some sleep too, Egghead...?" Rainbow asked.

"This shouldn't take very long, I'll be upstairs and in bed in a moment." Dusk replied without really thinking or taking his attention away from what he was doing.

"You're always buried in your work. I hope you still remembered to take care of Snow."

"Of course! As much as Barb or Scootaloo are always readily available to help, I do understand the base importance of a child having interactions with his or her parents."

Rainbow gave a slight snort in response and waited. After another five seconds, she got her response.

Dusk's ears perked straight up, his eyes shot wide open, and all the papers he had been holding and moving around in his aura suddenly froze.

"Rai-!" he was gonna say, before Rainbow promptly interrupted him with a sudden kiss on the lips, causing him to drop all the papers back onto the ground.

"Shh! Not so loud, or Snow's gonna hear you." she stated in a hushed tone once she pulled away.

"But..., what?!"

"To make this short, I arrived earlier this evening, napped on a cloud up until now, I came in through the window that I specifically asked Barb to unlock for me in a separate letter, and I don't want Snow to know -even though I absolutely missed her, and would love nothing more than to just keep her all to myself for the next few days- because if she knew I was already here, she and I would never get a wink of sleep tonight."

Dusk blinked a couple of times, and his ear twitched in response.

"That about answer your questions?" Rainbow asked with a cocky smirk.

Dusk hesitated for a moment, before asking, "Why are you here so early?"

"What...? Can't your totally, awesomely, cool wife come back home when she wants to...?"

"Well, yes..., of course...., but I thought you would be coming back tomorrow morning."

"I could have..., but I didn't. Wanted to get a headstart on my early vacation time. Besides, gives us plenty of time to talk about my plan."

"Yeah..., about that..." Dusk replied nervously as his ears flattened against his head.

Rainbow shot her husband a curious expression before it changed to an annoyed one. She groaned before asking, "Let me guess, you DIDN'T read the whole thing before having Barb burn away the spell...?"

Dusk could only offer a nervous grin, before Rainbow facehoofed.

"Okay, so how much did you read? Please tell me you at least read a bit of it first before letting her burn it."

"I did. I got as far as you saying you'd be back by tomorrow."

Rainbow rolled her eyes, "Well, at least you were pretty close to the end. The rest, in short, is that I talked to Spitfire about taking my name off for the last three shows during summer and all of fall's flight shows, so I'm going to do the Spring shows and the first three shows of summer, then I'm gonna cash in some extra vacation days to stay at home."

"B-but that's only half a year's worth of performance!"

"Yeah, it is." Rainbow remarked as if that's no big deal.

"Wouldn't something like that be too much? I mean, if you did, how did you convince Spitfire to allow you that much vacation time without breaching contract?"

"Not when you're me." she replied with a proud smile, "I did Spitfire some serious favors this year, so I managed to convince her to let me have lots of vacation days."

"What exactly did you do to convince her to let you claim more than a hundred days worth of vacation time in one year?"

"Well..., okay, it's not eeexactly more than a hundred days worth of vacation." Rainbow nervously admitted, "The last summer half at least, I'm just gonna be near Cloudsdale to train some of the new recruits instead of doing shows."

"That's still at least 90 days out of one year though..."

"I kinda pulled double shift this last month and a half, filling in for Fleetfoot while she was out of the office, which is why I didn't sneak off of the base as much as usual."

"I see." Dusk nodded in understanding, "What happened with Fleetfoot? I hope she's okay."

"She's fine, don't worry about it, she just had a rough patch settling in to being a married mare; but, she should be all good once we all report back come next Spring." Rainbow replied, "Anyway, apparently I did so well, some of the sponsors and higher-ups are proposing the idea of Spitfire promoting me to the next rank."

"That's good news!"

"One problem though, it might mean I'd have to displace Fleetfoot." Rainbow explained, earning a surprised look from Dusk, "Since she was gone for so long, and I was her replacement, they figured why not just make it official; but, Spitfire and Soarin aren't too keen on letting a long-time friend of theirs know that I got her job."

"Right..., I can see how that might not go so well."

"And, that's where my idea comes in. I figured if Fleetfoot got into this problem by taking time off, what's stopping me from doing the same? I'd just do my job as always around the academy, then take some personal time till the team's sponsors get back into having Fleetfoot as part of the main team."

"You do know, you could've just rejected the promotion offer, and said you're content with the position you have now."

"Yeah, well..., this was a more fun option. I get to stay home, help teach Snow a few pointers, have time to attend some of Pinkie's parties again, and I get more time to just hang out with you." Rainbow stated, saying the last bit in an affectionate tone as she scooted closer to Dusk, making sure her side touched his.

Dusk could only offer a smile, as he stretched out a wing and laid it across Rainbow's back, finding that logic hard to argue against.

"Welcome home, Rainbow Dash. It's good to have you back."

"Great to be back." she simply remarked before affectionately nuzzling the side of his face.

After another brief moment to merely enjoy the feeling of having her beloved husband's wing on her back again, and sharing a quick kiss, Rainbow asked, "So..., to the other letter. What...what do you think...? Or do you need me to explain that one too?"

Dusk gave a silent chuckle, "I think I understood that part, but are you sure...? I mean, if I'm understanding you correctly, you want another foal...?"

"Sure, why not? I think it'll be fun to have another set of hooves running around."

"Well, I certainly don't mind the thought."

"Awesome!"

"You know, we're gonna need to start planning now. We're gonna need to prepare a few things if you're absolutely sure about this."

"Good thing I married you then." she remarked as she pulled away from his side, "Betcha you'll already have a list of what we'll need in your head by tomorrow morning." she added jokingly with a smirk and lightly elbowed him.

"Preparing for a foal...? You know that's only wishful thinking. We did that with Snow, and we were just barely fully prepared with her."

"You're gonna get a headstart though. You actually get to know this time around."

"Still..."

"Okay, fine," Rainbow groaned as she stood up, "as you know by now, I'm off for break for the next few weeks or so, so do your thinking then let me know when you've decided." she added with a smirk and a flick of her tail on his snout, as she turned towards the window.

"Where are you going?"

"I gotta go through the window. I have a feeling that Snow isn't gonna miss seeing me if I go though the halls." she explained as she unlatched the window and pushed it open, "See ya when you get to bed, Dusk." she added just before disappearing out into the night.

Dusk chuckled, silently wondering if Snow would actually see Rainbow before the little filly falls asleep. Snow had her own bedroom by now, and while separate from his and Rainbow's, she still had to pass in front of their door to reach her room. Well, he certainly hopes so, Snow still needs her sleep. Minutes ticked by as he continued sorting out his papers, which didn't take as long as he originally thought; and, considering he hasn't heard a cheerful scream, yet, he could only presume that Rainbow managed to slip into their bedroom without Snow noticing her.

With the task done, and his papers now properly organized, he could finally go about his nightly routine and get some sleep, and maybe mull over Rainbow's little proposal while he's at it. He was still a little unsure about the idea, but he wasn't lying that he didn't mind the idea either. Actually, thinking about tomorrow, maybe he can mull over that later, maybe tomorrow night after dinner, he'll need to focus more on how tomorrow will turn out, and he'll more than likely need the energy for it.

After bidding Barb a good night, he went about his nightly routine, before quietly slipping into his and Rainbow's bedroom. Rainbow was already in bed and apparently tried hiding the fact she was back by moving their pillows away and was laying down at the head of the bed, already fast asleep. Dusk bemusingly smirked before gently poking her to wake her.

Rainbow woke up, granted still half-asleep, and looked at him and tried to see if he's considered her proposal, but the look on his eyes seem to let her know what he decided. With a bit of a nod, Rainbow shifted so she would be sleeping in her usual position as Dusk used his magic to put their pillows back where they belonged, before getting into bed as well.

As soon as he was comfortable, he felt Rainbow back up into him so her back and wings were pressing against his barrel. Letting a smile on his face, he gently wrapped his forehooves around her and positioned his head so her's was underneath his chin.

Rainbow let out a contented sigh, "Did I already tell you how awesome it is to be back home?"

Dusk chuckled lightly, "Yes...Yes, I believe you did; but, I don't mind." then gave a yawn, just before the two snuggled a little tighter and the two peacefully fell asleep.