Second Chances

Rainbow Dash stared at the forest for a few minutes. "I can't believe that just happened. First Luna, then Discord and now Chrysalis. Is every villain we faced just going to come to Ponyville and get reformed? Who's next, Trixie? And how do you even know Queen Chrysalis?"

Darkened Sky stood up and looked at the sky. "She is my...distant cousin. Her daughter, Gloria Stellis, was a very close friend. I took it very hard when I found out about her death." He turned his back to Rainbow Dash, voice shaking as he continued. "The next day, my own sister was killed. I left the Nightlands to come to Equestria, hiding out in Ponyville as a pegasus. That was ten years ago, and you know the rest. I'm sorry, but I really need to go. I need some time to calm down before my date with Twilight."

Rainbow Dash walked up to her friend and hugged him tightly. "I'm so sorry, Sky. If you need to talk or something, you know where to find me. You can always count on me, no matter what."

"Thank you, Dash, it means so much to me that I can finally tell you more about my past. I'll see you tomorrow, same time as usual." Darkened Sky extracted himself from the bone-crushing hug and wiped his eyes. "Remember how you were asking about my best pony for the wedding? I think you already know who she is."

"That's a lot of ponies, who doesn't know the fasted flier in Equestria? Can you give me a better hint? Wait, you don't mean..." Rainbow Dash instantly started jumping around, shrieking like a filly. Darkened Sky flew off, a small smile on his lips. And so it begins. This time, nobody will ruin the wedding, and nobody will die.

Darkened Sky walked up to the Golden Oaks Library, a crocus held between his teeth. As he reached the door, it opened to reveal Princess Twilight Sparkle. She wore a stunning black dress gilded with magenta stars and white bats. It had a low cut collar and form-fitting body that stopped just short of her cutie mark. Her wings were extended far to ether side, feathers visibly ruffled. What drew Darkened Sky's eyes most was her ethereal mane and tail. Instead of pink stars, there were ice blue bats floating around the purple mist. Handing her the flower, he stared at her mane . "How did you replace the stars with bats in your mane? I thought you didn't have full control of its form yet. And Twilight, your dress is amazing! it accents your figure perfectly. "

Twilight motioned her guest into the library and put the crocus into an empty vase on the table. Both ponies sat down and settled black napkins on their laps. "Thank you, Rarity made the dress especially for tonight. As for my mane and tail, I managed to get enough control over them to change the shapes and colours of the images inside."

Darkened Sky grabbed his mug and raised it into the air. "Congratulations, Twilight! To learning and magic!"

She giggled and raised her own mug with magic. "To learning, magic and good friends!"

Both took a sip of the warm beverage. "Twilight! Darkened Sky! Don't drink—" the rest of Spike's warning was drowned out by the pair spitting out the foul tasting liquid.

Spike burst into the room, apron and chef hat splattered with brown stains. "I put my gem soup in the mugs by mistake! Oh, I guess you found out."

The two diners looked at Spike, and burst out laughing. "You should really label the jugs when you're cooking. It's fine, Spike, I'll clean up the table. Is the food ready yet?" Spike ran back to the kitchen, shouting about burnt waffles.

As Twilight used her magic to remove the spilled gem soup from the table, Darkened Sky took off one of his bracelets. "Are you excited for the Royal Summit next week? I heard over twenty countries are sending representatives this year!"

Having finished off the table, she glanced at her coltfriend. "I know, I just hope they accept me. At least I know some of the dignitaries from past encounters."

"That's good. I really wish I could attend with you, but I have a conference in Edmaneton. I can't believe the annual Bat Pony Assembly is at the same time as the Royal Summit." Twilight opened her mouth, presumably to ask for details. "—before you ask, I can't tell you about what the Assembly is about. It's only for bat and night ponies."

Twilight sighed. "I can't stand not knowing things, but everypony's allowed to have secrets. After all, there are some things I can't tell you about my visits to Canterlot."

"Dinner is served! Fresh fruit bread with Zap Apple Jam for you, Sky, and grilled cheese and dandelion sandwich for you, Twilight. For desert, I have one of Granny Smith's famous apple pies." Spike passed out the food, bowed, and left the room.

"How is your brother doing? Has being the comander of millions of guards driven him insane yet?"

Twilight laughed. "Don't you mean more insane? And no, he's handling his new responsibilities quite well."

"That's excellent. Is he going to be in town for the summit?"

"No, he's going to stay in the Crystal Empire in case something happens. Have you noticed Pinkie acting weird lately? Don't give me that look, I mean weirder than usual." Twilight tried to keep a strait face. "She took out a book, Dating for Dummies."

Darkened Sky chuckled. "I can't tell you exactly what's going on, I Pinkie Promised. But Pinkie has her eye on someone."

"I feel sorry for whoever she is interested in. I love her, but boy can she be a handful." Twilight rubbed her head, wincing at whatever was going through her mind.

After both were done eating, Spike came in and cleared the table. The two lovers sat and stared into each other's eyes. "Twilight, I think we should go do some stargazing, I have a little surprise for you."

She stood up and walked over to Darkened Sky, kissing his cheek. "That sounds like a wonderful idea. Do I need my telescope?

"Nope, all you need is yourself, though you might want to take off that lovely dress," Darkened Sky replied as he walked up the stairs.

Twilight followed him with a skip in her step. "You're right, I wouldn't want to ruin it by laying on my balcony. Would you mind helping me take it off?" She walked over to the closet, and turned to face him. "I have trouble getting my wings out."

He stepped over to her and nuzzled her gently. "Of course I'll help you." After a few minutes of tugging and squirming, Twilight managed to extracte herself from the dress and hang it up.

As Twilight was hanging up the dress, Darkended Sky went out to the balcony. He glanced at the clock tower as he laid down on his underbelly, legs folded along his sides. Twilight came out and laid down, her side pressed against Darkened Sky's. Feeling her shiver, he opened his wing and wrapped it around her. After watching the beautiful night sky for a while, Darkened Sky broke the silence. "Twilight, remember how I told you a while ago that bat ponies can enter Luna's dreams to talk with her? Well, last week, I talked to her and got something special set up."

"What? You didn't!"

"Yes I did. I know how much you love it, so I got her to set one up for tonight." He gestured at the sky. Slowly, bands of multi-coloured lights started dancing above the library.

"Oh, Darkened Sky, thank you so much. I love the Aurora Lunas! Wait, why are there letters in the..." Twilight's jaw dropped in amazement as a message was written out in the sky.

PrincessTwilightSparkle, willyoumarryme?

She stared in shock at the sky, opening and closing her mouth repeatedly. She got up and started jumping around. "Yesyesyesyesyes. Finally! I've always dreamed of this moment." Turning abruptly to Darkened Sky, she kissed him passionately. "Yes, I will marry you. I love you, Darkened Sky."

Darkened Sky reached into his mane and pulled out a wreath of ferns. He put it around his fiancées neck, and kissed her back. "I love you too, my Princess."