Knocking on the door, Shadow Rift once again looked over the house that the mare he loved had lived in and grown up in. It's was larger now that he had really looked it over, and defiantly showed signs of wealth, with its pearly white paint and grand size. It rested just a little outside of Ponyville, but wasn't exactly too far from his apartment for a pony to get tired from trotting. "I hope my parents will accept you. They really are quite strict when it comes to ponies and stallions either my brother or I bring home..." Arynnae said, the pink socks and collar once adorning her body now gone, left back at Shadow's apartment after they had awakened nearly two hours ago. "Hey I'm not that bad, am I? Your parents'll love me!"

"I certainly hope so..." She said as the door opened, a large grey earth stallion with a black mane waiting behind it and staring down at both Shadow and Arynnae. "I take it you were out with Mister Rift, dear sister?" He said cool and calm as he spoke with a British accent, "Yes, I did. Are Mother and Father here yet?"

"Actually, you're early. Father sent a letter this morning stating that the two of them will be home two hours from now." Osiris said with little expression. "Perfect! I needed to freshen up quickly before our parents return!" She said, quickly trotting into the house and straight into Celestia knows where, leaving Osiris in the door frame as he attempted to stare down Shadow, eyes full of neglect.

"I didn't expect her to bring YOU here..." Osiris said, still staring down Shadow but only getting a sly smile from him in return, "Great to see you too sunshine! If it makes you feel any better, I can ALMOST feel yesterday's blow out on me!" Shadow said, moving past Osiris and making his way into Arynnae's room.

Where ever in Equestria it may have been in.

"Down to the left at the end of the hall." Osiris said, quickly catching onto the fact that Shadow Rift had no idea where Arynnae was, giving him a smug little smile of his own. "touché..." Shadow said before flying down the hall as Osiris closed the door. Reaching Arynnae's room, Shadow Rift entered into her room where she sat on her bed, her blonde mane now in a slight ponytail as she looked down at her hooves.

"What's up?" Shadow said, flying over towards Arynnae and placing a hoof over her shoulder and staring down at her hooves as well, a small heart shaped locket in her hooves. Sighing, Arynnae looked over her shoulder at Shadow before looking back at the locket, opening it and revealing a picture of a Stallion and Mare on one side, and a picture of her brother Osiris, both much younger than currently. "Shadow... I'm just very worried that my parents won't accept you as my Stallionfriend, especially considering how strict they are..."

"Look, it'll all work out, I promise..." He said, placing a kiss on her cheek before continuing, "After all, I'm fairly certain they'll allow their daughter to date a celebrity! It's good for publicity!" He said, nudging Arynnae on her arm and making her giggle. "Are you always this cynical?" She said, nuzzling his nose, "Sometimes. It's what you get in every specially marked package of sugar hay." He said, a knocking sound echoing into the room, Arynnae looking back towards the door.

"Well, it appears that they are home..."

"What're we waiting for?"

Getting up from her bed, Arynnae began to trot out of the door, Shadow flying right along behind her as she did so. "Greetings Father, how were your travels?" Shadow and Arynnae heard Osiris voice as the made their way into the living room, Arynnae clearly beginning to feel more and more nervous as her cheeks began to glow the same pink tint as always. "Nothing extremely out of the ordinary. Perhaps we may gain another plot of land for another course within the month." A stallions voice said, although strangely not containing the same accent as Osiris or Arynnae.

"Perfect to hear father..." Arynnae said, coming out of the corner with Shadow flying right behind her as Arynnae enveloped her father in a hug. "Hello Arynnae..." Her father said, placing a hoof on her back and patting it slightly. Looking ahead of her, Arynnae's father caught sight of Shadow, still flying in the air and offering a proud smile, making Arynnae's father, a grey unicorn with a black mane and golden eyes, furrow his brow.

"Arynnae... Who is this Stallion?"

"Oh! Yes, of course. Father, this is Shadow Rift, a show stallion who I met soon after you're departure..."

"I see..." He said as he trotted up to Shadow, eyeing him down head to hoof unimpressed. "Nice to meet you sir! Name's Shadow Rift, although I go by either Shadow or Rift!" He said, extending his hoof in front of the Stallion with a smile on his face. "The pleasure is mine, Mister Rift..." He said as he took Shadow's hoof in his own and shaking it slowly. "Um, father... I actually have some news about both Mister Rift and myself..."

"I'm going to suspect what you wish to tell me is your romantic involvement with one another..."

"What made you notice so quickly Mister... Uh..."

"Osiris Night..." He said, making Shadow chomp down on his tongue to suppress laughter. His name was weird, even weirder than Arynnae's, but the last thing Shadow needed was this guy thinking he was an ass. "Father..." Osiris said as he broke the silence, "Where is mother? We were expecting her to arrive with you."

"I'm here! Forgive me if I may not have entered with your father..." A mare nearly identical to Arynnae in both looks and voice said, the only exception being her eyes, as they were emerald green instead of blue and being slightly older looking. Taking notice of Shadow nearly immediately, her sight staying on Shadow as she moved towards her husband. "Osiris... Who is this Stallion?" She said in a voice very well above a whisper for every pony in the room to hear. "Mother... This is Shadow Rift, my coltfriend." Arynnae said, a smile on her face as she began to trot towards Shadow, Arynnae's mother's look turning from a look of slight distrust to a small smile. "Well Mister Rift, if I can trust you to take care of our daughter, I see no reason to not pursue a relationship with her." She said as she slowly made her way to Shadow, extending a hoof in front of him. "I assure you I can trust her... Misses...?"

"Diamond Dusk. It's a pleasure to meet you." She said as Shadow took her hoof and placed a kiss on it, making her smile grow slightly, "The pleasure's mine." Shadow said as he backed away from her and back towards Arynnae, placing an arm over her shoulder while smiling at the family in front of him.

************************************************

"See...? I told you nothing bad would happen." Shadow said as they entered the apartment. "You were just lucky Mister Rift! My mother isn't normally as accepting as usual, and I can tell my father isn't very enthusiastic about you either." Arynnae said as she made her way to Shadow's couch. It wasn't too long ago that the two of them had left after Arynnae said that they needed to grab clothing for the Gala, to which her mother had quickly become enthusiastic about. "I figured your dad wasn't too happy to see me as your mom was. But I'm fairly certain I'll get him to change his mind..." Shadow said, smiling in front of Arynnae proudly and electing a giggle from her.

"What about your parents?" Arynnae said, a smile adorning her face along with a blush. As she asked her question, however, Shadow's proud demeanor changed as his smile fell. "What...?" He asked in a hushed tone, making Arynnae feel less than confident in asking him the question about his parents. "I simply asked if we should... You know... Meet your parents... After all, I'm sure they would enjoy meeting me."

"I, uh, I don't exactly... Talk to my parents anymore...." Shadow said, rubbing the back of his head as he looked down at the ground slightly. "What do you mean...?"

"Look I just don't talk to my folks anymore.... Let's just leave it at that." Shadow said, making his way towards the bedroom. "Anyways..." He said, stretching out his wings and shaking his head, "...I'm beat. Come to bed whenever." Shadow said, disappearing into the bedroom and slamming the door shut, leaving Arynnae slightly confused in the living room of his apartment.

Why didn't he want me to meet his parents? Let alone talk about them?

Author's Note

Sorry this took so long. Definitely gonna work for shorter writing times