The Dragonsblood Elixir

There weren’t many ponies who could claim their children lived in a castle. It sounded absurd when one said it out loud, but the deeds of Twilight and Spike spoke for themselves. It still boggled Night and Velvet to consider the part they might’ve played in it all (if any), but regardless, the ~~tacky~~UNIQUE crystal castle in front of them was the result.

Knock-knock-knock~

The front castle doors opened in a light blue aura. A pretty mare with a familiar face greeted Velvet and Night, which they recognized as Twilight’s student. What was her name, again…?

“Starlight Glimmer!” Night smiled wide. “Good to see you again.”

Velvet brightened. “Starlight! How are your studies going?”

Starlight’s eyebrows rose. “Oh! Hi!” She paused. “Wait, I thought you were going to be stopping by a week from today.”

Night inclined his head. He pulled out his schedule book and flipped through to today’s date. "Nope! It’s today. We’re right on time, too."

Velvet suddenly had a thought. “I hope I didn’t put the wrong date on the letter. I could’ve sworn I got it right…”

Starlight clicked her teeth. She searched her memory for what Spike and Twilight had said, but got nothing. “Well, either way, you’re here now! I’m sure Twilight will be happy to see you once she’s out of her meeting.”

The dreaded ‘M’ word set off dozens of alarm bells. Velvet was about to ask after Spike instead, but then she remembered something about today’s date.

“Fridays are Spike’s O&O days.” She groaned and fell back on her haunches. “He’s probably off at one of his friend’s houses.”

Starlight winced. “Sorry.”

Night pursed his lips. “We’re sorry, too. It’s probably not worth waiting around if Twilight’s caught in meetings... again.”

Velvet grumbled something under her breath. She pulled out a Ponyville train schedule, muttering about wasted train fare.

“W-Wait! It’s not like that this time!” Starlight teleported behind them and pushed them inside. “She’s just talking with someone who dropped by! She’ll be ready in a few minutes!”

Velvet and Night weren’t convinced, but before they could say anything, they were being corralled down the castle halls like colorful cattle. They finally relented and followed after her without comment, the familiar crystalline lights, long red carpets, and minimalist decor all as museum-like as ever.

They wound up at Twilight’s favorite seating room. Starlight got Night and Velvet situated, made them Pinkie Promise they wouldn’t leave, then teleported off with a FLASH!

…

…

…

Night ran a hoof through his mane. “On a scale of one to ten, how bad do you think she feels?”

Velvet stared out the window to the mountain lake below. “I just hope she doesn’t do anything rash. Twily’s mentioned that’s a bad habit of hers.”

He took a seat beside Velvet. “Maybe we should talk with her. I get the feeling she’s worried about our relationship with Twily.”

Velvet exhaled out her nose. “I’m not sure we have Twily’s teaching skills. We can try, but our knowledge of Starlight is all secondhoof. We could just make things worse.”

Night conceded the point. He rummaged around in his bags a moment, produced his own copy of the train schedule, then floated it between them so they could both see. “So, when do you want to head out? We can make the next Canterlot train if we hurry, but we did promise to stay a while.”

Velvet thought for a moment. “There’s no rush. We’ll humor her for an hour, have her send word to Zecora, then go grab dinner somewhere. How’s about that place with the good hay fries?”

Night put an arm around her. “I like the way you—”

FLASH!

Starlight was back. She’d teleported Twilight along with her—without warning by the looks of it—and a third had been brought along, as well. She was a slender teal dragoness, strong and powerful, with large leathery wings, fierce eyes, and a strange magical aura swirling about her.

“HEY!” The dragoness whirled on Starlight. “A little heads-up would be nice!”

Twilight, who appeared to have been in mid-sentence, recovered quickly. “Oooookay! Dragon Lord Ember, these are my parents: Twilight Velvet and Night Light. Mom, Dad, this is Dragon Lord Ember. You remember us mentioning her, right?”

Night and Velvet exchanged looks. They weren’t sure what to address—Twilight’s question, Starlight’s power play, or the reason they’d come. An awkward silence threatened to fall...

“More ponies that look like you?! Ugh!” Ember crossed arms. “As if telling you apart wasn’t hard enough WITHOUT your relatives!”

Starlight coughed to hide her laugh.

Night squinted at Ember. “Didn’t Spike introduce us last year? It was at a formal function; I don’t recall which one...”

Something dawned in Ember’s eyes. “Oh, yeah! That’s right, you’re the little guy’s mom and dad, too! Wow, I didn’t get a chance to say before, but I’d have never thought ponies could be tough enough to raise a dragon! How are you not mangled or burned to a crisp?”

Velvet snickered. “Protective spells and spellfire wards. Lots of them.”

Ember barked out a laugh. “I don’t know much about pony magic, but considering you’re both still in one piece, you must be pretty good with it. It’s pretty impressive you two managed the little guy AND Princess Powerhouse over here—”

“Please don’t let that be my nickname,” Twilight muttered.

“—so you two must be pretty strong, yourselves!” Ember put her claws on her hips. “I like that!”

Starlight got Ember’s attention. “Twilight and Spike also have a superpowered older brother. You keep in touch with King Thorax, right? Has he mentioned Prince Shining Armor to you at all?”

You could’ve nudged Ember over with a stick. Thorax had indeed mentioned that name—mentioned it many, many times. She turned back to Velvet and Night. “What are you two ponies?”

Night shrugged. “Nothing special, as far as I know. You’re not the first to wonder, but no matter how much we look back on it all, it seems like things just… happened.”

Velvet rested her hoof on Night’s. “Maybe it’s something about us, or maybe it’s not. We wish there was something concrete we could point to, but in the end, we can only play the cards life has given us.”

Ember snorted. “Parents...” She turned to Starlight, a wry smile on her face. “Yep, you’re theirs, alright.”

“Erm…” Starlight pointed at Twilight. “Wings, remember?”

“For Io’s sake!”

Twilight bit back a laugh. “So now that introductions have been made...” She came over by her parents. “What’s so urgent it couldn’t wait? I was just answering some questions Ember had about the new Equestria-Dragonlands trade deal.”

Velvet made to reply, but then stopped. She’d just had an epiphany, one that could turn lemons into lemonade.

Ember noticed Velvet was still looking at her. “...What?”

Velvet smirked. She whispered something to Night, who sat up with a jolt. “O-ho…”

Twilight glanced at Starlight, but she was just as lost. “You mind filling us in?” Twilight nudged her mother’s side. “Hellooooooo?

“In a minute, Twily.” Velvet leaned forward. “With all due respect, Dragon Lord Ember—you can keep a secret, can’t you?”

Ember’s orange eyes lit up like coals. “Secrets are valuable. Keeping valuable things safe is what dragons do best.”

That was good enough for Velvet. “What about you, Starlight? We can trust you, right?”

Starlight’s heart skipped a beat. “O-Of course! I’m happy to help!”

Night took over now, steepling his hooves and gathering his thoughts. “In that case, I think we can let you on our little plan. We came to visit Twilight and Spike, of course, but we also were hoping to get something. Having Spike not be here might actually be a blessing, because what we’re planning to do is...”

“That couldn’t have gone better if we’d planned it!” Velvet said as she and Night left the castle. “I was worried we’d have to tell some kind of lie!”

Night trotted after her, beaming. “I was more worried about Spike getting suspicious about why we wanted his blood. That would’ve ruined the whole surprise!”

Velvet patted the vial of Ember’s blood in her bags. “This is perfect. Spike is out of the loop, we have everyone on board, and we get to have some fun in the process! We’ll be dragons soaring through the sky in no time!”

Night looked up at the puffy clouds. “I hope flying is as easy as Ember said. Didn’t Twily need a lot of practice to get the hang of it?”

Velvet looked back at him, giggling. "You worry too much. I’m more excited to see you a charming drake! Can’t you picture it, Nighty? What about me as a dragoness? Do you think I’ll be pretty?”

Night’s reply was a nicker. His gaze drifted to her heart-shaped rump and foalbearing hips, her soft, swishing tail beckoning him like a carrot on a stick. She was putting that extra sway in her step for him—that slow, practiced strut that’d caught his eye all those years ago.

“How could you not be,” she heard him murmur.

Velvet nickered right back. She brushed her tail under Night’s muzzle, slow and teasing. A warmth stirred inside her at his tiny moan, and shivers soon followed at his magic caressed her flanks. They fell into step side by side then, and with their spirits high, they made their way through Ponyville with their tails looped together.