Dracula stood out in the garden in Shadow Garden. With great longing he stared at a flower and he could not help but feel guilty for everything. He closed his eyes and he said,”It was me. I broke his ties to our family. It is all my fault, only I can carry this burden.”

Dracula heard somepony walk in and he turned his head to see who it was and it was not the pony he was expecting. It was Emerald Masquerade. Emerald walked up to Dracula and he said,”So, how are you holding up?”

Dracula turned his head not to meet Emerald in the eyes and he replied,”Lose a brother and you’ll know exactly what I feel.”

“But I have.”Emerald said looking at him. Dracula turned his head and looked emerald right in the eyes and said,”It was not real. Living Shadow was feeding memories into your head to break you. I’ve looked into this, we are not blood related.”

Emerald shook his head and said,”No...this can’t be true...how can…”

Dracula sighed heavily and he said,”I’m sorry to say this but it’s true. I am not your brother, he is the spirit of deceit and master of deception. He did this to some how make you apart of this Dark Crusade.”

Dracula turned to face Emerald and he continued,”He has plans for you. I don’t know what and I don’t know why. I can read his mind but he is strong and knows I am fighting him.”

Emerald said,”What’s it like?”

“What?”Dracula replied shrugging his shoulders,”You mean having somepony try and take over your mind?”

Emerald nodded and Dracula stared off at the moon. Dracula said with great longing,”It’s like a headache you can never get rid of. An itch that won’t stop itching. A wound that can never heal.

“I can resist his corruption for now but even if I can cast him out, he’ll leave a scar behind. He’s that powerful, what the scar does is it stunts my magical ability by a small amount and it burns a marking on my right shoulder. Called Mark of Darkness.”

“Mark of Darkness?”Emerald asked. Dracula continued.”Every child of Living Shadow will receive one if he dies. When he dies so does some of his magic that lives in us. A last testament. A reminder that we were children of the most hated pony in Equestrian history.”

Dracula lowered his head and blinked slowly. Truly Emerald felt genuine towards him but the fact he isn’t his brother is still shocking. Emerald rested his hoof on Dracula’s shoulder and said,”I might not be your brother, but I can still be your friend.”

This brought a smile to Dracula’s face. Emerald could tell that he had not been happy in a long time. In a small matter of time he had gotten his mother back, he has a special somepony to love, and many friends to hold every step of the way. Emerald could not fathom the feeling of living a thousand years of solitude and loneliness. Now he has his family back.

They turned their heads as they heard more ponies coming and Dracula heard the loving voice of his Mother as she says,”Now how did I know that you’d be here?”

Dracula turned around and met the loving faces of Luna, Twilight, Rarity, and Rainbow Dash. Dracula smiled and he said,”Old habits die hard I guess.”

Dracula leaned down and kissed Twilight on the cheek and he heard Rainbow Dash say,”How you holding up old man?”

Dracula smiled as he adored Rainbow Dash’s consideration. He replied,”As well as you’d think Speedie.”

Rainbow Dash laughed and said,”Well, we just finished burying Sombra and Armor. When will we head out?”

Rarity said,”Rainbow Dash, darling! We should not miss such a golden opportunity. We have a chance to learn the culture of this lovely place, the art and architecture is something to behold.”

Dracula continued to smile as he loved the way she spoke and how she carried herself. Dracula said,”There will be enough time for that later Rarity. For now we need to prepare for our final encounter with Chrysalis and the Living Shadow.

“When I began this journey long ago I always thought that I could only do it alone. But it appears that I was wrong.”

Dracula turns his head towards Twilight and he looks into her eyes and he says,”You Twilight. You Rarity. And you Rainbow Dash. All of you, you have shown me that my old ways were wrong. I see the light now. Know that no matter what you will always have the North Star on your side.”

Dracula looks at each one of them and they have looks of kindness and friendship on their faces. Within their eyes there is a small flash of light, but Dracula is not the only ones to see this. Luna and Celestia see the flash in their eyes and they know exactly what it means. Luna looks at Celestia and she just nods at her younger sister.

Luna steps forward next to Dracula and she rests her hoof on his shoulder and breathing in a deep breath she begins to sing,

“You've come such a long, long way, and
I've watched you from that very first day.”

Dracula’s vision is filled with the memories he has shared with Twilight, Rarity, and Rainbow Dash. Each one giving him a sense of honor and friendship. They swirl and wind into his subconscious and are absorbed into him. The last one he sees was when he last conversed with Twilight alone in the rain and he gave her his North Star medallion. Finally his vision clears but he notices that Twilight’s eyes are glowing bright blue and winds begin to pick up and fluttering in the wind is the medallion that is glowing violently. Dracula breaths in a deep breath and listens carefully to Luna’s next sung words.

“To see how you might grow, to see what you might do.
To see what you've been through, and
All the ways you've made me proud of you.”

Her voice was so serene and beautiful. Now a beam of light shoots out of the medallion and fires itself right at Dracula. Dracula looks around and it does not injure him in any way. No knock back. No burning hole in his chest. But, he did feel something deep inside of him. Something that was lost long ago. He felt deep beneath him the feeling of love, love from a family of friends. He looks down at his cutie mark and notices it changes shape to form a glowing Star. He is lifted into the air and swirling out of his eyes are waves of pure magical energy, and they began to swirl around him and his shape begins to hide and is not visible by anypony outside the bubble. Now he hears Luna’s beautiful singing voice clearly and like crystal.

“It's time now for a new change to come.
You've grown up and your new life has begun.
To go where you will go, to see what you will see.
To find what you will be. For it's time for you…”

There was a pause in between her final words. In that pause he felt his form change and shift into something else. It was not pain but that ever growing feeling of love. He feels something sprout from his back and he feels a slow moving wave of energy moving over him, his fur coat and his mane begin to change and so does his armor. His coat is now a dark navy blue and his mane becomes not messy and a long streak of bright white is now on his jet black mane and tail. He listens closely as his transformation is almost done.

“...to fulfill your destiny!”

Luna levitates the bright red bubble to the sky almost right next to the moon. Twilight, Rarity, and Rainbow Dash look into the dawn filled sky and watch as a bright flash of red fills the sky and reveals that right next to the moon now is a bright glowing star. Twilight sheds a single tear as she knows what it is, it is the North Star. Now coming down from the sky is the bright red bubble and Luna levitating it to the stone ground of the garden.

Luna meets the ground and steps away from the bubble and waits. Everypony covers their eyes as a flash of red emanates from the bubble. As the smoke clears and they all open their eyes they see a new Dracula. Standing strong before them is the Alicorn Prince Dracula Silverdawn. A dark navy blue Alicorn with bright red eyes and on his black and red armor, specifically on the chestplate was a new marking or crest.

Dracula opens his eyes and flaps his wings slowly and finally folds them. He looks over at Luna and they hug each other. Luna says,”You are now Dracula Silverdawn, Prince of Shadows.”

They stop hugging and Luna says meeting his eyes,”This is only the beginning of a new dawn, with the one you love.”

Dracula slowly nods his head. He steps in front of Twilight, Rarity, and Rainbow Dash. All of them bow and Dracula says in protest,”No. Neither of you need to bow. Even though I am a Prince now, you are all royalty in your own right. No need to bow.”

Dracula lifts Twilight’s head and they meet eyes and he says with a new unaccented baritone voice,”Especially you my love.”

Twilight smiles and leans up and kisses him. After a few warm seconds they stop and Twilight says,”I am so happy for you. Congratulations.”

Dracula smiles and rests his foreleg over Twilight’s shoulder and Rarity and Rainbow Dash both nod their heads. Rarity says,”Yes congratulations darling.”

Rainbow Dash steps closer to Dracula and nudges his shoulder and says,”Good job old man.”

Dracula smiles and replies,”Thanks speedie.”

There was a pause in his next words and he says dropping his foreleg from Twilight,”You all have been there for me since the beginning and have helped me on my long journey to now. At the time I had nothing to give you, but I do now. I have a gift for all of you.”

He steps in front of Rarity and Rainbow Dash and says,”Although you both have not found your journey or your final destiny, such things will come in time. But, before that time and since both of you are connected to me I may do something.

“Both of you shall be the first of the Knights of the Moon. Both of you shall lead your fellow knights in the future. Both to war and to better time of peace.”

Dracula lowers his head and igniting his magic around his horn. The magic swirled from his horn and moved through and around Rarity and Rainbow Dash. Their forms changed to their Children of the Night form. Rarity turned into her Spectra form and Rainbow Dash turned into her Shadow Dash form.

They felt magic being absorbed into them. Dracula was giving them power, a different power. They shoot their eyes open and they are glowing bright red. Their forms change to their normal forms and they feel a new power within themselves.

They both nod at Dracula and Dracula nods at them in response. Dracula turns back around and meets Twilight’s purple eyes, he says,”For you I have something special. Though we are not connected magically we hold great power within us. That is the power of our love and as a testament to this I did something while I was in the sky.”

Dracula turns Twilight and they look at the North Star in the sky. But looking closer Twilight saw her cutie mark as a star right next to his. Both glowing bright in the sky. Twilight gasps in wonder and embraces Dracula tight. Dracula gingerly returns the hug and Twilight says,”I love you so much Silver.”

Dracula says in reply,”I love you too and you’re welcome.”

They stop hugging and Dracula looks over at Celestia and he says,”Even though we did not get along in the beginning know now that I completely and utterly respect you now. You might not have known it at the time but you helped me on my way to ascending to an Alicorn and for that I must thank you.”

Celestia bows and says,”Anything for my little nephew.”

Dracula smiles and they hug each other. After a few heartfelt moments they stop hugging and the last he shares good moments with is his Mother herself. Dracula says,”I have nothing to say that you don’t already know. All I can say is that I love you Mother.”

They hug as well and Luna says in her beautious voice,”I love you too my son.”

They stop hugging and Luna says wiping away a tear,”So, what is our next move Prince Dracula?”

Dracula smiles and says addressing the rest of them,”We all must prepare for our final encounter with the Living Shadow and Queen Chrysalis. Now that I am an Alicorn I am vulnerable to being possessed by the Living Shadow. Once he is vanquished forever as a final testament he will mark me and the rest of his children with what is called the Mark of Darkness. This mark will stunt our magic by a small degree as a final goodbye.

“As he sees in my mind I can see into his. He has made Chrysalis his Champion of the Night. And she has corrupted Marrok and they are leading a final assault on Ponyville.”

Celestia is distraught by these facts and says,”How many Changelings?”

Dracula takes in a deep breath and breathing out he says,”Nearly one million. Our only hope to stop this invasion is if all of the Children of the Night fight to defend Ponyville.”

Emerald steps forward and says,”Your orders?”

Dracula steps nobly in front of Emerald and he says,”You are to report to Hearthfire and Blazer tell them to round up every able bodied Child of the Night and split them into three groups. Werewolves, Vampires and Phantoms. Prepare them and then report back to me when everything is done and we will set out for Ponyville.”

Emerald nods his head and gallops off into the castle and out of sight. Dracula addresses to the rest that was in the garden.”We will wait until he returns. Do what you wish in the mean time and I will summon you when we are ready to head out.”

Everypony bowed and most of them separated and waited for Dracula to summon them. As Dracula walks he hears his father’s voice say,
Yes. Embrace your new destiny and I will soon make you the Living Shadow.