The After Party for their wedding was filled with both music and excitement, but before any of it had kicked off? Twilight and Night Claw shared a slow dance together, allowing them to both share the bliss of their day’s grand event. The princess leaned up against the Terror Guard, slowly moving together and allowing only their necks to really stay connected to the other. Rarity and Fluttershy could not help but tear up at the scene, while Twilight’s parents shared their same thoughts. Shining Armor on the other hand? Well, let us just say, he was leaking liquid pride again…. A lot of liquid pride.

Once their dance was over, Twilight gave a signaling wink to Pinkie Pie, who did not hesitate to pull the same stunt she did at the wedding of Cadence and Shining Armor… Effectively electrifying the audience with the help of Vinyl Scratch. “Come on, everypony! Let’s shake those tails!” She called out, throwing both forehooves up into the air, Void Dancer suddenly appearing behind the mare… While holding a pair of party cannons, which soon exploded with streamers and confetti.

The crowd all cheered, before dancing to the music played. Though, most allowed the newlyweds their room to dance, even the Command Squad started to dance. Rarity and Diamond Arrow simply settled with a slow waltz, while trying to stay in step with the music’s fast beat. Rainbow Dash and Sky Spear stuck to their aerial abilities, turning the well timed performance into mesmerizing aerial dancing. Fluttershy and Soul Hunter simply swayed together, both not really for the big group dancing. Applejack and War Sage stayed with the simple square dance the Apple Family commonly used. Pinkie Pie and Void Dancer pulled a strange display, both dancing to the side on their hind legs while hoof pumping down and laughing the whole time. Luna danced to the beat, the Moon Princess being one for such high paced beats, while Night Haunter smirked and did his best to stay in step with the mare. Off to the side, Swift Blade simply sat with the pregnant Trixie, the two enjoying each other’s company, the mare caressing her swollen stomach. The Cutie Mark Crusaders, though, were all dancing together with Spike at their center, each one doing their own style of dancing while also not messing up their dresses… Fearing the wrath of Rarity.

The only pony who didn’t join in on the dancing, was Celestia. The eldest Princess choosing to simply hang back, smiling at those having fun at the party for Twilight and Night Claw. Though, when she caught sight of the mare and filly from before, she couldn’t help but raise an eyebrow at them. The mare was wearing a simple black dress, sitting next to one massive hound (think Irish Wolf Hound) with the gray filly sitting on said hound’s head. She was wearing a gray dress, with white trimming, but it seemed a bit big on her… If Celestia didn’t know any better, she would have thought that they were trying to hide wings on that gray unicorn filly. The hound, though, had the same gray coat as his rider, but had a deep black muzzle and red eyes, giving off a guard hound feeling with the slight snarling he was giving to any pony that got too close to the filly.

Smiling, and wanting to meet these two strange ponies, Celestia walked over towards them. “Excuse me?” She spoke up, startling the two and made them turn around. “Are you two enjoying yourselves?” Celestia smiled down at them, the two suddenly gaining nervous looks.

The mare shifted her eyes around, almost like she was guilty of something, before answering. “W-Why yes, of course, Princess Celestia. Not every day a Princess gets married to Equestria’s Elite, right?” She said, nervously.

“Yeah! Nighty is finally married! And to Twily, too! This is just fantastic!” The filly chirped, bouncing up and down on the hound’s head.

“Silver, shhhh, remember what your father said?” The mare whispered, while the filly’s ears lowered at her comment.

“Oh yeah, almost forgot… Sorry, Ms. Shield.” The filly said, smiling at the mare.

Raising an eyebrow, Celestia looked at the mare, still holding her smile. “Is this your daughter, ehm… Ms. ‘Shield’, was it?” She asked, tilting her head.

The mare’s eyes went wide, before holding up both hooves and shaking them in front of her defensively. “Oh, no, no, no; Princess. Silver Star here is the daughter of a friend of mine. She wanted to come see the wedding, and he was far too busy to, so I offered to take her!” She answered, giving a nervous smile.

The reaction was questionable to the alicorn, making her give the mare an inquisitive look. “And this friend of yours, may I have his name? I may know him.”

“Its…. Uh… Well, it is a strange name, especially for a unicorn like him.” She admitted, Celestia giving a nod but motioning for her to continue. “He’s, um, Black Knight? Strange, right? Eheheeee.”

Celestia kept the inquisitive look on the mare, making her feel more and more nervous about the current situation, before the filly caught her attention. “Yeah! Daddy has so many deadlines! People always asking for more updates on his stories, they keep sending him mail!” Celestia looked toward the filly, noticing how brightly she spoke when talking about this father of hers. “But, despite all that, he always finds time to play with me and Fluffy!” The filly rubbed said hound’s head, Fluffy giving a slacked jawed, limp tongue, happy look at the rubbing.

The display made Celestia smile, before she gave a nod. “A wonderful father, if such is the case. I have never heard of a unicorn named ‘Black Knight’, but I do look forward to meeting him, if I am ever able to get the chance.” Her gaze went back to the mare, nodding to her. “Please, I hope you and little Silver enjoy the party, Ms. Shield…. There is a slice of cake with my name on it.”

The two waved good bye to the eldest princess, as she made a b-line to the refreshment table. Amply waiting for both Twilight and Night Claw to get their slices…. Somewhat saddened, when the two of them covered the other’s face with said cake. “T-Think she noticed, Ms. Shield?” Silver Star asked, Fluffy lowering his head down so she was right next to the mare.

“Hopefully, no… Remember the plan, Silver. Keep your head low, and stay close to Night Claw. We don’t want to draw any attention, nor allow that creep to know where we are.” Magic Shield said, the filly giving a nod.

Though, unknown to the two, a certain large alicorn stallion had his ear raised and pointed in their direction. “Interesting…” Night Haunter thought, with a raised brow and slight fanged-smirk on his muzzle. “I may need to keep an eye on those two for a while.” His attention went back to the stallion’s dance partner, who seemed to be having a rather fun time.

Night Reaper laid next to the legendary Napping Tree of Ponyville, where he often chose to relax an unwind for a while, much like his twin. Though, unlike most of the time, the scythe wielding bat pony wasn’t alone for once. No, sleeping underneath his large bat wing? Was a certain orange pegasus filly, with her son under her own wing. All three napping, quietly, under the tree’s shade. The filly snuggled up against Night Reaper’s larger frame, almost like she would if he were her father, while holding her foal much closer to her stomach. To say they looked peaceful, would be quite the correct statement. None of Ponyville’s residents even dared to attempt waking them, fearing a painful reaction from said bat pony guardian.

Though, as he slept, a jolt of energy suddenly burst through Night Reaper’s mind, causing his eyes to snap open and his head to jerk up, looking towards the sky. “W-What? Only one being could have…” He thought, raising an eyebrow. “But that doesn’t make sense… Such a thing would not happen, unless-… Oh no!” His eyes went wider, before the stallion craned his head down and nudged the filly. “Scootaloo? Scootaloo, wake up.”

“Mmm?” The filly muttered, groggily, while she slowly woke up from the relaxing nap. “What is it, Mr. Reaper? Is something the matter?” She asked, looking up at the stallion.

“Yes, little one. I need to leave… Something just came up, so you need to go back to Ms. Sparkle’s Library, alright? At least, until I get back.” Night Reaper said, the filly tilting her head. “It may just be a false alarm, but I’m going to go check anyways, alright?”

She gave a nod, yawning, before placing Lightning Blitz on to her back. “’kay, Mr. Reaper… Be safe, ok?” Scootaloo said, getting up after Night Reaper removed his wing from her, and smiled.

“Promise, little one.” Night Reaper said, standing up and popping several of his joints. “If I’m not back, don’t panic. It may have just taken me longer to resolve the situation.” She gave a nod, before the bat pony opened his wings and shot off! The filly tried to watch him, but quickly lost sight… Even more so after a bright flash of light caused her to lose track of him, said stallion disappearing completely.

After noticing the castle doors were torn off of their hinges, Night Reaper quickly transformed into his Night Lord form, and charged in with war scythe in hand. “Father! Father, where are you!?” He called out, searching the area for any signs of the armored being. But there was nothing, but the scars of battle within the room. Bullet holes in the wall, one certain wall being completely demolished, and burn marks along the floor. Night Reaper knelt down, placing his clawed fingers against one of the burn marks, tracing it. He had never seen such damage before, not knowing any weapon possibly able to do such a thing. “What happened here?” He muttered.

But, when a sound echoed nearby, the Night Lord quickly stood up and looked for its source. Not seeing a thing, he started to have a look around, trying to listen for it again. Then, he heard it again, the distinct sound of metal sliding against stone! It was slow, almost like the one causing it was weakened, but he could hear it.

Without hesitation, Night Reaper quickly charged down the hallway where it was coming from, his heavy foot falls echoing around the corridor. “Father, what happened-!” He stopped, seeing the Black Knight dragging himself from one of the studies…. A trail of blood behind him. “F-Father?” He said, stepping back, as the armored being looked up at him.

“N-Night Reaper… Good, y-you’ve come.” He reached forward, trying to grasp the Night Lord, but his arm was far too weak from the blood loss.

Before it could fall to the round, Night Reaper was already kneeling next to him, grasping the black armored arm. “Father, what happened? Name who did this to you, and I’ll hunt them down like the dog they are!” He growled, glaring at the state his father was in… He disliked him, but there are some things you cannot help, such as a wayward son’s feelings for their father. He could tell that the attack rammed a sword into the Black Knight’s back, seeing the metal bending towards his body.

“N-No time, Night Reaper.” Black Knight said, as the Night Lord helped lean him against the wall, kneeling next to the fallen author. “Darth Various… He’s infiltrated Her Guardian Within the Shadow… He’s after Silver Star.” The Night Lord’s hands tightened, the ceramite armor groaning at the stress. “I fear what he has planned… With me in my current state, the story is vulnerable. He’ll be able to summon whatever he wishes to hunt her down, and even go after Xeron.”

“No, no one shall slay that whelp… Such a right, is reserved for me, and me alone!” Night Reaper noted, glaring at the Black Knight.

The fallen author, weakly, shook his head. “N-No, Night Reaper… You have another task. A task I had planned; in case I was forced to use the weapon.” Night Reaper’s eyes widened, hearing that his father was even considering using such a thing, even in his current state. “There are two more of your brothers, hidden within two locked stories. They are the strongest of you all, by far… One will help lead you to the other, if you are to convince him that you are not his foe. The other, the eldest, he’ll be hard to convince. But, to beat Darth Various, you will need both of them… That is your mission, Night Reaper. Leave that Sith to the others, they can hold him off until you’ve completed this task.” The Night Lord gave a nod, slowly standing up, as the Black Knight pointed further down the hallway, where a chained door stood at its very end. “I-In there… Y-You’ll find the portal leading to the second eldest. From there, he’ll lead you to the eldest’s portal. Simply place your hand on to the lock, it will recognize you as one of my sons, and open.”

His breathing became heavy; it was obvious that the Black Knight was slowly growing weaker. “Do not worry, father. I shall retrieve the others, and lead them back to defeat this Darth Various.” He stepped towards the door, scythe tightly gripped in hand. “Even if I hate Xeron, no one threatens my little sister.” Night Reaper’s voice was filled with both anger and fury.

“H-Hurry, Night Reaper… Darth V-Various… Released H-Hound into Her Guardian. No telling how long it’ll take… Before he f-finds Twilight, and the others.” The Black Knight noted, causing Night Reaper’s eyes to widen and his pace quicken. Even he feared that thing. There was nothing more savage, more feral, than that monster.

Both Twilight and Night Claw walked out to a waiting carriage, a pair of Night Guard Bat Pony’s harnessed to it. The Terror Guard helped his princess up into the carriage, who held her bouquet up in her magic, before tossing it towards the waiting crowds of mares. She couldn’t help but giggle, when she heard Rarity yell “MINE!” as she sat down into the carriage, Night Claw soon joining her.

With a smile, she looked up at her newly dubbed husband. “So, Night Claw, where are we going for our honeymoon, hm?” Twilight asked, leaning on to the stallion.

“Mmmm… Seeing how you’ve often talked about it, I figured going to Manehatten is a grand start.” He flashed her a fanged grin, winking. “Catch a few plays you’ve been dying to see, along with tour its grand library. After that? Well, I’ll let you pick the next place.” Night Claw thought for a moment, leaning towards her with a thoughtful expression on his face. “We do not have to worry about funds, and most are leaving us alone for a good while. So, any other places will be just fine, in my opinion.” He chuckled a bit, as the mare giggled.

“Well then! If that is the case, I heard Manehatten’s Museum has quite the exhibit on Star Swirl the Bearded!” Twilight chirped, as Night Claw gave a nod.

“You heard her brother, you know where to go.” Night Claw said, the Saberhorn Night Guard looking back, and giving a confirming nod before motioning for their brothers to take off. “I am rather looking forward to this, three weeks with nopony but the two of us… Enjoying ourselves, and just being ourselves.” He chuckled a bit, shrugging his shoulders before wrapping one of his large wings around Twilight. “And my lord has said he’ll watch Scootaloo, during our absence.”

Twilight held her smile, while leaning against Night Claw’s larger, armored, body. “Certainly, I cannot wait. Princess Celestia has even assured me, that she’ll personally handle any Friendship Problems that may appear during my absence, as well… Spike giving her a helping hoof here and there.” She giggled, nuzzling the stallion. “I wonder how long it’ll be, before she gets tired of both duties.”

“Mmmm… If she has to write reports to herself? I give it a day.” Night Claw said, before the two shared a laugh at the joke, both enjoying the other’s company for the remainder of their ride towards the train station.

A punker quickly sprinted into an alleyway, carrying the stolen purse of some poor woman he had at gun point. Placing said side arm into his pants waist band, the punker quickly started to go through what he had stolen from the unfortunate soul. “Ehehe… Let’s see what that broad had to offer?” He cackled, digging through the purse, finding lipstick, a cellphone, some keys, change, and then her wallet. “Ohohohooooo, here we go!” He grinned, opening the wallet to see credit cards, a debit card, and some cash. “Score! Cash alone, I bet there’s about two hundred dollars here!”

The sudden sound of metal scraping against stone caused the punker to look up, dropping the purse, and its contents, before drawing his pistol. The scraping suddenly came from behind him, causing the punker to turn around and point his gun at… Absolutely nothing. The scraping occurred deeper into the alley, forcing the punker to point his weapon down that way next.

“Alright, pal! Better get lost, because I’m not afraid to use this!” He yelled, glaring at the darkened alleyway.

An eerie, metallic, cackle echoed from within the darkness, a chill suddenly going down the punker’s spine. “So confident, yeeees… Thinks he is brave, all because of a little toy.” The voice gave the punker an unnerving feeling. “But what he doesn’t know, is that he is nothing more than an insect compared to us.” A pair of red, glowing, eye suddenly appeared within the darkness… Looking down at the punker from an, easy, eight-foot height. “It amuses uuuuus.”

Suddenly fearing for his life, the punker pulled the trigger, firing his pistol at the strange being! But, emptying his entire clip, all he heard was each round clanking off of something metal… Followed by the being’s metallic, bone chilling, cackle. “What the fuck are you, man!?” He said, quickly reloading the pistol and firing more rounds. “Die! Die! Just die ar-GAK!”

Before the punker knew it, he was suddenly being grasped by his throat, by some massive midnight blue and brass armored giant! The being’s claws being a bloody red, even his taloned feet and the horns on his skull faced helmet were red! He could make out the strange looking jump pack on its back, seeing the strange barbed fins on the sides, those red eyes piercing into his soul. The punker could also see the strange skull and red bat wing insignia on the creature’s left shoulder guard. “No… We will not die, but you will?”

“W-Who the fuck do you think you are!?” The punker demanded, struggling within the creature’s clawed grasp. “You can’t just kill someone in broad daylight!!!”

The creature gave another laugh at his words, tilting his horned helmeted head. “Easy…” He pulled the punker closer to his helmet, allowing the punker to get an even more fear filled feeling within his soul. “We are Hound… We hunt, and kill, whenever we pleeeeease.” His grip got tighter, and tighter, the blades slowly cutting into the punker’s flesh! His screams of agony echoed around the alleyway, as he kicked and punched at the creature’s armored hand, to no avail. Blood started to pour from his wounds, staining the creature’s claws, the punker starting to drown within his own blood.

Before anyone knew it, Hound crushed the punker’s neck, cutting his head clean off and allowed the blood spurting body to fall. While his corpse, limply, sat on the ground, Hound simply eyed the screaming, dismembered, head in his claws… A twisted grin on his hidden face, while a slow, maddening, cackle was drawn out. Though, when the sirens of police cars started to be heard, Hound threw the head aside and glanced at the alleyway’s entrance. He could see the police cars pulling up, along with hear the sounds of car doors opening and closing.

“Best leave, before they see us.” He whispered, reaching his left claw out, and slowly cut down in the air... A rift in reality being torn open, allowing him to pass through it and disappear without a trace.