Velvet and Night Light returned to their suite a couple days after she was released from the infirmary. It was no secret that he was her husband now, but he still wore his guard uniform while he was 'on duty' with her. The destruction of the castle had been all but erased. One would not even know that the wall or floor had holes blasted in them unless they knew where to look for the fresh seams in the mortar.

He opened the door for her as she held her discharge paperwork. Her official documents indicated that she'd had a stillborn foal. But she knew better. Night Light picked up the newspaper at their door, reading the headlines.

"Princess Celestia has adopted an orphan foal. She has dubbed her Princess Mi Amore Cadenza," he read aloud, turning the paper to show Velvet. The front page had a full-panel photograph of Princess Celestia cradling tiny Cadance in her hooves. Velvet's lips trembled, but she kept her composure. She'd cried enough in the last two days.

She walked into the suite and dropped her bag on the floor. The soiled carpet had been replaced and the broken snow globe had been cleared away. Celestia had given her a new one, still in her bag. But her office that she had turned into a nursery remained. She bit her lip and turned away.

"I can't be here!" she said, forcing back the tears. "I can't stand to look at this! Have them change it back!" she demanded as she turned and went back out into the hallway. Night Light stood in the suite and looked at the nursery that he'd helped to decorate with his wife.

"Yes, Ma'am," he replied as he set his jaw. "I can't stand it either." He made a mental note to submit a maintenance work order as he followed after her. "Where are you going? It's going to take them a few days."

"I'm going to spend the rest of February vacation at my parents," she said.

"Okay. And?" he asked as he caught up to her.

"And what?" she asked back.

"What about me?"

"What about you?"

"Am I- do you need me to stay here and oversee the work or-" he trailed off. "Or did you want me to come with you?" he asked.

She stopped walking and looked at him. It was almost as hard to look at him as it was the nursery. It was conflicting. Celestia hadn't minced words when she'd said that the revelation would shake Velvet's world to its very foundation. It had. Everything was different now. Everything that mattered. When she looked at him, she saw her husband, and father to her foal. But he was also her brother. It colored everything. All of her memories of him, every time they'd kissed, every night that they had... Velvet shuddered and pushed the thoughts away.

"I..." Velvet began. "I'm sure they'll be pleased to spend more time with you," she said. She turned and kept walking, a bit faster.

"Hey, hey!" he called after her as he tried to keep up. "That didn't answer my question!" he said.

"No. It didn't," she said. He caught up and stopped her, grabbing her hoof.

"Hey, this isn't easy for me either, you know!" he said. "Do you want me there or not?"

"I- I'm not sure right now."

"Don't you still love me?" he asked.

"I- I'm just confused right now. I don't know what I feel. I'm just trying to be honest," she said.

"Well, I can appreciate that at least. But, come on!"

"I think we both just need time to... I don't know, process all of this. Let it sink in. You know?"

"Okay."

"Do you want to come with me?" Velvet asked him.

"Yes."

"Okay then." She nodded for him to follow.

"Welcome home, sweetie!" Velvet's mother greeted as she opened the door for her. "How are you?" she said as she took Velvet's bag and let her inside. Velvet grimaced. "I'm sorry dear, I know that this is a tough time for you. But I want you to know that your father and I are here for you."

"You mean my uncle?" Velvet said.

"Twilight, dear, I realize that this is a lot for you to take in, but you're focusing on the wrong thing. He is your father, first, and my husband! He and I brought you into this world, and he helped to raise you. His relationship to me, beyond that, is irrelevant!" Velvet opened her mouth to argue, but didn't.

"I just... need some time," she said as she headed upstairs to her old bedroom. Night Light stood at the bottom of the stairs.

"Do you-"

"No." Velvet cut him off and closed her bedroom door. Night Light just stood there, unsure of what to do. He turned and faced her mother. His mother, he supposed.

"Should I..." he tried to ask, seeking guidance.

"She just needs some time," she said.

"So she said."

"So let's do just that. Would you like some tea?" she asked "I just put a kettle on."

"I'd love some... uh..." he hesitated. She smiled.

"It's okay. You can say it. Try it on and see how it feels."

"Mom?"

"Son," she replied. She smiled. He didn't. "Give it time," she said. He sat at the table.

"You know, I never thought that I'd ever get to meet my mother," he said.

"I know," she said. "Your... other family and ours have been close for all these years. The princess made sure that you were always seen after. Especially when his wife..." his mother put some tea bags into the cups and added the hot water. "She died just before you were born. It was a shock to all of us. But things were already set in motion for him to receive you. And he had to raise the three of you himself." She placed the cup in front of him and sat beside him and held his hoof. "We helped when we could. We wanted so badly to just see you, even when we knew we couldn't." Night Light looked down at his tea as he stirred it with his spoon.

"How did you... how did you and Dad do it?" he asked. "Any of it? All of it? How did you deal with... losing me?"

"It wasn't easy," she said. "It never was. It still isn't. When I think about all those memories that we missed out on. We would get letters from him telling us about your first steps, your first words, the first time you did magic." Her eyes glistened. "We were so proud when we heard about you graduating from the Royal Guard Academy. We were actually in the audience that day. But I'm sure you didn't even see us." She held his hoof. "And it's not going to be easy for you either. Both of you. But you don't have to do it alone. You'll have the Princess, and us. And you'll have each other." Night felt his stomach flutter.

"How did you... get over that?" he asked. "When you found out about each other?"

"Our mother talked to me. Our father talked to him. In our time of crisis, they helped us to remember what we still had," she said.

"Like what?"

"She loves you," she said.

"I'm not so sure about that anymore," he said.

"Trust me. She still does. Don't you love her?" Night felt his stomach flutter again. It felt like there was a blender inside of him with all these emotions in it, churning up everything at once. Anger, fear, doubt, disgust and guilt. But also love.

"Yes."

"Then it'll be fine," she assured him. "All you need is love. And everything else will work out," she said. The front door opened.

"Honey, I'm home!"

"I'm in the kitchen with our son!" she called back. Her son's fur crawled.

"Night's here?" he asked, hanging up his coat. He trotted into the kitchen and gave him a slap on the back. "Hey! There's my boy! How're ya doing champ!?" he asked. His boy felt his bile rising. "Yeah, not so good I bet." He sat down beside Night as she made another cup of tea. He took a sip. "Mmm, Mm! Baby, this is some bomb-ass tea!" he said.

"Excuse me?"

"That's what all the cool colts say these days. Eh? Say, where's your sister?" he asked Night. Night felt like he was about to return his tea to sender.

"Upstairs," Night Light said.

"She's still upset," she said. "I'm going to head up and talk to her." She walked out of the kitchen and headed upstairs, leaving the boys to talk. Once she was gone, he set his tea down and turned to face his son.

"You're not looking so good," he said frankly to Night Light. "In fact, you look like shit."

"Yeah... well..." Night trailed off and just stared at his cup.

"Hey, look. Believe me. I get it," his father said. "Everything. This past year. This past week, it's just been... Hell. I get it." Night sighed. "The wedding. The whole pregnancy. Having the foal, losing the foal." He got up and grabbed the trash can and gave it to Night Light. "And now finding out that you've been nailing your sister this whole time." Night Light grabbed the bucket and puked.

"Yeah, that was about how I felt at first, too," his father continued. "Go on, get it all out. You'll feel better." Night Light coughed and sputtered out the last of his breakfast. He gave him a napkin. Night Light wiped his mouth as his father set the trash can back where it has been. "But you listen to me. You need to get over that shit, you understand?"

"But how?" Night Light asked. "She's my sister!"

"Now look here! That filly up there ain't your sister. Not really. Yeah, you and she both came from the same parents. But that's the beginning and the end of it. You never had to share toys, or fight over who got to sit in the front of the carriage. Or which of you would get the top bunk. You never had to get pissed about her using up all the hot water in the shower when you were late for school. You never had to worry about which coltfriend she was going to date. None of that shit. None of the shit that makes her a sister to you. To you, it's just a word."

"It's still kind of a big deal," Night Light said.

"Bullshit. It's a word. And words only have whatever meaning you apply to it. It's only a big deal if you make it one. The same with 'son' to me. You're my daughter's husband, first." Night Light looked unconvinced. "Besides, you've got bigger things to worry about."

"Like what?" Night asked.

"Me!" he said, grabbing his shoulder. "Worry about me! Because you married my daughter. You made a promise that day to her, and me. You promised that you would always love her, and look after her. And son, if you don't, you are going to be in a world of shit." He gripped his shoulder harder, digging his hoof in. "So you go ahead and drink as much cider as you need to, cry me a river, build me a bridge, and get-the-fuck over it. You do whatever you need to do to un-fuck yourself and do it quickly, soldier. Because if you break my daughter's heart, this retired colonel will break your spine! I don't care who you are. And then it will be 'death do you part'. Do you understand?"

"Yes sir!" Night answered on reflex. He let go of Night's shoulder.

"Glad to hear it!" he said jubilantly, as his smile returned. "Now, how can I help?" Night light looked down at his tea cup and pushed it away.

"I think I'll t-take that cider now," Night said. His father grinned.

"I'll get ya two."

Upstairs, Velvet's mother knocked on the locked bedroom door.

"No." Velvet said as she laid on the bed.

"Twilight, dear, it's me," her mother said through the door. "I just want to talk to you." Velvet didn't respond. Her mother's horn glowed and unlocked the door. She pushed it open and walked inside.

"I didn't say you could come in," Velvet said.

"My house, my rules."

"I always hated that," Velvet said. "That was why I wanted to move out."

"Did Tia not have rules in her 'house'?" she asked.

"Tia!?" Velvet asked.

"Celestia? Princess Celestia? The Princess? Perhaps you've heard of her."

"Ugh! I can't believe she did this to us!" Velvet fumed.

"To us!? Twilight, we've had a blessed life because of her."

"She made me give up my foal! She made you give up your foal!" Velvet said, clutching her old teddy bear.

"And now we have him back! It all worked out in the end. And it will for you, too. Tia loves you. She loves all of us. We're like family to her. The only family she has. She takes no pleasure in separating us."

"Will my daughter call her 'Mama'?" Velvet asked.

"No. She will know that she's adopted. She will be Aunt Tia to her."

"How do you know?" Velvet asked.

"Please," her mother scoffed. "You don't think that the Princess has been acting alone this whole time, do you? Your father and I have been working closely with her this whole time to ensure that everything went according to plan."

"Her plan."

"Yes. Her plan. And my mother's plan. And my mother's mother's. Just as it's your mother's plan. You didn't end up with Night Light by accident."

In the dark castle library, Night Light held the book in his hoof and showed it to Velvet. " 'A Night in Satin'. A guard falls in love with his princess. Still think that there's nothing to fate?" he asked.

"But Celestia said that I was forbidden to date my guard!" Velvet said. "Why would she say that if she wanted us to be together?"

"Because dear, we know you," her mother said. "We know you better than you know yourself. We understand your rebellious nature. Celestia prohibited you from dating him, because that was exactly what she needed to tell you to ensure that it would happen."

"This whole time..." Velvet scoffed. She'd played right into Celestia's hoof, and didn't even realize it. "So what do I do now?" she asked, feeling lost.

"Talk about it to Celestia. She's here to help us. All of us. And she's going to need your help too in the coming years."

"With what?" Velvet asked.

"Your son, some day," she said. Her daughter sneered.

"I don't think that's going to happen," Velvet said.

"Trust me. You just need to talk to her. And talk to your spouse."

"You mean my brother!?" Velvet spat.

"I mean your spouse! He's still your husband. And he's still the stallion that loves his wife."

"Well I don't love HIM!" Velvet huffed and buried her head under her pillow. Her mother pulled the pillow away and grabbed her, rolling her over to face her.

"That's not true! You love him!" she said. Velvet grit her teeth and her lips peeled back into a viscous scowl.

"No!" Velvet yelled. She brought her hoof back an took a swing at her. Her mother caught her hoof with her magic and pinned her down.

"Stop lying!"

"No! I hate him!" Velvet screamed, as she tried to pull herself free.

"Tell the truth!" she said.

"I hate him! I hate the Princess! And I hate YOU!" Velvet yelled as her horn glowed. Her mother smacked her horn hard, extinguishing it. She looked her in the eyes.

"Twilight Twinkle Velvet!" her voice boomed, "You look me in the eyes right now, and you tell me the truth, young lady! Do. You. Love. Him!?" Velvet struggled, but her mother held her firm. Her angry scowl broke along with her fit of rage. She clenched her eyes and cried. She bawled out.

"I DO!" Velvet sobbed. "I do love him!" Her mother released her magical hold and hugged her. "Damn it! I wish I didn't!"

"Shhh, that's not true," she said. Velvet cried into her mother's shoulder.

"I wish he wasn't my brother!" Velvet cried. Her mother just held her in her hooves.

"...I know, sweetie."

Downstairs the two stallions sat across from each other as they each drank a bottle of cider. Night Light looked up at the ceiling listening to all the noise coming from upstairs. When all of the shouting and crying settled down, his father just looked at him and smiled.

"See? I told you she loved you," he said. "Ah, dames. Sometimes you've just got to let them get it all out. And a few buckets later, they're right as rain." Night started to push his chair out.

"Maybe I should go up and-" His father's magic pushed Night's chair back in.

"I would advise against that," he said. "By the sounds of it, your mother has things well in hoof." The upstairs door opened. "Ah, you see?" Night Light looked towards the stairs. His mother walked down. Alone.

"So...?" Night Light asked, without any plan for an actual question.

"She'll be alright," she said. "She just needs a little bit and then she'll be down to join us for dinner." She sat down next to her son. "And you?"

"I'm... okay," Night said.

"Just... okay?" she asked.

"Yeah. No, I'm... I'm good." Night smiled weakly. "I'm... better, knowing that's she's okay."

"Because you love her?" she asked. Night Light nodded.

"That's good!" his father said. She smiled.

"Then everything's going to be just fine!" she said.

Night Light helped his parents set the table. The older couple only had two chairs for the small dining table since Velvet had moved out. They had brought a small bench from the mud room into the dining room to accommodate the guests. He helped to put the serving dishes on the table just as the door upstairs opened again. Velvet walked downstairs and silently took a seat on the small bench at her usual place setting. Her parents each sat in their seats and Night Light sat beside her. Velvet scooted away until half of her was hanging off the edge. Night Light was doing the same. They were sitting as far apart as they possibly could while still being on the same bench.

Their mother just looked at them and shook her head as she started serving the dinner. They each took up their silverware and began to eat. Their father was content to just eat in silence. It suited him just fine. There would be plenty of time in the future to work these things out. It didn't need to ruin this perfectly good eggplant lasagna dinner. Their mother was less content with simply keeping the peace. Night Light and Velvet both reached for the same bread roll and their hooves touched. They both recoiled and pulled their hooves away.

"Oh for fucks sake!" Their mother slammed her hoof on the table, causing the plates and silverware to rattle. "Would you two cut that shit out!" Night Light and Velvet both looked at her in shock. Night Light was just surprised by the loud noise. But Velvet had never heard her mother swear in her whole life. Their father didn't even flinch as he continued to eat his lasagna. The zen master blocked out all. Her horn glowed and her magic shoved them together on the bench, flank against flank. They each blushed. "There! Now stop pretending you have cooties!"

Their father glanced up from his plate and looked at the two of them sitting together. Even if they weren't talking yet, or even looking at each other, he could see it, just at the corners of their eyes. Their mouths didn't show it, even when they weren't full. But the eyes never lie, no matter how hard they were trying to hide it.

They were smiling.

It was the most that Night Light and Velvet had touched since they'd gotten the news. Night Light was silently grateful for the contact with the mare he still loved. And deep down, in a place where Velvet didn't like to admit to herself, she was grateful for it too.

Velvet helped her mother clear the table and do the dishes. Night Light settled down on the couch in the living room. By the time the mares finished, it was starting to get late. And it had been a long day for everypony. Velvet walked past Night Light and her father on the couch and headed upstairs to her bedroom. Her mother did the same. She looked at Night's father and bid him to join her. He got up from the couch and looked at Night Light.

"Velvet's bed is a queen size," he said.

"Okay," Night Light said.

"Enough room for two," he said.

"Okay," Night Light said, laying down on the couch. His father was done with subtlety. He walked over to him and leaned close to whisper to him.

"Son, I'm gonna have to get back up in a few hours to pee. Old stallion problems being what they are. And if you're still down here on this couch, I'm going to throw it out into the yard and set it on fire.... With you on it." His dad walked back over to his mom and they headed upstairs.

"Sweet dreams, Night," his mother said as they turned off the lights and headed upstairs.

"Thanks," Night replied. He sat up on the couch. For several minutes he just sat there and listened to himself breathing in the dark room. It wasn't so long ago that he was afraid to spend the night with Velvet. And now this fresh terror had him afraid not to. He weighed his options. His wife being mad at him was something that he had experience with. It was something he could handle. Her father on the other hoof...

Night Light got up off the couch and headed upstairs. He stepped softly, trying to keep the old wood from creaking. He stood outside of Velvet's room and stared at her doorknob. Part of him hoped that it was locked. The other part of him moved his hoof to turn it. The door opened and slowly swung open. In the dark he could see Velvet's form on the bed beneath the blankets. He crept across the room and stood beside her bed.

"Hey," he said, barely louder than a whisper. Velvet stirred just a bit. Her head turned just enough for her to see him standing in the moonlight.

"What?" she muttered, with an edge of annoyance to her voice.

"I, uh- your dad said..." he started, not sure if he wanted to say 'your dad said that if I didn't come up here he was going to set me on fire.' He cleared his throat and started over. "Dad helped me to understand a few things and I, uh..." He trailed off. The words got away from him. He hadn't planned this far ahead. He hadn't planned on even coming up here tonight. Or ever. But now here he was. Velvet rolled over and turned to face him, looking at him with her deep blue eyes. He looked back at her eyes, glittering in the moonlight. There was only one thing left on his mind. The only thing that really mattered.

"I love you, Velvet," Night Light said. "Dad's right. Nothing about what's happened has changed that. I don't care what we are. I still love you as much as I ever have. And really, that's all that matters. That we love each other." he said.

"..."

"Isn't it?" he asked, waiting for her to say something. Anything. He could see her eyes glisten in the moonlight as she blinked. His heart sank as she shuffled away from him on the bed, and rolled over, facing away from him. He looked down at the floor and resigned himself to his fate. It would not be the first time he had slept on a hardwood floor. It certainly couldn't hurt any more than what he was already feeling in his chest. Velvet pulled open the bed covers behind her.

"Are you getting in, or what?" she asked. Night felt his heart start beating again. He tried to be nonchalant, and kept himself from all but jumping into her bed. He laid down next to her, looking at the back of her head. Another pony could easily fit in the space between them.

"I love you, Velvet," he whispered into her ear and waited. He was unsure if he had said it too quietly, or if he had even said it at all. Perhaps he just thought that he'd said it. Or perhaps she was already asleep. Or perhaps-

"... I love you, too," she said.