One day, Aphrodite, a beautiful fluffy white unicorn with bright pink hair, was wandering, hoping to find the Underworld. She heard rumors about the plentiful food down there and was willing to give it a shot. She found the entrance to the Underworld after a few hours of searching, it was reaching dusk by the time she found it and the breeze was chilly.

She went down through the entrance and all of a sudden she tripped and ended up in a hazy red place, the Underworld. She adjusted herself and got up; after getting up, she went to go look around for Hades. After wandering around for a bit, she came upon the palace of Hades, and he was standing at the gates, waiting for her.

"Well, well," Hades said. "The beautiful unicorn decided to come to my palace in search of food."

"Yes, Hades," Aphrodite said. "I and my other fellow unicorns are in need of food."

Hades chuckled, "Well then, take these," he tossed a sack full of blood-red apples at her hooves.

"Thank you very much, Lord Hades," Aphrodite bowed.

"Take a bite," Hades waved out his hoof at the sack.

Aphrodite was skeptical, she didn't know if she should trust the Lord of the Underworld. She levitated an apple and took a bite. They were tart and dry and oddly powdery, "What did you give me?" She asked as she lost balance.

"Oh just a simple sack of apples, dear," Hades chuckled.

"What do you-" She tried to say as she passed out on the red rocky ground.

A few hours later, she woke up, dizzy and confused. All she remembered was that Hades gave her a sack of blood-red apples and passed out after trying one. She stood up wobbly and looked at herself, finding that her coat was void black and her mane blood red. "What has the Lord of the Underworld given me?" she thought. She trudged back home, taking the same path home.

A few years later, she gave birth to two beautiful colts. She decided to name them Arnold and Damon. She was stressed out about them not getting powers, especially what had happened to her a few years back with Hades and his apples. But the doctor pony came in with a smile on his face, "Congratulations, Lady Aphrodite! Your colts are happy and healthy and will have their powers!"

Aphrodite's worry melted away, everything was going to be just fine. Her boys are healthy and happy and she was happy.

"Their powers should start when they're around two years old, so don't worry if they don't get the average unicorn power surges at a year old," The doctor pony was smiling still.

"That's great news, doc, thank you!" Aphrodite expressed.

"You're welcome, take care, Lady Aphrodite," The doctor pony left the room, closing the door behind him.

Aphrodite gazed at her little colts in their bassinet, "You guys will be wonderful little boys." She told them.

A few years later Aphrodite was preparing supper in her kitchen while Damon and Arnold were playing outside. She gazed outside to see dark rain clouds coming in over the sea. She hurried out the back door, "ARNOLD, DAMON?" She called into the evening. The wind was picking up and the sky was darkening faster.

"BOYS WHERE ARE YOU?" She cried out.

"Mom?" Arnold called out from behind some bushes near the cliff.

"Arnold!" She cried out and hurried over to him, "Where's your brother?"

"I don't know," Arnold told her. "I thought he was in these bushes."

Aphrodite scanned the area around the bushes and saw a red tail dangling from the tree nearby.

"DAMON GET DOWN!" She cried out as she felt a chill run down her spine. She knew lightning was coming.

"Huh?" Damon asked as he looked down from the tree. "Oh hi, mom!"

"DAMON GET DOWN!" She cried out, her voice cracked. "PLEASE!"

"Oh, okay!" Damon was struggling.

Aphrodite heard thunder in the distance, she did the only thing that came to mind, jump up the tree and grab him.

She backed up and ran. Ran as fast as she could and jumped once she got to the base of the tree. She used her magic and grabbed him. As Damon was afloat in her magic bubble, Aphrodite got struck by lightning causing her to drop Damon to the ground with a thump. Aphrodite screamed in pain and shock. How could she be so foolish?

"Boys," She croaked.

"Yes, mom?" Arnold asked as he and Damon approached her on the other side of the tree in the grass.

"Remember," She coughed. "That it doesn't matter what's on the outside, i-it matters what's o-on the inside." Aphrodite looked like she wasn't going to make it while it poured down rain. Her colts were in tears, not knowing what to do.

"M-Mom," Damon asked through his tears.

Aphrodite didn't respond, she stopped breathing.

"MOM?" Arnold asked with tears streaming down his face.

The neighbors heard the cries of the colt crying out Aphrodite's name and the commotion of the boys and Aphrodite and came to check it out, finding that Aphrodite was dead.

"Oh, poor Arnold and Damon, they lost their amazing mother," One of the neighbors said.

"Yes they did," Hades said over their shoulders, smirking.

The neighbors backed up in surprise, "Hades?!"

Hades chuckled, "Yes, I'll be taking these colts."

Arnold and Damon backed up, "Wh-what-"

"Don't worry, my young princes, I'll take good care of you," Hades used his magic and took the colts and himself away to the Underworld.

Arnold and Damon had ended up in a bedroom, they both cowered in the corner away from the door, not even wanting to test if it was locked or not.

"Now what do we do?" Damon complained.

"I don't know, brother," Arnold looked around the room for anything.

Hades opened the door, "Hello boys."
"Do-don't hurt us," Arnold tried to sound brave.

Hades chuckled, "No, I won't hurt you. I just want to talk." He came closer to the colts.

"Wh-who are you?" Damon asked.

"That's a great question, young colt," Hades said as he sat down on the floor near them. "I am Hades, Lord of the Underworld."

"Are we in the Underworld?" Arnold asked.

"Yes we are, my son," Hades smiled.

"How did you know about us?" Arnold asked.

"You're my sons, how else would I know about you?" Hades' eyes sparkled.

"Y-You are our dad?" Damon asked.

"Oh, yes you are my dears," Hades smiled.

"How did you meet our mom?" Arnold asked.

"Well it's a long story, but I think you guys should hear it," Hades thought. "Before you guys were born, I ran into a beautiful young woman with deep green hair with a flower crown. She was a beautiful light green unicorn mare. I took her from a dark forest after she was picking flowers. I swept her up and took her home, she didn't like it too much, she thrashed and yelled. I couldn't let her go, she was too beautiful. I had asked my brother, Zeus if it was alright if I took her hand in marriage and he agreed, I didn't know how her mother was going to react to me taking her daughter in marriage. She caused drought and bad crops for the mortals. Zeus had to make a decision, he sent Hermes to go get his daughter from me. I didn't want her to leave, she was my wife, my love. So I gave her a parting gift, a pomegranate. She knew not to eat food from the underworld and so she only ate 6 pomegranate seeds, making her stay for 6 months. During those 6 months, Demeter refused to do any of her duties until her daughter was returned. So during those 6 months, Persephone stayed with me and returned in the spring, and everything grew back to normal, all bright and green again. Every fall Persephone comes back to the Underworld to be with me.

During the spring and summer, I met your mom. She was wandering down into the Underworld for food for her village, but I didn't have any real good food for her. So I tossed her a sack full of dead apples, they weren't any good, but she thought they were, she fell for my trick and she fainted. Her coat used to be a bright white but it turned void black after eating a bite out of my apples. I felt so bad, but at the same time, I didn't. She thought the rumors were true and I had to show her. I invited her to come and visit every summer and spring to hang out with me. She agreed. We got close and we had fun together every year until fall when she'd leave to go back to the surface, though she did come and go as she pleased she stayed more than she wanted to leave. One afternoon, your mom came to me announcing that she was pregnant with you two, I'd thought it was only one foal but I was glad to hear the news.

After you two were born, she stopped coming to my palace, only to come to say hi and hang around for a bit while you guys were asleep. I missed her, but my dear Persephone would ask what I did over the spring and summer. I would say, I played with Cerbie or talked with the wandering spirits, which was half true. There are always lost souls that need help getting back to their areas. Even during the winter and fall months, Persephone saw me wrangle them up to lead them back to where they belonged. Most of the time, Cerberus tried to help me," Hades laughed like it was a good memory. "But alas, not everything works out, as you witnessed today. Zeus must've thought it was a good idea to strike your mother, she was causing me to cheat on my wife, but it wasn't like I was after you two were born. I love you both and you both remind me of your mother." Hades' voice sounded sad after telling the last bit of the story.

"Zeus is our uncle?" Arnold wondered.

"Yes, my son, yes," Hades looked around nervously. "Let's not say his name, alright?"

"Okay!" Damon agreed.

10 years later, the boys were 16 and already interested in the surface. They haven't gone to the surface in years, they go from time to time but no longer than a few hours. They want to explore the world above them.

"Persephone, when can we go on the surface?" Arnold asked Persephone while she was tending the palace garden.

"Arnold, for the last time, ask your father, I don't care if you went up or not," Persephone told him as she watered her black daisies. "I'd rather have you guys experience the world than be sheltered from it."

"Tell that to dad," Arnold mumbled as he walked away to find Damon.

"No luck?" Damon asked as Arnold entered their room and closed the door behind them.

"No, none," Arnold sighed. "She said she didn't care if we went, but we have to ask dad."

"We already asked dad, he said he'd think about it," Damon complained.

"At least it's better than a no," Arnold walks over to his bed, his hoof steps echoing on the black stone floor.

"Yeah, but why can't we get a yes? It's just the surface," Damon wondered.

"Well, I think it's because he doesn't want us to get killed like mom," Arnold replied.

"You know what? I'm going to dad," Damon got off his bed and trotted out of the room.

"Wait, Damon!" Arnold called after him, leaving the room in a trot as well. "Damon, wait!"

Damon started to gallop, turning to go to the throne room to Hades.

"We don't want to anger him!" Arnold warned.

"Oh, dad!" Damon said as he galloped into the throne room. "I want to ask you something!"

"Oh hello boys," Hades said. He sat proudly on his black throne. "I have great news for you two."

"Wait, what?" Damon slowed down. Arnold ran into him as Damon stopped.

"Dude!" Arnold said angrily.

"What do you mean, great news?" Damon asked.

"I know you guys really want to go up to Adoption Island, so I thought that I might as well let you two explore and experience Adoption Island," Hades explained.

"Wait, are you serious?" Arnold giddied. "We get to go to Adoption Island!"

"Yay!" Damon cheered.

Hades smiled and laughed as he watched his sons dance like puppies that are excited to see their new owner.

"What's going on in here?" Persephone asked.

"We get to go to Adoption Island!" Arnold told Persephone cheerfully.

"Oh, is that so?" Persephone glanced at her husband.

Hades shrugged. Persephone went up to his throne, "So you are finally letting them go?"

"Might as well, they're 16, they deserve to explore and experience the world," Hades replied. "I shouldn't have sheltered them this long."

"It's okay to be afraid and care for someone," Persephone told him as she sat down next to him.

"I know that," Hades thought. "I feared for you."