Time to meet Derpy's parents, every boyfriend's nightmare.

Andrew walked towards the door. "Andrew, wait!" he turned to see Diamond running to catch up. She held out a small box. "Happy birthday. I get the feeling you might need these." Andrew opened the box to reveal four cards.

"Gem Armadillo, Gem-Knight Tourmaline, Polymerization, and Gem-Knight Zirconia. These will be useful, thanks." Andrew kissed the filly on her forehead and smiled. "I'm meeting Derpy's parents today. When I get home, why don't you meet mine?" Diamond nodded as Andrew took off.

...

Andrew and Derpy pulled in for a landing in Cloudsdale. "I should warn you about my parents." Derpy said. "They can be a little harsh."

"More like egomaniacal." Jain said mildly.

"I'll do my best not to let them get to me." Andrew said, knocking on the door.

A stallion with a sky blue mane and pink coat opened the door. "Lady Derpy, what a wonderful surprise." the Stallion greeted.

"Good to see you Jeebs, Are Mom and Dad in?" Derpy asked. Nodding, Jeebs lead them through the house.

"They will be in the dining hall about now, but I am sure they will be most pleased to see you."

"Don't count on it." Derpy muttered so quietly Andrew barely heard.

"I'm Andrew, by the way. It's nice to meet you." Andrew was never good at courtesies, but he did his best.

"Likewise. Lord Raven Feather and Lady Sky Streak are in a rather good mood today, so you might actually get a compliment. Very rare."
"So I've heard." they came to the dining hall.

"Lady Derpy and Lord Andrew." Andrew knew he was in for a headache at first glimpse. Raven Feather was an all black stallion and Sky Streak was a sky blue mained, grey coated mare. Both had a very proud air to them.

"Well, what a nice surprise. Who's this? Did you pick him up on the way here?" Raven asked.

"Watch your tongue or you may lose it." Andrew snapped before he could stop himself. Seriously? You were warned about this! Andrew scolded himself.

"Oh, such spirit. Not like that last stallion who gave you that little miscreant." Sky said.

"Dinky's not a miscreant." Derpy snapped. Andrew felt the words of a spell on the tip of his tongue, these ponies were stuck-up.

"Well, let's not dwell on past mistakes. Care to have some tea?"

"Sorry, I only drink herbal." Andrew replied, taking a seat next to his marefriend.

"Good, so do we." Raven said, taking a sip.

"Andrew." Flame said.

"I smell it." he muttered. "There's a Grimoire in the house." he sniffed the tea, "Huh, don't know this kind." he said.

"Oh, it's my personal blend. Family secret of course."

"Of course." Andrew sniffed again and asked, "Would there by chance be a thimble-root in here?"

"Why yes there is." Andrew set the cup down quickly.

"Sorry," Andrew said, seeing the reactions his haste caused. "I'm deathly allergic to thimble-root. Were it to enter my system, I would die in a matter of minutes."

"I wasn't aware. My mistake." Raven said.

He's lying. Andrew thought. He had a built in lie detector and had flicked it on. Andrew sniffed one more time. It's him. "So Raven, would you by chance be interested in a duel?"

"Andrew, where did that come from?" Derpy asked.

"I wanted to see if your skills came from your father. Plus, it could be fun." Andrew explained. She would see his true motives soon enough.

"Of course I will duel. Jeebs, my deck." the butler went to do as instructed. "We shall take this outside."

...

"Night King Transformation. Star-wing disk, engaged." Andrew stood at the ready.

"Duel."

Andrew:8000

Raven Feather:8000

"I'll make the first move. I play two cards facedown and summon Blackwing- Shura the Blue Flame(ATK:1800). That ends my turn."

Blackwings, should be fun. Andrew smiled. "First, Since I have no monsters on my field, I can summon Cyber Dragon(ATK:2100), Next I summon Photon Crusher(ATK:2000). I play Divine Sword- Phoenix Blade to raise my warrior-type Photon Crusher's attack points by 300(ATK:2000-2300). Crusher, attack."

Raven:8000-7500

"Now Crusher switches to defense mode(DEF:0). I play two cards facedown and end my turn." Andrew smiled. This will be easy.

"I play Soul Arena-Inferno Fire."

"Dad's a Grimoire?"
"That was the idea, challenging him." Andrew replied.

"I summon Blackwing- Blizzard the Far North(ATK:1300-1600) And now that I have summoned him, I can special summon my Blackwing- Shura the Blue Flame(ATK:1800-2100). I tune my Blackwings together to summon Blackwing Armor Master(ATK:2500-2800). Blackwing, attack Cyber Dragon."

"I play my trap card. Go Magical Cylinder. Now You take damage equal to your Blackwing's attack points."

Raven:7500-4700

"Derpy didn't get her skills from you. You're sloppy and erratic. A two-year-old can beat you. Diamond or Dinky could for sure." Andrew smiled.

"I end my turn."

"I draw." Andrew smiled. "I summon Gem Armadillo(ATK:1700) Now that I have, I can add one Gem-Knight from my deck to my hand. Now I play my facedown Polymerization."

"This is new." Jain said.

"I fuse Gem Armadillo and Gem-Knight Tourmaline to Fusion summon Gem-Knight Zirconia(ATK:2900). Let's see how you handle my birthday present. Zirconia Smash."

"I play a trap card. Call of the Haunted. Return to the field Blackwing Armor Master(ATK:2500-2800)."

"Horseradish. Now you can't take damage and Armor Master can't be destroyed." Andrew smiled. "Just kidding. I play my Fissure. Now the monster with the lowest attack on your field is destroyed."

"I discard my Kuriboh to negate the damage."

"I end my turn by switching Crusher to attack mode(ATK:2300)." This isn't going as well as I thought.

"My turn. I summon Blackwing- Mistral the Silver Shield(DEF:1800). That ends my turn."

"My draw. I sacrifice Photon Crusher and Cyber Dragon. From two comes one and from one will come great cosmic might. I Special Summon the Galaxy Eyes Photon Dragon(ATK:3000). That ends my turn." Come on, summon it.

"My move. I summon Blackwing- Kalut the Moon Shadow(ATK:1400-1700). I tune my Blackwings together to summon Blackwing- Gram the Shining Star(ATK:2200-2500). Now I can summon Blackwing- Damascus the Polar Night(ATK:1300-1600) But his effects are negated. I end my turn."

Come on. I want to see the Dragon. "My draw. I think I'll attack Gram with Galaxy Eyes. Go Photon Stream of Destruction."

Raven:4700-4200

"Zirconia Smash."

Raven:4200-2900

"That ends my turn."

"This duel is done, Andrew's just playing with him." Derpy said.

"Please, your father has more up his sleeve than this." Sky said.

"Did you know?"
"Of course. Talia came to both of us."

"My draw. I special summon Blackwing- Gale the Whirlwind(ATK:1300-1600) and my Blackwing- Maiden of Cyclone(ATK:1300-1600). I activate Star Changer to increase Gale's level by one. Now for the main event."

Finally. Andrew thought.

"I tune My Blackwings together to summon Blackwing Dragon(ATK:2800-3100). Attack Galaxy Eyes."

"I play an ability. By removing my Dragon from play, I can remove yours as well. But don't worry, they come back at the end of the Battle Phase." A portal opened and both dragons were sucked in.

"I end my turn." Both Dragons returned.

"My move. I summon Tour Guide from the Underworld(ATK:1000). Now I can summon a level 3 fiend monster from my deck, so come out to play, Sangan(ATK:1000). I overlay level three Sangan and Tour Guide to Xyz summon Number 30: Acid Golem of Destruction(ATK:3000). Galaxy Eyes, attack. Then I activate Its ability to remove both dragons from play. Zirconia, finish this."

Raven:2900-0

"Game over." Andrew said as the arena closed in. "How did Crow ever make that deck work?" he muttered.

"Time to make my exit. I summon Cloudian Toxic Cloud." Sky said, summoning a green cloud creature.

"Don't breathe in!" Andrew warned. When the Cloudian disappeared, Andrew snarled. "Your parents, Grimoires!" Andrew turned to the butler, who shook his head.

"Not me. I wish nothing to do with them."

"Well, Jeebs, you keep the house. Oh, and send for us if my mother returns."
"Of course." Jeebs walked into the house. "Good day, Ma'am."

"Take care of yourself." the pegasi flew off.

...

"He was better than you said." Sky said, kneeling before Talia. "The Gem-Knights were completely new."

"Yes, but Andrew wasn't supposed to know about you until later. Return to your room, I must consult with Nightmare." the pegasus nodded and Talia retreated. "He's gaining power." Talia said.

"It would seem so. Send Chrysalis and the swarm. Lead them yourself. This ends by tomorrow."

"Yes, it will end tomorrow."

That's the new chapter. Happy birthday to me.