Prince Neal

"Nothing more innocent than a newborn babe. And you, my sweet, are the most innocent of all. The product of the truest love."

- Zelena

Prince Neal is a minor supporting character on Once Upon a Time. He is the newborn son of Snow White and Prince Charming. Being the product of the truest love, this child and the innocence he represents was sought after long before he was even born by the Wicked Witch of the West, who planned to use him as an ingredient in her spell to go back in time. The attempt ultimately failed, however, and the little prince was reunited with his parents. They then went on to name him Neal, after a beloved hero who had recently sacrificed himself for the sake of the town and its people.

Before the Second Curse
"We're pregnant."

- Snow White

Following a bad dream in which he had to experience Emma being snatched away from him once more, Charming's eyes shoot open as he wakes up from his nightmare, utterly terrified. After a few heavy breaths, he looks to see that Snow isn't lying in bed beside him, becoming curious as to where she is. He calls her name and soon sees that she's standing by the balcony, gazing fondly outside. She appears happy that her husband is awake and he forces a smile before getting out of bed and approaching her. She comments on the view, adding that she forgot how beautiful it was there, and the prince dons his dressing gown before pointing out what a good mood his wife seems to be in. Snow confirms this, saying that she has some pretty wonderful news: she's pregnant. Charming looks shocked beyond belief, and Snow asks him if he's not happy, to which he replies he isn't - he is thrilled. The princess lets out another big smile before hugging him ecstatically. His facial expression, however, continues to show dread and fear.

Snow and Charming gather with Regina, Aurora and Phillip, discussing with them whether or not it's a good idea to announce their pregnancy to the kingdom. The two of them think it's a good idea because, with the Wicked Witch of the West on the loose, a royal baby will provide the people with the kind of stability they need, but it is pointed out to them that the Wicked Witch is exactly why they should caution themselves. They are interrupted by the return of Belle, who reveals that Neal sacrificed his life to resurrect Rumple and now Zelena has the dagger, leading Aurora to assure that this is definitely a bad time for the pregnancy to be announced. In doing so, she lets slip that she and her husband told Zelena of everyone's return to this land because her own unborn child was under threat, and she knows for a fact that the Wicked Witch needs Snow's baby for whatever her plan is. Zelena herself then arrives via broomstick and punishes Aurora and Phillip by turning them into flying monkeys. She then paralyzes everybody in the room with a spell and inspects the pregnant princess, assuring her that, when the baby arrives, it'll belong to her.

Charming is deeply afraid that he'll fail his unborn child the same way he failed Emma as a father, and so he is set on a quest to vanquish these fears when Robin Hood tells him of Night Root, a plant flecked with star-like crystals which, when ingested, will allow the consumer to overcome what frightens them. He finds them growing outside a tower where a girl with long, long hair resides - her name is Rapunzel, and Charming climbs up her massive braid into her tower, learning that she locked herself away after inadvertently causing the death of her brother. She can't leave because then the witch will come for her, who Charming sees as a cloaked figure approaching the tower. He tries fighting her but can't, and when she makes her way inside, it is revealed that she dons Rapunzel's own face. The prince is shocked and soon comes to the realization that Night Root physically manifests one's fears so that they can literally defeat them, and he tackles the cloaked Rapunzel out a window. The manifestation tries climbing back up the princess' hair but she cuts it off, thus facing what haunts her and causing the cloaked figure to dissipate after existence. Charming is proud of her and takes her back to the Dark Palace where she reunites with her parents, while Snow wonders what her husband was doing all this time. He explains how afraid he was when he discovered she was pregnant, but she tells him that he doesn't have to be because they're going to be facing this pending parenthood the same way they face everything else: together.

Eight months after Zelena's threat, Snow is heavily pregnant and discussing with the royal council what to do about the Wicked Witch, and so she, Charming, Regina, Belle and Robin Hood break into Rumple's castle to ask the resurrected Dark One - who's lost his mind and is under the Wicked Witch's control - if he knows a way to defeat his captor. With Belle's aid, he reveals that the answers they seek will come from Glinda, the Good Witch of the South, and Snow, Charming and Regina manage to track her down in the dark forest. She explains that Zelena's magic resides in her pendant, but only the powerful light magic within Emma Swan is able to defeat her. To get back to their daughter, the Charmings realize that they must re-enact the Dark Curse, much to Regina's objection. Despite this, the Queen gathers the ingredients for them, but Snow must sacrifice Charming's heart in order to complete it. They say their teary goodbyes to one another and the prince's heart is ripped out by Regina before being crushed by Snow and added to the mixture. The curse begins to enact, but Zelena flies by on her broom, sprinkling a forget potion into it so that Snow and Regina won't remember what they're setting out to do back in Storybrooke. Not wanting her husband's sacrifice to be in vain, Snow comes up with a plan to save him and asks Regina to rip out her heart and break it in half so that she and Charming can share it, thinking they are able to do this because they are each other's true love. Regina does what Snow asks and Charming revives in time to see the curse wash over the land.

Season 3
"People of Storybrooke, it is our great joy to introduce you to our son... Prince Neal."

- Mary Margaret Blanchard

When Emma returns to the newly-cursed Storybrooke, having regained her memories thanks to Captain Hook and a potion he gave her, she first visits her old apartment and knocks on the door; to her delight, David answers and remembers who she is. They hug, and he explains to her that they were cursed again when they were in the Enchanted Forest and so don't remember anything since Emma left town, meaning they lost a year of their lives. Emma wonders how he knows it's been a year if he can't remember anything that happened, at which point a heavily pregnant Mary Margaret descends the stairs, being a clear indicator of how much time has passed. She shares a joyous hug of reunion with her daughter, who is surprised that her mother is pregnant and that they've been cursed again; they are only left to wonder who is responsible...

Mary Margaret and David sit with Emma and Hook in Granny's Bed & Breakfast where they discuss the fact that people from the town have begun going missing, including three of the seven dwarfs. The next day, Henry wonders who the Charmings are and so Emma tells him that they're old friends, leading Mary Margaret to accidentally lead herself into a false story in which she was Emma's old cell mate. Regina soon sees Henry and remains distraught that he cannot remember her, and whilst Emma deals with everyone at town hall, and David deals with the fact that Little John was carried away by a flying monkey, Mary Margaret stays with Henry and begins reading her pregnancy book, shocked to find out about a head rash known as cradle cap. When Henry leaves for the bathroom, Zelena appears and assures Snow that cradle cap doesn't harm the baby, introducing herself as a former midwife back in the Enchanted Forest who missed the original curse. Mary Margaret asks Zelena to stick with her during the remainder of her pregnancy, not knowing she's actually the Wicked Witch of the West, and she says that nothing would make her happier. That night, Mary Margaret returns to the apartment with her family and is shocked to learn that people who go missing are being turned into flying monkeys, as is what happened with Little John. This leads them to realize that they're dealing with the Wicked Witch of the West, and they wonder what she's doing in Storybrooke and who she is.

Mary Margaret stays in the apartment whilst Emma, David and Hook work on tracking down the Wicked Witch, and Regina takes care of Henry. She arranges a meeting with her midwife, Zelena, who would very much like to meet with David also, so that she can prepare both halves of the couple for their upcoming baby. David arrives soon after Zelena, having been sent a text from his wife, but Mary Margaret picks up on the fact that he really doesn't want to be there. As the two of them discuss whether or not Zelena can be trusted, she is in the kitchen making tea for the both of them and drugs David with night-root whilst she's at it. The meeting ends with David having drunk a sufficient of drugged tea and Zelena allows him to get back to the important town business she pulled him away from. However, due to the night-root he ingested, his fears manifest into a cloaked version of himself which he has to defeat, eventually stabbing it with the hilt of his sword and turning his weapon into a symbol of his courage. But his courage is stolen by Zelena's magic, and she keeps the hilt safely tucked away in her purse as she leaves the apartment of Mary Margaret, who remains totally none the wiser.

Having learned that Rumplestiltskin is in fact alive and was being kept in the Wicked Witch's storm cellar, now on the loose, David and Emma leave to find him, with Mary Margaret being left at home, sad that she can't go with them in her condition since she's the best tracker in the family. Worried about the fact that her baby hasn't been moving lately, she phones Zelena, who arrives quickly, having heard panic in her patient's voice. She assures Mary Margaret that babies don't move much when labor is near, meaning she must be close to her due date; Zelena offers her a drink which helps the baby move, before stating that the little prince or princess could be arriving any day now and she won't be letting Mary Margaret have this baby without her. Later, David and Emma come bursting into the loft, weapons at the ready, wanting to know where Zelena is. Utterly confused, Mary Margaret reveals she's in the bathroom, but when they check, she is gone. Snow demands to know what is going on and they tell her that Zelena is in fact the Wicked Witch of the West, and has been playing them all along. But that isn't the worst news, for Emma reveals that she found Neal... and he died. Mary Margaret steps in to comfort her devastated daughter, and is later seen going into Mr. Gold's shop to break the news to Belle, who's in need of desperate comforting also.

Mary Margaret attends the funeral of Neal Cassidy, watching as multiple townspeople shovel dirt into his grave, and proceeds to the wake at Granny's Diner afterwards. She tries to comfort Emma, who's highly depressed over Neal's passing, but soon enough, Zelena bursts in with the Dark One's dagger held firmly in her hand; she mocks the death of Neal and Emma attempts to step in and do something, but Mary Margaret pulls her daughter back, pointing out that too many people will get hurt. Zelena tells Emma to listen to her mother, and Charming makes a point of shielding his wife's belly, leading the Wicked Witch to say she isn't there for his baby... not today, anyway. She soon reveals herself to be Regina's half-sister and challenges the Evil Queen to a fight on Main Street at sundown, allowing her time to unveil the truth of their familial connection. Emma and Mary Margaret head down to Regina's vault with her where Snow worried about Cora having booby trapped her belongings, thinking that a sleeping curse can't be good for the baby. Regina soon finds a letter which confirms Zelena being her half-sister and she leaves, incredibly distraught. Mary Margaret and the others head to Zelena's farmhouse where they plan to use Belle to lure Gold away from the Wicked Witch's cage, but their attempt fails and he remains in her control. That night, Zelena arrives on Main Street and Regina turns up late, battling her sister and soon being thrown through the face of the clock tower. Zelena then tries to rip out Regina's heart, needing it for her plan, but the Queen reveals that she took it out before she came to the fight. The witch flies away on her broom and the Charmings run to the Regina's aid as she explains that it appears Zelena is gathering ingredients, for she already has David's courage and now wants her heart.

Mary Margaret sits quietly at the apartment whilst Emma and David struggle to put together the baby's new crib. She soon suggests calling Marco, for he's an expert carpenter, but they refuse, wanting to do this themselves. Regina then stops by, having installed a protection spell around the building to keep out the Wicked Witch, and Emma mentions wanting to go to the Mayor for some lessons in magic. The Charmings offer to take care of Henry whilst she does so, however, she reveals she's already asked someone else to take care of him. They wonder why, and Emma is forced to tell her parents that Henry finds them boring, especially in comparison to Hook, much to their dismay. Mary Margaret and David are later strolling along the beach when they notice a crowd has gathered, at the center of which is Ariel, who's washed ashore. She explains that she's been traveling the realms in search of Prince Eric, who's been missing ever since the new curse took place. They dress the mermaid and bring her to Granny's Diner, where they ask Hook if he's seen Eric during the missing year, but he says he hasn't, going on to take Ariel to Gold's shop to see if a locator spell can be cast on one of the prince's possessions. Meanwhile, David tries to prove he's fun by teaching Henry how to drive his jeep, but it goes horribly wrong and Mary Margaret watches as several mailboxes are destroyed by the young man's reckless driving. When they return home, the others are shocked to hear what the Charmings let Henry do, and Mary Margaret wonders what became of Ariel. They assure her that she's living happily on an island with her prince, and Snow is overjoyed to hear her friend received such a happy ending.

After having her heart stolen by the Wicked Witch, Regina summons Mary Margaret, David, Emma and Hook to her house in order to talk to Cora and find out more about Zelena's past, which she's able to do via a spell which needs the deceased's murder weapon and murderer, Snow. The spell is successful and a portal to the afterlife opens in the ceiling, however, nothing comes out of it, which they take to mean Cora isn't interested in discussing her past with them. Mary Margaret stays behind when everyone else leaves to help Regina clean up, giving her time to apologize for killing Cora, and Regina concedes that it was a complicated situation. The two of them are then distracted by a noise upstairs and discover the ghost of Cora lurking in the house, and she tries to attack Mary Margaret, presumably wanting to avenge her own death. More than once, Regina stands in her way, holding her mother off with magic and demanding to know what she did to Zelena. Instead of answering, Cora simply possesses Mary Margaret, filling her head with memories. Regina is able to extract her mother from Snow's body and send her back into the afterlife, but Cora's memories still linger in Mary Margaret's head, and she explains that Cora didn't want to give Zelena up, but Princess Eva, Snow's mother, forced her to by spilling her secret. The others return, along with Belle, and they realize that Zelena wants Snow's baby as part of her spell to go back in time and kill Eva so that she would never have been abandoned, meaning Mary Margaret, Emma, Henry and maybe Regina will never have been born. Knowing what happened, Mary Margaret finds it hard to believe that her mother could have been so cruel to Cora, and, following a conversation about their past, Snow White and the Evil Queen finally decide to make amends and focus only on their future.

Mary Margaret and the others are discussing how to break the curse and they deduce that the key lies in Henry remembering and believing in magic, but to achieve this, they must first find his book of fairytales. Having found it in her closet one day back when the first curse was in order, Mary Margaret thinks it may be there again, and so they begin to search. Only Snow is able to pull it from a box that Emma previously searched, and she soon realizes that her daughter didn't want to find the book because she'd rather Henry's memories didn't return so that she and him can continue their harmonious lifestyle back in New York, but she agrees to do this if it means defeating Zelena once and for all. After discovering Henry is missing, they locate him down at the docks where he and Hook are being attacked by a flock of flying monkeys. The monkeys are slain and Henry is given the book, returning his memories at long last. However, just as Emma's about to kiss his forehead and break the curse, Zelena snatches him away and threatens his life. Emma is able to use her magic to take back her son, but the Wicked Witch threatens them severely before she leaves, mentioning that Hook failed the task she had set him. Finally, Regina is the one to kiss Henry's forehead and finally break the curse, and the memories of everyone in town are restored. Snow and Charming explain that they cast the curse themselves to find Emma so that her powerful light magic could defeat Zelena. On their way out, Emma demands to know what Zelena meant when she said Hook failed her, and he explains that his kiss was cursed so that, if his lips touched Emma's, her magic would be taken. Mary Margaret and David advise their daughter against trusting the pirate for he obviously lied about them sending him a message with the memory potion he used on Emma in New York, and the Charmings go on to take Henry to see Neal's grave. Whilst there, Mary Margaret goes into labor...

Snow White is driven to the hospital as she goes into labor with her child and soon gives birth to a son (Neal) in a delivery room. However, as soon as the baby's born, Zelena bursts in and uses her magic to steal the baby, taking him back to her barn to be used as an ingredient in her time travel spell. He is placed in a basket which is then placed on a dish symbolizing the West, for he is a product of the truest of love and therefore extremely representative of innocence. Meanwhile, Prince Charming vows to get back his son, and so he, his daughter Emma, the formerly Evil Queen Regina, Captain Hook and Robin Hood show up at the barn just as the spell begins to enact. A blue light emanates from the baby, swirling with the light from the other ingredients to form a time portal in the center of the compass-like symbol they've been placed around. Soon enough, Regina is able to use light magic to defeat Zelena, who is then locked up and later killed. When the battle is done, David approaches his newborn son and carries him out of the basket; Emma asks if the baby's okay, and David replies that he's fine, commenting that his son is resilient, just like his big sister. The baby is then brought back to its mother in the hospital who is overjoyed to be reunited with her child. The child itself becomes the center of a tender moment shared between Mary Margaret, David, Emma and Henry, his nephew.

David and Mary Margaret's baby is brought home to the latter's loft and his sister, Emma, wonders what her parents are going to name their baby because she keeps just calling him "Hey There". They tell her that, in the Enchanted Forest, there's a royal tradition that a new baby is announced at a coronation before the entire kingdom, and so they decide to hold a similar event at Granny's Diner. When Henry brings up an unrelated and uncomfortable subject for Emma, she dodges it by joking that his grandparents don't know what to call their child and are using a fairytale tradition as an excuse to by themselves some time. The baby is soon brought to Granny's Diner where he's read the story of how his parents met out of Henry's book of fairytales. Emma is annoyed to be hearing this story again when she can't even hear her own brother's name, but David replies that he wants his son to know where he comes from. After Emma is provoked into storming out, everyone at the coronation becomes distracted by Zelena's time portal, which was opened at the time of her death. Emma and Hook inadvertently fall through it, accidentally altering the past.

After getting time back on track, Emma and Hook return to the future by replicating the magic that took them back in the first place through means of a powerful fairy's wand. She returns to the coronation at Granny's Diner where she's finally able to call her parents "mom" and "dad", going on to explain to them her escapades in the Enchanted Forest of the past. Now that she's made it into Henry's book of fairytales, Snow and Charming point out that she's a proper princess now, and so she requests for her first "princess-ly" act that she be told her little brother's name. Mary Margaret agrees to her daughter's terms and an announcement is then made. The royal couple explain that they have decided to name their newborn son after a hero who recently sacrificed himself to save the town and everyone in it; someone who loved them and who they loved back; thus, the child's name is revealed to be Prince Neal. Emma is touched to hear that her brother is named after her lost love, Henry's father, and Neal remains in his mother's arms as she and David share a tender moment late into the night.

Season 4
"They grow up so fast, I don't wanna miss a second."

- Mary Margaret Blanchard

Commotion breaks out at the little prince's coronation ceremony when Regina storms out due to her boyfriend's wife having returned from the grave. Neal's parents storm out in order to see what the ruckus is all about, but they're too late to help stop the former Queen from walking away in a huff. The next day, Neal sleeps in his stroller as mother, father, sister and nephew walk with him. Henry and David lag behind so that the former can attempt to phone Regina and find out where she is, whilst Mary Margaret and Emma talk about the latter's relationship with Hook. Hook soon arrives with some news, but everyone becomes distracted when a giant snow monster attacks the town. However, Regina defeats it with ease, leaving soon after. It is now evident that someone with the magical powers to control ice and snow is loose in the town.

Elsa, the Ice Queen, decides that no one is leaving town until she finds her sister, Anna, and so she erects an ice wall around the perimeter of Storybrooke and unintentionally cuts off all the electricity as she does so. With David and Emma off dealing with the ice threat, Grumpy, Granny and Happy head over to Mary Margaret's place under the guise of visiting Neal but really in order to goad her into getting the power back on, pointing out that they helped her take back the kingdom and she cast the new curse, so Storybrooke is her kingdom now and she has to rule it. At the local power station, Snow struggles to accomplish anything and yells at her apparent royal subjects when they complain at her, causing them to storm off and leave. When Neal needs feeding, Mary Margaret gets the idea that the reason the power isn't turning back on is because fuel is needed, and so she follows the fuel pipe and manages to turn it on, thus restoring electricity to the town. She and Neal then return home where Charming helps Elsa discover the fact that her missing sister is alive, although they're still unaware of her whereabouts. Meanwhile, it becomes apparent that someone with similar powers to Elsa is preventing her from being able to thaw the ice wall.

As Mayor, Mary Margaret hosts her very first fireside chat in what used to be Regina's office, deciding to multitask by bringing baby Neal with her as well. As the meeting goes on, however, all anyone seems interested in is the ice wall surrounding the town... and then Marian collapses thanks to an ice curse. Everyone is quick to blame Elsa, but Emma defends her new friend and works with Charming to prove her innocence, eventually finding out that the real culprit is, in actuality, the mysterious Snow Queen. Meanwhile, Mary Margaret is struggling to both hold her baby and assemble his stroller when Archie approaches, noticing her dilemma and realizing that the reason she's spending so much time with her newborn son is because she missed Emma's childhood completely and wants to soak up every second of his. She doesn't appreciate the impromptu therapy session, but the conscience continues in assuring her that she and her son will be much happier if she lets him go once in a while. Mary Margaret ponders this whilst Regina, who doesn't appreciate the slight tweaks made to the decor of the office, finds a way to stall Marian's affliction.

When Emma asks Hook out on a date and dresses to impress, baby Neal is present whilst Mary Margaret is happy to see her daughter being courted and takes a picture of her before she leaves, she and David thinking that this makes up for them never getting to take her to a ball when she was growing up. Hook arrives and the Charmings are all shocked to see that he has two hands, at which he explains that he made a deal with the Dark One to make it so (which he later goes back on, due to extenuating circumstances). Later that night, following the goodnight kiss, Emma arrives home to find her two parents waiting on the couch. Mary Margaret is excited and wants to know everything whereas David is more relaxed and would rather not hear about what the pirate's been getting up to with his daughter. Feeling swamped, Emma continuously comments that she needs to get her own place, and as she heads to bed, Mary Margaret takes note of how happy she seems which leads David to comment that it seems Hook really has changed. Emma exclaims that she can hear them.

Mary Margaret has reservations about leaving Neal behind with Belle so that she can go on a hike with David, not wanting to be separated from her child, but he assures her that everything's going to be okay and manages to convince her to come. First, however, they make a quick stop at the Sheriff's Station where they soon realize that the thief, Will Scarlet, has escaped. David suggests tracking and capturing him, to his wife's confusion, but he points out that it will be like the old days: Snow White and Prince Charming on an adventure but without the Evil Queen on their backs. The two of them then head off in search of the thief, but Mary Margaret wants to go home whilst David continues to search. He goes on, but she almost immediately spots Will digging something up nearby. She approaches to find that he's searching for his travel bag, which is buried along with the map he needs to find his travel bag. Not believing anyone could be that stupid, Mary Margaret deduces that David actually set this man free so that she could feel good about capturing him. She gets Will to admit all of this in exchange for a pardon, and he walks away a free man. Back at the apartment, David returns home and his wife, who's lying in bed with baby Neal, who's survived the hour with Belle, reveals that she "caught" the thief, going on to explain that she knows all about his plan. However, David reveals that Will really did escape and really is that stupid and lied to her to get a pardon. This stuns Mary Margaret, but David urges that maybe Will earned his pardon if it means it's helped her find that part of herself again.

Along with the likes of Ashley and Aurora and their respective babies, Neal and his mother attend a "Mommy and me" class over at Granny's Bed & Breakfast, after which Emma shows up in order to take Neal for babysitting. She takes note of how much stuff the baby has and Mary Margaret replies that she just wants to make sure he has everything, to her daughter's slight dismay. When the blonde takes a bottle of milk, it begins to boil in her hand due to the magic still resonating within her, causing all the princesses in sight to begin looking at her fearfully. However, Emma is forced to take a rain check on babysitting when the Snow Queen is located in the town clock tower and goes on to capture her, however, it is soon revealed that the Snow Queen wanted to be trapped, as it's all a part of her plan, and she soon uses her ice magic to seal herself in the sheriff's station with Emma, where she causes the latter's magic to go out of control. Mary Margaret fears her daughter's temperamental powers, causing the blonde to run away; she cannot be found, even hours later, and Mary Margaret laments yelling at her daughter over at the apartment, claiming to have failed as a parent whilst she handles the baby, and regrets heavily that Emma was forced to see fear in the eyes of her own family.

With the Snow Queen having successfully cast her spell of Shattered Sight, Storybrooke has until sundown until all of its residents begin tearing each other apart due to the spell making it so that they can only see the worst in one another. When the spell seems imminent, Mary Margaret and David decide to lock themselves in the cells at the sheriff's station for the safety of both themselves and others. Emma wonders where Neal will be, and Mary Margaret says that Emma must take him and protect him until she manages to defeat the Snow Queen, with she and Elsa being immune to the spell due to the yellow ribbons fastened to their wrists. The savior tearfully takes her brother into her arms and, as the spell completes and shards of mirror begin filling the air, she tries shielding him from damage as everyone else, starting with Neal's mother, has their darkest personality traits brought to the surface. Through the bars, Snow White stares at Prince Charming with utter contempt.

With the spell of Shattered Sight complete, Mary Margaret and her husband begin arguing uncontrollably, while Emma and Elsa leave baby Neal wit Anna so that they can leave to fight the Snow Queen. Anna tries reminding Snow White and Prince Charming that they're supposed to love each other, but they disagree, and Mary Margaret goes on to tell Anna that she isn't as warm and fuzzy as one might think, for she killed the Evil Queen's mother and said she was sorry, but she didn't mean it. It's not long before Regina herself, dressed in the kind of royal attire she would normally be seen sporting back in the Enchanted Forest, arrives in the sheriff's station and sends Anna and Kristoff elsewhere with her magic, wanting to face Snow and ultimately kill her baby in revenge for what happened to Daniel. She opens the cell with her magic and plans to fight the princess in the same way, however, Mary Margaret goads Regina into fighting physically, at which she provides the two of them with swords and they begin brawling with one another. Their fight lasts a long while and escalates to extremely aggressive levels, that is, until the Snow Queen sacrifices herself to undo the spell and everyone's personalities are put right. Snow, Charming and Regina simply begin to laugh, before heading outside with Neal to discover that it's snowing and reunite with Emma. The Charmings apologize for all they said to one another, chalking it up to a mere spell and kissing to show that they hold no hard feelings.

After it's unveiled that Rumplestiltskin has been formulating his own evil plot to leave Storybrooke with his magical powers in tact with his dagger's control over him cleaved, Belle, his wife, uses the dagger to banish him from the town, and, six weeks later, all the residents appear to have moved on. Regina takes Henry to school, where Mary Margaret has resumed teaching; meanwhile, Emma - whose relationship with Hook has moved forward as he works alongside Belle to try and free the town's fairies from the Sorcerer's hat, which Rumple would have used to aid his empowered departure - has too resumed her career: that of sheriff. As she retrieves her sheriff's badge from the closet, she looks down and sees her brother, Prince Neal, being cradled by Granny, who's been hired to babysit as opposed to the currently occupied Belle. However, the town's newfound sense of peace is soon disrupted by a demon named Chernabog, as well as two villainesses by the names of Cruella and Ursula who help defeat said demon in exchange for safe passage into the now closed-off Storybrooke. Neal's mother and father meet with these two "Queens of Darkness" (after, unbeknownst to everyone else, they help sneak Rumple back into town) and threaten to kill them should they reveal to anyone what took place between them all those years ago.

Mary Margaret wakes up in the middle of the night to find her husband missing from their bed. She soon gets up to investigate and makes sure that Neal is safe in his crib, however, it isn't long before the supposedly deceased Maleficent emerges, backed by Ursula and Cruella De Vil. Neal is magicked out of his mother's arms by the powerful sorceress, and she tearfully begs for Maleficent not to hurt her family. However, Maleficent assures the former princess that when she's done... she won't have a family left to hurt. And then Snow wakes up, this entire experience having been a nightmare, but David is still absent from their bed. She goes out to investigate, yet again, and finds Neal safe in his crib. When she calls out for David, he is there, and the two of them grow even more cautious about the secret they've been keeping for all these years about how they caused the loss of Maleficent's baby to ensure Emma's purity. Later they mention having hired Ashley to watch Neal while they set off to deal with the Queens of Darkness.

When the Author gains the power to change the fates of the people of this land, he rewrites everybody's story, trapping them in a new book entitled "Heroes and Villains". Prince Neal is re-appropriated as the son of Rumplestiltskin - the brave and noble knight, known both as the Ogre Slayer and the Light One - and Belle - his loving wife who, along with Neal, makes up a perfect family to go alongside his forged happy ending. Isaac approaches the Light One and convinces him to kill Henry and Regina, who threaten everything, but he seems conflicted, approaching Belle as she's tending to the baby in the hopes of some indirect advice. However, everything is soon written back into its proper place when Henry becomes the new Author, and Neal is once again the baby son of Mary Margaret and David.

Season 5
When the dagger is unable to summon Emma home, it is deduced that she's been transported to another realm, and so David and the others go to the Sorcerer's Apprentice for help. Before dying, he passes on his wand, but only Zelena is dark enough to use it since the light magic inside needs to be balanced it. She uses it to summon a magical cyclone to take her back to Oz, only for Regina to manipulate her and get the anti-magic cuff back on her wrist, then able to direct the portal as she sees fit. Over in Granny's Diner, Mary Margaret is happy to see Emma's baby blanket, a personal item of Emma's that Regina needs if she's going to be able to lock onto her location with the wand. Before the cyclone can carry them away, Grumpy, Happy and Doc barge into the diner, wanting to go with Snow White so as to not be left out of yet another adventure. Snow is grateful for their help, clutching her baby as the cyclone finally arrives and carries the entirety of Granny's Diner, Granny included, to the Enchanted Forest. When they arrive, Emma is about to crush the heart of the warrior princess Merida because it's the only way she can find Merlin and have him remove the darkness from her. Mary Margaret, now in possession of the dagger, wants to use it to stop her, but Hook says that it has to be Emma's choice whether or not she succumbs. Ultimately, she returns Merida's heart and her mother and father give her the dagger, which Emma then gives to Regina for safekeeping. As they head back to Granny's in the woods, King Arthur and his knights arrive to welcome them all into Camelot, having been told by a prophecy that they'd be arriving.

After spending a total of six weeks away in Camelot, David and the others who were sent to said realm in Granny's Diner are abruptly returned to Storybrooke. Sleepy and Sneezy, the latter of which has been working as the town's sheriff, even having gone as far as to start sporting Emma's signature red leather jacket, overhear the diner's crash landing and so go to check it out. They're shocked to discover everyone has returned, but David and the others have zero memory of anything that has happened since entering into Camelot for the first time. The two dwarfs reveal they've all been gone a total of six weeks, and Emma's parents wonder where she is. She soon makes herself known, appearing to be responsible for their return, as well as everyone's loss of memories. She now looks how a Dark One would be expected to look, and Mary Margaret, who clutches her baby, and David wonder what happened to her. Emma, who proceeds to turn Sneezy to stone for wearing her jacket, wonders in turn if it's not obvious, recalling that they all came to remove the darkness from her... and they failed. Now they have to pay. When asked why, Emma simply states that it's because she is the Dark One, before disappearing.

Gallery
Gallery of photographic stills released to promote the character.