Night Light and Velvet Sparkle were high school sweethearts, voted best couple in their senior year, and despite going to different universities after graduation married as soon as possible. Night Light trained to become a royal guard and took up a job within the Canterlot castle, while Velvet became a writer for Canterlot’s most esteemed newspaper. Because of their high regarded positions, the two became among the canterlot elites and lived a busy social life.  
After Velvet fell pregnant, Night Light retired from his position as a royal guard - they both agreed it’d be too risky for him to be out in a battle, in case he might die and leave his children fatherless - and then took up a position as a lecturer at Canterlot University. Shining Armour was born a strong, kicking colt.  
Though they loved him dearly, Night Light and Velvet lived busy lives - busy with their own jobs, but also in upholding their upper class canterlot social life. This meant that much of the time, Shining Armour was ignored, left with a nanny - and when he wasn’t, his parents were far from as loving as they could have been, accidentally impressing on him of all the great things he should be doing in his adult life.  
The same can be said for Twilight, too. Surprisingly, Velvet fell pregnant again, this time on accident. They obviously decided to keep the foal, born a beautiful purple filly, but their parenting, if anything, became more neglectful. Much of what Twilight remembers of her childhood was spending time with a nanny, and being told she was going to become something great.  
And, well, she was.  
Twilight grew up to have a complex of needing to impress and please everyone because of her parents, and because of celestia’s teachings to her. She grew into a devoted student, and eventually a beloved princess and mentor - much of it driven by a desire to live up to what her parents wanted.
 
Twilight is bi, as I’ve mentioned this before. While across Equestria, mares marrying mares and stallions marrying stallions is extremely common and not much is thought of it, Canterlot is in it’s own…strange…sheltered bubble. Much of Canterlot’s elites look down on it, and are themselves in monogamous straight marriages. The whole idea stems from the belief that Canterlot is far ABOVE the rest of Equestria and doesn’t participate in “that” kind of behaviour. Twilight eventually becomes the driving force in changing this and Canterlot’s elitest views.
 
However, Twilight coming out herself was a major turning point for the household. Their initial reactions were not as…pleasant, as Twilight had been hoping for - but it sparked a realisation in her parents. They knew nothing about their children. They were both immensely proud of both of them, that had grown up to do amazing things, of course - but they knew next to nothing about who they really are.
 
They decided to change themselves. They spent less time with the Canterlot Elites, and more time as a family - trying to repair years of lost time is not easy, but they make up for it, and eventually accept and love Twilight for who she is…Though of course, when she brought rainbow home, they didn’t hold back from giving the typical “hurt my daughter and i will destroy you” talk (mare or not, that’s my daughter).