"What in the hay is that kid thinking?" Iron Guard muttered to himself as he charged forward into the main group of timberwolves.
After the two talked, Dark had an idea for how to defeat the ursa major and the army of timberwolves, but wouldn't tell him what it was. All that Dark asked was for Iron Guard to switch with him for a few minutes so he could get ready. Since then, Iron Guard tried to figure out Dark's plan, only to come up with nothing. Turning his attention back towards the few hundred timberwolves that he was now dumped with, Iron Guard began swinging away at them.
As he continued to cut any nearby timberwolves in half, the ursa spotted him. Not caring about who he attacked with how enraged he was, the ursa charged towards Iron Guard. Feeling and seeing it approaching him, he began charging a short-range teleportation spell. Once the ursa got close enough, Iron Guard teleported himself onto the ursa's head. Getting his footing on it, he began swinging his two blades at the base of the ursa's neck, trying to do whatever damage he could to it. He just broke the tough hide of the ursa before it felt him on the back of its neck and tried to shake him off, but he wouldn't be so easy to get rid of as Iron Guard casted a spell that held his hooves in place.
With him firmly secured now, Iron Guard continued slashing away, digging inch by inch deeper into the ursa's neck. Becoming irritated with the pest on his back, the ursa moved his claw up to swipe away at it. Seeing it coming from his peripheral vision, Iron Guard deactivated the spell and ran down its neck and onto its back. With the ursa barely missing him, he looked irritatingly towards the area of the battlefield that Spike had lit on fire.
By Celestia's mane boy, Iron Guard irritatingly thought. What is it that your planning?
Over in the other section of the battlefield, Dark was using the three orbs to create a ring of fire as he ran through the timberwolves, and towards the flames. Every timberwolf that got hit by one of the orbs were met with a burning hole in their head. As he continued to run towards the flames, he began to smile upon being able to use his Amplify again after what felt like ages for him. The longest he'd gone without using it while back in Stonewall Village was five days at the most. Now, it's been over two weeks since the last time that he used it. With that in thought, he picked up his pace.
Now, while it would've been a better idea to just fly overhead and straight into the flames, that would've left him with a slight problem. When Dark draws in the flames around him, he's immobile during that time and unable to move, but can still cast spells. He has tried to fix that problem, but that would require a partner to train with, and seeing as how everypony in his old village didn't care to help him, he was left to abandon any chances he had with it. Besides that, though, Dark also didn't want to just leave all of those timberwolves for the guards to deal with if he could still do something about it.
Soon enough, he made it to Spike's flames. Firing off the rest of his Explosive Fire Needles, Dark lifted a claw to touch the flames. Seeing as how they didn't burn, or even feel hot against him, Dark casually walked into the fire. As he walked in, though, Applejack saw what he was doing.
"Did he really just walk into those fires?" she asked in disbelief.
"Don't worry about it, Applejack," Pinkie happily told her. "Besides, we know that dragons are fireproof, and Dark is part dragon."
"Ah suppose, but why would he do that?"
Seeing the flames that Dark walked into starting to move, Pinkie stopped firing her cannon to watch.
"I think we're about to find out."
The fires began moving and twisting unnaturally. Those flames closest to Dark began shifting into a vortex with the top if it appearing to be sinking inward, while those farther away were arching through the air and in through the top. As the fires were siphoned into the fiery twister, a low growl sounded from within. Any timberwolves that were still nearby began running away from it as fast as they could, while those who were in the back not fighting had turned to watch, curious as to what was going on in there. Even the hydra and ursa were looking towards it. But, as the twisting fires began to pick up speed, a pair of golden eyes could be seen glowing through it.
Seconds later, the flaming vortex began to recede from the ground and into Dark's flaming mane. While he still had the burning mane like he always had before, you could now see the veins beneath the fur of his claws, arms, wings, and tail glowing orange as though he had fire flowing through his body rather than blood. Another difference that he noticed was that he could practically feel his unicorn magic coursing not through his horn, but also into his arms and claws. Lifting a claw to quickly test it, Dark lit his claw on fire. It didn't burn or hurt, he couldn't even feel any warmth radiating from it. All that it did was encase his claw in a fire that soon began reshaping itself into the shape of a burning claw.
Fire Claws, Dark thought as he chuckled to himself at the timing of it. Guess I just learned a new spell.
Lighting his other claw to match, Dark tuned back to the ursa. Spreading his wings, Dark gave a mighty flap, launching him skyward while also leaving behind burning embers. As he flew towards the ursa major, Dark was also unknowingly causing embers to fall from his wings onto the timberwolves below him. As they landed on the timberwolves, the embers quickly ignited them, causing them to run in a panic, but there was nothing that they could do as Dark continued to shower them in his embers. While he flew, his mane also flickered in the wind, leaving a trail of fire and smoke in his wake.
"Captain! Move!" Dark shouted out to Iron Guard.
Hearing Dark's incoming warning, he looked all around for a way to get off the ursa major he was riding on. As he looked around on top of the ursa he was standing on, he saw that there wasn't any safe place where he could teleport off to. Anywhere that was within distance of his teleportation was covered in timberwolves. It wasn't until he heard a voice above him though that he found his safe zone.
"Hey!" Applejack called from the balloon hovering above him. "Need a lift?"
"Thanks," Iron Guard happily thanked before teleporting up into the basket.
With their new passenger onboard, Pinkie steered the balloon up and way from the ursa. Taking a moment to catch his breath from dodging the ursa on its back, Iron Guard looked around the balloon to see what had happened to it. After taking a look at the modified war balloon, Iron Guard and Applejack made their way over to the basket's rim.
"You wouldn't have by chance known of what his plan was, would you?" he asked.
"You mean besides walkin' into the fire and comin' out lookin' like that? Can't say that Ah did," Applejack answered.
"Me neither," Pinkie shrugged.
"Well, whatever he did, I can feel that it drastically increased his magical output," Iron Guard told them. "And he already had a lot of magic to begin with. The question now is how much of a power boost did he get?"
While they continued talking away up in the safety of the balloon, Dark was closing in on the ursa major. During his flight, he noticed the embers that were coming from his wings, but as they were falling on the timberwolves instead of the guards, Dark didn't pay much mind to it, figuring that it was probably just a temporary thing. Then, before he knew it, he was hovering in front of the ursa's face.
"Ready for round two?" Dark asked. "Though, it probably won't be much of a match."
Angered by his comment at the end there, the ursa roared at Dark before charging him. While it still towered over him like a lion to a mouse, what it didn't know is that he was much stronger now. As the ursa charged, Dark remained where he hovered. Then, at the last second, Dark gave a power flap to his wings, causing the embers falling from his wings to be blown into the ursa's eyes. Immediately the ursa reared on its hind legs, holding its eyes with its front claws as it roared in pain. While it was blinded, Dark flew forward, gaining a burst of speed from the power boost of his Amplify and giving the ursa a full-body tackle in its stomach. The force behind the hit was strong enough to knock it off its feet, and fall onto its back.
Recovering from the impact, Dark made his way down to land on the ground. As he descended, the surrounding timberwolves watched him, believing that he would be their next meal. However, before he landed, Dark's mane came to life as ten fiery tendrils formed, each being the size of when he fought Nocturne, thus giving him plenty of range for his tendrils to strike at.
Lashing them outward, each tendril didn't cleave through their target so much as they burned clean through them. With the area now cleared of timberwolves, Dark landed. Taking a look around, he saw that the rest of the timberwolves began collapsing in on him, along with the two hydras that he'd completely forgot about. Giving a tired sigh with having to dealing with so much fighting in one day, Dark began swinging his fiery tendrils like a buzz saw, cutting down every timberwolf that dared to get too close to him. And with each tendril being over sixty-five feet long, he had plenty of space cleared out for him. After a few moments of them not learning their lesson, the timberwolves finally backed away from Dark, allowing him to have his space and watch him while the two hydras walked over to the edge of the clearing.
As they charged him, Dark used his tendrils like springs and launched himself directly towards the closest one. The hydras didn't expect this, which left Dark free to deal away with the first one. As he got close enough, he lashed out a tendril at the hydra's four necks and pulled himself closer to them. Once he was close enough, Dark began bringing them together before sending another two to wrap around all four necks to hold them together. Then, with his four free tendrils, he sliced through them, lopping off their heads in one swing. With that one out of the way, Dark launched himself towards the second one. This time, though, as he continued rocketing towards it, he brought his ten tendrils together like a spearhead. Impacting the hydra's chest, Dark barely felt any resistance as he pierced through it, leaving a gaping hole as he came out the hydra's back. He turned around just in time to see the hydra's lifeless body crash onto the ground, and to see the ursa now taking its turn as it approached.
Its eyes were bloodshot now, but still functional. However, it didn't change the fact that it was angrier now more than ever, and wanted Dark to pay for it, despite his orders to take him alive. Without wanting to waste another moment, the ursa charged after Dark again.
Shaking his head, Dark stayed his ground, equally ready to end this fight. Bringing his tendrils together, he fused the ten of them together to make one large flaming tendril, easily doubling it's size. Once the ursa was close enough, Dark lashed his massive tendril out. It struck the ursa's left foreleg, slicing and burning it clean off just above the wrist. Giving a loud roar that echoed across the sky, the ursa fell to the ground, creating a small groove as it skid to a stop fifty feet in front of Dark. Angered by having its claw lopped off, it got back up on its three remaining limbs. Letting out a sigh, Dark then took the other claw, causing the ursa to loudly roar again. As it fell back flat on the ground, it lifted its head and began looking murderously at Dark.
"And now it ends," Dark spoke to it.
Pouring more magic into his flaming tendril of a mane, Dark began reforming the end of it into a flaming draconic claw. While he did that, the magic he emanated was causing him to start hovering a few feet off the ground. As he continued, he could feel the immense power flowing through him. Once he was magically hovering ten feet off the ground, Dark had finally formed a claw easily the size of the ursa's head at the end of his tendril. Looking from it back over to the downed ursa major, Dark gave it a nod of respect before deciding to put it down.
After taking in a deep breath, Dark let out an unnatural draconic screech that was heard across the skies. It was eerie with its echo effect, reminding him of a certain black dragon that he fought with who had the same roar. As he continued roaring to the ursa, every timberwolf on the battlefield stopped fighting and looked in fear at him. Still letting out his roaring screech, Dark swung his head around in a circle, causing the tendril to follow around like a whip. After making two full rotations, Dark flung his head forward, manipulating the flaming claw to ball up into a fist and come crashing down on the ursa's head. Upon impact, the flaming fist crushed the ursa's skull, causing it to cave in while the fist continued downward from the power and momentum put behind it. It brought what little left of the skull with it as it continued smashing into the earth, causing an impact crater to form and for the ground to start quaking, though Dark didn't feel it as his overpowering magic kept him suspended in mid-air.
Seeing as how the ursa was dead for good, Dark allowed the flaming tendril to recede back into him, leaving a flaming mane in its place. As he did, his magic also receded with it, causing him to gently be lowered back down to the ground. Looking in pity at the ursa he had to kill, Dark turned to look at the surrounding timberwolves as the last few hundred of them were in full retreat, wanting to get as far away from him as they could. It wasn't until they were out of sight in the forest that Dark allowed himself to fall to his rump with a sigh of relief.
Up in the balloon, Iron Guard, Applejack, and Pinkie Pie were looking slack-jawed at Dark. They were all stunned by the amount of power he showed to everypony, and perhaps a little scared of him. It wasn't until a few moments later that one of them finally spoke up.
"Never in all of my years," Iron Guard muttered beneath his breath.
"Come again?" Applejack asked.
"Never in all of my years in the guard have I seen such a display of power... besides that of the princesses, that is."
"No kiddin'. Just how powerful is Dark right now anyway?"
"Hold on a sec, I'll check," Pinkie said as she lifted her hat off and reached into her mane.
When she pulled out her hoof, she was holding in it what looked like a white metallic device that went over her ear. It also had a black button on the side, and a white metallic arm that curved around in front of your eye. On the end of that arm was a red glass screen with yellow numbers and other symbols on it. Putting it on, Pinkie looked back over to Dark before pressing the button to turn it on, causing the device to start beeping and for the numbers on it to begin shuffling around.
"Uh, Pinkie?" Applejack began asking. "What is that thin' exactly?"
"Oh, you mean this?" she replied, pointing to the device on her ear. "It's a scanner that tells me the magic levels of somepony."
"That's neat," Iron Guard complimented. "Where did you get one of those, and are there more of them?"
"Sorry, but that's a secret that I'm never to reveal."
It went on beeping for only five more second though before it stopped, showing to Pinkie the results of the scan. Hearing it go silent, Iron Guard was the first to speak up.
"So," he began. "What does the scanner say about his magic level."
Taking the scanner into her hoof, Pinkie began to crush it in her hooves while saying, "Its over Nine-" She cut herself off. Letting out a sigh, Pinkie, instead of crushing the scanner like she had originally planned, decided to put it back into her mane before placing her hat back on her head. "You know what? That meme has been overused so much that I'm not even going to bother doing it. Let's just say that his magic levels are very high right now."
Confused by her previous statement about some meme, they instead decided to ignore it and go with the answer she gave at the end. They all knew that whatever Dark did with those flames that Spike left behind did something to him to give him a power boost and left it at that. If they wanted answers, then they'd have to ask Dark directly. However, although their battle was won, there were still two others raging at the outskirts of Ponyville, and over at Twilight's Castle.
With the timberwolves completely cleared out, Pinkie began lowering the balloon to land. Once it was floating a few feet off the ground, the three ran over to Dark, who now had his breathing under control from all the magic and adrenaline pumping through him earlier. As they walked up to him, they glanced over to the fallen ursa major. It wasn't nearly as messy as what they thought it would be. Since the fist that crushed its skull was made of fire, it had cauterized on impact, leaving barely any blood splatter on the grass.
"Where in Tartarus did that come from?!" Iron Guard asked, almost borderline demanded.
"A unique ability that allows me to absorb the fires of others to increase my magic," Dark answered. "And judging by the look of my mane from the amount that I absorbed, I still have a few more minutes left before my magic boost wears off."
"So, this power that you have..." Applejack slowly trailed off.
"Is only temporary," Dark finished. "If I had more fire to absorb, then it would last longer and give me more power."
"So... all you needed to defeat the ursa and hydras, and to cause the timberwolves to run off scared, was some more fire?" Iron Guard guessed.
"As long as it's not my own, then yes. I can't use my Amplify on any flames that I myself created."
"If that's the case, then why didn't you ask us to use fire magic so you could use it and finish this battle sooner?"
Dark didn't answer. The thought was perfectly doable, and he didn't even think of something as simple as that. With the heat of battle, the thought never even crossed his mind. Unable to form words, Dark's only answer to him was a facepalm.
"You didn't bother ta think of it, did ya?" Applejack figured.
"... yea, pretty much," Dark answered before turning towards Twilight's Castle. "So, who's going where? We have two more battlefields left to clear out."
"We can go to Ponyville and help the guards there," Pinkie answered. "Besides." She leaned closer to Dark with a mischievous grin on her face. "You're worried about Twilight, aren't you?"
Ignoring the look that she was giving him, Dark nodded.
"In that case, we better be off," Applejack told them. "Unless you have any disagreements, Captain."
"You two go on ahead without me," he told the two mares. "I need to gather the guards here and check in on their condition. No doubt that there'll be some that will need medical attention."
With that, Iron Guard gave the three a salute before galloping over to his guards. As he left, Dark, Applejack, and Pinkie bid each other a quick goodbye, but Pinkie was a bit hesitant, something of which was quickly picked up upon.
"Something wrong, Pinkie?" Dark wondered.
"It's just that I was wanting to give you a 'good luck and be safe' hug, but I don't want to burn myself on your mane," Pinkie answered.
Turning to look back at his mane, Dark saw what she meant and gave out a light chuckle.
"It's alright, Pinkie," he told her. "I can control the temperature of my mane when it's like this. I promise, it won't burn you if you touch it."
Hesitantly, Pinkie reached a hoof closer to his flaming mane. Not feeling any extreme heat coming off of it, she proceeded to touch it. When she did, it felt warm, like she had dipped her hoof in a bathtub full of warm water. After a few seconds of playing with her hoof in his mane, she then proceeded to give Dark his hug. Once she was done, she turned around and hopped back to the balloon, leaving Applejack behind.
"Are you wanting one too?" Dark half-jokingly asked.
"Thanks, but Ah'm good," Applejack chuckled. "Though Ah do hope that you'll be careful."
"As much as I can."
Taking what she could get, Applejack gave a tip of her hat before walking off to catch up with Pinkie. After seeing them leave, Dark turned around and proceeded to flap his wings. The time on the ground did well to help relax his wings and let them recover from so much use. Once he was airborne, he proceed on making his way towards Twilight's Castle in hopes to help them before things got too bad.
A few minutes earlier, inside her castle, Twilight and the guards were doing what they could to hold off the alpha timberwolves that had broken through her front door. Behind their blockade, they began firing at them the moment they entered the castle. But, although they were holding them back, their magical blasts didn't completely destroy all that were hit. Instead, some of the alpha timberwolves simply fell apart before reassembling themselves. As more and more began filing through the door and into the hallway, Twilight started to wonder just how long they could hold out before it was too late for them.
"Keep firing!" Twilight commanded from her spot at the barricade. "We have to keep them from getting to the villagers."
"Yes, Your Highness!" the guards answered.
Without relenting, they continued to shoot down every alpha timberwolf that came close to them, but no matter how hard they tried, they just kept coming. While Twilight and the guards were busy keeping the alpha timberwolves away, Fluttershy was standing behind them. As she watched, she allowed for a few tears to fall for what was happening to them. Although she knew that they could just reassemble themselves, Fluttershy still felt bad that they were being shot to pieces so repeatedly. The sight of it would have normally made her run so that she couldn't watch anymore, but she also knew that doing that wouldn't change anything. Taking a step forward, Fluttershy began walking over to the barricade. She was up to it and beside Twilight when the roar of an ursa major echoed through the crystal halls.
"What was that?" one of the guards wondered out loud.
"That's an ursa major," Twilight explained before a second roar was heard.
"Twilight," Fluttershy called. "It sounded like it was hurt."
"But what could hurt an ursa major like that?"
Before a guess could be made, a third roar followed. This one, though, was more of a screech, and had a echo effect to it. Upon hearing it, Fluttershy immediately fell to the floor, covering her face with her hooves while everypony and alpha timberwolf went silent. Then the castle began to shake, causing the alpha timberwolves stop the charge and look in the direction of the sound while the ponies stopped firing to do the same.
"What was that then?" another guard asked.
Twilight was quiet, not sure how to answer that. She had a good idea of what, or who, that was, but something wasn't right about it. Focusing, she could feel the power emanating from him all the way from the stands where he was. She could feel Dark's power, but she could also feel a trace of power which was his, but also wasn't his. It confused Twilight, causing her to miss Fluttershy as she walked past her and over to the other side of the barricade. She didn't know until she heard the guards calling out to Fluttershy, telling her "Get back here!" or "It's dangerous!". But as she walked up to the alpha timberwolf that lead the charge, she stopped, looking up to it in its eyes.
Though the Stare was generally used to command animals, and to occasional persuade a pony or two, it also allowed her to see into the animal's mind. Within, she saw what happened to them. She saw how they were tracked down, controlled by a cloaked figure to form an army made of Everfree creatures, and the last assignment that this particular one was sent on. Breaking contact with it, Fluttershy looked to the claw mark on its face from its last fight. Gently lifting a hoof up, she placed it on the alpha timberwolve's forehead, and began petting it.
"You poor thing," she softly spoke, tears forming in her eyes. "Why would somepony force you to do something like this?
With a small whimper, the alpha timberwolf laid down before her as she kept petting it. It then began barking and whimpering to Fluttershy, telling her of what happened to him and the rest of Everfree creatures. As she listened, more and more of the other alpha timberwolves walked up and sat down beside Fluttershy while their story was told. It was quite a sight, seeing her surrounded by one of the most deadliest creatures in the Everfree Forest as though she were their mother. The guards couldn't even react to it as they were too baffled by the sight before them, while Twilight, knowing Fluttershy's way with wild creatures, was a bit more reserved. With a smile of how proud she was of Fluttershy for more-or-less ending the attack and saving everypony there, Twilight walked past the blockade and over beside her. As she took her seat, Fluttershy turned to face her while still petting the alpha timberwolve's head, which was now resting on her lap.
"I know what's been going on with them," Fluttershy began explaining. "Somehow, somepony was able to control them all. He had ordered them to attack Dark last week, and then Ponyville today."
"Do they know what this pony looks like?" Twilight asked.
After some light barking from the alpha timberwolf, Fluttershy answered, "They don't know because he kept his cloak on and hood up whenever they saw him. They don't even know if he's a pony or not."
"Alright," Twilight sighed. "But what was his goal in these attacks?"
Listening to it again, Fluttershy's eyes went wide. She didn't expect something like this, and didn't even want to relay the message. However, she knew that Twilight deserved to know.
"He says that he doesn't know why this cloaked thing wants Dark dead, but as for why they were sent here... well..."
"Fluttershy?" Twilight softly spoke. "What's wrong?"
"He... he said that they were sent to capture you," she finally answered.
"Really? Isn't that a bit risky of them?"
"Apparently he wanted you captured because he knows about you and Dark, and how you two feel for each other." Fluttershy hesitated, not wanting to continue. Feeling a gentle hoof on her shoulder, she allowed herself to calm down before continuing. "By what this alpha timberwolf has told me, he wanted you captured so that he could personally kill you in front of Dark."
Hearing her explanation, Twilight recoiled as she looked over the group of alpha timberwolves in wide-eyed fear. When none of them looked back to her, she addressed Fluttershy.
"And... what about now?" she unsteadily asked.
"Well," Fluttershy began. "Turns out that when I used the Stare to look into this one's mind, it severed the link between all of the alpha timberwolves, and the one controlling them.... wherever he is."
"I was able to detect him riding on top of a manticore up above the castle," Twilight told her. "If you can use your Stare on one of the manticores, then could you free them from his spell too?"
"I might," she slowly answered. "But they would have to be within a few feet for it to take full effect."
Twilight sighed. "Then that probably won't work, judging by how they were acting when I last saw them."
Any further conversation was interrupted by a cry of pain being heard through the castle. Judging by the direction it came from, it sounded like it came from outside. Lighting her horn, Twilight quickly looked back to Fluttershy.
"I'm going to see Celestia about that noise. I trust that you can handle them from here?"
"Of course," Fluttershy nodded.
"The rest of you," Twilight announced, turning to address the guards. "While I'm gone, Fluttershy will be in command. I expect you to listen to her as though it were me saying it."
Receiving a group of salutes, Twilight teleported herself up to the balcony beside Princess Celestia. As the light faded from her teleporting, she took a second to take her in, seeing her more tired than when she had left her as a few beads of sweat dripped from her forehead.
"Are you alright, Princess?"
"I'm fine, Twilight," Celestia answered.
"What was that scream earlier? It almost sounded like a stallion."
"You're right. It was him," she said, pointing up to where the cloaked figure was.
Taking a look into her telescope, Twilight saw that he was fiddling with something beneath his cloak and appeared to be quite frantic. As she continued to watch him, she could have sworn that she saw a strand of smoke coming from within the darkness of his cloak. Removing her eye from the lens, Twilight looked back up to Celestia.
"It almost looks like he's in pain," Twilight began relaying. "Whatever he has hidden beneath his cloak appears to be burning him, judging by the way he's messing with it, and from the smoke I saw coming out from his cloak."
"Then this fight might be over quicker than what I had thought, and with us all coming out safely," Celestia smiled before looking confusingly at Twilight. "By the way, what happened to the alpha timberwolves that broke into the castle?"
"Oh, right! Apparently, after those sets of roars, Fluttershy was able to use her Stare on one of the alpha timberwolves, causing whatever link that cloaked figure has to them to sever."
"And now?"
"They're all huddled around her as though she were their mother," Twilight giggled. "They were also whimpering when I left, probably apologizing to her if I had to guess."
"Well, that must have been quite a sight."
"It was." Twilight paused when their reason fore being here resurfaced in her mind. "Also, she found out why they were all sent here specifically."
With her full attention, Celestia sat down to listen to what Twilight was told about their attack. She told her about the details on the attack against Dark last week, and the conditions on success for the attack on the castle. With the knowledge that Twilight was being deliberately targeted, Celestia's face turned dark.
"That little coward," she growled. "How dare he resort to using this sort of tactic."
"What tactic are you talking about, Princess?"
Celestia sighed. "It's one of the oldest, and most cowardice ways. When somepony is unable to defeat somepony else, they will sometimes instead target a loved one to get to them. In this case, since his plan to kill Dark failed, he thought that going after you and killing you would draw Dark out to him and break him."
"What do you mean by 'break him'?"
"Picture it like this, Twilight. How would you feel if somepony killed Dark right in front of you?"
As Twilight thought about it, her face turned one of fear and sorrow. Shaking her head to put the thought out of her mind, Twilight turned her attention back to Celestia.
"I think I understand. It would be like how I felt after Tirek destroyed the Golden Oaks Library, but much, much worse."
Seeing the unease on her, Celestia walked up beside Twilight before draping a wing over her.
"You don't have anything to worry about, Twilight," she softly spoke. "As long as Luna and I are here, we won't let anything like that happen to you. You also have the guards here to protect you as well. Besides, I don't think that Dark would stand for it either."
Though Twilight was still shaken, she was feeling a little better and began leaning her head against Celestia's neck. It reminded her of the time when she was a filly under Celestia's tutelage, and how she would do this for her when she felt overwhelmed or scared about something. It was an old comfort that she would never be tired of anytime soon. With her unease now manageable, Twilight looked back up to the manticores that were still assaulting the barrier.
"So," she began. "What are we going to do about them?"
Hearing the low rumble of thunder, Celestia and Twilight looked off in the distance to see a large group of storm clouds quickly rolling in. Soon after, they head what sounded like the flapping of wings. Looking ahead over Ponyville, Celestia could make out something flying towards them. Walking over to Twilight's telescope, she looked into the eyepiece to see who it was. Removing her eye from it, Celestia smiled down to Twilight.
"Oh, I wouldn't worry about them," Celestia said.
The cloaked figure was doubled over in pain from the burning on his chest.
Damn it all, did he seriously just kill a freaking ursa major?! he thought as the thing on his chest started burning again. Oh, that's just bucking great! Now those freaking alpha timberwolves are free of me, all of the hydras are dead, and the army that was with the ursa have retreated back into the forest!
"Faster!" he shouted to the manticores. "I want this barrier down NOW!"
Heeding his command, the manticores began pounding away at the barrier harder and faster than they were before. As he continued to watch them work, his gaze fell over Celestia and Twilight. Seeing them, he began to sneer for how difficult they were making this for him. But, while his attention was kept on the two, he heard a low rumble off to his side. Turning to look, he saw that a group of storm clouds were rolling in.
"Oh, great. Now there's a storm coming in," he muttered to himself before noticing something unusual about them.
Pulling out his spyglass, he looked over towards the clouds. As he guessed, they were storm clouds. But what he didn't expect was that they were begin carried not by weather ponies, but by the off duty pegasus guards that came with Celestia and Luna. Seeing them split into two groups, he looked over to where the second group was heading, which was straight for his army of timberwolves attacking Ponyville.
We're going to be so bucked if we continue to stay here, he mentally concluded before looking back down to the barrier, seeing a crack on it. But we're so close to breaking through.
Weighing his two options, he decided to go for broke. They were still far enough away that they should be able to break through before they arrived. With his decision made, the cloaked figure turned his attention back towards the cracking barrier. It was close now to breaking, causing him to anxiously chuckle beneath his breath. As he continued to watch, hearing the sound of thunder coming closer, he also picked up on a second sound. It almost sounded like... wings flapping?
Turning his mount around to see what was behind him to make such a sound, he brought up his spyglass up to his eye. It was then that the cloaked figure's eyes began to widened. Flying straight for them, leaving a trail of fire and smoke behind as he flew, was Dark. And from the look on his face, he wasn't too happy. As he drew closer, the cloaked figure could see flames leaking from Dark's maw. Then, he did something he found unusual. Dark began to start spinning around while flying towards him and his fleet of manticores. Seeing what he was planning, the cloaked figure quickly put away his spyglass before calling to his fleet.
"Get everyone out of her now! We're retreating back into the Everfree Forest!" he shouted out loud, not bothering to address them through his 'other means', as it was still burning against his chest.
Hearing his frantic shouting, the manticores looked up to see what he was talking about. By this point, Dark's spinning caused the fires that came from his maw to start spinning with him, causing him to imitate a flaming drill while the fires danced behind him in the same spiraling pattern.
"Manticores, intercept Dark and stop him!" the cloaked figure ordered as he tried flying away on his mount.
Seeing Dark flying in at a faster pace, the cloaked figure knew that unless the manticores distracted him that he himself would be captured. Unknowing of his true intent behind the order, the manticores abandoned the barrier and went for Dark. They were over a section of Ponyville by the time they encountered him, but none of them could get close enough to him to actually do anything.
While the manticores could get close, the spiraling flames were too hot for them to get any swipes in. With that said, they got out of his way, or at least they tried to. Most of them were able to get out of his flight path, but those that weren't fortunate enough were hit by Dark. What they didn't know, though, was that during his spiraling, Dark moved his claws in front of him. Between the sharpness of his claws, and the speed of his rotations, he might as well have been a drill as he tore straight through any manticore that got in his way. Thankfully, the flames managed to cauterize the wounds, even though they were already dead by that point, falling out of the sky and down onto Ponyville. Dark didn't seem to notice it as he changed his flight path and backed around for another pass.
Catching the manticores off guard by turning back around, Dark was able to get everyone of them in his path. Even some of the nearby manticores that weren't directly hit were still affected by the flames protruding off of him, their wings being caught on fire and losing altitude. While they were keeping him busy, the cloaked figure was able to slip by on his manticore off towards the Everfree Forest. No longer did he care about the fate of the army that he once felt proud for. At this point, his only concern was for his own safety, and to not be captured.
"Don't think that just because you've beaten my armies means that you've won, Dark," he muttered. "I swear, you will see me again." He turned to steer his mount towards his hideout within the forest. "For now, though, I'll have to lay low. And with winter coming soon, I won't be able to make another move until spring at the earliest. That is, unless an opportunity presents itself that could be in my favor."
He thought for a moment, thinking of different places to hide out. Ponyville would be too great of a risk at this point. Especially with him not being in with the rest of the villagers in the castle, which would cause ponies to start asking where he was during the attack. With that option out of the question, he had only one other place in mind for the moment. It could be considered to be risky to some, living right beneath Celestia's and Luna's nose, but they would never think to look for him there. That, and he had some loose ends to tie up.
After they finally landed in front of ruins of the Castle of the Two Sisters, the cloaked figure went inside. After picking up his saddlebag and longsword, and strapping them on, he reached beneath his cloak. With a firm yank, he pulled out a bronze amulet with a cracked emerald bear claw as its center piece.
"The Beast Master's Amulet," the cloaked figured muttered while looking at the cracked gemstone. "Guess I no longer have any use for it now, considering how damaged it is."
With no intent of keeping it, he simply dropped the amulet onto the castle's stone floor before trotting out to his manticore. But his amulet, though damaged as it was, still kept the manticore under his command while he held it. No longer carrying the amulet, the manticore looked to the cloaked figure with vengeful intent. Giving a snort, the cloaked figure emanated a blinding light from within the darkness of his cloak. With the manticore blinded, he unsheathed his sword before quickly flew past the manticore's face. As he landed, the manticore's head slowly slid off its neck and onto the ground. Looking back to the dead beast, the cloaked figure gave out a loud humph before sheathing his sword and flying into the forest, making sure to fly just beneath the tree canopy as to not be spotted by any pegasi that might be searching the skies for him.
Over on the outskirts of Ponyville, Luna, Rainbow, Spike, and the guards were doing what they could to keep the timberwolves from attacking the town, and themselves. Though try as they did, they couldn't keep all of them out, which allowed those that did make it past to start rampaging. Even a few of the timberwolves that Spike had managed to set on fire were running into some of the buildings, setting them on fire before crumbling to the floor.
"This isn't good!" Spike panicked, seeing the timberwolves getting into the village.
"Just keep doing what you can," Steel Hoof told him.
"But at the rate things are going here, Ponyville will be either rundown, or burnt down in no time!" Rainbow started to panic.
Luna was about to comment, but she held her tongue when she heard a familiar rumble nearby. Turning to look behind her, she could see a group of storm clouds that were nearly on top of them, along with a modified balloon with a cannon jutting out from the bottom of it. With a satisfied sigh for the added help, and a shake of her head in amusement for Pinkie's antics, she began to relax herself.
"It appears that our reinforcements have arrived," she announced.
"What do you-" Rainbow was cutoff by the sound of a cannon firing off.
Turning to look up, she and everyone else saw Pinkie's balloon cannon firing into the group of timberwolves. As they continued looking at it in confusion, the could see Applejack dropping bombs off the side of the basket. They were all silent before Spike finally spoke up.
"Okay, just what did we miss exactly for this to happen?" he wondered.
"I have no idea," Rainbow replied, equally as lost.
While they were watching the balloon, the off duty pegasi guards and their storm clouds had moved over them. Once they were situated, they allowed for the rain that the clouds held to start falling and started putting out the flames. As they were doing that, they also started kicking the clouds, assisting Applejack and Pinkie by causing lightning to strike out at the timberwolves beneath them. With the lightning striking near them, Luna and the rest of the unicorns erected another barrier to protect them from the storm around them. Helpless against the pegasi and the balloon, the timberwolves began to retreat out of Ponyville and back into the safety of the Everfree Forest. While most were able to make it out, there were still plenty that got hit by the lightning. Once the timberwolves were completely cleared from Ponyville, the pegasi ceased their attack and let the rain continue putting out the fires.
With the timberwolves gone, everypony, and dragon, began erupting into cheers for their victory in defending most of Ponyville from their attack. As they continued to cheer, Pinkie lowered the balloon for her and Applejack to land. Once they did, they were immediately greeted by Spike and Rainbow.
"What in the hay happened to the balloon?!" Rainbow asked. "It's awesome!"
"Remember that button that Spike wanted ta press?" Applejack reminded them.
"You mean that that button did all of that?" Spike guessed.
"Eeyup."
"And you got to wear a moustache, Pinkie?"
"Sorry, Spike," Pinkie apologized. "I was going to give you your own moustache and let you join me, but things got changed around. So instead, it was Applejack who stayed with me."
"That's okay. After all, I got to fly and breath fire at the same time," Spike happily told her.
"While it's good to see you two safe," Luna began as she walked up to them. "We still have to get to the castle. When I left, it was being attacked by a fleet of manticores, and an army of timberwolves."
"Then let's go," Applejack announced, turning to get back into the basket.
"You have fought long and hard," Luna said addressing the guards. "You may stay to recuperate and tend to any that are injured."
"Yes, Your Highness," they all answered with a salute.
"Let us be off then," she said before taking to the skies, back towards the castle.
She wasn't alone, though, as Pinkie and Applejack were right behind her in the balloon, thanks to Pinkie hitting a button that caused a pair of thrusters to appear from the backside of the balloon basket and giving them their extra speed. She could also see Rainbow flying alongside her with Spike riding on her back, holding onto her mane to keep himself from falling off. As the five made their way towards Twilight's Castle, they noticed the fleet of manticores gathered away from the barrier. But, what really surprised them was a trail of spiraling flames and smoke that was drilling through the manticores. Once it had reached the end of the fleet, it would turn back around and pierce through the group again.
As they flew closer, they could see a second group of off duty pegasi guards with storm clouds of their own, picking off any manticores that were trying to escape. They had surrounded the manticore fleet, blocking them from the outside while also trapping them in.
Inside the fleet, Dark felt his magical boost starting to fade. Noticing that the manticores were all trapped together, he flew into the center of the group. As he hovered in place, he manipulated the rest of his flames around him, creating a ball of fire that encased him at the heart of it. Safe within his fiery orb, he began go gather the power that he had collected together in one spot. Once he felt his power peak, Dark let out a mighty roar, unleashing all of his magic and creating an explosion that consumed every last manticore. With Dark at the epicenter of the fiery explosion, he allowed for the massive ball of flame to last a little longer, watching as the manticores all turn to ash before finally allowing it wear off.
Feeling his Amplified magic and its side effects dissipate, and the fatigue from all the fighting catching up to him, Dark's wings began giving out on him. Soon, he found himself freefalling towards the ground. He didn't get too far, though, as he felt his descent had abruptly ended. Looking up, he saw that he was encased in Princess Luna's magical aura with Luna herself smiling down upon him. With him in her hold, she levitated him onto her back before she and the others continued to make their way to the caste. Seeing no timberwolves or magical barrier, and hearing no screams, they believed that the timberwolves had all been defeated. Soon they saw Celestia and Twilight standing on the balcony, waving them over to land.
First was Rainbow to land, letting Spike jump off before they ran over to Twilight and gave her a happy and thankful hug that she didn't get hurt, which she gladly returned. Next was Pinkie, who parked her balloon on the outside of the balcony railing so that she wouldn't take up any extra room. Once she had the balloon secured, she and Applejack jumped out and went over to join their friends. As they were enjoying the comfort in knowing that everyone made it out safe, Luna then landed beside Celestia with Dark half-asleep on her back. Looking up from her friends towards Luna, Twilight saw Dark draped over her back. Getting up, she went over to Luna's side to look over him.
"Is he okay?" she worryingly asked.
"I'm alright, just tired is all," Dark tiredly answered before sliding himself off of Luna. "Thank you for carrying me back, Princess."
"It wasn't of any trouble," Luna gratefully returned.
Standing on all fours, Dark began making his way towards the castle interior. He didn't get far, though, as his fatigue caused him to stumble a bit. Seeing him struggling, Twilight went up alongside him, offering herself for him to lean on for support while walking. As everyone on the balcony made their way back inside, Twilight looked curiously to Dark.
"So, what happened to you exactly?" she asked.
"Just a lot of fighting and spell casting," Dark replied.
"Would that include the blood that's been dried and burnt onto your coat?" Luna questioned.
Hearing her, Twilight took a closer look at Dark's coat. Though small as it was, she was still able to see a few traces a blood on him. Twilight then drew her attention from his coat to look him in the eyes, nervousness now plastered across his face.
"Dark," she firmly spoke. "What happened?"
"... I might've gotten mauled by the ursa once... or twice," he meekly replied.
Twilight sighed. "So, I guess that that wasn't a big deal to you either?"
Feeling as though he was treading dangerous waters, Dark figured to play it safe, especially after he remembered how she reacted back during his hospital stay.
"I swear, I was trying to be careful and didn't do anything stupid. But even in the middle of battle, I can't dodge everything that's thrown at me."
"He's right," Applejack defended. "Pinkie and Ah were right there watchin' the whole thin'. Dark tried ta keep his distance from it and use his magic against it, but after a while, even Ah could see that his flyin' speed was startin' ta slow down."
Looking from Applejack back to Dark, Twilight saw the still nervous look on his face. She still figured that Dark might have acted reckless at some point during his fight, but decided to trust him and Applejack.
"Alright," she said with a nod, which in turn made Dark sigh in relief.
They continued through the castle halls, making their way to the main entrance hall where Fluttershy and the rest of the guards would be. As they continued, Dark felt some of his strength returning, allowing for him to walk on his own. However, once they turned the corner, they all stopped where they were as they saw dozens of alpha timberwolves laying down in front of them with Fluttershy sitting at the front with one of them resting its head on her lap.
Upon seeing them, Dark flared his wings while emanating a low growl from is burning maw. Hearing him, the alpha timberwolves all shot their heads up to look at him. While they probably would've been somewhat alright with fighting him, seeing the three alicorns right behind him caused them to shake unsteadily. It wasn't until Dark got a good look at the one Fluttershy was caring for though that he charged straight for it. Recognizing the claw marks on its face, he was intending to finish what it had started last week. He didn't get very far as Fluttershy got up abruptly and blocked his path.
"What are you doing, Fluttershy?" Dark growled.
"I'm not going to let you hurt them," she told him, her soft voice replaced by one of firmness and finality.
"But that one-"
"I know," she interrupted. "He's one of the survivors from their failed attack on you from last week." Seeing as how Dark was confused about how she knew, she decided to fill him in on the details. "He told me about what happened. He also told me about how somepony was controlling them to do everything, from attacking you at the pond, to today."
Dark looked into her eyes. When he saw that she had no intention of budging on this matter, he looked behind her to see the alpha timberwolf cowering behind her. Letting out an irritated sigh, Dark turned around to the others.
"And what are their intentions now?" he asked.
"Now that they're free of him, they just want to go back home to the Everfree Forest," Fluttershy answered. "However, they couldn't go out before because of all of the fighting going on. That, and the other guards would probably attack them if they saw them."
"That's true," Luna agreed. "However, if I and a few of our guards were to escort them back into the forest, then they would be safe."
Turning to the alpha timberwolves, Fluttershy got a round of nods and some barks from a few of them before facing Luna.
"They all agree to you helping them," she relayed. "They also promised that they won't attack anypony."
With a nod, Luna gathered a few of the guards watching them to help escort them back into the Everfree Forest. Just as they were about to leave, Fluttershy went back over to them to say her goodbyes.
"You'll all be careful now, won't you?" she asked getting a few happy barks and pants in return. "That's good to hear. Also, would it be alright if I came to visit you once in a while?" Her reply this time was a collection of gentle licks from the alpha timberwolves, which caused her to joyfully giggle.
Once they were done thanking her, they began filing out of the caste and back towards the forest. Once they were all out, Celestia excused herself to go begin lowering the sun for the day.
"Well, I don't know about the rest of you, but if you're alright with it, I'm gonna turn in early," Dark groggily said.
"That's probably a good idea," Twilight agreed. "It's been a very long day, and I'm quite tired myself. You girls are welcome to stay the night here if you want."
"But what about everypony else?" Pinkie asked.
"We've already got them situated for the night. I didn't know how long the fighting would last, so I went on ahead and planed for everypony to stay here. Besides, I'm sure that some of them will need a place to stay with the damage to Ponyville."
"Yeah, not gonna lie there. Some of the timberwolves did destroy some of the houses," Rainbow admitted.
"Cool! So it's going to be like a giant sleepover!" Pinkie exclaimed. "Ooh, I better go tell everypony."
And with that, she was gone. Deciding to head off to their rooms, they made their way towards the stairs. Before they got there, though, a white blur ran past them and tackled Spike to the floor. Confused by what it was, Dark, Twilight, Rainbow, Applejack, and Fluttershy all turned around just in time to see Sweetie Belle tightly hugging Spike as she began kissing him fully on the lips. While surprised by the initial and sudden contact, Spike didn't waste any time and returned the kiss as he wrapped his arms around her. Seeing the two like that caused Fluttershy to let out an "aww" while everyone else silently looked down happily at the two. After a few moments, the two broke their kiss for some much needed air.
"I'm so happy that you're alright!" Sweetie Belle beamed.
"Wha?" Spike replied, still lost from kissing Sweetie Belle for the first time before shaking his head, snapping himself from his daze. "Oh, right! That's because I was riding on top of Rainbow while she was flying above them."
"Really?" she wondered with a cocked brow.
"Yep," Rainbow agreed. "While I was flying around above those timberwolves, Spike here would torch them with his fire breath. That way, both of us would be safe."
Untangling herself from Spike, Sweetie Belle went over and began hugging Rainbow.
"Thank you for keeping him safe, Rainbow," she thanked.
"Heh, no problem, kid," Rainbow replied while patting her on the head.
Releasing her hug, Sweetie Belle went back over to Spike. It was right after that that Rarity, Pinkie, and the rest of the Crusaders came into view.
"Pinkie just told us that you're allowing us to stay the night tonight?" Rarity asked.
"Yep. We were about to go call it a night before Sweetie Belle showed up," Twilight answered.
"I know. I was surprised of how quickly she was moving when Pinkie told us that everyone made it back safely." She then looked down to the young fillies. "And I suppose you three better head off to bed as well."
"Aww, but we're not tired yet," Apple Bloom complained.
"Yeah, we're not-" Scootaloo tired agreeing, but was stopped short as she yawned loudly.
"Are ya sure about that, sugarcube?" Applejack questioned.
"Feel free to pick out a room," Twilight told them. "In the meantime, I'm off to bed." She then turned to Dark. "But as for you, you really should go and clean yourself up. I don't want you getting your bedsheets ruined because you forgot to clean off the blood from your fighting."
Dark didn't say anything, and instead gave her a nod.
"And don't worry about work tomorrow," Applejack chimed. "After the day we had, Ah think that we all deserved a day off."
"You mean a day off to help rebuild the damage to the town, right?" Dark guessed.
"Hehehe, yeah, that too Ah suppose."
"Meh, oh well," he shrugged. "It's nothing new to me anyway."
With that said and done, they said their goodnights before heading to their rooms, while Dark made his way to grab a shower. He was happy with agreeing with Twilight as he felt the warm water cascading down his coat. It took a bit of effort, but after a good fifteen minutes of scrubbing down, he managed to get all of his blood out of his coat. Feeling clean and refreshed from his shower, Dark began drying himself off with his fire breath before heading off towards his room to sleep. As he made his way back to his room, he crossed paths with Celestia.
"Hello, Dark," she greeted him.
"Hello, Princess," he yawned.
"My, my, somepony sounds tired."
"I was just heading off to bed early, actually, same with everypony else. Twilight said that they're free to stay over for the night, and I would venture to guess that would include you and Princess Luna too."
"Yes, you're right. She actually has rooms reserved for Luna and myself, should we ever decide to drop by."
"Well in that case, I'll be heading off to bed then."
"Alright. Goodnight to you. Also, Dark?" she called, gaining his attention with a smile. "Thank you for all that you've done today."
"You're welcome, Princess, and goodnight to you too," he smiled back.
Twilight was both surprised and happy when she came into her room and saw the stuffed ursa minor doll sitting on her bed. After she tucked herself in, she brought it over to her and began cuddling with it. As she did, memories of what Celestia had told her about how and why she was targeted, began resurfacing in her mind. Trying to push those thoughts out of her head, she closed her eyes to try and fall asleep... it didn't work.
For the next few hours, she tossed and turned with her ursa doll, trying to fall asleep, but it wouldn't come so easily. The fear of the intent behind todays attack still lingered. With a huff of frustration, she looked up at the clock to see that it was 11 P.M. Shaking her head, she got out of bed and began making her way to the kitchen for a glass of warm milk. Downing the drink and rising the cup out in the sink, she then returned back up towards her room, just in time to catch Sweetie Belle sneaking up the stairs towards where her and Spike's rooms were.
"Can't sleep either?" Twilight softly asked, causing the filly to jump and squeak in surprise of being caught.
Turning around, Sweetie Belle began nervously rubbing her front hooves together.
"Yeah," she answered.
"Alright, but why are you up here?"
"Well... because..."
"It's alright, Sweetie," Twilight gently spoke, putting a hoof on her shoulder. "You can tell me."
Giving a sigh, Sweetie Belle began to answer. "Well, since I'm having a hard time sleeping, I figured that I could sleep with Spike tonight."
"Any particular reason why? I mean, how would Spike change that?"
"Because I feel safe and more relaxed when I'm with him," she meekly answered with a blush.
Safe and relaxed huh? Twilight thought. "And this works?"
"Well, for me it does."
Twilight smiled. "Alright, go ahead then."
Smiling back, Sweetie Belle gave her a quick hug before continuing towards Spike's room. Once she was out of sight, Twilight made her way down to the hallway where the guests rooms were at. Reaching a specific set of doors, Twilight stopped, her heart pounding away in her chest. Taking a moment to breath and calm herself, she gently knocked on the door. After a few attempts and getting no answer, she gently opened the door. Peeking inside, she saw Dark sleeping peacefully in his bed. Quietly, she made her way over to his bedside before gently nudging him with her hoof, only to get some inaudible mumbles out of him.
"Dark?" she whispered with another nudge.
Hearing his name being called, Dark cracked open an eye to see Twilight looking at him.
"Twilight? Is something wrong?" he tiredly asked.
"Sorta. I can't seem to fall asleep."
"Did you try grabbing a cup of water or some warm milk?"
"I did, but its different than that."
Seeing that this was bothering her, Dark sat up in his bed before patting the spot next to him for her to sit and tell him her problem. Understanding his meaning, Twilight hopped up and sat herself down before she began telling him what was going on.
"I'm having trouble sleeping after what happened today," she told him.
"I suppose that's understandable," he said. "You're not used to combat, so this is something fairly new to you."
"Well, yes... but it's more than that." She paused to take a breath before continuing. "Those alpha timberwolves told Fluttershy why they were sent here." Dark raised an eyebrow to this. "Turns out that whoever was controlling them wanted me captured."
"Makes sense. Considering that you're a princess, he probably wanted to use you for a ransom or something like that."
"I wish," Twilight commented. "But no. The actual reason was because he wanted to... kill me in front of you."
Dark's eyes widened as his attention was now solely on Twilight.
"Celestia explained to me that it was a way to get to you."
"Twilight-"
"And since then I can't get that thought out of my head," she said, her voice beginning to crack while her body slightly trembled. "I can't sleep because I'm scared that he might come and try it again. And this time, I may not-"
She stopped when she felt a familiar warmth engulfing her. Looking up, she saw that Dark had pulled her into his chest and wrapped his arms and wings around her. Burying her face into his coat, she allowed herself to let out a few snivels while Dark gently stroked her mane in an attempt to help calm her. They silently stayed like that for a few minutes before Dark spoke up.
"You know that I'm not going to let anything like that happen to you, right?" he gently asked.
"I know," she softly answered. "But it still worries me."
"In that case, what can I do to help remove this worry of yours?"
"Well... could I stay here?"
"What do you mean? This is your castle, so I'm sure that you can stay."
"Not that," she said, her voice hesitant and quiet. "I mean... is it alright if I... stay with you... tonight?"
Dark was a bit surprised by this request. He understood why Twilight wanted to stay during his hospital stay, and he understood that she was scared, but was this really what she wanted? He brought his head back to look down at her, seeing her looking back up to him with pleading eyes.
"Please?" she whispered.
Not having the heart to deny her, Dark instead gently tightened his embrace on her while lowering his head onto hers.
"Alright," he softly answered.
Hearing him agree, Twilight smiled as she began nuzzling him. Dark then pulled back the sheets and began to lay himself and Twilight down before pulling the bedsheets back over them. After some shifting around to get themselves more comfortable, they were laying on their sides with Twilight still wrapped up in Dark's arms and wings. Beginning to feel relaxed, Twilight let out a content sigh as she snuggled closer against Dark and rested her head up in the crook of his neck.
Sweetie Belle's right, she mentally concluded with a smile. It does feel safe and relaxing.
"Feeling better?" Dark asked.
"Mhmm," Twilight mumbled, sleep finally starting to take hold.
Dark smiled before whispering, "Good to hear. Goodnight, Twilight. Sweet dreams."
"Goodnight, Dark. And sweet dreams to you too."
Feeling safe and content within Dark's embrace, Twilight's fears quickly faded away. It wasn't long afterwards that Twilight was finally asleep, softly snoring in a way that Dark found awfully cute. As he continued listening to Twilight's soft breathing, it wasn't long until he too found himself drifting off to sleep.