//------------------------------//
// Chapter 10- Recovery and Emotions 
// Story: Of Flame and Shadow 
// by Garuda IV 
//------------------------------//

		Dark groaned as he regained consciousness. The last thing he remembered was Twilight holding him close to her before being bathed in a flash of light. As he became more aware, his senses started returning. He felt tired, warm, and... unusually heavy. He was about to try moving, but then he heard an all too familiar sound. It was the beeping of a heart monitor.

Ugh, not this again, Dark mentally groaned for being interrupted from a dream he was having by that infernal machine. When I open my eyes, I better not be back in another hospital room.

But to his displeasure, once he opened his eyes, he saw the ceiling of a hospital room. Giving another annoyed groan, he moved his left arm to look at it, but stopped once he saw the I.V. needle stuck in his arm with red stuff pumping into him. Following the tubing upward, Dark saw that it was connected to a blood packet. Nervous as to why one of those were being supplied to him, Dark slowly returned his arm to where it lay before. He then tried moving his right arm, only to stop when he felt it brush up against something that didn't feel like a blanket. Whatever it is, it was warm, soft, and felt somewhat familiar.

What the heck? he wondered.

Turning his gaze downward, his vision became obscured by a familiar purple mane with a lavender horn. He tilted his head to the side to see that Twilight was sleeping, covered in her own blanket, and partially draped over him. As soon as he saw this, his face lit up as body froze in place, not sure whether this was another dream, or if he'd missed something completely. Deciding to see if this was real or not, Dark took a delicate sniff, taking in the scent of books, ink, and Twilight's favorite lavender-scented shampoo. Now knowing that this was very much real, Dark's eyes widened as his heart took off.

This isn't a dream, Dark mentally concluded. Then... does that mean that what happened in my dream last night wasn't exactly a dream either? And if so, then why don't I remember any of it?

His thoughts were put on hold as he felt Twilight stir, snuggling herself even closer against Dark.

Okay, what to do, what to do?! he panicked. Ugh, I wish somepony were here to help me out. I don't know what I'm suppose to do in this kind of situation.

As if his thoughts were heard, the door to his room opened, revealing Nurse Redheart. As she came closer, she saw Dark was now awake with Twilight still asleep up against him. She looked at Dark, seeing the look of embarrassment on his face, and the furious blush that accompanied it. Seeing this as a perfect opportunity for feeling mischievous, and knowing of what actually happened last night, she decided to mess with him a little bit.

"Well, well, well. What do we have going on here? I'm not interrupting anything, am I?" she mischievously asked.

"I swear, this isn't what it looks like," Dark quietly pleaded, trying to remain as motionless as he could.

"I don't know," Nurse Redheart continued, now tapping her chin. "Anything could have happened here while I was away and I wouldn't of known about it."

"But nothing happened."

"Alright, then why don't you explain to me why you have the Princess of Friendship draped over you and sleeping so peacefully?"

Dark's heart began racing even faster now. Not only had something apparently happened to him that he couldn't remember, but now he was probably going to be imprisoned because he got caught with Twilight sharing the same bed as him. As thoughts of his possible sentence began flooding his mind, Nurse Redheart started to softly laugh. Snapped out of his thoughts, Dark redirected his attention back to the nurse.

"Why are you laughing?" he nervously asked.

"Relax, Dark," Nurse Redheart told him. "I'm just messing with you."

"... what?"

"Twilight didn't leave last night," she began explaining. "The last time I saw her awake was a little past 2 A.M. She was worried about you during the surgery and didn't want to leave you alone after you were out." She paused to see Dark's worried expression fade away, now replaced by one of surprise. "And seeing as how I forgot to supply her with a bed of her own, she apparently decided to share yours."

Dark took a moment to comprehend what she told him. Granted he was happy that Twilight cared about him, but he didn't think that she cared that much. Although a few things of what Nurse Redheart had said stuck out to him, he needed to clarify something first.

"So what you were saying when you first came in..." Dark started.

"I was just pulling your leg there," she giggled. "I'm sorry, but I just couldn't help myself. Especially with the situation that you were in, and the look on your face at the time."

Dark sighed in relief. "Thank goodness. So I won't be sent off to the dungeons after all."

"Not if Twilight has anything to say about it," she commented. "Besides, I think I have a pretty good idea of how you feel about her."

"How do you know- wait, don't tell me. Mare's intuition?" Dark exaggeratedly guessed.

"Good guess, Dark," she complimented. "How'd you know?"

"You're not the first mare to give me that answer this week," he deadpanned. 

"Well since I now know, would you like to talk about it? I promise not to tell Twilight or anypony else."

Dark sighed. "I suppose it wouldn't hurt, but I swear, though, how am I suppose to keep my feelings a secret if every mare I talk to involving Twilight are able to see it so clearly?"

"Because we're good at sensing these kind of things," she answered.

Dark nervously looked down to the still sleeping Twilight. "Do you think she knows too?"

Nurse Redheart shrugged. "Don't know. I'm not her, and I can't read her mind. All that I know is that you like her." She cocked an eyebrow. "You do like her, right? And I don't mean as just a friend either."

He didn't answer right away. It was one thing to say that he likes her, but to actually admitting that he likes her as more than just a friend was a whole different story. After feeling Twilight starting to nuzzle him in her sleep, he decided to throw caution into the wind and be open about it.

"I believe I do," he finally answered. "I've never had feelings for another mare like this before, let alone one who actually likes me for who I am. But I'm hesitant about it, though."

"Why?" she questioned. "If you like her, then why don't you go on ahead and ask her out on a date? And if that works out for you two, then eventually ask her to be your fillyfriend?"

"Because," Dark began. "I want to make sure that what I'm feeling for her is true, and to not rush into it until I'm completely sure of myself." He looked from Twilight back up to Nurse Redheart. "Besides, " he continued. "I'd like to spend more time with her and get to know her some more before I ask her. Perhaps in another week or two I will."

"So you actually admit that you like her? Possibly even love her?" she asked Dark, who meekly nodded in reply. "I understand what you mean then. If she really is the first mare you've fallen for, then I can agree with wanting to be patient about asking her to be your special somepony. But just a little piece of advice, though. Don't take too long to tell her, otherwise something might come up and then you'll be too late."

"I won't, and thank you for understanding, Nurse Redheart," Dark gratefully thanked, completely unaware of Twilight's ear subtly twitching and a smile starting to form on her lips.

"By the way, Dark," she began, also unaware that Twilight was now secretly listening in. "Out of curiosity, what is it about Twilight that made you fall for her? It's not because she's a princess is it?"

"No, of course not!" he immediately answered. "When I first saw Twilight, I didn't even know she was royalty. Besides, she asked that I not treat her as one." He stopped as a thought came to mind, causing him to blush. "Although, if we do end up together, then that would probably mean that I would start to spoil her a little bit like one."

This caused Nurse Redheart to start giggling at him, thinking about how romantic, and a little bit cheesy that sounded.

"I'm sure she'll forgive you for it," she said.

Dark nodded with a smile. "As for why I like her so much? Well, from what I've seen and heard about her, she's very smart, kind, caring, assertive, brave, magically talented, organized, always willing to help a friend if she has the time, she can be a little bit crazy which wasn't all that strange in my family anyway, she's been there for me when I needed it, even when I didn't think I would at the moment, she's incredibly cute when she blushes, and I find her to be naturally beau-" 

He paused when his mind registered what his mouth was about to say. Though he was alright with what he admitted thus far, he was a bit too nervous to tell what he completely thought of Twilight. But, although he didn't finish his sentence, Nurse Redheart understood what he was about to say... as did Twilight.

Does he really mean it? Twilight wondered, her cheeks beginning to heat up.

Hearing him admit how he felt caused her heart to skip a beat, knowing that he feels the same for her as she does for him, and that he would most likely ask her out within the next few weeks. But, although she was happy, she remembered that she was suppose to be playing possum. As fast as she could, she tried to calm herself, hoping to slowdown her racing heart before Dark could notice. Thankfully for her, she was successful and continued to remain as she was while listening to Dark continue to talk.

"By the way, what time is it?" Dark asked.

"11 P.M." Nurse Redheart answered looking at the wall clock beside his bed.

"And how long was I out for?"

"According to Twilight, just before she brought you in last night."

"Well that's good. I was kinda worried that I would've been out for a few days after that."

"Ah yes, that," she said now glaring at Dark. "Would you mind telling me why you went and picked a fight with a pack of alpha timberwolves?"

"I didn't pick a fight with them, they picked a fight with me," Dark defended himself. "I was just minding my own business, grabbing a drink of water from the stream after my flight training was finished when they attacked me."

"But that doesn't explain why you didn't know sooner."

"Because they were downwind of me and my back was unknowingly turned to them at the time." He paused as a concern came to mind. "By the way, how'd the surgery go? Because I don't feel sore or achy anywhere unlike the last time I had one. Instead I just feel really tired."

"That's because of your regeneration," Nurse Redheart answered.

Dark's eyes widened. "What?! Since when could I regenerate?"

"Probably when you were turned into a kirin," Twilight softly answered, causing the others to jump in surprise. Remaining where she lay, Twilight turned her head to look up at Dark with a smile. "Good morning."

"Uhh... good morning?" he slowly returned in a nervous tone. "Umm, how much did you hear?"

"Enough," she answered. "If I had to say though, it would probably be somewhere around when you began explaining about how you got put in here."

Seeing Dark sigh in relief, Twilight turned her head to face Nurse Redheart, giving her an all-knowing smile and wink before returning her attention back to Dark. Knowing what Twilight meant, Nurse Redheart's face immediately lit up.

That sly filly! Nurse Redheart thought. She's actually been awake this whole time?!

"So, Dark," Twilight began, looking Dark in the eyes while resting her head on his shoulder. "How exactly did you get so beaten-up? I understand not doing anything against the guards, but I though that you would've been able to take them all out, considering you used to do that to dragons."

Hearing Twilight's comment at the end made Nurse Redheart double take. She was now curious as to what she meant, but decided to address that later.

"Well, I was drinking some water after my training session with Rainbow-" he began answering, but was stopped when Twilight held a hoof against his lips.

"Not quite what I meant," she said. "I heard what you said earlier about the conditions leading up to the fight, but what happened during the fight that caused you to be here?"

After Twilight removed her hoof, Dark answered, "It's because I was tired and couldn't do as much as I could have. That, and the first alpha timberwolf that attacked managed to land a good scratch on me before I could retaliate." He tapped his chin in thought. "Come to think of it, even my magical reserves seemed to be awfully low. I couldn't even cast half as many spells as I normally can during that fight."

Twilight nodded. "That's because the amount of magic you have is also based on your physical condition," she explained. "Since you were exhausted from Rainbow's flight training, it also depleted your magical reserves to a minimum amount. I'm surprised you didn't know about this. Unicorns are suppose to be taught these kinds of things when growing up."

"Sorry, but nopony back in Stonewall ever bothered teaching me," Dark answered. "Everything I learned was self-taught either by reading, or through trial and error."

"Well that's disappointing to hear," Twilight commented. "Then again, I shouldn't be too surprised, considering how you described the other villagers would act towards you before. Out of curiosity, though, what kind of spells did you use against them?"

Dark closed his eyes as he began recounting last night's event. "Twenty-five fireballs, five levitation spells, four magical blasts, one wall of fire, one advanced, fire-type trap spell, and Soul Eyes."

"You casted that many spells while in a weakened state?" Twilight surprisingly asked, getting a nod in return. "I'm going to have to run some tests on your magical reserves to see how much you have exactly. But if you still had all that power left, then why didn't you get any of them?"

"Don't get me wrong. They started out with eight of them, but they kept using the nearby pond to douse themselves whenever they caught on fire."

"So you got five of them," she concluded. "Which would have been all of them if the pond wasn't there."

"Correct."

"Then how did you beat the ones that you did?"

"Crushed one's head in my jaws, used my claw to impale another one through the chest, held two up with my claws and burned their heads off, and lifted the last one off the ground, just out of striking range with my magic before torching it," he casually answered before seeing the shocked looks on their faces. "Maybe I should've been a bit more discreet about it?"

"That would've been a good idea. Though I'm more surprised that you resorted to close-quarters combat rather than to try and do what you did to the last one," Twilight answered.

"Yeah. I didn't figure that out till after I called out for help. That, and I didn't know that they could reassemble themselves like they did."

Twilight arched an eyebrow. "Wait a moment, so let me get this straight. You waited until after you were badly injured before you finally called for help?"

Uh-oh, red flags going off. Better play it safe and honest, Dark cautiously thought before answering, "Umm... yes?"

Twilight's brows furrowed as she turned her head to look back at Nurse Redheart. "You said that he's not injured anymore and is just tired at the moment, right?"

"That is correct," she answered.

"Wait, what?" Dark asked confusingly.

"Good," Twilight said before lifting a hoof and slamming it down on Dark's chest, causing him to painfully grunt at the force behind it. "You stupid idiot! Why would you wait so long to call for help?!"

"I thought I could handle it, and-" he tried to explain, but was cut short by another hoof to the chest.

"So you felt like you had to fight them all by yourself?!" she shouted with another pound, accompanied by several others, each weaker than the last. "Did you ever consider how others would feel about you getting yourself nearly killed like that? About how your friends would feel... about how I would feel?"

Dark instantly became remorseful upon seeing the hurt and tears forming in Twilight's eyes. She was right. He didn't stop to think about how everypony else would feel about that boneheaded stunt he pulled, and he knew it. At that moment when he was facing those alpha timberwolves, his old combat instincts kicked in, making nothing else mattered at that moment besides the target before him.

"I'm sorry, Twilight," Dark softly apologized.

"You don't know how worried I was," she sniveled. "After the first few hours of waiting when you were in the operating room, I was beginning to think that you weren't going to make it."		

Seeing Twilight starting to cry was tearing away at Dark. Feeling ashamed of himself and wanting to try and fix his mistake, Dark wrapped his right arm around Twilight and gently held her close while she sobbed into his coat.

"I'm sorry. I never meant to worry you so much," he sorrowfully said while tightening his one-armed hug. "You're right, though. It was stupid of me to wait so long before calling for help like that. If I ever find myself in a situation like that again where I might be in trouble, I'll call out for help right away."

"You promise?" she asked, looking back up at him.

"Yes, Twilight. I promise," he answered, moving his claw to wipe the tears from her eyes.

Content with the promise he made to her, Twilight settled herself back down against Dark.

"Thank you," she quietly responded. "Now, if it's okay with you two, I'm tired and am going back to sleep."

"But, Twilight," Nurse Redheart interjected. "You've been asleep for almost nine hours already. Besides, it's almost noon."

"And I was up late worrying about whether or not Dark would survive the surgery," Twilight countered. "And that's made me emotionally tired as well as physically tired. So if it's alright with you, I'm heading back to sleep."

"Alright," Nurse Redheart conceded. "In that case I'll go get you a spare bed."

"No thanks, I'm good here."

"I think that Dark might prefer to have the bed to himself this time," she commented, looking over to Dark.

Being put on the spot, Dark looked over to Nurse Redheart who looked back at him for his answer. He then looked down to Twilight to see her giving him the puppy dog eyes along with a small pout. He found her act to be rather cute, which made it practically impossible for him to deny her. Smiling at Twilight, Dark gave them his answer.

"I'm alright with it," he answered, causing Twilight to return the smile while Nurse Redheart facehoofed, figuring that she should've seen that answer coming. "Besides, I'm starting to feel a bit tired too, so I doubt that I'll be up much longer either."

"Alright then," Nurse Redheart said. "Is there anything you need before I leave you two to rest then?"

"Just a couple of questions, but they can wait till later."

"In that case, you two sleep well, and I'll be back later during my rounds to remove those bandages," she told them as she made her way out, and closed the door behind her.

Now alone together, Dark looked back down to meet Twilight's gaze.

"I'm a little surprised that you're still wanting to stay," Dark said.

"Well, why wouldn't I?" Twilight questioned. "I did tell everypony that I wasn't going to leave you while you were still here. Besides," she continued, returning her head to it's resting spot in the crook of Dark's neck. "I'm too comfortable and tired to leave."

Dark let out a throaty chuckle. "Me too, Twilight," he agreed, holding Twilight close with his one arm. "Me too."





Over in Carousel Boutique, Rarity was busy working on an order for a customer. She was behind by an hour thanks to her visit to the school house. After explaining to Miss Cheerilee about what happened, she was willing to let Sweetie Belle have the day off. Of course, even though she didn't have to come in today, that didn't mean that she could skip out on her homework, which Rarity was more than happy to bring back to her. As Rarity continued to hum to herself while stitching the dress together, she paused to look at the time. Seeing as how it was close to noon, Rarity put her sewing equipment down and made her way to Sweetie Belle's room.

I wonder if Sweetie and Spike are up yet? Rarity pondered. Twilight did tell me how much Spike likes to sleep in, but Sweetie should've be awake by now. Then again, they were up rather late last night.

Cracking the door open to peek inside, she saw that both Sweetie Belle and Spike were asleep, still as they were when they were put to bed last night. With a sigh, Rarity closed the door and began making her way to the kitchen.

"I'll let them sleep until lunch is ready," she said to herself. "After that I'll go and wake them up."

Few minutes later in her room, Sweetie Belle began to stir. She knew she had to get up and get ready for school, but she just felt so warm and cozy in her bed this morning that she didn't want to leave. Reluctantly, she opened her eyes, only to see green in front of her. Moving her eyes around to see what was obscuring her vision, Sweetie Belle soon saw a purple-scaled body, along with two arms wrapped around her. Getting a good idea of who this was, she tilted her head up to see Spike's sleeping face. With the memories of last night coming back to her, a few questions came to mind. Forgetting about school for the moment, Sweetie Belle scooted herself up to be at eye-level with Spike before she started to gently wake him.

"Spike?" she quietly called while lightly poking him with a forehoof. "Spike?"

Hearing his name being called, Spike opened his eyes to see Sweetie Belle's face mere inches from his. Waking to see her so close to him put a nervous smile on Spike's face.

"Good morning, Sweetie," Spike nervously greeted.

"Good morning," she returned. "Um, Spike?"

"Yea?"

"How did we get into my bed?"

"Your bed?" he questioned.

Glancing to look at his surroundings, he could see that he was in fact inside of Sweetie Belle's bedroom... and her bed... with her. Turning back to Sweetie Belle, he could see the nervous look on her face as well, both wondering the same thing.

"I don't know, Sweetie," Spike finally answered. "I fell asleep at the hospital after you did."

"Alright, but when did you start calling me 'Sweetie' instead of using my full name?"

"Just now I suppose. Do you not like it?"

Sweetie Belle shook her head. "No, it's alright. Normally only my sister or the other Crusaders call me that, but I'm okay if you do too."

"Alright. Thanks, Sweetie," Spike smiled.

"You're welcome," she replied before burying her face back into Spike's chest.

Sighing contently, Sweetie Belle continued to lay there, enjoying the soothing warmth emanating from the little dragon's body. Spike too was letting himself relax with the feeling of Sweetie Belle's warm, fluffy coat. They remained like that for a while longer until Sweetie Belle spoke up.

"Um, Spike?" she nervously called, causing him to look down to her as she looked up to him. "Can I ask you something? And I want you to be honest about it."

"Okay," he slowly answered.

"Well... um... do you... like me?"

"Of course I do, Sweetie. You're one of my best friends."

"Not like that," she pouted. "I mean, do you really like me?"

Spike's eyes widened at what she was asking him. "You mean as in... like, like?"

"Uh-huh."

"I... well, you see," he tried to answer, but was having a hard time getting the words out.

Listening to Spike's loss of words, Sweetie Belle frowned dejectedly. She was about to crawl out of bed before she felt Spike's arms tighten around her, holding her against him. Looking back up to him, she saw that he was nervous about it, but his eyes showed confidence.

"There's no other way for me to say it, so I'm just gonna say it as it is," he began, gaining her full attention. "To be perfectly honest with you... yes, I do really like you, Sweetie Belle."

Hearing his answer, Sweetie Belle lunged forward and wrapped Spike in a choking hug. As she held her dragon tightly, she allowed for a few happy tears to escape her.

"Thank you," she whispered.

"You're welcome, Sweetie," Spike quietly returned as he stroked her mane.

After a few minutes of holding each other, Sweetie Belle pulled back to look into Spike's eyes. She then closed her eyes and slowly moved closer to Spike. Knowing what she was wanting to do, Spike nervously closed his own eyes while moving to meet Sweetie Belle. Soon they could feel the soft breathing coming from one another as the gap between them shrank. Their lips were now a half-inch away from each other and closing. And as time seemed to have come to a stop for the two, a voice halted them.

"Sweetie Belle?" Rarity called through the closed door.

Hearing her caused the two to cry out in surprise as they accidentally threw themselves away from each other and off opposing sides of the bed. Hearing the cries and the two thuds that followed soon after, Rarity opened the door to see Sweetie Belle and Spike laying on each side of her sister's bed.

"Oh good, you're both finally awake," she said. "I have lunch ready for us whenever you're ready."

"Don't you mean breakfast?" Spike asked.

"No, I mean lunch. It's a little past noon right now."

Shocked by what her sister said, Sweetie Belle looked over to her clock, her eyes growing wide as she saw what time it was.

"Rarity!" she cried. "Why didn't you wake me?! Miss Cheerilee will think that I'm playing hockey now!"

"I believe the proper word you're looking for is 'hooky', dear. And no, you won't be in any trouble. I went over to the schoolhouse and talked to her about what happened. She's allowed for you to take the day off, provided that you complete the homework she sent with me for you."

"Alright. Thanks, Rarity," she thanked.

"If you want, I can help you with your homework," Spike offered, receiving an enthusiastic nod in reply.

"Well then," Rarity began. "Let's go eat then before it gets cold."

As Rarity left to return to the kitchen, Sweetie Belle and Spike stood side by side looking out at the empty door.

"Sooo, about what we were going to do before we got interrupted," Spike slowly wondered.

"I'd like to, but Rarity kinda ruined the moment," Sweetie Belle replied.

"Yeah, I thought as much, but figured that it wouldn't hurt to ask."

"Hehehe, no, it doesn't," she giggled before giving Spike a peck on the cheek, causing his face to turn from purple to pink. "But hopefully that'll work for now."

Leaving Spike standing frozen in place, Sweetie Belle ran out of her room and downstairs to eat. After seeing his new fillyfriend leave the room, Spike snapped out of his stupor and quickly chased after her.





Later that afternoon, Rarity, Sweetie Belle, and Spike made their way into the hospital to check on Dark. The walk there wasn't very pleasant since the afternoon was scheduled with a rainstorm. Still, though, that didn't stop them from wanting to check up on their friend. After entering the building, they met up with Rainbow and Applejack as they were about to leave the lobby and head on towards Dark's room.

"Hello, Rainbow, Applejack," Rarity greeted. "Here to see Dark too I presume?"

"Eeyup," Applejack answered.

"Yeah," Rainbow replied, rubbing the back of her head. "Although, I'm more here to apologize to him than I am to just check up on him."

"Why would you feel as though you need to apologize to him?" Rarity asked.

Rainbow sighed. "I'll let you know when we go and see Dark, alright?"

"Very well then," Rarity agreed. "I take it that you know which room he's staying at?"

"Turns out it's the same one as last time."

"Then let's go already," Sweetie Belle impatiently said.





"And that's about everything," Nurse Redheart finished explaining as she removed the last of Dark's bandages.

After Dark and Twilight woke up after their six hours of napping, Nurse Redheart walked in to do her rounds. After she was finished, she agreed to fill him in on what happened during his surgery. It was at that point that he was happy to be unconscious during that time. Hearing about how they had to prevent his wounds from closing during most of the procedure kept sending chills up his spine. 

"So, long story short," Dark pieced together. "If those alpha timberwolves wouldn't have gotten their sap into my bloodstream, then I wouldn't be here in the hospital right now?"

"More or less," she answered.

"And I'm still here because why again?"

"Because they want to make sure that you've got enough blood back inside you before they release you," Twilight answered.

"That means I'm gonna stuck here for another night, doesn't it?" Dark groaned.

"Sorry, but doctor's orders," replied Nurse Redheart as she turned to look at the clock. "Well, it looks like my break starts in a few minutes, so I'll see you later."

And so Nurse Redheart left the room to enjoy her break, leaving Twilight and Dark alone... again. Although he wasn't allowed to be moving out of bed other than to take care of business, he found himself to be quite bored. The only exceptions were Twilight, who barely left her spot beside him, and the rounds from Nurse Redheart. Although he did enjoy the company, Dark couldn't help but sigh in annoyance at not being allowed to move.

"Everything alright?" Twilight asked.

"I guess," Dark answered. "Just a little bored is all. Don't get me wrong now, I do enjoy your company and all. It's just that I don't like being ordered to lay in a hospital bed like this when I feel perfectly fine."

"I understand, but It's only for one more night. I'm sure you can handle it."

Their talk was then interrupted as their door opened, revealing Rainbow, Applejack, Rarity, Sweetie Belle, and Spike. Upon entering Dark's room, they all froze in place at seeing Twilight laying on the bed beside Dark. The room went silent for a few seconds before Rainbow decided to ask what they were thinking.

"Umm, we're not interrupting anything, are we?" she slowly asked.

"Nope," Twilight answered. "Come on in girls, you too, Spike."

Listening to their friend, the five made their way over by Dark's bed and sat themselves down.

"So, Twilight," Rarity began before clearing her throat. "What are you doing in Dark's bed exactly?"

"Technically she's laying on top of it," Dark corrected. "She's laying on the top blanket with one of her own covering her."

"That's not what I was asking," Rarity coldly said, looking from Dark to Twilight.

"Well, I did say that I wouldn't leave him while he was here," Twilight excused. "That, and there wasn't anywhere else to sleep in here besides the cold floor."

"I can understand not wanting to sleep on the floor like that, but to fall asleep on the same bed as him, and to not even be together no less."

"But Sweetie and I weren't together last night, and you set us both in her bed," Spike chimed.

"Yeah," Sweetie Belle agreed. "So why is it different for them when it was fine with us? Not that it really matters now."

"What was that last part, Sweetie?" Rarity asked.

"Nothing!" she quickly answered.

"Look, Rares," Applejack spoke. "It doesn't matter what they do, as long as it's alright with the both of them."

"Besides," Twilight added. "I did tell you girls how warm and soft he was."

Great, Dark exaggeratingly thought. Mom always used to say that I was like a soft, cuddly teddy bear, and now it appears that I am. Well, in a manner of speaking.

His thoughts were interrupted when Spike jumped up onto the bed, and unknowingly onto Dark's tail.

"Hey, Spike?" Dark began saying. "Could you move a little bit? You're kinda stepping on my tail there."

Looking down to his feet, Spike quickly stepped off to the side. "Sorry. Is that better?" he asked.

"Yeah, thanks."

"So, um, Dark?" Rainbow nervously began. "There's something that I wanna say."

"Okay?" Dark slowly answered.

Rainbow took a deep breath before she started her apology to him. "I'm sorry," she said.

Everyone in the room looked to her questionably. None of them knew about how she felt that she was responsible for putting him in the hospital like this. But even though she was even more nervous with her friends being around, Rainbow knew she needed to confront this.

"For what?" he asked. "You didn't do anything wrong."

"Yes, I did," she argued. "It's my fault that you nearly got killed yesterday."

"No, it's not your fault."

"Alright then, answer me this. For what reason was it that put you in the hospital?!" Rainbow asked in a raised voice.

"It's because of my own stubbornness, that's why!" Dark snapped. Taking a moment to calm himself, Dark began to explain himself. "It's a bad habit I picked up over my years of fighting in Stonewall. My family wasn't that concerned about my safety because they knew I could handle myself, and they knew the risks I was taking by doing it. Over time, I became used to fighting what was threatening me without any help, or without caring about what anypony else was feeling about it at the time. Although most of them didn't think much of it, but that's not the point. The bottom line is that it was my own fault for not calling out for help sooner, rather than waiting until the fight was so far gone to do so."

Hearing his reasoning for why he was at fault put Rainbow a little at ease, though she still felt guilty on her part, she was willing to accept Dark's roll in all of this too.

"Seems like we've both made some mistakes," Rainbow finally spoke.

"I still don't believe that what you did was a mistake, Rainbow," Dark replied.

"Oh really? Alright then, tell me, if I didn't push you as hard as I did, then how much different would the fight have turned out?" she asked. "And don't lie to me."

Dark gave a reluctant sigh, not wanting to tell her, although everyone gathered deserved to know.

"If I wasn't as exhausted as I was after our training," he began. "Then I would've gotten all of them while staying out of their reach with what you've taught me during our training."

"Seems like ya both have somethin' ta be sorry for," Applejack told them.

"Yeah," Rainbow agreed. "I'm sorry I pushed you so hard there, Dark."

"And I'm sorry too. To all of you," he added as Sweetie Belle hopped up and took a seat alongside Spike at the foot of the bed. "It wasn't right of me to fight them all alone without any help like I did."

Accepting his apology, they gathered around to give him a forgiving, friendly hug. Or they tried to anyway. Between him laying on the bed, and with Twilight taking up most of the space, there was little room for the rest of them.

"Hey, Twi? Could ya scoot over a little so the rest of us can get in on the huggin'?" Applejack asked.

"Sorry, Applejack," Twilight apologized. "But if I do, then I'll start sliding off."

Still getting what they could, they continued to hug their friend for another moment before breaking. As the others went back to their prior positions, Rainbow had another thing to say that's been bugging her since she thought about it last night.

"There's another thing I wanted to bring up," she announced, though sounding a bit more serious then before.

"What is it, Rainbow?" Twilight asked.

"It's about those timberwolves that attacked Dark," she told them. "And not just the alphas, I'm also talking about the ones from earlier this week."

"What about them, dear?" Rarity wondered.

"Doesn't it seem a little odd that Dark just happened to be targeted twice in the same week?"

"What makes you say that?" Twilight questioned.

"After my flight with Fluttershy last night, I got to thinking."

"Wow, that's a first," Applejack jokingly commented.

"Ignoring that," Rainbow said with a glare before continuing on. "After some thinking last night, I got to wondering why those timberwolves and alphas acted like they did, so today I did some research at the library in Twilight's Castle." She paused when she saw the shocked faces on the others, minus Dark. "Hey, I can do research too if I felt like it. Anyway, I checked through a few books and found something. Apparently, neither of them like hunting outside the Everfree Forest, too much risk and not enough reward. Which makes me wonder why did those three timberwolves confront Dark like that on his way to Applejack's farm that one morning?"

"I'll admit, it does raise some questions," Twilight admitted. "But they could've been a newly-formed pack, or just some young timberwolves hunting on their own for the first time."

"Alright, but what about the alphas?" Rainbow reminded them. "According to what I read, each pack of timberwolves has one alpha timberwolf in it, not eight."

"What are ya gettin' at, Rainbow?" Applejack asked.

"What I'm trying to say is that I don't think those attacks on Dark were just a mere coincidence."

"You're not saying that they were deliberately targeting Dark, are you?" Twilight questioned.

"Bingo," Rainbow answered with a nod. "It's the only thing that I can think of that makes any sense."

"But why?" Dark asked. "I thought that everypony here in Ponyville liked me?"

"But they do like you," Rarity told him.

"So if that's the case," Twilight concluded. "Then it must be somepony who's not from Ponyville." She looked up to her friends. "Have any of you seen anypony new wandering around town?" She asked, getting a collection of headshakes in reply.

"Alright then, let's think. Besides Fluttershy, who else do we know of who can manipulate a pack of timberwolves and alpha timberwolves, and would want Dark gone?"

"Maybe it's somepony from where Dark used to live?" Spike wondered.

"You forget, Spike," Dark began. "Everypony from Stonewall Village besides me is dead, so it couldn't be any of them."

"Perhaps Trixie?" Rarity guessed.

"I doubt it," Twilight answered. "Last I heard, she was over in Manehattan putting on a performance there. Besides, she wouldn't even know of Dark since she hasn't been here since the Alicorn Amulet incident."

"How about Queen Chrysalis?" Rainbow asked. "She does have that mind control magic that after all. She could've used it to control the timberwolves and the alphas."

"But that's not her normal style," Twilight countered. "She deals in infiltration and deception involving her changelings and herself, not manipulating wild animals into obeying her."

"What about that King Sombra guy?" Dark chimed. "I remember you saying that he likes to work from behind the scenes, and that he specializes in dark magic too."

"But he was blown-up by they Crystal Heart, so it couldn't be him either."

As their options dwindled, Sweetie Belle finally spoke up with a possible candidate.

"What about that one prince that Rarity used to have a crush on?" she asked them.	

Everyone froze at her guess. They all knew who she was referring to, and remembered how he had acted towards Applejack and Rarity during their first time at the Grand Galloping Gala. They also started to remember how he's been trying to secretly win over Twilight ever since she became an alicorn princess.

"He would have the resources and power to know of Dark, and Celestia knows that stallion can hold a grudge if he doesn't get his way," Rarity commented. "Not to mention that after considering the Alicorn Amulet, there could very well be an amulet out there that could control wild animals."

"Who are you talking about now?" Dark wondered.

"She's talking about Prince Blueblood," Twilight groaned. "He's the adopted nephew of Princess Celestia and Princess Luna. Ever since I've become a princess, he's been trying to court me, more than likely to increase his influence and his seat of power."

Hearing about the despicable prince caused Dark's body to tense up, as well as letting out a throaty growl while bearing his fangs slightly. The thought of him using Twilight as a tool like that just for his own selfish reasons made Dark hope that for the prince's sake that they'd never meet. Though he was angry at the thought of him, it was quickly extinguished when he felt Twilight's hoof on his cheek.

"Don't worry about it," she softly told him. "He's never going to get a chance to date me."

"You're darn right he won't," Dark muttered to himself, forgetting that Twilight could hear him. He looked back to see a soft smile on her before he tried correcting himself. "Uhh, right, what you said."

Though the others didn't quite hear what he first said, his choice of words made them laugh at him. Seeing as it was starting to get late in the evening, they decided it would be time for them to leave for the night, but Rainbow stopped with one last thing on her mind.

"So, about your flight training," Rainbow began. "We're gonna need a new spot to practice."

"I suppose so," Dark agreed. "Besides, I'm pretty sure that the pond wouldn't be a very good sight after what I did to it."

"You have no idea," she commented. "I flew over it today and almost the entire area was covered in ashes. Apparently the guards had a hard time putting it out last night and could only contain the fires until they burnt themselves out. That's why we had the rain storm today, to try and help regrow the grass around the pond... and also because we missed a scheduled storm last week, but that's another story."

"So, where were you thinking of holding it now?"

Rainbow took a moment to think about it. "Well, seeing as how you probably won't need anything to break your fall anymore, it doesn't really matter to me."

"How about by Twilight's Castle then?" Dark wondered. "It's close by, and I doubt that any timberwolves will attack there."

"Sounds like a good idea to me," Rainbow answered.

"Sweet. And how about you, Twilight? It's your castle after all."

"Sure," Twilight agreed. "Just as long as I get to watch."

"Okay."

"Alright. In that case, I'll see you Tuesday afternoon then," Rainbow waved as she left the room for home.

"Ah suppose Ah better head on home too," Applejack said. "Ah Need ta check in on Apple Bloom. She was havin' a bit of trouble with her homework."

"Is that why she didn't come with you?" Sweetie Belle asked.

"Well that, and we didn't tell her about what happened ta Dark last night. Didn't want her ta get all worried like how you did when ya were here waitin'."

"But shouldn't she and Scootaloo know too?"

"You can tell them tomorrow, Sweetie," Rarity told her. "For now, though, we better head on home as well." She paused before looking back to Twilight. "I take it that you're not going back home tonight either?"

Twilight shook her head. "Sorry, Rarity, but I won't."

Giving a sigh, Rarity turned to Spike. "Well, come along, Spike. It looks like you're staying with us for the night again."

Eager to return back with them, Spike got up and ran up alongside Rarity and Sweetie Belle, the latter blushing at having him over for another night. After saying their goodbyes, the three followed behind Applejack to head back to their homes. With them alone again, Dark looked down to Twilight, seeing her looking back up at him.

"Are you sure you don't want to sleep in your own bed tonight?" se asked. "I'm sure you'd be more comfortable, and you'd definitely have more space than here with me."

"Are you wanting me to leave?" Twilight asked him.

"No, that's not what I meant. I just thought that you would prefer your own bed rather than this crowded hospital one."

"Yes, it would be more spacious," she agreed. "But I'm perfectly comfortable as I am right now."

Dark smiled at her, then looked over to his left side as a small thought coming to mind. "If you want, I can scoot over to give you some more room. That way there's enough space for you to move around."

"If you want," she answered.

Listening to her, Dark began to move himself to the left side of the bed, giving Twilight the right-half to sleep on. But as Dark moved, so did Twilight, not wanting to leave from her spot against him. As soon as he felt like she had enough room, he stopped.

"Better?" he asked.

"Much," she sighed, her eyes starting to become heavy.

"Are you falling asleep again?"

"Maybe," she mumbled before hearing Dark let out a loud yawn. "And so are you from the sound of things."

"I suppose so," se answered, letting his eyes close.

"By the way," Twilight sleepily continued. "After I run a few tests on you on Sunday, I'm going to let you have free reign over your dark magic training, and your Scaleless Dragon magic training."

Hearing what she told him, Dark opened his eyes to look at Twilight. "Are you sure about that? I've only had a few hours worth of practice after all."

Twilight began nuzzling him beneath his chin. "If it helps to keep you from getting hurt like this again, then I have no problems with it. Besides, I'm a little worried about what Rainbow said. Although the odds of that being possible are slim at best, it's the only logical conclusion that I can think of."

"I wouldn't worry about it too much," Dark said as he gently held her closer to him. "After all, I have ponies like you and our friends looking out for me."





Over in Stonewall Village, Captain Iron Guard and his troops had just finished cleaning out the last of the dragon corpses that they found in the mines. After the first few hours of when they started, the stench started getting to everypony. Not wanting his soldiers to suffer the horrible smells any further and get sick from it, he and the other unicorns casted a spell on everypony's helmet to filter out the odors, allowing them to work in relative peace. There were still some, however, that paled at the sight, and after emptying out their stomachs, they started growing accustom to it.

Now, after days of sorting them out and getting a headcount on the number of dead dragons, they were finally done. Soon they could leave this Celestia forsaken place, and return home. Eager to bring this long awaited news to everypony, Iron Guard began his announcement.

"Soldiers!" he called out, gaining the attention of everypony present. "I know you're all tired of being here, and are looking forward to returning home." He paused, more for dramatic affect than anything else. "Well, the wait is over. Return to your tents and get yourselves some rest. For tomorrow morning, we're going home!"

Everypony cheered hearing his announcement. Eager for the day to end, the crowd became a stampede running towards their campsite. Giving a chuckle over their enthusiasm, Iron Guard followed their example and made his way to his tent. Upon entering, he looked over to see the three solders he placed to guard the chest, who saluted at his return.

"Has anypony opened it?" Iron Guard asked them.

"No, sir," the all answered.

Using his magic to scan the chest for any tampering, he knew they weren't lying.

"Good. As soon as we get back to Canterlot, we'll be bringing this straight to Princess Celestia, along with the full report about this hellhole."