//------------------------------//
// Chapter 12- To the Skies 
// Story: Of Flame and Shadow 
// by Garuda IV 
//------------------------------//

		As Monday came around, Dark went back into his regular routine. After he made his breakfast and left through the door, he decided to get in some extra practice with his Shadow Meld spell. Since Twilight allowed him to practice it freely, Dark thought of trying to perfect it and improve it if possible. Traveling through the darkness of Luna's night with the spell at full power, Dark safely made it to Sweet Apple Acres. What he forgot, though, was during that time, although it took him his normal twenty-to-thirty minutes by his count, Dark actually got there a few seconds after he left Twilight's Castle. As he materialized behind Applejack, he called out to greet her, but in doing so, he accidentally caused her to buck on instinct and hit him square in the nose. As Applejack turned around, she saw Dark sitting on his rump while holding his bleeding nose with his claws.

"Confound it, Dark!" Applejack scolded. "Why'd ya sneak up on me like that? And how'd ya manage ta be so quiet?"

"New spell," Dark muttered. "It lets me meld into the darkness and move safely and silently."

"Okay, but what are ya doin' here so early?"

"It's another perk of this spell. It lets me speed up time for myself while I'm in there. I briefly forgot about it and accidentally arrived here earlier than I thought I would."

"Alright," she said before walking over to Dark. "Now, let's see that nose of yours. Think Ah might've accidentally broken it."

"It's no problem," Dark told her. "It should be fine any second now."

And like that, his regeneration kicked in, repairing the damaged nose and returning it to as it was, minus the blood staining his snout. Checking over his nose, Applejack saw that it was completely healed and let it be.

"That's from your regeneration thin', right?"

"Yeah. Twilight was having a sort of field day with it, but didn't go overboard with it."

"Good ta hear," she said as she turned back to the barn. "By the way, would ya mind helpin' me set up since you're already here?"

"Sure," Dark happily answered, despite having his nose broken just a minute ago.

After about a half-hour of setting up buckets and some repairs to the wagon, Applejack and Dark were ready to begin the day. As they got started, Big Mac walked over and joined them, pulling the cartful of apples as the other two bucked them out of the trees. Though while Applejack would do things the normal way, Dark would use his Shadow Meld to travel from tree-to-tree. He learned that while he maintained it, he couldn't interact with anything normally. Granted that he could still touch the trees, but any forceful contact he would make before dispelling it wouldn't do anything. The higher the sun rose though, less and less shadows became available for him to travel through, meaning that he would have to walk to every tree now.

As the day progressed, lunch came around. Making their way back to the house to eat, Dark became bombarded with questions. Most came from Granny, a few from Applejack, and some from Big Mac even. They either pertained to his encounter with the alpha timberwolves, or this new spell he was using throughout half the morning. After answering their questions, Dark finally had a moment to speak.

"So, Applejack, are you ready for the race?" Dark asked.

"Ah will be after Ah get in some last minute trainin'," she answered.

"She'll be fine," Granny told them. "Right, Big Mac?"

"Eeyup," he answered.

"That's what Ah thought the first time Rainbow and Ah raced, and y'all remember how that turned out," Applejack reminded. "Speakin' of Rainbow," she continued, turning to Dark. "Did ya two find a new place ta practice? Ah thought Ah heard the two of ya talkin' about it after we were headin' out from visitin' ya that one day."

"Yeah, we did," Dark answered. "We'll be practicing by Twilight's Castle for now on."

"Ah suppose that would be the safest place."

"Exactly. That, and we doubt that anything will attack us so far from the Everfree Forest like that."

"While we're on the subject of Rainbow and the Runnin' of the Leaves, there won't be any work that day, so feel free ta take the day off ta enjoy it."

"Alright then, thanks," Dark gratefully replied. "Twilight told me that this year the mayor's going to have it a little different from the others, and that there's going to be food stalls, games, and a bunch of other things set up."

"Sounds like a good ol' festival ta me," Granny commented.

"Well I'm looking forward to it."

"Ah bet you are," Applejack smirked. "You and Twilight headin' over early ta hang out Ah take it?"

"Yeah," Dark surprisingly answered. "How'd you know that anyway?"

"Just a hunch," she shrugged, causing Dark to facetable. "Now what's that all about?"

"This 'hunch' you called it is your mare's intuition, isn't it?"

"Eeyup," Applejack answered, causing Granny to cackle.

"Ah'm likin' this fellow more-n'-more," Granny told them while patting Dark on the shoulder. "But that's enough lollygaggin'. It's about time y'all headed back out ta finish your chores for the afternoon."

Cleaning off their dishes and thanking Granny for the lunch, the three went back outside to continue their work. As the afternoon continued on, Dark's mind stared to wonder with what kind of new lessons Rainbow would be teaching him tomorrow. With the idea of being able to fly so close to him, Dark couldn't wait for their flight training to continue.

As the workday ended for them, Dark made his way back home. During his walk back, every guard he passed by gave him a respectable nod or salute. After talking to a squad of guard and asking what's going on, they told Dark that a three-pony squad told them of what happened between him and the alpha timberwolves before the other guards made it to the sight. The respect that they showed to him was for his bravery for when he was cornered by the alpha timberwolves, and for the speedy recovery that he made. Apparently to them, facing off against one of them and winning would get their approval, but fighting against a pack of eight all alone and coming out on top was worthy of respect by the guards there. Though a bit shy of the extra attention, the guards told Dark to just accept it as it is. After giving them his thanks, Dark continued back to Twilight's Castle to get in some flight practice of his own before tomorrow came around.





Tuesday was irritatingly slow for Dark. He was so eager to hopefully learn how to fly today that every minute that passed seemed more like an hour to him. Even working on the apple farm didn't help him much as time usually felt like it flew by when he was busy. When Applejack called them for lunch, Dark could only groan as it felt like it was much further into the day than it actually was. Still, though, he did his best to try and be on his best behavior for everypony around him. As a way to help him get through the rest of the day, Dark started humming a tune to himself. The rather upbeat song was doing its job rather well because before he knew it, it was time for Dark to start making his way over to meet up with Rainbow. Finding Applejack and telling her that it was time for him to go, they bid each other goodbye until tomorrow.

When Dark walked out of the apple orchard, he did so with a small skip in his step as the song in that he hummed to himself earlier was now stuck in his head. Though some thought of the song to be considered annoying after a while, he still thought it to be catchy. As he trotted back into Ponyville, he saw a rainbow streak in the sky headed towards Twilight's Castle. Picking up his pace, Dark galloped the rest of the way over to where Rainbow would now be waiting for him. As he got closer to the castle, he could see Rainbow and Twilight talking to each other in front of the door. Hearing the sound of galloping behind them, they turned to greet Dark.

"Well, you're looking a lot better than last I saw you," Rainbow commented. "Twilight was just telling me of some of the things that she found out from the tests she ran."

"Yeah, I was pretty surprised by what she found out too," Dark said.

"Told you that it would be worth it," Twilight smugly told him.

"I know, I know, you were right, and I was being stubborn about it."

"Anyway," Rainbow began. "I believe that we're here to get you flying."

"Right. So, what are we gonna do today?"

"First I want you to get yourself warmed up," Rainbow said. "Let's have you start with some stretches, and then thirty minutes of hovering."

Listening to her instructions, Dark stretched his wings out before lifting off the ground. As time passed, Spike returned from his visit to Carousel Boutique, but this time, Sweetie Belle returned with him. Greeting the two as they approached, Sweetie Belle looked confusingly at Dark.

"What are you doing?" she asked.

"I'm training him on how to fly," Rainbow explained. "We're having him do his warm-ups right now. Speaking of which, you've been doing your wing-ups right?"

"Minus the time that I've been in the hospital, yeah," Dark answered.

"I suppose that there wasn't anything you could've done, considering that you weren't allowed out of bed during your time there."

"Well, it could've been worse."

"I'm just glad that it wasn't," Twilight commented, receiving a chorus of agreements.

"Well, we'll let you do your thing," Spike told them. "Sweetie and I are heading in to hang out and stuff."

"Okay. We'll see you two after Dark's flying session is over with."

"Alright," Spike and Sweetie Belle answered before heading into the castle.

With the two gone, Twilight and Rainbow returned their attention back to Dark. Once his thirty minutes were up, Dark carefully landed himself on the ground. His wings weren't sore like they were the last time, so he was feeling pretty good about himself.

"Alright, so what's next?" he asked.

"Next I want to see how well you can move around while in the air," Rainbow told him.

Giving a nod, he lifted off and began hovering in place. Remembering his lessons from last time, Dark started moving himself in different directions based on where Rainbow wanted him to go towards. She let Dark go on his own for a moment before turning to Twilight.

"So, what do you think of him so far?" Rainbow asked her.

"What do you mean by that?" Twilight asked with a slight blush.

"Not like that, Twilight," Rainbow groaned. "We already know how you feel about him in that regard. What I was talking about was how he's doing with his flight training."

"Oh, right. Well, he seems to have a good handle on things, even despite this only being his third practice session with you."

"Yeah, and that's the thing. He's actually progressing faster than I thought it would take him. I mean, I know he said that he's only had those wings a few days before we met him, but at the rate he's going, it looks like he's had them for longer than that."

"So, what's the plan now?" Twilight asked.

"Considering that the training regiment I had planned out for him is going out the window now, I say it's time to see what he can really do." Rainbow turned her attention from Dark to Twilight. "Would you mind giving me a hoof? Just to watch him and make sure that he doesn't plummet out of the sky."

"Of course I'll help," she happily answered before Dark landed in front of them.

"Alright, all done," he announced.

"Good," Rainbow began. "Now, seeing as how well you've been doing, I think you're ready to take flight."

"Seriously?" Dark questioned. "I mean, I haven't even had that much practice."

"And yet you're already doing more in these few training sessions, than what most first-time flyers could do in several months."

"If you say so."

"Good, because I do say so. Now off the ground with you," Rainbow proclaimed as she and Twilight flew up.

Following her orders, Dark began flapping his wings to hover up to their level, but each time he would match their altitude, Rainbow would fly higher up. After a few more attempts of matching her, Rainbow finally stopped flying upwards and let Dark catch up to her.

"Okay," Dark began. "Why'd you keep doing that?"

"Look around and you'll see," Rainbow smugly answered.

Turning his gaze downward, Dark could see that he was hovering just above the top of Twilight's Castle. As he rotated himself around, he could then see the rest of Ponyville below him. Feeling a bit startled by the new height he was at, Dark briefly lost his balance before Twilight helped steady him.

"Don't worry," she told him. "We're not going to let you fall."

As his racing heart began to slow back down to normal, Dark noticed that Twilight was holding onto his claws with her hooves. Slowly, she guided him with her at a steady pace, helping him get used to the new height he was at. After she felt like he was more used to it, Twilight let go of Dark so that he could do it himself. Now starting to get used to being at this height, Dark went over to Rainbow.

"You alright to continue now?" Rainbow asked him.

"Yeah, I'm good," he answered.

"Good. Now flying is just the same as what I taught you with the hovering, except you'll be higher up, have to keep yourself straight for aerodynamics when moving at higher speeds, and you'll be going a lot faster. But we'll go nice and easy for now, though. In the meantime, just follow me and try to keep up," she said as she started flying away.

Slowly, Dark followed after her with Twilight flying right beside him. Feeling more secure and sure of himself, Dark began to pick up his pace a little bit. As he got more comfortable with the speed he was going, he started to go faster. After a few more speed changes, Dark was flying at a steady, cruising pace.

"So far, so good," Rainbow commented. "Just a little something to know. When you're flying, you can also glide to save yourself some energy, otherwise you'll get tired out a lot quicker than you normally would."

"Alright, but how do I glide exactly?"

Rainbow briefly facehoofed before answering, "Just straighten out your wings toward the sides and let the wind carry you."

"Okay."

"Also, when you want to turn, tilt your body in that direction and flap downward when flapping your wings. Otherwise when you're gliding, you can tilt your wings and your body to turn in that direction as well, but those are just some of the basics. As you get better at it, then you'll start developing your own flying habits. One example of me is how I'll sometimes fly upside down."

"That's neat," Dark complimented.

With them up in the air, Rainbow then decided to take them on a leisurely flight around Ponyville. During their flight, Dark noticed that Ponyville was a lot bigger than he originally thought it was from his tour. As they flew over, Twilight and Rainbow began listing off the places that they passed over. After passing the Ponyville Spa, a persistent thought returned to Dark.

"Hey, where would one go to get their coat dyed?" Dark asked them.

"Why would you wanna do that?" Rainbow questioned.

"It's just something that Rarity brought up last week. When Pinkie gave me her tour of Ponyville, she brought me over to Rarity's place, and she asked me if I thought about dyeing my wings, tail, and arms to match the rest of my coat. I'd have to admit that it would probably make me look more approachable to other ponies if I had the same colored coat, instead of having specific parts of me being a different color. Also, I'm thinking about ditching the goatee. After all, new place, new life, so why not a new look too?"

"I think you look kinda cool with the black wings, arms, and tail, but that's just me," Rainbow offered.

"And what about you, Twilight?" Dark asked.

"I think you should do whatever you want. After all, it is your coat and beard," Twilight answered.

"That's not quite an answer there, Twilight. It's alright, you can be honest about it and I won't be upset at all."

"I know it isn't," she sighed. "If I had to be honest, then I would say yes to both. Dyeing your two-toned coat to a single color would make you look a little more approachable, and the beard was a little itchy."

"Yeah, kinda though it would," Dark agreed. "Alrighty then, in that case, I'll ditch the goatee and dye my black coat to match the rest of me."

"Just like that?" Rainbow questioned. "You're not going to put any more thought into it?"

"I've been thinking about it since Rarity suggested it. That, and I have all the conformation I need to go through with it. Now all I need to know is who would I go see to do the dyeing?"

"I think the Ponyville Spa does coat dyes," Twilight suggested. "And if they don't, then I'm sure Rarity would be alright doing it."

"Okay then. Thanks, Twilight."

"So on a different note," Rainbow began. "How are your wings feeling so far, Dark?"

"So far, so good," he answered. "They don't even feel sore with all the gliding."

"Alright then. How about we pick up the speed a little bit?"

"Sure."

Picking up their speed, the three flew above and past the town below. The faster and longer he flew, the more Dark began to enjoy the new sensations he was feeling. He could feel the cool wind blowing through his mane, against his coat, and under his wings. He was also starting to understand the freedom that Rainbow had explained to him before, though he couldn't put what he was feeling into anything else besides free, almost tranquil even.

Closing his eyes, Dark began to just let himself enjoy his time up in the sky. Spreading his arms, he continued to glide undisturbed and without a care in the world. Since he kept his eyes closed, though, he couldn't see the amused smiles on Twilight and Rainbow. As Dark's confidence continued to grow, with a smile on his lips and his eyes still closed, he gave a powerful flap, launching himself higher up before tucking his wings in and doing a few mid-air spins. Once he felt himself starting to dip, Dark spread his wings and stabilize himself, earning him a sigh of relief from Twilight while Rainbow chuckled.

"Don't get too ahead of yourself now," Rainbow warned Dark. "Remember, this is your first day of actually flying. We don't want you to go plummeting to your doom now."

"But isn't that why you two are here?" Dark asked. "To make sure that I don't do exactly that?"

"It's not the same when you're doing crazy stunts like that on your first day," Twilight scolded.

"She's right," Rainbow agreed. "You shouldn't try anything like that until you're more accustomed to flying around. Especially on your own."

"Alright," Dark conceded, right before a new thought came to mind. "Speaking of 'on your own', are there any spots for me to practice my magic around here?"

"Isn't the castle good enough?" Twilight asked.

"For my new spells it is, but what I'm looking for is a spot where I can practice my fire magic. Someplace that's isolated, and away from anything flammable. Preferably a place with lots of rocks, dirt, or sand."

They thought about for a moment, trying to come up with the best places around.

"Well, the castle is made of crystal and wouldn't get caught on fire," Twilight said.

"Thanks, but I'd rather not scorch the castle because of my magic."

"How about Ghastly Gorge?" Rainbow offered.

"That could work," Twilight agreed. "The rocky walls reach high up, and the trees there are on top of the cliffs. Not to mention the stream running at the bottom of it."

"Alright, so can we go see it?" Dark asked.

"Do you think you can make it that far?" Rainbow questioned.

"Wings still feel fine to me."

"And how about you, Twilight?"

"Sure," she answered. "It's been a while since I've been there anyway."

"Alright then, follow me," Rainbow told them, flying on ahead towards Ghastly Gorge.

It was about a ten minute flight from Ponyville before they could finally see Ghastly Gorge. Even with the sun starting to set, they still had a good view of it. However, there was one problem that they each overlooked as they began their descent.

"Um, Rainbow?" Dark called out. "How do I land at this speed exactly?"

Forgetting to go through it with him earlier, Rainbow quickly explained, "Tilt your body and wings up to increase your drag, and flap your wings forward to halt your forward momentum until you start to hover in place. After that, landing's the same as what you've been doing so far."

"Alright then, here it goes."

Following Rainbow's instructions, Dark began to slow his descent, trying to match the others. But as he tried, he also saw that the ground was approaching much faster than what he thought. Franticly, he started to beat his wings in front of him to slow himself down further yet, but it wasn't working. He was now a few feet above the treetops.

"Dark, watch out! You're coming in to fast!" Twilight warned.

"He's gonna crash!" Rainbow shouted right after.

Even though he could hear their warnings, Dark was too far gone to do anything at this point to alter his trajectory. But, during that moment, he noticed one thing that he didn't before. The sun's light was hidden behind the trees. Casting his Shadow Meld, Dark disappeared into the tree's shadows. Seeing Dark suddenly vanish in front of her, Rainbow started to panic.

"What the hay happened to him?!" she shouted as she landed. "Did he just vaporize himself?! He wasn't even going that fast!"

"Calm down, Rainbow," Twilight calmly told her. "He didn't vaporize himself. It's a new spell that he learned a few days ago that lets him blend into the shadows."

"So... sorta like what Sombra did?"

"Yes, and no. While Sombra could turn into a shadow, he couldn't blend into and become one with the darkness surrounding him like Dark can."

"Huh. So what you're saying is-"

"That I'm completely fine," Dark finished for her as he materialized from the shade in front of them.

"How'd you not crash?" Rainbow asked.

"Things are different inside the shadows," he began to explain. "When I'm in there, I can alter the flow of time so I can move faster while I'm inside it, among other things."

"Sounds cool. Can we see?"

"Sorry, but as of right now, I can only bring non-organic materials in with me. And besides, even if I could bring in other living things besides myself, I don't know how safe it would be for them."

"Well, thank goodness you knew an awesome spell like that."

"That's actually the very reason why I wanted to learn it. You know, just incase something dangerous happened and I'd need a way out."

"Well, that was some quick thinking on your end," Twilight complimented. "But perhaps next time, you could try going a little bit slower?"

"Yeah, sorry about that. I tried to slow down, but I couldn't," Dark explained.

"It's no problem," Rainbow brushed off. "It happens to most flyers on their first attempt at landing. Though you got lucky with your little trick."

"I know," he answered before looking over to where they were at. "So, this is Ghastly Gorge, huh?"

"Yep," Rainbow answered. "This is it."

"Looks like it'll work perfectly. Is there anything that I should know about this place, though?"

"Just to stay away from the Quarry Eels. As long as you stay away from their nests, you shouldn't have any problems down here."

"Very good," Dark said. "Nice high walls, no trees down there, and a river to drink out of when I get thirsty. Yep, this is a perfect place for me to let loose with my fire without running the risk of accidentally burning something or somepony."

"Just out of curiosity," Twilight began. "What kind of fire-type spells were you thinking of exactly?"

"Just a bunch that I already know, and I was also thinking of testing out my fire breath," he answered. "Besides, this place should be far enough to not spook anypony with any rumbling or explosions that I might cause. That, and there were a few fire spells that I was in the process of creating, but couldn't manage to do. Kinda sucks, though. All of those spells were in my old spell book back in Stonewall."

"Were there any specific spells that you were wanting to work on?"

"There're a few spells that I can think of off the top of my head that I've been close to getting down before, but would fall just short of completion. There is one spell in particular, however, that I've been persistent about, but could never seem to get right. It's called the Flare."

"You mean like one of those signal flares that ponies shoot up into the sky?" Rainbow asked.

"Nope. This'll be a completely new spell... I think. I'll have to look into some of the modern spell books to know for sure, though," Dark answered, causing Twilight's eyes to light up.

"A new spell?!" she excitedly exclaimed. "Ooh, can I be there when you try it?"

"Sorry, Twilight, but if what I'm thinking about this spell correct, then it'll be very dangerous. And if so, then I don't want anypony else nearby when I'm trying to perfect it."

"I understand," Twilight dejectedly sighed.

Seeing her disappointment, Dark walked up to Twilight before draping his wings over her and pulling her into a hug.

"You know I only say this because I don't want to accidentally hurt you incase something goes wrong, right?" Dark softly asked.

"I know," she answered, leaning into the hug. "I guess I just got a little too excited over the thought of a new spell is all."

"How about this then," he offered. "When I'm sure that I have the spell completely and safely finished, you can be the first to see it."

"Alright, I can work with that," she smiled as she let herself relax against him.

Though they were enjoying their little moment, it was quickly broken up when they heard somepony clearing their throat. Remembering that Rainbow Dash was still right there with them, the two separated and turned away from each other out of embarrassment.

"So, Dark," Rainbow began. "Why is this spell so dangerous exactly?

"About a year or so ago back in Stonewall Village, I was trying to develop a fire-type spell that I could use to overcome a dragon's fireproof scales. In theory, this spell would be both strong, and concentrated enough, to burn straight through a dragon. And when I say that, I mean through the front of their chest, to the back of their... well, back."

"But to reach those kinds of temperatures though..." Twilight wondered out loud.

"Would have to be ridiculously high, I know," Dark finished for her. "But I'm also trying to compress and focus it all too, which should make it even stronger yet."

"But what if it would miss its target?"

"That's part of the reason why I wanted a safe place like this to work on it. Down here, the only thing that I would have to worry about is hitting and melting some rocks."

"This spell can melt rocks?" Rainbow questioned with a raised eyebrow.

"Just in theory," Dark explained. "But we're getting way ahead of ourselves here. After all, I was never able to come close to completing the spell in the first place."

"So what makes you think that you can finish it now?" Twilight asked. "I mean, you don't even have your spell book, or any of the research notes from before."

"You're right about that," Dark admitted. "But as a kirin, though, I can feel as though my magical output has been increased. What I'm hoping is that with this magical power boost, I'll be able to complete the spell, along with the others... if I could remember any of them that is."

"Well as entertaining and interesting as all of this is," Rainbow began. "We should probably head on back to Ponyville before it gets dark."

"How can Ponyville get me exactly?" Dark smirked.

"Hahaha, very funny," she sarcastically replied. "But seriously, though, I'd rather not stay out here any longer than I have too. Especially with your track record with those timberwolves lately."

"Though I wouldn't exactly word it like Rainbow did," Twilight began. "I too would prefer to be back in Ponyville before nightfall. Or at least off the ground and on our way back there."

"Alright, after you then," Dark said.

"Oh no," Rainbow objected. "After what happened, you're going first. We're gonna be keeping an eye on you to make sure that you don't pull another near dive-bomb like that again."

"But if it does happen again, then I can just do what I did last time."

"Just go with it, Dark," Twilight told him. "It'll make us feel better to have you in our sights incase something goes wrong again."

"Alright," Dark tiredly sighed before taking off.

As Dark began to fly away, Rainbow trotted up beside Twilight with a sly look on her face.

"I see it didn't take you too long to get him whipped into shape like Fluttershy did with Discord," she commented.

"I wouldn't call it that exactly," Twilight said, rubbing her hooves together.

"Seriously? Whenever he would object to something, you would come in and he'd listen to you. Face it, Twilight, he's got it bad for you."

"Now that I already know," she smirked.

"Uhh, what do you mean?"

"During his stay at the hospital, Dark confessed his feelings for me to Nurse Redheart. Mostly because he seemed like he wanted to get it off his chest, and he couldn't rightfully tell me now could he?"

"But weren't you with him like the whole time?"

"Yep. And the best part is that he thought I was still sleeping when he said it."

Rainbow met Twilight with a matching smirk. "Wow, you can really be sly and devious when you want to."

"Only when it comes to matters like this it seems," Twilight shrugged. "Otherwise, I've never done something like this before. At least, nothing that I can think of right now anyway."

"Hey!" Dark called out to them from above the treetops. "Are you two coming?"

"Coming," they called back in unison before taking off to catch up with him.

The flight back took them a little bit longer due to the sun completely setting a few minutes after they left Ghastly Gorge. Thankfully, though, the were able to see Dark just a few feet ahead of them, who could see in the darkness. Following him, they finally got to Ponyville, though this time as Dark landed, Twilight and Rainbow flanked him, guiding him back down towards the ground. This time he managed to land, even though he was skidding a bit and left a nice groove in his wake. Once they stopped in front of the castle stairs, Rainbow waved the two goodbye before setting off to her own home.

After Twilight and Dark walked up the stairs and through the doors, they could have sworn that they heard a violin echoing down the halls. Perking their ears up, they followed the sound of where the instrument was coming from. They eventually found themselves at the doors to the dining room, which they could smell something delicious coming from. Slowly and gently, Twilight cracked open the door for her and Dark to look through. As they peeked inside, they could see Sweetie Belle sitting at a candlelit table with a fancy dinner sitting out, and Spike playing a romantic song on the violin.

"Did you know he could play the violin so well?" Dark quietly asked Twilight.

"I had no idea he could play it at all," she answered as silently closed the door.

"Well one thing's for sure, he doesn't hold back, does he?"

"That's Spike for you. When he does something that he's got his mind set on, he won't settle for anything less than his best."

"Well, good for him," Dark smiled. "I hope this dinner of his works out for them."

"Feeling a little envious of him?" Twilight teased with a nudge.

"Perhaps a little bit, but in a good way. Though he's definitely got me beat in terms of being romantic with that violin playing of his."

"I'm sure you can think of something just as romantic as he did."

"I might have a few ideas," Dark answered as he tapped his chin. "But they would be more simple, and probably less fancy than what he's got going on."

"Fanciness isn't necessarily what's important. What really matters is that both parties are enjoying it, and their time with each other."

"It almost sounds like you've done this before."

"Nope, just some advice that my mom and Cadence gave me if I should ever decide to date anypony."

"Yeah," Dark slowly replied, trying to think of something to say without sounding weird or awkward. "So, what are you wanting to do for dinner tonight?"

"What did you have in mind?" Twilight asked with a slight waver to her voice.

"Well, I really don't want to accidentally disturb those two by eating here, so perhaps we should go out tonight?"

"You want to go out to eat?"

"Sure," he replied. "I haven't been out to any of the restaurants here to eat before, minus Sugarcube Corner. So I thought would be a nice change of pace, if it's okay with you that is."

"You know what? I would like that," she answered with a smile. "It's been a while since I've gone out to a restaurant to eat anyway."

"Okay, give me a moment go grab some bits and I'll be right back," he told her, disappearing in the shadows before returning ten seconds later. "Alrighty then, I'm all set to go. Speaking of which, where would you like to go eat at?"

"I might have a place in mind, if you're okay with it."

"Since I don't know any restaurants here, I'll be perfectly fine with whatever you decide on," Dark said as he followed Twilight out of the castle to grab themselves some dinner.





Back in the Everfree Forest, the cloaked figure stood at the head of his assembled army. Before him stood a mixture of cockatrices, timberwolves, alpha timberwolves, manticores, and eight hydras. As he looked over his army, pacing back and forth in front of them, he noticed the two alphas that failed him before walking up to him with a wounded guard in their jaws.

"A scout?" the cloaked figure asked the two, receiving a nod from them. "You did good to bring him to me." He turned his attention to the wounded guard thrown at his hooves. "How many of you are in these woods?"

"Go to Tartarus," the guard answered before spitting a lob of blood at the cloaked figure's face.

He glared at the guard, his eyes giving off a slight glow. "You first," he said before giving the two alpha timberwolves permission to feast on him.

Turning his attention away from the screaming guard and back to his army, the cloaked figure waited for the bloody cries and gurgles to die out. Once the pony was permanently silenced, the cloaked figure addressed his army while the two alphas continued eating away at the now dead guard.

"Tomorrow you will split into three groups. The first group will attack the village of Ponyville. The second group will attack the crowd of ponies. Your primary target will be the one from before, but be warned. Princess Celestia and her guards will be there, so expect heavy resistance. The last group will head into Whitetail Woods and capture Princess Twilight Sparkle. Now, for this to work, all three attacks will have to happen simultaneously to help cause panic and spread their forces. Cockatrices will be in groups two and three, and will be at the front lines petrifying everypony in front of them. If anypony should get past them for some reason, kill them. Also, I want Princess Twilight brought to me as alive as possible so that I can kill her in front of Dark, just to see the look of despair on his face as he helplessly watches her die before him," he ordered with a nefarious grin.

A chorus of roars, howls, and other predatorily calls cheered. As he looked over his army with pride, one question still remained.

"By the way, were any of you able to recruit what I wanted?" he asked them.

A manticore stepped forward from the army and stopped a few feet away from the cloaked figure. Turning its head to the side and giving out a high-pitched roar, the ground began to shake. After a few seconds of feeling the rhythmic tremors and listening to the sound of trees falling, something appeared that blotted out the moon's light, causing the cloaked figure to gleefully chuckle.

"Very good," he told the manticore before pointing to the figure looming above him. "You will lead team two in attacking the ponies. While the others are busy with the guards, civilians, and the princess, you will be primarily responsible for crippling Dark, and bringing him before me. From the information that I've gathered in Ponyville, he's suppose to be a kirin, which is something of a dragon and a pony mix, so he shouldn't be hard for you to miss."

Turning back to his army he then shouted out, "Now go and finish any remaining preparations you might have! For tomorrow, WE INVADE PONYVILLE!!"