Daybreak rose over the horizon, casting the sun's light over the sleeping town of Ponyville. Over on the outskirts at Fluttershy's cottage, Discord slept with the pegasus still wrapped in his arms. After the events of last night, he'd been reluctant to get up and leave her, even after he'd woken up from a few nightmares of him losing Fluttershy instead of saving her. So, it was no surprise that he remained asleep when the sunlight shown through the window and into his face. But, while he continued sleeping through the light, Fluttershy wasn't having such luck.
Stirring, she tried to bury her face deeper into Discord's coat as a means to hide from the sunlight and fall back asleep. That is, until the memories of what happened last night caught up to her. Snapping her eyes wide open, she quickly sat-up in her bed before looking herself over. After a few moments of seeing that she'd returned to normal, she brought a hoof to her mouth and felt around her teeth. And, much like she'd expected, she found that she still had her fangs, albeit smaller than what they were when she was Flutterbat.
The thought of her fangs though caused her to remember how she bit Discord when she was possessed. Turning her attention to the sleeping draconequus by her side, she looked at his arm to see that somepony had already wrapped it up. Laying back down, she took his injured claw in her hooves and started to gently stroke it. As she continued to hold and caress his claw, she began to start tearing-up at the thought that this was all her fault. That if she'd just told Discord about her other side instead of hiding it like she did, then the events of last night could've been prevented.
"I'm so sorry," Fluttershy whispered. "This happened all because of me. It's my fault that you're hurt like this."
While Discord was tired, hearing Fluttershy's voice, though as soft as it was, was enough for him to slowly start to awaken. Opening his eyes and letting them readjust to the light in the room, Discord saw Fluttershy awake as she held his claw with wet eyes. Seeing how sad she was and noticing that one of her tears had escaped her, he brought up his paw and wiped the tear away. The act had caught her attention, causing her head to snap up and meet his concerned gaze.
"Fluttershy, what's wrong?" Discord gently asked, causing her to immediately bury her face back into his chest.
"I'm sorry-y-yyy!" she sobbed.
"Sorry? What for?"
"F-For what I did to y-you."
"What, this?" he asked, gesturing to his injured arm. "This isn't anything to worry about. Besides, Twilight already healed most of it last night. The bandage cloth is just an extra precaution."
"B-But, couldn't you just heal it on your own?"
"I couldn't. The ghost that had possessed you had magic that interfered with my own. After it bit me, I couldn't use my chaos magic to heal it."
"You mean when I bit you," Fluttershy solemnly corrected.
"No," Discord firmly said. "That wasn't you who did this, it was that ghost. You weren't in control at the time."
"But it was still me that hurt you. It was still me that... drank your blood."
"Again, that was the ghost's actions, not yours." Discord took a moment to breath and cool himself off. "Tell me, Fluttershy, would you have done anything like that on your own?"
Fluttershy looked up at him in surprise. "Of course I wouldn't! I would never intentionally hurt somepony like that, especially you."
"Then there you go. It wasn't your doing and you would never want to do it, so please don't berate yourself over it."
Fluttershy sighed. "But I'm still responsible for last night."
"How so?"
"Because... if I had told you about this, then you might've been able to do something to stop it before things got out of hoof."
Discord nodded. "Yes, your right about that. If I had known, then I would've been able to take care of it."
"It doesn't matter anymore though."
"Hmm?"
"Everypony knows about my... my other half now. I can't keep it a secret any longer."
"Fluttershy, are you worried about what they'll think of you now that they know?"
"... yes."
Discord shook his head for a moment before holding her closer against him. "I don't think that they'll worry too much about it."
Fluttershy looked up to him. "How can you be so sure?"
"Last night when they saw you, and even after they got you back home safely, the only thing that they were worried about was the ghost possessing you, not the fact that you had changed like that. And knowing your friends, they'll be open to accepting this side of yours that we've discovered."
"Even you? I mean, aren't you at least a little bit worried about me possibly... well... turning and biting you again?"
Discord gently placed his claw on her cheek. "Change."
"What?"
"I want you to change into Flutterbat for me."
Fluttershy's eyes widened at his request. "But why?"
"I want to see it for myself that you can change and still be in control of yourself."
"But... what if I-"
"You won't. Trust me, Fluttershy."
Though a bit nervous about his request, Fluttershy closed her eyes, and in a brief shining light, she transformed herself back into Flutterbat. Once she felt the change was complete, she opened her blood-red eyes and looked back to see Discord smiling down at her.
"You see? Besides a few mild physical changes, you're still the same Fluttershy that I fell in love with."
"But what about my fangs and red eyes?" she questioned, causing Discord to start laughing.
"Hahaha! Have you even looked at me? I too have red eyes and a fang, so it's no big deal to me."
"But what about if I bite you? You said before that you couldn't heal it last time."
"That's because the ghost's magic was flowing through you before. Now that magic is gone, so I can heal myself if you did bite me." He paused briefly and gave her a sly smirk. "Whether it be out of hunger, or out of playfulness."
"So... you don't mind me being like this?" she meekly asked.
"The way I see it, it's just another part of you that I find to be beautiful, my sweet Fluttershy."
Hearing his answer caused her to giggle happily by him not being upset with her. A few moments later, that giggling turned into relieving laughter which Discord joined in on. After a good minute of relieving their tension through laughing, they calmed themselves down enough to begin speaking again.
"So, feeling better?" Discord asked.
"Yes, much better," Fluttershy happily answered as she reverted to her pegasus form.
"Good. Although, I have to ask; Is there anything else that I should know about?"
Bringing a hoof up to her chin, Fluttershy took a moment to ponder if there was in fact something that she'd either forgot to tell him about herself, or that she's been hiding. Coming up with nothing, she gave him a shrug.
"I'm sorry, but I can't think of anything right now that you don't already know of."
"Oh, okay."
"But if I do, I'll be sure to tell you... if you want that is."
"I would."
"Alright," she smiled. "So, is there anything about you that I should know about?"
"Nope."
Fluttershy blinked. "You didn't even hesitate to answer that."
"That's because besides you knowing of my taking over Equestria and the thing with Tirek, I honestly have no demons to hide."
"What about the one in the basement of your house in your dimension?"
"That one doesn't count."
"If you say so," she giggled.
They were about to settle themselves back down to get some more rest to compensate for the previous night when a loud grumbling came from Fluttershy's stomach. Embarrassed by her stomach's antics, Fluttershy dipped her face behind her mane while Discord chuckled at her.
"Sounds like somepony's hungry," he said, getting a small squeak from her. "So, what would you like for breakfast today?"
Fluttershy peeked an eye out from behind her mane. "Umm, would pancakes and some eggs be alright?"
"Of course my dear."
"Also... could I maybe have a few apples too?"
Discord froze in place before he had a chance to move. "I'm sorry, I thought that you said that you wanted some apples."
"I did."
"But I thought that you didn't want to eat any?"
"That's because I wanted to avoid showing that other side of me. But since you and our friends know now, there isn't much point in restraining myself from eating them again."
"Huh. I suppose so."
"So... is it alright then?"
"Of course," he said before making his way out of the bed out towards the door. "You just wait right there and I'll go cook it and bring it to you."
"Aren't you going to use you chaos magic to just conjure up the food?" Fluttershy questioned.
"I thought about it, but I figured that you'd appreciate it more if I made your breakfast-in-bed by paw and claw. You know, make them the old-fashioned way."
"Alright," she said before a thought came to mind. "Oh, wait."
"Yes?"
"About what that ghost said about calling me Flutterbat."
"Yes? What about it?"
"Well... you don't have to call me that... if you don't want to that is."
Discord smiled back to her. "My dear, it doesn't matter to me what I call you. Either way, you're still Fluttershy to me."
Satisfied with how this had turned out, Fluttershy watched as Discord left to make her breakfast. As she sat in her bed waiting, she looked out the window, curious as to how her friends were doing after the events of last night.
Over in her castle, Twilight laid blissfully asleep in her bed with Dark sleeping up against her back, his arm and wing draped over her and hugging her close to him. While their activities from last night were new to the both of them, they easily agreed that it was an experience both worth remembering and repeating... several more times that night. And while Twilight tried to catch some much-needed rest, she found herself robbed of it when Celestia's sun shown through her window and into her eyes. With a dissatisfied groan, Twilight rolled herself over from her right side to her left and buried her face in Dark's coat. And just for good measure, she used her magic to pull the blankets up over her head. With the light no longer shining in her face to keep her awake, Twilight let herself go to try and sleep again... if only it actually worked.
Despite the lack of sleep and exhaustion from the previous night, the sun's light did its job in waking Twilight up. After a few minutes of being unable to go back to sleep, Twilight let out a huff before looking up at Dark's face to see a soft smile plastered across it. While she didn't want to get up and accidentally disturb him, she knew that he would wake up anyway if she were to leave. So, Twilight thought of a way to wake him, one that would be subtle enough for him, but amusing for her. Having an idea in mind, Twilight smirked before leaning up and nibbling on his left ear again, causing Dark to flinch and moan. Noticing that her actions had the desired affect, she pulled he head back away from Dark and watched as he started opening his eyes.
"Good morning," Twilight greeted him with a peck on the lips.
"Gooh morninh," Dark tiredly returned.
Twilight cocked an eye at him. "Are you alright?"
"Ah can'h feel mah tongh."
"Oh, sorry about that," she embarrassingly said. "Here, let me fix that."
Lighting her horn, Twilight casted a healing spell on Dark's tongue. After a few seconds of channeling the spell, Twilight stopped and let Dark test it out by rolling his tongue around.
"Feel better?" she asked.
"Much," he said. "Dang, I can't believe that could actually happen to it."
"Well, nopony said that you had to do it for that long."
"True, but I didn't hear you complaining about it last night," Dark shot back with a smirk. "And besides, if I remember correctly, you were crying out, and I quote-"
Twilight interrupted Dark by covering his mouth with her hoof. "I can remember just fine what was said last night thank you very much. And speaking of what was said, I'm really glad that Spike wasn't around to hear all of that."
"If he was here, you could've just casted a soundproofing spell of some kind, right?"
"Yes, I could've. And as tempting as that sounds for future... interactions, I'd rather not. If we did, then we'd have a hard time stopping ourselves."
"Yeah, I suppose you're right. Oh well, that just means that we'll have to be either more cautious, or just quieter then."
"I guess so," she giggled.
Smiling at her, Dark leaned down and softly kissed Twilight on her lips, which she eagerly returned. It wasn't anything special like last night, just a simple kiss that told them how much they both loved each other. As the two continued showing their affection to one another, the sound of their kissing was accompanied by a low grumble. Parting their lips, they both looked down towards Twilight's noisy stomach.
"I take it that you're hungry then?" Dark asked.
"Now what gave you that impression?" Twilight teasingly asked with a bop on his muzzle.
Giving a chuckle, Dark gave her a nuzzle before he started to pull away. Before he completely left the comfort of Twilight's grasp, he looked back to her, remembering a slight problem from last night.
"So, are your legs feeling any better?" he asked. "Because if I remember correctly, by the time we had enough, you were so exhausted that your legs were like wet noodles and I had to carry you to bed."
Shifting her hooves beneath her, Twilight began to unsteadily stand up. Once she did, she looked at Dark with triumph on her face... until her legs gave out and she face-planted into the pillows, causing Dark to lightly laugh at her.
"Heheheh. Guess that means that I'll be bringing your breakfast to you in bed."
"You're going to bring me breakfast-in-bed?" she asked in surprise.
"Yep."
"Well then, if it means getting this kind of treatment, perhaps we should do that more often."
"If you ever wanted breakfast-in-bed, all you had to do was ask and I would've done it for you."
"I know you would, and that's one of the things that I love about you."
Dark smiled and made his way out of the bed. "So then, what'll it be?"
"How about chocolate chip pancakes with whipped cream and a strawberry on top."
"... is this a pancake or a sundae?" he joked. "Alright, I'll be back as soon as it's done."
Shadowporting, Dark went to go make Twilight her breakfast while she got herself situated back in her bed. Taking a quick catnap, Twilight tried to gain some lost sleep before Dark returned. Thankfully for her, her exhaustion caught up with her and she was out quickly, allowing her a good half-hour of sleep before Dark returned with her food. Waking up and sitting up in her bed, Dark brought the food tray over to the bed and sat it down on her lap for her. Sitting himself down alongside her, Dark watched as Twilight began eating her breakfast. After her third bite, she looked over to him confusingly.
"Aren't you going to eat too?" she asked.
"Nah, I'm good," he said. "You go on ahead. I'll eat later."
"You sure?"
"Yes, I'm sure," he chuckled.
Seeing that he was, Twilight continued to eat her pancakes in peace while eliciting an occasional moan from how good the chocolate chip pancakes with whipped cream were. A few minutes later, Twilight had downed the stack of five pancakes, leaving only the strawberry left. Before she could eat it, Dark reached down and took it in his mouth. But instead of simply eating it, he gently held it between his lips and grinned at Twilight. Giving him a playful scowl, she leaned over to him and kissed Dark full on the mouth. When she pulled away though, it was Twilight who had the strawberry. But, unlike Dark who just taunted her with it, she quickly ate it before blowing a raspberry at him. Chuckling at her behavior, Dark moved the tray off to the side and laid himself back down alongside Twilight for some cuddle time.
"So, Dark," Twilight spoke up, "do you have any plans for today?"
"There is one thing actually," he answered her, "and I was hoping to get your opinion on it."
"What is it?"
"Well, with winter just around the corner, and with the orchard being baron during that time of year, I'll be more-or-less out of a job until the spring harvest comes around. So, I was thinking about using the bits that I'd earned from working the forge in Stonewall to buy a small plot of land and have my own forge built here in Ponyville. One where I would be self-employed and make my own hours. Sorta like what Rarity has going on with her boutique."
"Then you should do it."
Dark blinked a few times. "Just like that?"
"Well, yeah. I mean, you did enjoy working as a blacksmith before, right?"
"Yeah. I'll admit that it was peaceful, probably will be even more so now that I won't have to worry about accidentally burning myself."
"Then you should do it. And besides, I'm sure that ponies around town could use a good blacksmith to help with repairs and stuff."
"You mean like repairing the bent axle on Applejack's wagon?"
"That's one example. I'm willing to bet that other ponies will be needing some new tools like hammers, nails, wood-cutting axes, and so on."
"So you really think that I should do it."
"Of course," she said with a smile. "Not only do you get to enjoy what you're good at, but it's also something the town could use."
"And I suppose the guards could come to me for armor and weapon maintenance."
"That too I suppose. So, when were you planning on starting this?"
"I was going to head over and speak to the mayor about it a little after lunchtime."
"And what are you going to do until then?"
Dark smiled at her and held her closer. "Until then, my plan is to just stay like this with you. That is, if you're alright with that."
"I was actually hoping you would say that," Twilight said, nuzzling his neck. "I just thought of something. How do you think Spike is doing?"
"Considering how we left him, I'd say that he's going to be pretty surprised when he wakes up."
Over at Sweet Apple Acres, Applejack and Big Mac were down in the kitchen helping Granny Smith with making breakfast. Once she woke up, Applejack asked her brother if he'd seen Spike, to which he denied. Not quite believing it, she went up to his room and saw that Spike wasn't there like he said. After giving him an explanation of why she questioned it, he decided to let it go, understanding why she would think that. Figuring that Spike just made his way back home last night, she pushed the thought away.
However, up in Apple Bloom's bedroom, Spike was just starting to wake up. While his senses were returning to him, he could feel an all too familiar warmth. Paying extra attention with his ears, Spike could hear Sweetie Belle's slight snoring coming from on top of him.
Heh, guess that weird dream I had last night about the Crusaders falling asleep wasn't quite a dream after all, Spike thought. Or, at least Sweetie anyway.
Smiling at having his fillyfriend there with him when he woke up, he was about to move his arms up and hold her closer to him, but found that each of his arms felt extra heavy this morning. Opening his eyes just a crack to see what was going on, he saw that Sweetie Belle was indeed sleeping on top of him with her forelegs wrapped around his neck and her head tucked beneath his chin. Even though he found this to be a cute sight for him, this wasn't what he was looking for. Turning his gaze to his left, he was surprised to see Scootaloo sleeping with her head on his shoulder and her forelegs wrapping his left arm, but was even more so when he turned to his right and saw that Apple Bloom was doing practically the same thing to him on his right side.
Oh man! Oh man! Oh man! Spike mentally panicked. So it wasn't a dream after all! Wait a second, how did we even get up here in Apple Bloom's room? The last thing I remember was us falling asleep under Dark's- Spike's panicked eyes narrowed and were replaced by irritation. Dark. Oh, he's so gonna pay for this when I get back.
The more Spike thought about how Dark had supposedly put them to bed like this, the more tense his muscles became. As they did, Sweetie Belle began feeling his muscles move beneath her, causing her to stir from her slumber. Lifting her head and wiping her tired eyes with a hoof, she looked down at the little dragon that she'd fallen asleep on with a giggle.
"Good morning, Spike," she greeted him before giving him a small peck on the lips. "Did you sleep well?"
Spike was hesitant to answer as his eyes darted to the sleeping fillies on each of his arms. Noticing his worried gaze, Sweetie Belle shook her head and smiled.
"It's alright, you don't need to worry about it."
"B-But why?"
Sweetie Belle began nervously shuffle her front hooves together. "Well... I think it would be better to explain it when they wake up too."
"What're y'all talkin' about?" Apple Bloom tiredly asked. "If it's nothin', could you two head on back ta sleep? It's too early ta be up on a non-school day."
"I was about to tell Spike what we talked about while he was gone on his trip to Canterlot," Sweetie Belle explained, causing Apple Bloom's eyes to snap awake while a blush formed on her cheeks.
"You're gonna tell him?"
"Well, not until Scootaloo wakes up. She should be awake for this as well."
"Awake for what?" Scootaloo grumbled while wiping an eye with a hoof.
"Sweetie Belle's gonna tell Spike," Apple Bloom answered her.
"Tell him what?"
"Ya know, what we talked about durrin' his trip ta Canterlot?"
"... oh... right."
"Would somepony please explain to me what you're all talking about?" Spike unsurely asked. "And why are you all cuddled up with me? I mean, I know why Sweetie would, but why would you two as well?"
"You see, Spike," Sweetie Belle began to explain, "while you were in Canterlot with our sisters and their friends, we sorta... talked."
"About what?"
"We talked about you, Spike," Scootaloo spoke up with a "no-duh" tone.
"And how we all feel about ya," Apple Bloom added. "Ya know, about how we all like ya?"
"Well I would hope that you would like me. We're friends, right?" Spike said.
Scootaloo gave an irritated huff as she looked over to her Crusader friends. "Tell me again what we see in him exactly?"
"Well," Apple Boom began, "he's hard workin'."
"He's sweet and kind," Sweetie Belle added.
"Strong."
"Brave."
"Always there ta help anypony who needs it."
"Warm and snuggly."
"You forgot that he has a good sense of humor too."
"Oh, yeah."
"And he also-"
"Okay, okay, I get it," Scootaloo interrupted. "But you girls also forgot to mention how awesome of a guy he is."
"Not ta mention that he's also around our age."
"Umm, girls?" Spike spoke, blushing from all of the compliments they were giving him. "While this is flattering and all, Sweetie and I are together."
"That's what we were talking about, Spike," Sweetie Belle told him. "While you were gone, Apple Bloom, Scootaloo and I were in the clubhouse talking about us. And after they both admitted to me how they feel about you-"
"Wait, what?!"
"It's true," Scootaloo said surprisingly. "Now don't tell anypony this, especially Rainbow Dash, but I... wasn't having a very good day. I was sitting in the clubhouse thinking about how you and Sweetie Belle looked so happy together, and I just..."
She didn't finish her sentence and instead buried her face against Spike's side to hide the sight of her tears starting to form. Seeing that this was going to be hard for her, Apple Bloom took over.
"What Scoots is tryin' ta say is that she has feelin's for ya, Spike... just like me."
Spike's heart skipped a beat and his pupils shrunk to pinpricks at the sound of this confession. "W-W-What?"
"Ah'll admit it, Spike. We all have feelin's for ya, but we thought that only one of us could be your fillyfriend."
"And that's when I came in," Sweetie Belle spoke as she took over for Apple Bloom "When I came to the clubhouse to meet up with the others, I saw them sitting in the middle of the room hugging each other and crying. When I asked them what was wrong, they were rather hesitant to tell me."
"But they did," Spike figured, seeing a confirming nod from Sweetie Belle and Apple Bloom while feeling one from Scootaloo as her face was still buried against his side.
"We didn't tell her before because we thought that she would be upset with us," Scootaloo explained with her muffled voice.
"That, and you two looked so happy together that we thought that if we did, that y'all wouldn't be friends with us no more," Apple Bloom added, her face turning to a mixture of embarrassment and sadness.
"After they opened up to me and told me their feelings," Sweetie Belle continued, "and after some more talking about you and some other things, we've decided that we'll all be your fillyfriends."
"But... how?" Spike nervously questioned.
"It's something that Rarity told me about. It's something called a 'herd'."
"You mean like a herd of cattle?" Apple Bloom wondered.
"In a way, but with ponies instead."
"Or a dragon in this case," Scootaloo said, looking up from hiding her face.
"Wait a minute," Spike spoke up, halting them while his mind tried to process this. "Are you actually okay with this, Sweetie?"
"Well, I was the one to suggest it, so of course I'm okay with it," she answered him. "Besides, we've spent the rest of your time away talking about it and going over it to make sure that everypony was onboard with it. All we need now are your thoughts on this. After all, this is a group decision, which includes you too."
"But if you don't want ta, we'll understand," Apple Bloom said with a hint of sadness in her voice.
"Yeah," Scootaloo solemnly agreed. "We won't hold it against you if you say 'no'. All that we ask, though, is that we still remain friends if you don't want to be more."
Taking a few deep breaths, Spike closed his eyes and began to focus on putting together the jumbled mess that was his mind. Once he finally got himself to relax enough to think straight, he began to think of each possible outcome for this situation, both good and bad.
Oh, great. Now I'm starting to think like Twilight, he mentally sighed. Well, I suppose that's what I get for living with her since she hatched me. Now, back to my current problem. How should I go about this?
As the three fillies waited for an answer, they each looked from one to the other. Once five minutes had passed without Spike saying anything, they began to get worried about what answer his silence had meant. But, right before they were going to ask him what his answer was, he opened his eyes. And while the look in his eyes told them that he had an answer, there was also a hint of unease behind them as well.
"I think I've decided," Spike said, causing the three fillies to lean in closer to him.
"Well?" Apple Bloom questioned.
"Spill it out already!" Scootaloo urged.
"Alright, here it goes." Spike paused and inhaled deeply before shouting, "I'LL DO IT!"
The three fillies each backed away from him, not from the volume of his voice, but by the answer he gave them. Slowly and tentatively, Apple Bloom inched closer.
"A-Are ya sure?" she nervously asked.
Breathing in through his nose, Spike gave her a confirming nod. "I've made up my mind. Besides, if it really was Sweetie's idea and she's alright with it, then it can't hurt to at least give it a try, right?"
Overjoyed with his answer, the three fillies each cheered for their newfound relationship.
"CUTIE MARK CRUSADER FILLYFRIENDS, YAY!!!"
While Spike would usually find their cheers to be somewhat annoying, he couldn't help but chuckle at their happiness. But while he was happy that the were all happy, his joy was quickly turned to panic when his three fillyfriends pounced him and stated peppering his face with kisses. Unable to do much of anything against the onslaught of affection from them, Spike just laid there and held the three fillies close to him. After some time had passed, he was beginning to wonder if it would ever end. Unfortunately, it ended when they all froze in place at the sound of the floorboards creaking.
Looking up from their coltfriend, the Crusaders each saw Applejack standing in Apple Bloom's doorway gawking at them. None of them moved or said anything for what felt like minutes until Apple Bloom meekly waved a hoof at her.
"Umm.. good monrin', sis," she greeted her elder sibling.
Shaking her head and setting her mind back straight, Applejack looked down at them.
"Just what in tarnation are y'all doin'?! And what's all this shoutin' about 'Cutie Mark Crusader Fillyfriends'?!"
As the three fillies hunkered down against Spike in worry for being busted, they each said the one thing that was on their minds.
"Uh-oh."
Six days have passed since that morning. Right now, the six friends were sitting at a one of the tables in Sugarcube Corner. With the temperatures dropping as winter was just around the corner, they were each wearing something warm on them, namely a scarf or hat. As they sat at the table with a warm cup of hot chocolate, they began to idly chat with one another.
"I'm rather surprised of you, Fluttershy," Rarity said. "I never would've thought that you'd be so open to showing this side of you so soon after Nightmare Night."
Sitting across from Rarity was Fluttershy in her Flutterbat form, happily sipping away at her drink.
"You can thank Discord for that," she said with a smile. "He'd convinced me that no matter what I look like on the outside, that I'll still be me on the inside."
"So, does this mean that you're going to be like that all the time now?" Rainbow asked.
"Oh, no. I'm just out like this so that everypony will know and accept it quicker is all. Once they all get more comfortable with it, I'll start going back as my normal self."
"Well, I'm very proud of you, Fluttershy," Twilight said. "I'm sure that doing this isn't easy for you."
"You're right," she sighed. "It was rather difficult at first with how everypony kept staring at me in fear, but thankfully it didn't last long." Fluttershy paused when she saw Spike in a winter coat walking down the road with a cartful of groceries. "Umm, what's Spike doing outside? I thought that he didn't really like the cold?"
"Oh, he's just picking up some food is all."
"Speaking of Spike, how has he and his three fillyfriends been doing?" Pinkie eagerly asked. "And by the way, I still don't get why you girls didn't want me to throw a party for them."
"Sorry, darling," Rarity apologized. "We're still trying to wrap our minds around the fact that Spike is dating our sisters now is all."
"Ah still can't believe that Ah walked in on them while they were all kissin' him," Applejack said with slowly massaging her temples.
"I say that we should consider ourselves lucky," Rainbow told them.
"How so?" Rarity questioned.
"How about the fact that we all know and trust Spike for starters? And besides, he and Sweetie Belle were doing just fine together, so why can't this work too?"
"But aren't ya just a little worried about Scootaloo?" Applejack asked.
"Not really," Rainbow shrugged. "After all, she's tough, just like her big sister."
"But you're not really her sister."
"I might as well be with how she looks up to me. Besides, I'd be lying if I said that I didn't feel the same for her."
"Rainbow Dash, are you being sappy on us?" Twilight playfully teased.
"Hey, it's only because of Scoots that I'll allow myself to be like this for somepony. Other than that, you'd better not get used to it."
"Don't you worry about it," Rarity said. "As an older sibling, I completely understand what you mean and none of us will tease you about it... well, except for Applejack perhaps."
Applejack gave Rainbow a smug grin. "Eeyup."
"Hey, I just had a thought!" Pinkie exclaimed.
"Oh boy," Rainbow muttered.
"If Spike and the Crusaders get married when they get old enough, won't that mean that Rainbow, Applejack, Rarity, and Twilight will all be sisters too?"
The table went silent as they each thought that over. While Fluttershy seemed happy at the thought, the four elder siblings had varying facial expressions. While Applejack and Rainbow seemed only slightly disturbed, Rarity cringed slightly while Twilight on the other hoof just shrugged.
"I don't see what the problem with that would be," she said. "After all, you're my closest friends. And besides, I already love you girls as though you really were my sisters."
"Personally, I'd rather not think about that," Rarity said. "Besides, it's too early in their young lives to even be considering such a thing."
"Speakin' of thinkin' of stuff, has Dark told you girls about the news?" Applejack asked.
"About what, Applejack?"
Twilight's face beamed. "Dark was approved of his forge yesterday!"
"Really?" Rainbow asked.
"Yep. He's already gotten the paperwork done and paid the fee, so now we just need to wait for the forge to be built and for the materials to get there."
"And the best part is that he's gonna give my family a discount on any business we do there," Applejack happily said. "And that doesn't include the free maintenance on our wagons."
"About time!" Pinkie exclaimed with a bounce. "That means that I can finally throw a blacksmith-themed party!"
Fluttershy gave Pinkie a curious look. "You actually have one of those?"
"Silly, Fluttershy," she said patting her on the head, "I have a party for everything. Including for when Dark defeats-" Pinkie slapped a hoof over her mouth to stop herself from spilling the beans, but the can was already tipped over.
"When Dark defeats what?" Twilight asked.
"Nopony! Nopony at all!"
"So it's a somepony and not a something?"
"Not telling!"
"Does this have anything to do with your Pinkie Sense last week?"
"Are you still worried about that?" Rainbow asked with an eye-roll.
"Of course I am," Twilight nervously said. "It's been exactly seven days since her Pinkie Sense went off, and nothing's happened yet. And knowing Dark's track record, it'll probably somehow involve him."
"But besides me, he hasn't had any problems for a while now," Fluttershy observed.
"I know, but I'm still worried."
"We understand your concern, Twilight," Rarity said, placing a reassuring hoof on her shoulder. "But we all know that Dark can handle himself if he were to get in a jam."
Twilight gave her a deadpan look. "Timberwolves."
"That doesn't count," Rainbow argued. "Besides, we all know that he was already exhausted before he fought them, and he didn't exactly have a choice either."
"Shining Armor."
"The guy jumped him and had gear that was specifically designed against him, or rather, his dragon-half."
Twilight's face remained as it was while she continued to stare-down Rainbow, slowly wearing her down before she sighed in knowing defeat.
"... okay, so maybe he might need some help, but I still wouldn't worry too much about him."
"Hey, where is Darky anyway?" Pinkie wondered.
"He's over at the farm," Applejack answered her. "Said that he wanted ta get in some extra work before winter came rollin' around and took over for me today."
"Speaking of winter," Rainbow began, "I almost forgot to tell you girls that the winter clouds will be arriving today at sunset."
"Then I guess we better get ourselves ready for winter," Twilight said. "Fluttershy, will you be needing any help with your animal friends?"
"Thank you, Twilight," Fluttershy thanked, "but they're already taken care of. Didn't you notice how my cottage was empty of them during Nightmare Night?"
"We weren't really paying attention to that at the time."
"Speaking of Fluttershy's place," Rainbow began, "did you get that shipment of holy water, Pinkie?"
"Yeah, I did," she sadly sighed.
"Something wrong, dear?" Rarity concerningly asked.
"Turns out that this shipment was the last."
"Well, that's nothin' ta be sad about, is it?" Applejack questioned.
"It's not that, Applejack. I mean that it's literally the last one I can get because the one who makes it is gone."
"I'm sure that they'll make more when they get back from wherever they went," Fluttershy said.
"No they won't. The one who supplies the holy water is gone, as in they passed away."
"We're sorry to hear that, Pinkie," Twilight said, giving her friend a supportive hug. "Do you know how long ago?"
"From the letter that I got with my shipment, it's been almost six months now."
"Can't somepony else make the holy water?" Rainbow wondered.
"Nope. No one else can make it because she was the only one who could make it... literally. The holy water was synthesized from her tears."
Everypony at the table looked at Pinkie in surprise that somepony would be able to do that.
"What? But how?" Twilight asked bewildered. "What kind of a pony could produce something like that?"
"I never said that it was a pony, Twilight," Pinkie solemnly said. "And please, don't ask me to tell you girls what or who she is. I've already given her my Pinkie Promise that I wouldn't."
"It's okay, we understand, right, girls?"
Each gave an agreeing nod before joining together for a group hug to help Pinkie feel better. A few minutes later and feeling a little bit better, Pinkie broke the group hug and made her way towards the kitchen.
"I'm going to get some doughnuts and some more hot chocolate, does anypony else want some more?" Pinkie asked, her friends.
"I'll pass, darling," Rarity said. "I actually should really be heading back to my boutique. Besides, my break is almost over and I'm sure I'll be busy with ponies coming in to buy winter clothing."
"Ah'll have another," Applejack said.
"Same here," Rainbow agreed.
"I'll have some more hot chocolate please," Fluttershy said.
"I'll pass," Twilight told them.
Pinkie stopped bouncing in mid-bounce and turned to face her. "Really?"
"Uh-huh," she smiled. "I should actually get going back to the castle. I'm planning on making Dark and I some dinner for us tonight."
"Wait... you can cook?" Rainbow questioned.
"I can now. Ever since we got back from Canterlot, Dark has been teaching me how to cook. And since I was able to cook all by myself a few days ago, I thought that I'd do the cooking for us tonight."
"Well, that's very sweet of you," Rarity said approvingly. "So, what did you have in mind?"
"Well, since Spike will be having that sleepover at Applejack's tonight-"
"Which Ah'm still unsure about," Applejack muttered.
"-I was thinking about a candle-lit dinner with some pasta and wine."
"My, that sounds rather romantic."
"Hehe. What, are you hoping to get lucky tonight?" Rainbow jokingly asked as Pinkie returned to the table and began drinking her hot chocolate.
"Well, we might. Then again, I don't want him to wear his tongue out to the point of numbness again," Twilight answered, causing everypony's heads to snap towards her while Pinkie did a spit take.
"Uhh,.. Twilight, you know I was just kidding about that, right?"
"I know, but I wasn't."
Nopony spoke as they were all too busy gawking at what their friend just admitted. Seeing this as a good time, Twilight got up and began heading out.
"Oh, by the way, Applejack," Twilight called back before leaving, "when you see Dark, could you tell him to come straight home when he's done and to not tell him about what I have planned for dinner? I want it to be a surprise."
"Uhh, sure," she slowly answered, waving her friend goodbye.
Happy, Twilight left Sugarcube Corner and made her way back to her castle to prepare for tonight's dinner. After the door to the shop closed, Fluttershy continued drinking her hot chocolate while the others at the table were all blushing and trying to collect their thoughts. Shaking her head to clear her mind, Rainbow was the first of them to speak up.
"So, is it just me, or does anypony else think that we really didn't need to know that?" she asked, getting a raised hoof from Pinkie, Rarity, and Applejack, while Fluttershy just shrugged.
Later that afternoon, just before sunset, Dark was out working at Sweet Apple Acres with Big Mac, doing what they could to get the last of the orchard clear before the snow began to fall. Despite it being almost sunset and wishing that Applejack would've been there to help, they were still glad that she got to go out and spend some girl time with her friends. That, and the two guys were happy to have it just them there with no girls around.
"We should really start hanging out more," Dark suggested.
"Eeyup," Big Mac agreed.
"And maybe even Spike?"
"Eenope."
"... still upset that he's dating Apple Bloom?"
"Eeyup. And Ah'm still unsure about him attendin' the sleepover with the girls tonight."
"You could just make him sleep in your room if you're that unsure about him, though I doubt that it'll be necessary. He is a nice guy after all."
"Ah know," Big Mac sighed. "Ah'm just not used ta the thought of him bein' special someponies with Apple Boom is all."
"That's probably just your big brother instincts kicking in."
"Probably," he said, bucking the last of the apple trees. "And that's the last of them. Now let's get them into the barn and call this season over."
"Too bad. I'm gonna miss working here," Dark said as he began pulling the apple cart back to the barn.
"Ah know that you'll have your own workplace, but will ya gonna come back and help in the spring?"
"If you guys want me to. My hours might change, but I can still work here with you guys. Especially during the cider season, considering how big of an event that is for your family."
"Thank ya kindly, Dark."
Walking in relative silence, the two made their way over to the barn and began unloading the last of the harvest. Once the apples were unloaded, they parked the wagon away and closed the barn doors. Just after they locked it up, they turned around to see Applejack walking into the yard.
"Howdy, boys," she waved to them.
"Hey, Applejack," Dark returned. "How's it going?"
"Pretty good actually. The girls and Ah went ta Sugarcube Corner and just hanged out there." She paused when she remembered what Twilight asked of her, causing her to blush slightly. "Oh, and Twilight asked me ta tell ya ta head on straight home after y'all were done here."
"Alright. Thanks, Applejack," he thanked before looking over to Big Mac. "And as for us hanging out, how about next Sunday night?"
"Sure, Ah can do that," Big Mac answered.
"Sweet. In that case, I'm off to see what Twilight wants. Did she specifically say how fast to be there?"
"Eenope," Applejack said. "She just wanted ya ta come on home after y'all were done here is all... why?"
"Just thought that I'd walk there and enjoy the first snowfall is all."
"Alright then, you two have yourselves a goodnight now," she said, waving him off.
"Thanks, we will," he nodded before trotting towards the path leading through the orchard.
As Dark made his way down the dirt path into Ponyville, he hummed a tune to himself. While he was rather bummed that he wouldn't be working there again until spring, he was happy that the harvest had ended on a good note for them. While he walked through the town, he saw a familiar trio of guards waving to him before returning to their duties. Waving back to them, Dark smiled and continued towards the castle. Waving to some more ponies who'd pass by him, he froze in place as he saw a snowflake floating down in front of him.
Looking up to the sky, he saw the first snow shower of the new winter season. Letting out a small laugh at the joy of winter being here again, Dark suddenly found an extra spring in his step as he closed in on the castle. Upon reaching the castle doors, Dark paused and took in a deep breath of cool air before reaching for the door handle and-
"You're a real bastard to kill, you know that?"
Hearing the unknown and hostile voice behind him, Dark spun around to see a cloaked pony standing not thirty feet away from him.
"Who are you, and what are you doing here?" Dark cautiously asked.
"Aww, you don't remember me?" he mockingly said. "Then again, I suppose you wouldn't, considering you were rather preoccupied with my army of Everfree creatures that were attacking Ponyville."
Dark's eyes widened in realization.
"YOU!" he shouted, standing bipedal and summoning his Death Reaver and the armor he'd gotten from the Coliseum. "You're the cloaked guy that everypony is after!"
The cloaked figure gave Dark a slow, golf clap. "Bravo, took you long enough."
"I'm going to make you pay for- GAAHHH!"
From under the cloaked figure's cloak, a bright light shown through the night, blinding Dark. In an attempt to shield his eyes, he thrusted his sword into the ground and ducked his head behind it. But in doing so, Dark failed to see what the cloaked figure was doing as he reached a hoof from under his cloak and pulled out an amulet with a reflective mirror surface before pointing it at Dark. Still hiding behind his sword, Dark didn't see it when the cloaked figure shot a small beam of light out of it until it pierced through his sword and himself. Feeling around his chest, Dark didn't feel any pain or evidence of a wound. Soon after the beam was fired, the light died down, allowing Dark to peek out from behind his sword and taking an aggressive stance with it. Seeing him getting ready to fight, the cloaked figure laughed.
"I'm not here to fight you," he told him.
"What?" Dark confusingly asked, before feeling a tugging from behind.
Looking back towards the tugging, Dark saw what appeared to be a pink, swirling portal directly behind him. Feeling the portal's pull becoming stronger and causing him to skid against the ground, he planted his sword back into the ground and used it as an anchor.
Meanwhile, inside the castle, Twilight was happily singing to herself while she worked on boiling the pasta and sauce. She was so focused and excited on doing a good job at cooking food for her and Dark, though, that she was completely unaware of the sounds coming from just outside the castle.
"You idiot, you can't fight it," the cloaked figure chuckled. "Just give up and let go already."
His anger starting to rise, Dark began channeling his horn with magic, but before he could begin casting a spell, he felt his magic sputter out.
"Oh, I suppose I should've mentioned that the portal that I created with this amulet of mine also causes a small null-magic zone around it, rendering you unable to use magic at this current location."
Giving an angry snort, Dark stopped using his unicorn magic and began focusing on his death magic. Just like with his unicorn magic, his arms didn't react to it. Seeing as he had no magical support at all, he decided to go with a different approach.
"Fine. If I can't use my magic, then I'll just burn you alive!" Dark shouted.
Taking a deep breath, Dark unleashed a torrent of fire from his burning maw towards the cloaked figure. However, instead of the flames rushing forward, they were being sucked into the portal behind him, which was starting to grow bigger and pulling on him harder. Starting to feel light on his hooves, Dark crouched down and planted his free-claw into the ground for extra support. Seeing him vulnerable, the cloaked figure unsheathed a sword from beneath his cloak and walked towards him.
"You know," he began saying, "I would say that I'd miss trying to kill you, but I'd be lying. Now, why don't you let go and die!"
Seeing him swinging his sword down upon his head, Dark removed his claw from the ground and blocked it with his forearm. Stopping the blade from making contact with his head, Dark pushed the sword off while also taking a swipe at the cloaked figure, making contact and sending the now confirmed pony stumbling backwards into the ground. Standing up from being knocked down, the cloaked pony stood with his back to Dark. Looking upon his attacker, he could only see that the pony had a short blond mane with a strange, curved, white horn with a blue tip sticking out of it. But just before Dark began to question him again, he felt his sword shake.
Looking down, he could see that the blade was being pulled out of the ground. Seconds later, he felt the sword free itself from its anchored spot, sending Dark flying back into the portal with sword in claw. As soon as Dark was through, the portal closed itself up behind him. Looking back, the pony began to madly chuckle to himself before lighting his horn in a green aura and bringing out a crystal. Pouring some of his magic into it, an image projection appeared above it, showing another pony on the other side of it.
"Is it done?" he asked.
"It is," the cloaked pony answered. "Our plan was a success, Dark Flame is now out of our mane."
"Good. It's about time too. Now, what about if he were to come back? After all, there is the original portal to worry about."
"That won't be a problem. While making this amulet, I made sure to put a block on it. So long as this amulet isn't damaged or destroyed, its magic will interfere with the original portal and cut-off the passage from that world to Equestria."
"Clever thinking. Now, if you don't mind, I'll let you take care of that thing. Besides, being caught with it would be rather problematic for me."
"I suppose it would."
"And for now on, communication between us will be limited to only emergencies."
"Very well then. Enjoy your night, Prince Blueblood."
"Oh, I very much will," he smirked. "And a peasant night to you too, partner."
Breaking the connection, the cloaked pony began laughing out loud before making his way out of Ponyville under the cover of the night and snow.
Dark laid sprawled out on his back as he fought to stay conscious from his trip through the portal. Slowly regaining his senses, he first felt the hard yet smooth stone-like surface of the ground below him. Next he felt unusually cold for some reason, despite him feeling that he was still wearing his armor. He then felt something cold covering his entire body and used what strength he had left to bring an arm up in front of his face. Cracking open an eye, Dark could see a faint glow around him of what he guessed was some of the fire that made its way through the portal when he was fire-breathing. With the assistance of the fire's light, he could barely see the layer of white covering his arm through his foggy vision.
This must be snow, he mentally concluded. Even so, why am I so cold?
"Hey! Are you okay?!"
Turning his head up slightly towards the direction of what he made out to be a female's voice, he could barely see the dark outline of something running towards him from the darkness beyond the fires. It was then that he began to notice another thing. For some reason, he'd lost his night-vision. Before he knew it, he saw that whoever it was that was running towards him had stopped and was now kneeling down beside him.
"Don't worry, you're going to be alright."
Feeling overcome with nausea and fatigue, Dark felt his consciousness slip from him. But before he passed out, he was able to catch a glimpse of the girl, and her long red and yellow hair.