It has been four days and five nights since Twilight and Rainbow were called away by the map to solve the friendship problem. Four days that Dark had to spend looking after Spike and Soul, which he found to be a rather lonely job without Twilight around. But what made him feel even lonelier was when he would wake up in the mornings to find the spot next to him cold and empty.
Sighing in disappointment, Dark got out of bed and stretched out his stiff limbs before heading downstairs to get breakfast ready for them. Once he got there and began baking, his mind began to drift to the letter that Twilight had left for them, telling them that they were called to Trottingham. Hearing the pan sizzling, Dark turned his attention back to the food. Fifteen minutes later, he had the table set up and was waiting for Soul, Spike, and Pyre to come down to eat. A few moments later, Spike and Soul walked in, the former freezing in place upon seeing Dark while the latter went straight for his spot at the table.
"Good morning," Dark greeted them from his chair.
"Good morning, Dark," Soul replied before downing his food.
"Uh... hey, Dark," Spike slowly said. "Soooo, how are you feeling?"
Dark sighed. "A little bummed that Twilight isn't here, but other than that, I'm alright."
"Are you sure?"
"Yeah, why?"
Spike took a second to look Dark over again before giving him his answer. "Dude, you're pink."
Dark blinked. "... say what now?"
"Yeah. I mean, look at you. Your mane and coat are all pink like Pinkie's."
Looking down at himself, Dark saw that his coat was indeed pink. With his eyes widening in shock, he pulled his mane out in front of him to see that was a slightly darker shade of pink than his coat.
"Whe- how- what?!" Dark shouted in confusion and embarrassment. "When the hay did this happen?!"
"You mean you didn't see yourself when you woke up?" Spike questioned, taking his spot at the table to eat.
"NO! I was too gloomy waking up without seeing Twilight again to even bother looking over myself!"
"You think Discord did this?"
"Nope," Soul suddenly said, having cleared his plate and downing the last of his milk. "It wasn't him."
"Pyre then?" Dark wondered.
"Nope."
"Well it wasn't me," Spike said. "So that would leave only-"
"Me?" Soul finished with a smug grin.
Dark looked at Soul in surprise. "You did this?"
"Yep," he answered with a smile.
"How?"
"It was easy. I just replaced your soap and shampoo bottles with pink coat and mane dye."
With a grumble, Dark began eating his food. "At least I still have that bottle of dye removal."
Slowly, Soul began to inch his way over to the entry way to the kitchen. "Actually... you don't."
"Hmm?"
"I may have kinda hidden it away somewhere outside of the castle."
Dark froze, his mouth wide-open with a forkful of food hovering right in front of it.
"Soul... what are you saying?"
"... that there's no more dye removal in the castle."
"Doesn't this mean that Dark will have to go outside and get some then?" Spike figured.
"Soul," Dark firmly called, "why did you do that?"
Soul darted his eyes around before booking it out of the kitchen and down the hallway.
"Sorry, Dark, but I have to go to school!" he called back.
Seconds later, Dark and Spike heard the front doors to the castle being slammed shut. Massaging his temples, Dark let out a small groan.
"Is it just me, Spike, or does Soul seem to be a bit bolder after he pranked Princess Celestia?"
"Yeah, I've noticed it too," Spike answered before taking another bite. "So, what's the plan?"
"Well, after this little prank of Soul's, I'll need to make a stop over at Rarity's for some dye removal."
"You're going out in Ponyville looking like that?" Spike questioned, pointing his fork at Dark.
"I'll wear my cloak."
"Why can't you just use that Shadowport spell of yours?"
"There's too much sunlight."
"In that case, you better get going."
"I will after everyone's done eating," Dark said before Spike waved a dismissal claw at him.
"Nah, don't worry about it, I got the dishes covered. Besides, you should go on ahead before everypony's up and about."
"Huh, well thank you, Spike. You're right, it would be unfortunate if somepony saw me like this." Dark chuckled to himself. "Especially if Pyre found out."
"Too late."
Snapping their attention over to their side, Dark and Spike looked just in time to become blinded by a flash of light. A few seconds later of blinking away the blindness, they saw Pyre standing in there with a camera in his claw.
"Hey! That's my camera!" Spike complained.
"Come on, kid," Pyre snorted. "Did you really think that I would just pass a chance like this up after seeing him like this?"
"I... guess not?" he unsurely answered.
"I thought so. Now, what do we have to eat today?"
As Pyre walked up to his chair and sat the camera down on the table, Dark got up and began making his way out.
"I'm going out to see Rarity about this dye," he announced.
"Just don't take too long," Pyre told him. "We've got training in Ghastly Gorge later today, and I'm not going to have us wait for you just because you got pinked."
With an irritated groan, Dark walked down the hallways towards the front doors and reached into his Shadow Storage for his black cloak. Throwing it over himself to hide his pink embarrassment, he left the castle and began his trek towards Rarity's. Along the way, he kept his walks slow so his cloak wouldn't flap out and reveal his coat, while keeping his head down so that nopony could see his face. And while most of the ponies didn't pay him much mind, a few of the guards who were patrolling the town did stop him. But, with a clever excuse and them recognizing his voice, Dark was left alone again. Minutes later, Rarity's Boutique was in sight, and after a quick glance around to make sure that nopony was watching him, Dark made a final dash to her door. Without losing a step, Dark opened the door, ran through it, slammed it shut behind him, and leaned back against it in relief.
"Hello? Who's here?" a voice called out.
"Rarity?" Dark called.
"Dark? Is that you?"
"Yes."
Trotting out from the back, Rarity frowned at him. "Dark, darling, for what reason would you need for slamming my door shut so abruptly and loudly?"
"Sorry, Rarity," he apologized, "I was in a hurry and didn't want anypony to see me."
"Regardless, that isn't any reason for you to behave so roughly with my door," she chastised. "Now, care to tell me what it is that brings you to my Boutique, and why are you wearing that dreadful thing on a beautiful sunny day like this?"
Dark stood back up, making sure that his cloak wasn't revealing anything. "I was hoping that you had some more of that dye removal for sale?"
Rarity blinked. "Dye removal? Why would you need it? I thought that you still had a bottle of it?"
"I did, but somepony thought it would be a good idea to prank me by dying my coat and hiding my dye removal outside the castle."
"Ah. Well then, I think that I can help you out with that. But first, what exactly is the damage?"
"... what?"
"What I mean, darling, is that I would like to get a look at you."
"... no."
Rarity frowned. "Dark, if I'm going to help you, then I'll need to get a look at your coat to see what kind of dye was used so that I can get you the proper dye removal."
"Aren't all dye removals the same?"
"No."
"... you promise not to laugh?"
"Oh, please, Dark," she scoffed, "I'm not one to jump to laughing at somepony's misfortunes like Rainbow Dash or Pinkie Pie might."
Dark quirked an eyebrow at her claim, and though it was hidden beneath his hood, Rarity could practically feel it.
"... okay, most of the time I'm not."
"That's better," he said before letting out a sigh. "Alright."
Lighting his horn, Dark removed his cloak and hung it up on the coat hanger beside the door, revealing his pink coat and mane. As he stood there gauging Rarity's reaction, he waited for what he thought would be the inevitable laughter. However, to his surprise, Rarity managed to keep herself composed.
"Umm... well now... now I see why you would be so embarrassed," Rarity spoke.
"So? Can you help me?" Dark asked.
"Of course. Just, um, give me a moment if you would."
Dark watched as Rarity walked up to him and began looking over his mane and coat as he stood there in the center of her Boutique. After a few moments of listening to her muttering to herself, he watched as she backed away with a nod.
"I believe that I may have something for that," she announced.
"Oh, thank you," Dark sighed in relief. "Nothing against Pinkie, but while pink does look good on her, I don't really care for it on myself."
"You know, they say that only real stallions wear pink."
"Not this one."
"Oh, very well," Rarity sighed. A second later, she lit her horn and teleported a bottle of dye removal to her side. "Here you go."
"Thank you, Rarity. It'll be nice to get rid of this color before somepony else sees-"
"Hello? Rarity, ya there?"
In slow motion, Dark turned his head around to see Applejack open the door and walk in.
"There ya are," she said, "Ah was just checkin' in with ya ta see if we we're still on for our trip ta the... spa... today." Applejack's voice faded as she began to take notice of Dark and his pink problem. "Uhhh... what's goin' on here?"
"Soul replaced my shampoo and soap bottles with pink dye," Dark grumbled, eliciting an amused snort from Applejack.
"Well then, good thin' that Rainbow ain't here ta see this," she said, trying to keep herself from laughing at him. "Speakin' of her, do ya know when she and Twilight will be gettin' back?"
"No," he sighed.
"Is something wrong, Dark?" Rarity asked concerningly. "You look a bit downhearted."
Dark shuffled a claw around and sighed again. "I just miss Twilight."
"Ah know what ya mean, Dark," Applejack said. "It's noticeably quieter without Twilight or Rainbow around."
"Not like that, Applejack. I miss waking up next to her every morning, eating with her, talking with her, and falling asleep with her in my arms."
"Ah, I believe I see what you're getting at," Rarity said understandingly. "You feel like apart of yourself is missing with her gone, don't you?"
Dark nodded and chuckled to himself. "And to think, less than a year ago I never thought that I would find somepony so special and precious to me. And now that I have, I can't imagine my life without her, let alone having to spend several days without being by her side."
While Rarity went "Awww" at his confession, Applejack looked like she was in thought.
"Something on your mind, darling?" Rarity asked, poking Applejack's side.
"Huh? Oh, nothin' really," she said. "It's just that what Dark just said about Twi is kinda like what Big Mac was sayin' about Cheerilee last night."
"Speaking of them, how have they been?"
"Close. Like very close. Cheerilee came over for dinner a few nights ago and she and Big Mac fell asleep on the couch."
Rarity giggled. "Perhaps you'll be finding yourself with a new sister-in-law pretty soon?"
Applejack found herself stammering as she stumbled back. "R-Rarity! What are... they haven't even been goin' out for that long yet!"
"Actually, Applejack," Dark cut in, "they've been going out for like nine or ten months now, so for all we know, they could decide to get engaged any day now."
"Ah know that!" she snapped. "Big Mac told me how long they've been datin' each other. Ah just feel like it's too soon for them."
"Applejack, darling," Rarity sympathetically spoke, placing a hoof on her shoulder, "are you worried about your brother?"
"Of course Ah'm not. Cheerilee is a fine pony, and Ah'm sure that she and Big Mac will get along just fine. It's just, what if they do get married and Big Mac decides ta move out with her? Without him helpin' out... Ah don't know how long the farm will last without him."
"You make a valid point, Applejack, but isn't Dark still working for you?"
"Kinda. He'll come help us if we need the extra help."
"And I still will," Dark chimed.
"And while that is very generous of Dark," Rarity continued, "what if the opposite were to happen with Big Macintosh?"
"Sorry, what?" Applejack said confusingly.
"I think what she means is what if Cheerilee were to move into the farm with Big Mac and the rest of you?" Dark reworded for Rarity. "I'm sure you have enough room to house another pony, right?"
Applejack slowly nodded. "We do, but it was our ma and pa's room. We haven't done much with it since they... ya know."
While Rarity did know what she meant, Dark didn't. He had a good idea of what became of Applejack's parents, but he'd never outright asked her or the others, afraid of bringing up bad memories if he turned out to be right. And with the tone of voice Applejack had used when talking about them, he was that much closer to believing that he was right.
Shaking himself from his thoughts, Dark glanced over to see Rarity gently patting Applejack's back while she tipped her hat down to cover her face. Feeling guilty for having a part in causing her this grief, Dark sighed and walked over to Applejack, draping a wing over her and pulling her into a comforting hug.
Taken aback by the sudden contact, Applejack flinched and looked at Dark in surprise. And while she didn't feel very comfortable at first, as the seconds rolled by, she allowed herself to relax beneath the comfort of his wing.
If this is what it's like for Twilight, then she's one lucky filly, Applejack thought with a slight hint of envy.
"Whatever happens with them, Applejack," Dark began, "you don't need to worry. I'll always be there to help you guys out if you ever need me. After all, you guys did make me an honorary Apple."
"Thanks, sugarcube," Applejack muttered, wrapping a hoof around Dark in a return hug.
"You're welcome." The two remained like that with Rarity watching from the side for a few moments before Dark let Applejack go. "Well, I suppose I better get going."
"Gotta busy day ahead of ya?"
"Eeyup. Gotta get back home and get this dye out of my mane and coat before opening the forge. Then later this afternoon, Pyre's going to be training me and Spike in Ghastly Gorge."
"And what about Soul?" Rarity wondered. "Won't he be all alone at the castle?"
"The way I see it, either he stays at the castle all alone, minus the guards I've got lurking around, or he comes with us to Ghastly Gorge where we can keep an eye on him."
"Wouldn't it be dangerous for him to be there though?"
"He'll be sticking with Pyre, so he'll be safe with him if anything should go wrong. Besides, if Twilight found out that I left Soul all alone at the castle, I'd probably be in deep trouble."
"I see," Rarity mumbled, still having her reservations about this.
"Well Ah can understand ya," Applejack spoke, starting to feel better. "Y'all trust Soul, but y'all are still worried about him bein' alone."
"Kinda," Dark admitted. "While I do trust Soul when he's alone, I'd just feel better if somepony or somedragon were there with him."
"If you're sure," Rarity submitted. "However, if ever find yourself in need of somepony to watch over him for a few hours, I'm sure that I could do that for you. He could even help Sweetie Belle with her homework."
"Same with me," Applejack said. "If you and Twi need somepony ta watch out for him for the evenin' or somethin', just ask and Ah'll be glad ta help ya out."
"Thanks you two," Dark thanked before looking up at the clock and frowning. "Well, sorry to do this, but I better get going. I'll see you two around. And don't forget, Applejack, to give me a call if you guys need any help."
Tossing his cloak back on and pulling his hood up, Dark left the Boutique and began cautiously making his way back to the castle, leaving Applejack and Rarity alone.
"Well," Rarity began, "that was something."
"Y-Yeah, it sure was," Applejack stammered, which in turn caused Rarity to glance curiously at her.
"Applejack, darling, is there something the matter?"
"Eenope. Nothing's wrong."
"Uh-huh," Rarity deadpanned, clearly not buying it. "Come now, dear, tell me what's on your mind."
"... ya promise not ta be upset or tell Twilight?"
"If it's important to you, then I won't."
Tipping her hat down, Applejack hid her face. Not because of the threat of tears like last time, but to hide the small blush on her face.
"Ah was just thinkin'... about how lucky Twilight is," she admitted.
"What? You mean with having Dark as a coltfriend?"
Applejack gave a small nod. "If she and Dark weren't together right now, Ah don't think that Ah'd mind havin' a go with him." She glanced over to her friend from under her hat. "What do ya think, Rarity? Am Ah bein' selfish about it?"
To Applejack's surprise, Rarity shook her head, her cheeks burning red like Applejack's.
"N-No, not at all, darling," she answered somewhat nervously. "Actually, if I'm to be honest with you, I don't believe that I would mind giving him a chance either."
Now it was Applejack's turn to give a curious look. "Really?"
"Yes. While he may be a bit fierce and rough around the edges at times, he truly is a good and honest stallion."
"Hehe, his ferocity and honesty are actually a few reasons why Ah was thinkin' about him."
"Out of curiosity, Applejack, if it were you that Dark chose and he began living with you, how would you feel about it?"
Applejack took a moment to ponder that question before she answered her.
"Well, Ah wouldn't have ta worry about any of them timberwolves wanderin' too close ta the farm with how fearful of him they are. That, and now Ah know what Twilight meant when she told us about how comfortable and safe she feels when Dark's got his wing wrapped around her."
"I thought that Twilight may have been exaggerating a little bit when she told us at first, but if you're vouching for it too, then I suppose I have no choice but to believe her now," Rarity said before pondering the same question herself. "As for me... well... I'm sorry to say, Applejack, but I can't think about it right now. I didn't really consider it until you asked."
"It's alright. As long as we don't do nothin' ta hurt Dark's relationship with Twilight, agreed?"
"Agreed," Rarity nodded as she trotted past Applejack towards the door. "Now, if you'll excuse me, I need to go to talk to Aloe and Lotus about making a last minute change to our schedule."
"Huh? Why?"
"Oh please, Applejack, surely after all of that drama you could go for a little something extra today."
"Uhh... Ah'm not so sure, Rarity. Ah mean, Ah don't want ya ta-"
"Applejack, that wasn't a question. You're going to get an extra something with your spa treatment, and you're going to love it!"
While Applejack didn't quite feel like it, she knew that Rarity could be just as stubborn as herself at times. Following her outside so she could lock the door behind them, Applejack followed Rarity towards town. As she did, she felt that something was off as she suddenly felt herself feeling extra warm.
"Hey, Rarity?"
"Yes, Applejack?"
"Is it just me, or does it feel rather warm ta ya?"
"... now that you mention it, it does."
As they continued to walk down the street, they passed a thermometer hanging on the side of one of the buildings. Upon closer inspection, they saw that it read sixty-seven degrees.
"Well that's weird," Applejack commented before shrugging it off. "It's probably nothin' ta worry about."
Later that day, Dark was closing his forge down after a somewhat shorter day of work. While he did manage to remove the dye, it took him almost an hour under the water for it to wash off of him. When he did and saw the time, he decided that he would have to skip his lunch break to make up for the time he lost.
With his forge locked down for the day, Dark began making his way through Ponyville to pick up Soul from school. As he walked through town, he gave a polite nod to those who passed him, happy that none of them had seen him when his coat was dyed-
"Hey, Pinkie Guy!"
Except for one particular squad of guards who he'd accidentally literally bumped into.
With an exasperated sigh, Dark turned around to see Steel Hoof, Kite Shield, and Aura Lance walking up to him with a smug look on each of their faces.
"Hey guys," Dark groaned.
"So," Aura began, "where are you off to?"
"To pick Soul up from school."
"Hey, Dark?" Kite spoke.
"Yeah?"
"We've been hearing a rumor around town that you and Princess Twilight have taken this Soul kid in."
"Pretty much," he confirmed. "Not long after I found him in the Everfree Forest, Twilight and I decided to adopt him."
Steel quietly gasped. "Does this mean that you and the Princess are married or are soon-to-be married?"
Dark shook his head. "No, we're not." At least, not yet anyway.
"Well that's too bad," Aura huffed before smirking again. "So, what happened to you before, Pinkie Guy?"
"Soul decided to prank me by replacing my shampoo and soap bottles with pink dye."
"I take it that the kid's gonna be in trouble for this?"
"Meh, not really. There wasn't any harm in it, so it's fine as long as he doesn't pull it again."
"Too bad, because I wanted a picture before you got rid of it. Maybe that Pinkie Pie mare would like it?"
"Way ahead of you," Pinkie said, walking between Aura and Steel.
"Gah! Pinkie! When did you get here?!" Dark gasped.
"Oh, silly, I know when I'm needed," she answered while holding a picture in her hoof. "And I already got a picture of Dark as *snort* Pinkie Guy."
"Pinkie, no."
"Oh? And what if Twilight or even Shining Armor and Cadence were to see it?"
Dark's eyes widened. "You wouldn't."
Pinkie gave him a confidant smirk. "Wouldn't I?"
Staring her down for a few moments, Dark's resolve faltered as he sighed in defeat.
"What is it that you want?"
"Hmmm. That depends."
"On what?"
"On what you're willing to do for me."
"How about anything that doesn't sound too unreasonable?"
"You sure?"
"Yes."
"Then swear it."
"I swear to Celest-"
"SWEAR TO ME!"
"How?"
"Make me a Pinkie Promise."
"... seriously?" he questioned, getting a serious nod from Pinkie and sighing before going through the motions while saying, "Cross my heart, hope to fly, stick a cupcake in my eye."
"Good," Pinkie said with a satisfied smile and bouncing away. "I'll hold you to that. See you in a few weeks then, Darky!"
Feeling a chill crawl up his spine from that last sentence, Dark shivered in unease.
"Why am I suddenly worried for myself?" he wondered out loud.
"I don't know," Steel answered sympathetically, "but there's no going back for you now."
"Yeah. Now, if you guys will excuse me, I need to get going."
With that, Dark waved his three guard friends goodbye and continued his way to the schoolhouse. When he got there, he was welcomed with the sight of Soul playing in the playground before spotting Dark and walking up to him while hanging his head.
"Hi, Dark," Soul quietly said.
"Hey, kid," Dark returned. "Something wrong?"
"You're not upset about the dye, are you?"
With a small sigh, Dark shook his head. "It wasn't that bad, Soul. However, next time, I would prefer that you leave my dye removal at home instead of hiding it."
"O-Okay."
"Good." With a smile, Dark patted Soul on the head, earning him a smile in return. "Now then, how about we get going?"
Crouching down, Dark waited for Soul to jump onto his back and secure himself before flying up into the air and towards Ghastly Gorge.
"Now remember, Soul," Dark began to remind, "when we get there, I want you to stay back with Pyre. If you get bored, you can do your homework or something, but just make sure that you don't distract Spike or I while we're focusing. We don't want to have an accident and have to explain it to Twilight when she gets home, right?"
"Right."
With an approving nod over his answer, Dark continued the flight to Ghastly Gorge. With some idle talk to pass the time, they quickly found themselves at their destination with Spike and Pyre already training. Landing down a safe distance away, Dark let Soul jump off his back before they went to join up with them.
"About time you showed up," Pyre snorted.
"Sorry," Dark apologized. "I got distracted on my way to pick up Soul."
"Then that's your fault, now get to it."
"Alright. So, what is it that you're wanting me to do today?"
Pyre smirked. "We're going to do what we've been doing since we first started this."
Oh great, Dark sarcastically thought with an eye-roll. I get to blow myself up in the face again.
"Don't give me that look. You've been improving, so today, we're going to get it right. Now begin!"
Taking his spot ahead of Pyre and the others so he wouldn't accidentally blast them too, Dark began his breathing exercises. After a few breaths, Dark felt comfortable enough to begin the spell.
Slowly inhaling, Dark began to channel his horn's magic, creating an orb of energy in front of his maw that steadily continued to grow. Feeling like he was at that certain point, Dark unleashed the air in his lungs along with his fire breath. Unfortunately, like so many other attempts, when the flames came into contact with the orb, it combusted in his face and sent him hurdling back along the dirt ground before coming to a stop in the small river.
Pulling his head out of the water to where he could see over it, Dark irritated sighed with water bubbling up around his head. Swimming to the riverbed, Dark walked out of the water and set himself ablaze, drying himself off in an instant before looking to Pyre.
"I don't get it! What am I doing wrong?!" Dark asked, his frustration over it beginning to show.
"Beats me," Pyre shrugged. "Have you been using your shadow breath too, or just your fire for it?"
"It's suppose to be a fire-based spell, so I haven't bothered to think about using my shadow breath."
"Okay, what does Nocturne have to say about it?"
"He's been keeping quiet about it," Dark answered. "The few times that I did ask him, he would either give me a vague answer, or none at all."
Listening in on their talking, Spike quickly put aside practicing to fire magical beams and joined Pyre's side.
"When you use your magic, is it just raw magic, or are you using another spell?" Spike inquired.
"Just raw magic," Dark replied, too blind in his annoyance to see where Spike was going with this.
"Then maybe that's the problem."
"What is?"
"What I mean is that instead of gathering a bunch of raw magic like what you've been doing, channel one of your spells and combine that with your fire breath."
"... seriously?" Dark questioned.
"Might as well try it," Soul chimed in from on top of Pyre's back. "You don't really have anything to lose if it doesn't work."
"..."
"Is something wrong, Dark?" Spike wondered.
"... it can't be that simple of a fix... can it?" Dark slowly asked with disbelief.
"Won't know until you try," Pyre said with a pointed claw. "Now go and try."
Resuming his spot from before, Dark dug his claws into the ground to try and anchor himself before beginning the spell. As he charged his horn to create the orb of energy like before, he also began to run another spell with it.
Okay, Dark began thinking to himself, running through some of his spells, start out with a simple beam of magic, and if that fails, then I'll try something else.
With the magic gathered, Dark began to inhale while simultaneously manipulating the orb for the spell he wanted to use. However, unlike every other attempt before, when he made the change, magical sparks of lightning began shooting out from the orb. Noticing the sparks, Dark lost focus and abruptly aborted the spell, causing it to explode in his face again and sending him flying back from a fifteen foot wide crater that came from the explosion.
"Oooouuuch," Dark groaned, rubbing his head.
"Why'd you stop?!" Pyre incredulously asked. "We've never seen results like that before! It looked like you were making progress there!"
"Sorry, I panicked. I wasn't expecting that to happen and it caught me off guard."
"I've seen Twilight do that a few times," Spike spoke. "Sometimes when she's using magic for a powerful spell, either sparks will shoot out of her horn, or bolts of magical lightning like that will happen. But I've rarely seen her do that last one."
"Look," Pyre sighed, "just do it again, but this time, follow through with it and don't hold back."
Shaking to relieve himself from the dust that was starting to gather in his mane and coat, Dark gave a nod and took his position alongside the crater he'd recently made. As he did and got himself ready, Spike looked nervously at Pyre.
"Hey, Pyre?"
"Yeah?"
"Is this really such a good idea?" Spike cautiously asked. "You know, letting Dark do this?"
"Why wouldn't it?"
"It's just that as he was charging his spell, I felt... nervous, almost scared."
"Hah! You don't need to worry about it, kid. Besides, I doubt that Dark would actually hurt us."
"Probably not," Soul added in, "but if this spell is still experimental, then for all we know, we might get caught in the blast of something bad if it goes wrong."
"Pfft. Like we would," Pyre dismissed, completely undeterred by Soul's and Spike's worries.
Spike was about to add onto his statement when a rock floated up into his view. Following it with his eyes, he began to notice a bunch of other loose rocks and other rubble starting to float around them.
"Uhh, what's going on here?" Spike wondered.
Looking around briefly, Pyre, Spike, and Soul quickly landed their sights on Dark as the orb of magic he'd created had expanded to the size of his chest and continued to grow. As they watched, magical energies crackled all around Dark as the sheer power he'd collected continued to unintentionally cause anything loose around him to begin floating off the ground.
"Is that suppose to happen?" Soul worryingly asked.
"I don't know," Pyre admitted, now feeling a tinge of nervousness himself. "Dark! You should probably stop now!"
Between going tunnel vision on possibly completing the spell, and the noises from the growing orb, Pyre's words never reached Dark's ears. Seeing that he wasn't listening to him, Pyre felt a sense of fear take him and scooped Spike up in one claw, and grabbed Soul off of his back with the other. With both of them secured in his hold, Pyre flew away up to the cliffs far behind Dark.
"Pyre?! What's going on?!" Spike shouted before Pyre landed on the ledge and brought them over to take cover behind a boulder.
"Okay, perhaps you two might've been right," he admitted.
"About what?"
"About being nervous about this. Something about the spell is different, and it's making me feel uneasy."
"You see!" Spike blurted. "I told you so!"
"Yes, I know!"
"But what about Dark?!" Soul fearfully asked. "He's still down there!!"
"There's nothing we can do to help him! If any of us go down there, then we might end up-"
Pyre cut himself off as he felt a sudden power spike and a loud thrumming sound. Looking around the boulder, he, Spike, and Soul all looked with their jaws dropped at what they were witnessing. Seconds later, a powerful and thunderous explosion shook the earth, followed by a tree-ripping shockwave blowing past the boulder they took cover behind.
Several minutes earlier on the outskirts of Ponyville, Rainbow and Twilight were flying in and looking forward to relaxing after successfully solving the friendship problem they were sent to fix.
"It's about time we got back here," Rainbow said. "I swear, Twilight, if you would've just held onto me, we would've gotten here hours ago."
"I know, Rainbow," Twilight replied, "but unlike you, I'm not all that comfortable with traveling at speeds as fast as what you do."
"Meh, I'm just happy that we're finally done dealing with that plot hole of a sheriff."
While Twilight wouldn't exactly have used Rainbow's wording, she nevertheless nodded in agreement.
"You're right. It's a good thing that that stallion was there to help us."
"No kidding. Did you see how he used that bow of his? It was so awesome! I didn't even know a pony could snipe a rope from that distance! That, and I'll never dis anypony wearing a feathered green hat again." Rainbow paused briefly before rubbing the back of her head in confusion. "By the way, what was his name again?"
"You mean Robin Hoof?"
"Yeah, that's it."
Continuing their flight, the two made their way over Twilight's castle and noticed the lack of smoke from Dark's forge.
"Guess he's not working if the fires out," Twilight commented, not noticing as Rainbow shifted around nervously.
"You miss him, don't you?"
"... is it that easy to see?"
"Twilight, you were complaining about not seeing him ever since you woke up this morning, so yes, it's easy to see."
Twilight blushed and looked away. "Oh, right."
"Umm... Twilight?" Rainbow meekly called, earning her a surprised look.
"Something wrong, Rainbow? You almost sounded like Fluttershy with how quiet you just were... and why's your face turning red? You're not sick, are you?"
"No, it's not that. It's... well... I know that Dark's your coltfriend and all but... I was wondering..."
"Yes?"
"... could I maybe... borrow Dark... in a few weeks?"
"Sure," Twilight happily answered. "Really, Rainbow, I don't see why you're so nervous about asking me this."
Rainbow raised an eyebrow. "Really? You don't know?"
"Why?"
"Think about it, Twilight. What's happening in a few weeks?"
Twilight tapped a chin in thought as she flew alongside Rainbow. "Well, there aren't any holidays that I'm aware of. So then, considering the month you're wanting to borrow Dark, that would put it at... about..."
Twilight's jaw dropped and her eyes widened from shock and appall as she finally put the pieces together.
"RAINBOW!"
"Aaaand now she gets it."
"Do you know what you're asking of me?!"
"Yeah, but can you blame me?" Rainbow countered. "Dark's a awesome and a nice guy. Even more so after what he did in the Coliseum. So why wouldn't the thought of crossed my mind once... or twice... or maybe a few times?"
Calming herself through breathing exercises, Twilight calmly spoke to Rainbow.
"Look, Rainbow, I understand why you would want him to help you through that, but I personally doubt that he would, even if I were to allow it."
Rainbow sighed. "Yeah, I figured as much, but I just wanted to make sure. Please don't take this the wrong way, Twilight, but I'm a little jealous of you."
"Jealous? Why?"
"Because of what you and Dark have going. Don't tell anypony this, and please don't be mad at me, but during the time I spent training Dark with his flying, I might've wondered what it would've been like to try and date him."
Twilight didn't say anything, instead remaining silent as she continued to give Rainbow her undivided attention.
"I wasn't sure if I wanted to at first, but after seeing you two together and how happy you both were, it got me wondering if that could've been me if I were the one to have asked him out."
Twilight remained silent after Rainbow was finished. After a moment of her not adding anything, Twilight glided over to Rainbow and placed a hoof on her shoulder.
"I'm sorry, Rainbow," Twilight sympathetically said, "I didn't know that you felt that way about him." Seeing a small nod from Rainbow, Twilight sighed. "I'll think about it."
Rainbow's ears and head perked up at the sudden answer, a look of hope on her face. "You mean..."
"I said that I'll think about it, so whether or not it happens is still up in the air." Twilight paused as she gave Rainbow a soft smile. "And don't worry. I'm not mad at you, Rainbow."
"Really?"
"Really. While your request did take me by surprise, I'm not upset with you. Same with what you've just admitted."
Heaving a sigh of relief, Rainbow stopped and hovered in place to give Twilight a hug.
"Thanks for listening, Twi," she thanked. "Even if I don't get to... you know, borrow Dark from you, it's good to know that you're not mad at me. That, and it's nice to have finally told somepony about my..."
"Crush?"
"... well, old crush now I guess, heheh. Still, though, it feels like a weight has been lifted off of my chest, and now I feel- WHOA!"
Rainbow froze in mid-air briefly and pointed towards a monstrous beam quickly passing through the forest in the distance.
"What kind of a spell is that?!" Rainbow asked in surprise.
"I don't know," Twilight answered, "but whatever it is, it's packing a lot of power."
A few seconds later, the beam suddenly stopped, creating a massive explosion that shook the earth as the shockwave knocked Twilight, Rainbow, and any nearby clouds back away from it. After a few seconds of tumbling and trying to right themselves, they landed on one of the treetops with dropped jaws as they both saw a mushroom cloud towering high above them, raining trees, rocks, and other debris all around the impact zone.
"Uh, Twilight," Rainbow quietly spoke.
"Huh?"
"What just happened?"
"I'm not sure," Twilight slowly answered. Opening their wings, she and Rainbow made their way back up into the air and followed the glowing trail from where the beam came from. When she did, Twilight's eyes widened. "But I know where it came from. Come on!"
Over at the Ponyville Day Spa, Rarity and Applejack were relaxing in the mud bath.
"Ahhh. Ah gotta give it ta ya, Rarity," Applejack began with a sigh, "Ah had my doubts at first, but Ah've never felt so relaxed in all my life."
"I'm glad to hear that you're enjoying your spa treatment," Rarity replied, sinking a little further into her mud bath.
"Yeah. Ah could get used ta this." Applejack sighed in bliss as she too slid further into her own mud bath. "Ain't nothin' like a relaxin' day at the spa after a hard day's-"
Applejack couldn't speak as a massive quake shook the room, causing the mud to splash up into her mouth and cover hear head. Rarity wasn't fairing much better as she shrieked when she felt the entire room shake and mud washed over her head. Thankfully for the both of them, the cucumbers they had over their eyes prevented any of the mud from getting into them.
"What in Celestia's name was that?" Rarity asked shockingly. "Was it an earthquake?"
"It can't be," Applejack said. "Ponyville's never gotten any earthquakes before. Not even Granny Smith mentioned anythin' about any earthquake. And besides, it was too short ta be one."
"Well what else could have possible have done this? If it's not an earthquake, could it be a dragon like when Spike grew?"
"Nah, cause if it were, then there'd be more of them quakes ta follow. No, if Ah had ta guess, Ah'd say it was either somethin' heavy landin' somewhere in Ponyville, or some explosion."
Meanwhile in Sugarcube Corner, everypony in the building were all crouching low to the floor, worried that another quake was going to follow. That is, everypony except for Pinkie.
"It's okay, everypony," she announced, "it's all over now."
"A-Are you sure about that, dearie?" Mrs. Cake questioned.
"Yepperoni. To be honest, it's actually about time that it happened. I was starting to wonder what was taking him so long to finally do it."
"Do what?"
Pinkie didn't answer. Instead, she smiled and returned to her job like nothing happened, humming a happy tune as she did.
Over in Ghastly Gorge, Pyre, Spike, and Soul were peeking out from behind their boulder cover in mutual silence as they looked shockingly at Dark and what he'd caused. They didn't know how much time had passed in silence, but it was soon broken by a pair of wingbeats approaching from behind. Turning around, they saw Twilight and Rainbow flying in behind them with matching expressions. Once they landed, Soul darted to Twilight and hugged her.
"Pyre, what happened?" Twilight slowly asked, her eyes scanning the damage below them.
"We did it."
"Did what?"
"The Flare. We figured out what Dark was doing wrong and fixed it."
"You mean I figured it out," Spike corrected before turning his attention back to Twilight. "But I swear, Twilight, I had no idea that this would happen."
"None of us did," Pyre added. "Yes, I thought that it might be a bit flashy, but nothing of that magnitude."
"And how's Dark doing?" Twilight asked. "Is he alright?"
"We don't know," Soul answered. "He's just been standing there ever since he fired that thing."
Setting Soul down, Twilight flapped her wings and flew down to Dark. With her gone, Rainbow finally spoke up.
"So, Dark did that?" she questioned, gesturing to the monstrous hole in the side of the gorge.
"Yeah," Spike nodded. "It was really something."
"Yeah," Rainbow nodded in agreement, "and so was that explosion that we saw."
Down at the bottom of the gorge, Twilight landed near Dark and cautiously approached him. As she got closer to him, she began to notice just what he did. While the area beside and behind Dark was just fine, a trench several dozen feet deep and wide lay in front of him, the rocks having been turned to liquid from the intense heat. Even looking further down, Twilight could still see the glowing from the molten rock as it pierced the side of Ghastly Gorge and beyond.
"Dark? Are you okay?" Twilight gingerly asked.
Slowly, Dark turned to face Twilight with mixed look of pride, shock, and fear. "I... don't know."
Twilight stood beside him and surveyed the area. "I take it that you weren't quite expecting this to happen?"
"No," he answered, shaking his head. "I was expecting a beam of searing-hot flames about the with of my head at most. Not something that looked like it belongs in one of Spike's games or comic books."
Twilight looked again at the destruction. "Yeah, that's definitely bigger than your head. Maybe big enough that an adult dragon could walk through, but that might be a stretch."
Hesitantly, Dark looked over to Twilight. "What should I do?"
"What do you mean?"
"I know that practice makes perfect, but after this, I'm not sure if I even want to practice it anymore."
"Why not?" Twilight asked confusingly. "Dark, that was the Flare! The spell that you've spent years completing! Look, I understand that you're nervous of it-"
"Scared, actually," he quietly admitted, causing Twilight to drape an understanding wing over him.
"-but you can't give up yet. I saw what this spell did on my way here, but unless you can better control it, then it'll just be that much more dangerous to yourself and everypony else."
"And what about the damage? There's no way I can fix this, and I doubt that Discord could either."
"I wouldn't quite say that."
Looking up, Dark and Twilight saw Discord floating above them as he looked at the damage and gave a low whistle.
"My goodness, Dark," Discord said, "you've really done it this time."
"It's not like I did it on purpose," he grumbled.
"Maybe not, but you still did."
"Discord?" Twilight called. "Can you use your chaos magic to fix this?"
Discord looked over the damage that the attack caused, watching as the melted rock begin to sizzle and cool off.
"I can, but it'll take me a while. Especially when I start to get closer to the impact zone."
"Thank you, Discord," Twilight sighed in relief.
"It's fine," he waved. "Just warn me next time something like this happens, Dark."
"Sure... okay," Dark replied half-heartedly.
Satisfied, Discord left to begin restoring the damage Dark caused. Once he was far enough away, Twilight saw the worried expression on Dark's face.
"Hey, it's alright," she said, trying to cheer him up, "Discord will fix everything up. Once he's done, it'll look like nothing happened."
"That's not it, Twilight," Dark spoke.
"What's wrong then?"
Dark gulped and began looking around. "I'm still in trouble."
"If it's Princess Celestia and Princess Luna you're worried about, then I'm sure you'll be fine."
"It's not them that I'm worried about, Twilight. With how many animals that were more than likely caught in the path and the explosion of the Flare, the one I'm actually worried about is-"
"DARK FLAME!"
Dark winced as the soft yet firm and angry voice echoed throughout Ghastly Gorge.
"Fluttershy."