Of Flame and Shadow

by Garuda IV

Chapter 24- The Date

Later that evening, with Twilight's Feather Flu gone, the rest of her friends were allowed to visit with her without the risk of catching and spreading it. Soon as they opened the door to her room, each of them made their way over to their friend for a group hug while Dark quietly sat by Twilight's bedside, happily watching his friends being together again. Although they were happy and excited to see her feeling better, they made sure to not go too overboard with her, given that she'd been very sick for the last few days and was probably rather weak. Cura soon followed in after them and made her way over to the monitors that were still connected to Twilight.

As she made her way over, she noticed Dark starting to nod off. During the time that he spent keeping Twilight warm, he'd managed to stay awake for two full days without sleep. The only time he did doze off was for a few hours before Twilight woke him up. Noticing how sleep-deprived Dark was, Cura told him to go get himself some sleep, which he groggily denied, saying that he'd prefer to stay. Seeing their conversation, Twilight asked them what was going on before Cura and their friends began explaining to her what Dark did for her during her time asleep.

Twilight was a bit more than surprised to hear of what he did for her and agreed that he more than deserved some rest. While Dark was reluctant to leave her, a few words from Twilight was all that he needed to listen. Not wanting to upset his new fillyfriend, Dark bid each of them a goodnight before heading off to bed. Once Dark left the room, everyone besides Cura looked to Twilight, curious as to why they couldn't see her sooner.

"So," Rainbow began, "Doc. told us that we basically weren't allowed to come in and visit you sooner because of Dark."

"Really?" Twilight questionably said, turning to look at Cura. "Why would you tell them that?"

Cura's face was now flushed at now having to admit what she saw. "... well... I may have walked in on you two."

"On us doing-" Twilight's eyes widened as she understood what she was getting at. "Wait. You mean you saw that?

Cura nodded. "I'm actually surprised that neither of you noticed me. When I came in, I was so focused on the charts that I didn't even look up when I called out to Dark, not to mention that I was already over half-way from the door to your bed before I finally noticed that you two were... busy."

Figuring what few things she could mean by them being "busy", Rarity's face started lighting up. As the thoughts ran through her head, she decided to clear this up before somepony accidentally took this the wrong way.

"Twilight, darling," she carefully called "what exactly were you and Dark doing?"

Meekly rubbing her front hooves together, Twilight stayed silent, embarrassed that her friends have probably already found out about her and Dark. Seeing as Twilight was hesitant to answer, Cura rolled her eyes with an annoyed groan, deciding to answer in her place.

"If you want to know, then I'll tell you. When I walked in, Princess Twilight and Dark were busy tongue wrestling with each other in her bed."

With bulging eyes and dropped jaws, they all turned to Twilight for an answer. Seeing no way out of this, she sighed in defeat before answering them.

"It's true," Twilight reluctantly admitted. "Dark asked me to be his fillyfriend, and then I- we, started kissing each other." She sighed dreamily as she thought back to it. "Though it would've been nice if it had happened sooner, I'm just happy that it finally did.

"So you two are really together now?" Spike anxiously asked.

"Yes, Spike, we are," Twilight happily answered.

"Well it's about time if you ask me," Pinkie chimed. "Now I can finally throw that 'Congratulations On Being A Couple' party that I've been holding onto when you're feeling all better."

"I totally agree," Rarity nodded. "I've noticed the way that you two would look at each other, and I must say that I'm glad that you two are finally together."

"No kiddin'," Applejack agreed.

"That's so wonderful, Twilight," Fluttershy beamed. "Maybe after Discord's punishment is over, we could go on a double date?"

"Uhh, thanks for the offer, Fluttershy, but that would be our first official date together," Twilight answered. "And besides it sounding a little awkward to do for me, I think that Dark's still a little sore from Discord pulling that prank on him."

"Speaking of Discord," Rarity wondered, "how's he doing? Did that book help you at all?"

Fluttershy blushed as she hid her face behind her mane. "Yes, it helped me very much and I'll make sure to bring it back to you tomorrow. As for Discord... well... I think that he learned his lesson. Though now that I think about it, I do feel a little bad for making him whimper like that. It almost seemed like it hurt."

"Wait, you made Discord whimper?" Spike surprisingly asked. "Jeeze, Fluttershy, what did you do to him?"

Rarity walked over and put a hoof on Spike's shoulder. "That, my dear Spike, is something that you shouldn't know about until you're older."

"Getting back to Twilight and Dark," Rainbow redirected, "I don't get it with you guys. If you two have been crushing on each other for a while now, then why didn't you two hook up sooner?"

"Because," Twilight began explaining, "every time Dark or I would ask or make a move of some kind, somepony would interrupt us. First it was Princess Celestia and Princess Luna the morning after the attack on Ponyville, then when Shining Armor attacked Dark on the hill, and finally, when Flash interrupted us to call us down to breakfast the following morning."

"... sounds like becoming special someponies was quite problematic for you two," Cura said. "Suddenly I'm glad that I went for that glass of water before coming up to talk to Dark. Probably would've been your fourth interruption."

"Considering the luck we've had with the last three, I was rather surprised that we didn't get interrupted. Still am."

"So, if you two were already making out, then I've got one thing to ask." Rainbow leaned in closer to Twilight with a sly smirk on her face. "How good is he?"

"Ok, that's enough for me!" Spike exclaimed as he made his way over towards the door. "I don't need to be here if you're going to talk about that. If anypony needs me, I'll be in bed."

Once Spike closed the door behind him, Rarity looked over to Rainbow.

"Now, Rainbow Dash," she scolded, "you shouldn't be asking somepony something as personal as that. It's very rude to be delving into such matters."

"Oh, come on, Rarity, you can't say that you're not curious about it as well. Besides, aren't you usually the one who's eager about this sort of gossip and stuff?"

"While I'll admit that I too am curious about it, it's unbecoming of a lady to ask such questions. And so, I won't ask."

"So you're going to have us ask it instead?" Rainbow asked, figuring out Rarity's game.

"I didn't say that."

"You didn't have ta," Applejack chimed in. "It's practically written all over your face."

"I'm not really sure how to describe it," Twilight told them. "All I can really say is that it was a feeling like no other that I've experienced. Like everything else just vanished, leaving only the two of us alone in a feeling of bliss."

"Explains why you two didn't notice me," Cura muttered. "So, how're you feeling health wise?"

"Just fine, actually."

"That's good to hear. However, I suggest that you stay resting in bed for the next few days. We don't want you having a relapse now."

"I suppose not."

"And don't you worry about a thing," Rainbow said. "We'll all be here for you, just like how you guys were all there for me when I broke my wing."

"Well, as much as you girls can anyway. Besides, Rarity has to run her boutique, and Applejack only has a few weeks left before the apple trees stop producing apples."

"Eeyup, but don't ya worry, though, Ah'll be over as much as Ah can after Ah'm done."

"What about Dark? Won't he need to come help you tomorrow?"

"Nah," she waved off. "Like we told ya, he's gone the last few nights without any sleep. Ah doubt that he'll be up for quite a while, so he doesn't need ta come ta work tomorrow."

"That's good news for him."

"So, Twilight," Pinkie asked as she bounced in front of her. "Are you hungry? Because you've been asleep for a few days without anything to eat."

Twilight didn't answer though as her stomach started grumbling, causing Pinkie to smile before bouncing away.

"I don't know about you girls, but all of that worrying and waiting has made me hungry too," Rainbow said. "I'm gonna head on down and grab something to eat. Anypony wanna come with?"

With a round of "yeses", everypony but Twilight and Cura filed out of the room.

"You can go ahead if you want," Twilight told her. "I'm alright, you don't have to stay here."

"I know," Cura replied. "Just doing a few last things before I too head on out to eat."

After some last looks at Twilight's monitors, Cura made her way out of the room. With Twilight all alone, she laid back down on her bed, both tired and hungry from her time recovering. As she waited, her thoughts soon drifted over to her talk with Nocturne, and to his warning.

Who'd want to steal a dragon's fang? Twilight wondered. I mean, sure it might bring up a decent price for a collector of some kind, but would it have any special properties? Gah, now I wish I would've asked him now.

Wanting to put that thought away for a later time, Twilight began thinking about Dark and the special memory that they had shared together. Smiling softly at the thought, Twilight closed her eyes.

I still can't believe that I have a coltfriend now, she giddily thought. And he's not just anypony either. He's strong, brave, perhaps a little bit impulsive at times, but I've dealt with enough of that with Rainbow, and he's... Twilight's thoughts halted as she remembered something that Nocturne had mentioned to her. I know what Princess Celestia said to me, but if added on by what Nocturne said about Dark being his successor, then that means... Her eyes opened as the thought took her. My new coltfriend really is the Incarnation of Death.

---

As expected, Dark slept in a lot. For a full thirty hours, he slept undisturbed. At least, that's how it seemed to him. After the first twenty-four hours of him sleeping without waking up, the others started to get worried and tried to wake him. Pinkie tried using a noisemaker from one of her parties, Spike tried belching in front of his nose, and after Applejack tried shaking him awake, Rainbow had the brilliant idea of jumping on him. While everyone thought that that last one would've waked him, he instead remained fast asleep. It wasn't until Cura came in and told them to let him sleep in peace that they backed away from him and headed over to visit with Twilight.

When Dark did finally awaken, it was already 2 A.M. Seeing the time, Dark laid himself back down to try and sleep, but found himself to be too awake to do so. So instead, he decided that since he felt so rested and rejuvenated, that he should get in some practice with his magic. Or to be more specific, the magic which he inherited from Nocturne. Throughout the rest of the night, Dark practiced, his magical reserves never depleting. It wasn't until he saw the sun's glow just starting to show over the horizon that he noticed what time it was. With little time to spare, Dark used one of the new spells he learned. In a poof of shadowy mist, he teleported himself to the kitchen for a bite to eat before reappearing in a another shadowy mist. Looking over himself to see nothing missing, Dark took a moment to smile proudly for himself.

With the succession of this new spell, Dark dubbed it "Shadowport". Though it may seem similar to the "Teleport" spell, its reach has its own unique limits. While a normal Teleport spell would require a specific location in mind at the time and would require more magic the farther the location is, the Shadowport spell would only require that the location be connected by some form of shade, regardless of range. And although Dark's Shadow Meld spell could basically be seen as the same thing, for the caster, Shadowporting would require much less magic than slowing time while Shadow Melded.

I better be careful when using this, Dark thought to himself. If my guess about this spell is correct, then I'll have free-range during the nighttime, but will be severely limited during the daytime.

Taking a look over to the clock, Dark saw that the sun was to rise within a few minutes. Stuffing a piece of toast in his mouth, Dark then grabbed some gems that were set aside for him and used a second spell that he learned over the night. This one he created after figuring that he could bring inanimate objects into the shadows with him, which he called "Shadow Storage". A spell specifically designed to hold inanimate objects within the shadows that Dark could easily pull out if he ever required it, much like a bag with infinite space that only he could access. He currently already had his saddlebag, his large bag of bits, and his rain cloak stored in it, but he just added his gems into it to snack on for later. With everything set, Dark Shadowported out of the kitchen and out towards Sweet Apple Acres.

---

Applejack just loaded the last of the apple baskets into the wagon and was about to start hooking herself up when Dark appeared in front of her in a puff of shadowy mist. With a yelp of surprise, Applejack tumbled backwards over the rim and flipped into the wagon. Seeing Applejack's little tumble, Dark ran up to help her back up.

"You alright, Applejack?" he worryingly asked.

"Confound it, Dark!" Applejack shouted. "What in the hay were ya thinkin'? Ah should hit ya in the face for scarin' me like that."

"Sorry about that. Didn't think that you would already be this far ahead."

"Well Ah wasn't expectin' ya ta show up ta be honest. Thought that you woulda taken another day off ta rest."

"What do you mean 'another'?"

"You don't know? You've been asleep since ya left Twilight's room ta go ta bed. You've been asleep for over a full day."

Dark blinked in surprise. "Wow. Didn't think I was out for that long."

"Well, you were. but now that you're here, you can start helpin' pay me back for scarin' me by hallin' this wagon ta the next section of the orchard."

Listening, Dark strapped himself in before following Applejack. After a while of walking, she turned back to Dark, her scowl turned to a pleasant smile.

"Oh, by the way, congrats on your new relationship," she commended.

Dark froze in mid-stride. "What?"

"Twilight told us about you two bein' together."

"... oh."

"Ya don't sound too happy about it."

"No, it's nothing like that. I'm just a little surprised that you all know already."

"We'll don't ya worry none," Applejack assured. "We're all happy for ya, and none of us will tease ya for it."

"You mean besides Rainbow," Dark corrected.

"Eeyup."

As they continued onward, a thought came to Dark. He'd been thinking about it during his practicing earlier that morning, but wasn't sure how Applejack would react. However, now that she and the others knew about them, it should be easier for him to find out.

"Hey, Applejack?"

"Yeah?"

"If it's alright with you, would you be willing to teach me how to make that apple pie of yours?"

Applejack raised an eye at him. "What for? It is a family recipe after all."

"Sorry, I didn't know. Just forget about it."

"Ah didn't say that Ah wouldn't, Ah'm just curious as ta why you would wanna learn it is all."

"Besides it being delicious, I was thinking about making it for..."

"Go on, Ah'm listenin'."

"... I was thinking about taking Twilight out on a picnic, and that I would make the food for us.

"Are you talkin' about takin' her on a picnic date?" Applejack asked, receiving a small nod from Dark. "Well in that case, Ah'll be happy ta teach ya."

"Are you sure?"

"Of course Ah'm sure. Now, when were ya thinkin' of havin' this date of yours?"

"In a day or two," Dark answered. "I want Twilight to be completely healthy before it happens. And besides that, it'll also give me time to learn how to cook."

"Well, Doctor Cura has ordered Twilight some extra bedrest so that she wouldn't have a relapse, so she shouldn't be up and about till tomorrow."

"In that case, either tomorrow or the next day."

"So, if ya don't mind me askin', what were ya plannin' for this date of yours? Because Ah doubt that just eatin' a good meal was all that ya had planned out."

"I remember her saying something about stargazing, so I thought that we'd have a picnic at sunset, then do some stargazing together."

Applejack gave an approving nod. "Sounds like somethin' that she might like ta do."

"Something who would like ta do?" a deep voice asked.

Turning around, Dark and Applejack could see Big Mac walking up to them. "Nice ta see ya up and about there, Dark."

"Considering how long that I've apparently slept for, I'd say that it's about time that I got back."

"What time did you wake up anyway?" Applejack wondered.

"About 2 A.M. After that, I just couldn't get back to sleep and decided to try some new spells out."

"And that's how ya suddenly popped in front of me like that?"

"Yep." Dark paused to look at Big Mac. "Hey, Big Mac? Could I ask you for some advice?"

Big Mac raised a cautious eyebrow at him. "Depends. What's the subject about?"

"Dating."

Applejack chuckled, causing Dark to turn to look at her. "If you're wonderin' about how ta act, then don't worry none about it. Just be yourself and everythin' will be fine."

"Though a pretty flower always helps," Big Mac added. "Other than that, Applejack's right. Don't try and show off by bein' somepony you're not, because that's not who Twilight's fallin' for now is it?"

"... how did you know it was Twilight I was talking about?" Dark asked.

"Ah might've told him," Applejack admitted.

"And who else have you told?"

"Just Granny and Apple Bloom at the dinner table last night."

"... Apple Bloom knows," he clarified, getting a nod from the siblings. "And today's a school day." Again, another nod. "So then, how much of Ponyville do you think knows about Twilight and I?"

Applejack's and Big Mac's eyes widened, now knowing where Dark was going with this.

"Ah hay," Big Mac muttered.

"Yeah... think Ah mighta goofed up on that one," Applejack admitted.

Dark groaned as he rubbed the bridge of his knows with a claw. "We were hoping to keep it to just ourselves for now and tell our closest friends and family later on. But if Apple Bloom's already told her classmates, or even just Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo, then all of Ponyville might know about it by the end of today. If so, then I'm going to get such a teasing from those three."

"Who? The girls?" Applejack asked.

"No, I mean those three guards that I befriended, remember?"

"You mean the ones who brought ya over here that one monrin' because they chained ya up?"

"Yep. Turns out that they're a lot nicer than what they first appeared to be, and a little more laid back than what I would've figured for a guard. They actually caught me when I was a mare."

"Right, that," Big Mac snickered. "Ah still have a picture of ya talkin' ta Miss Twilight when your colors were switched."

"Huh. Guess Spike sent out pictures to more than just the guards around Ponyville," Dark said. "Now I'm really going to have to get him back for it."

"Oh, no ya don't!" Applejack told him. "Ah think you and Twilight have done enough with that little prank you two pulled on us. Poor little Apple Bloom had nightmares that night because of it."

"Oops. Sorry about that, Applejack," he apologized.

"As ya should be," she nodded. "Now, less talkin' and more workin'."

Obeying, Dark began his work with Applejack and Big Mac. Throughout their work, she explained to Dark how to make one of their pies. Granted that she would show him how to actually make one after they were done for the day. Work went by quickly for him, and before he knew it, it was already mid-afternoon. With the work they've done already, the three called it so that Applejack could teach Dark how to cook their apple pies. With everything tucked away for the night, they began walking over to the house when the set of several racing hooves reached their ears. Turing his head, Dark looked just in time to see him getting tackled by three fillies.

"Hi, Dark," Apple Bloom greeted.

"What's up?" Scootaloo asked.

"Is it really true about you and Twilight?!" Sweetie Belle squeaked.

With a pained groan from unexpectedly being tackled to the ground like that, Dark sat up as the three fillies jumped off of him.

"Hey girls," Dark returned before turning to Sweetie Belle. "And to answer your question, Sweetie Belle. Yes, we are. Though I have to know, Apple Bloom, just who exactly did you tell about Twilight and I?"

"Just these two," she answered, getting a sigh of relief form Dark. "Okay, what's goin' on? Are we not suppose ta know?"

"No, you three are alright. We just didn't want anypony outside of our friends and family knowing is all, so would you three be willing to not tell anypony about us?"

"Sure we can," Scootaloo answered for them.

"Good to hear," he said, getting up off the ground and dusting himself off. "Now, if you three will excuse me, I need to learn how to bake a pie."

"What for?" Apple Bloom asked.

"Just wanted to learn how to make a great apple pie."

With a straight look on her face, Sweetie Belle walked up in front of Dark.

"It's for Twilight isn't it?" she figured.

Dark blinked in surprise at her. "How did you know that?"

"Because I took some lessons on how to cook for Spike."

"... huh. Well then, yes I am."

"Alright now," Applejack piped up. "If you're wantin' ta learn how ta make our family's apple pie, then ya better get on in here."

Leaving it at that, Dark and the Crusaders followed after Applejack. For the rest of his time there, Dark watched Applejack making her own pie before letting him have a turn at it... it didn't go well. The slices of apple that he cut were too thick, and the crust came out as hard as a plank of wood. After another failed attempt, they decided to call it before the sun would set completely. Even though Fluttershy made peace with the timberwolves, they still tried to be back before nightfall.

"Guess I better head back home," Dark said. "Thanks again for helping me learn to bake, Applejack."

"No problem, sugarcube," she returned. "And don't ya worry about it. We'll do this again tomorrow till ya can get it right."

"Okay."

Dark was about to leave the house before he heard a voice pipe up behind him.

"Umm, Applejack?" Sweetie Belle called. "I need to get home to Rarity."

"Oh crud! I need to get back home too!" Scootaloo exclaimed.

Hearing their problem, Dark turned around and walked over to them

"If you want, I can take you two home."

With a pair of happy nods, Dark lowered himself down for Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo to jump up on him. With them sitting comfortably on his back, the three of them waved goodbye to Applejack and Apple Bloom before they made their way out of the orchard. During the walk, the two fillies talked to each other while Dark was busy scanning the surrounding areas. The sun had just set, and while this normally wouldn't have bothered him, he was now in charge of looking after a pair of fillies, causing him to give cautious glances around for any timberwolves.

Once they were in the center of Ponyville, Scootaloo hoped off of Dark, saying that she could take it from here. Dark had suggested to her that he come with her to make sure that her parents weren't worried about her, but she just brushed it off, saying that they wouldn't mind as long as she was home safe. Although it sounded like an excuse, Dark didn't get in a word as Scootaloo was already off. He looked over to Sweetie Belle for an answer, only to get a shrug in return. With one less filly to worry about, Dark made his way over to Rarity's.

"You know," Sweetie Belle began, "I can walk over there on my own. You don't have to escort me there."

"I know," Dark nodded, "but I need to talk to Rarity about something that she may be able to help me with."

"Oh, okay."

They traveled in silence for a few minutes, Dark walking while Sweetie Belle stood on his back, her front hooves propped up on his head to see over him. As the two continued, Dark decided to try making some conversation with her.

"So, Sweetie Belle, how have you and Spike been doing lately?"

Sweetie Belle blushed slightly from being asked that from out of nowhere.

"We're doing pretty good. We've gone out a few times. Although, Spike was pretty glum while Twilight was sick."

"Yeah, I'd bet. So, is he treating you right?"

"Yep. I now understand why Rarity would call him 'a perfect gentlecolt'."

"Good, because if he ever does start mistreating you in any way, I want you to let Twilight and I know about it right away, alright?"

"I doubt that he would deliberately do something like that, but I'll keep it in mind."

"Good," he said as they approached Carousel Boutique.

Gently knocking on the door, Dark waited for Rarity. A few moments after hearing her call out "Coming~" in her sing-song voice, the door finally opened. As she opened the door, Rarity was surprised to see Dark standing there with Sweetie Belle standing on top of him, happily waving to her. Stepping off to the side, Rarity allowed them in. Once he was inside, Dark crouched down to let Sweetie Belle off of his back before turning to Rarity.

"I must say, I wasn't expecting you to be here at this hour," she told him.

"Just got done at Sweet Apple Acres," he explained. "Didn't really have any other time to drop by, and besides needing to ask you about something, I had to see this one back home safely."

"I thank you for looking after Sweetie for me, but what is it that you're wanting to ask me now?"

"That dye that you used on Twilight, do you have any that's permanent?"

"I might. Why would you need it?"

"Remember your suggestion of dyeing my black coat to match the rest of me?"

Rarity's eyes lit up. "Ooh, so you're taking my advice," she happily exclaimed.

"Yeah. Figured that I would look better with a single coat color than being two-toned."

"In that case, I have a bottle of it in the back."

Dark raised a curious eyebrow. "Why would you even have a permanent dye in my coat color?"

"Oh, well, our original prank may have been altered from the permanent dye to a washout."

"In that case, thanks for that."

Sitting by the door, Dark waited for Rarity to return. It didn't taker her long, though, as she was back after a few minutes of searching.

"So, how do I apply this stuff exactly?"

"Oh, that's easy," Rarity said, "just wet down the area you want dyed and scrub this into your coat."

"Sounds easy enough. I'm basically using this in place of soap."

"That's one way of putting it I suppose. And don't worry, it's all natural and doesn't have any harmful chemicals, so your coat will stay as healthy as it should."

"And what about the stuff that doesn't stick and washes onto the floor?"

"That's the thing with this brand. As it turns out, there's magic added to this mixture so that it'll only stick to the coat and nothing else. It'll also make the area of the coat that it's applied to grow out that color."

"So," Dark concluded, "if I applied this to my black coat and then buzzed it off, it would regrow back as the color of the dye?"

"That is correct," Rarity nodded.

"Sweet. It'll be like having my old coat back. By the way," he began, looking from the bottle to Rarity, "how much for the dye?"

"Oh, no need to worry about it."

"Nope. I'm paying for it. Besides, I doubt that this bottle of dye was very cheap."

"While you're right about that, I must insist."

Sighing, Dark shook his head. "I'm sorry, Rarity, but I'm going to stand firm on this. I'm not going to leave with that bottle unless I pay you for it first. Besides, it's only fair that I do so."

Rarity glared at Dark, hoping that he'd concede to her. However, a few moments later of seeing that he wasn't going to give up on this matter so easily, she sighed in defeat.

"I swear, all of that time spending with Applejack has made you as stubborn as she is."

"Hmph, if you think I'm being stubborn, you should've seen my grandpa. That old prick never could let others do things their way without his say-so."

"You don't sound very fond of him," she noticed.

"We might've butted heads a few times, but that's in the past. Now, about that bottle?"

"But you don't even have any bits on you."

With a smirk, Dark reached a claw into the shadow his body was casting and pulled out a bag of bits.

"You were saying?"

"... alright, never mind then. Now, the bottle was forty bits."

"Okay. Also, I'm not entirely sure if I saw one or not, but does Ponyville have a barber?"

"Yes, although I never really paid attention as to where exactly it's located."

"That's good enough. Thank you."

With his business complete, Dark bid Rarity and Sweetie Belle a goodnight before Shadowporting himself back to the castle. When he went inside, he then noticed how hungry he really was, which didn't really surprise him considering all he ate within the last few days was a piece of toast, some gems, and lunch with the Apples. Hearing something cooking, he walked in to see Spike working the stove.

"Hey, Spike."

Turning around, Spike waved to Dark. "Hey."

"Where's Twilight?" he asked, noticing that she wasn't around.

"She's up in her room. Turns out that she's still tired from the Feather Flu."

"In that case, I wanted to ask you a few things."

"Sure, what is it?"

"I remember Twilight telling me that she used to stargaze. Does she still like it?"

"Pretty sure she still does, but she hasn't done that for a while now."

"Alright, then what kind of foods does she like?"

"As long as it's not anything cheesy like quesadillas, then she should be alright with it."

"What about sandwiches?"

"That's an easy one, it's daffodil and daisy."

"Anything else?"

"Nope, just daffodil and daisy... why?"

"Just curious is all."

Spike gave him a look that let him know that he wasn't buying it. "You're not very good at lying you know?"

"I'm not lying," Dark defended. "I really am curious."

"About as curious as Sweetie was when she was asking me those kind of questions."

With an annoyed groan, Dark facepalmed himself. "I swear, you two being in a relationship together is making me unable to get away with stuff like this."

"To her credit, though, Sweetie's cooking has improve a lot since we first started going out."

"Was her cooking really that bad?"

Spike gave him a deadpan look. "She liquefied burnt toast."

"... how do you liquefy burnt toast?"

"I have no idea, but she did it. Ever since she's started taking cooking lessons from Rarity, though, she hasn't burnt anything nearly that bad since."

"That's good to hear."

"Since we're on the subject about food," Spike said, holding a pair of plates loaded with spaghetti that was smothered in sauce, "I hope you're hungry."

"You have no idea, little buddy. And also, please don't tell Twilight about me asking you about her."

"Don't worry, I got your back."

After a good and laughter-filled dinner, Dark made his way to the bathroom and pulled the bottle of dye from is Shadow Storage. Hopping into the shower and applying the dye to his black coat, Dark was surprised of how quickly it was taking effect. He'd originally thought that he'd have to scrub at it pretty thoroughly to get it in before it would stick like this. What was even better though was that as he looked between the dye color and his natural blaze-orange coat color, he couldn't tell the difference between the two. Satisfied, Dark smiled before applying the rest of it to him. By his guess, he would be using up almost all of it if he were to also get his tail and wings.

Now that that's done, Dark thought to himself, I just need to find the barbershop and see them about this beard before they close tomorrow, and learn how to properly cook that darn pie.

---

Two days later, Cura gave Twilight the all-clear before she got up out of her bed and stretched her joints, each giving an audible pop from going so long without use. After three days of sleeping, and then a few more of recuperating, she felt fully awake and ready. However, by that time it was already noon. After a long, relaxing shower, Twilight decided to get herself something to eat. But before she got to the kitchen, she ran into Spike.

"Hey, Twilight," he happily said as he hugged her. "Feeling better?"

"A lot," she replied.

"That's good. In that case, Dark wanted me to tell you something."

"Oh? Well what is it?"

"He wanted me to ask you to meet him up on the hill a little before sunset. He said that you'd know which one he's talking about."

Twilight did indeed know which hill he was referring to, but despite the area having been replanted with fresh grass, she still didn't like to think of it with what happened the last time they were there.

"Did he say why?"

"Nope."

"Guess I'll just have to find out when I get there then," she sighed before continuing down to the kitchen.

Once she turned the corner, Spike allowed a smirk that he'd been hiding to show. Although Dark didn't tell him what he had planned, he had a very good idea of what it was.

---

The sun was starting to set as Twilight left her castle to meet up with Dark. She still didn't know what he was up to, but didn't let it bother her too much since she would find out. Soon enough, after a few quiet minutes of walking, she could see Dark's silhouette standing on the hill with the sun behind him. He didn't appear to notice her as his attention was directed towards something on the ground, allowing her to get close. As she did, she took notice of a few things. Twilight saw that Dark had dyed the black coat on his arms, wings, and tail to match the rest of his blaze-orange coat, his goatee was gone, and the picnic that he had set out for them. Even as she eyed everything out, Dark was still busy with setting the last few things out for them.

"Alright," Dark spoke to himself, "I got the food, drinks, desert, and a spell for some light. Great, now I just need to wait for Twilight and-"

He froze as he felt a light taping on his shoulder. Slowly turning his head, Dark was met with the sight of Twilight standing right behind him.

"... okay, never mind."

"What's all of this?" Twilight asked.

"Well... I thought that since we are together now that I would treat you to a picnic date."

"A date? As in a romantic date, date?"

"Yeah. Look, I know that it's nothing fancy or anything, but I just thought-"

Dark was interrupted by a kiss from Twilight, and just as quickly as it started for him, it ended with her smiling at him.

"It doesn't matter if it's fancy or not, just the thought of it is good enough for me." She paused to get a good look at what they were having. "And by the looks of it, it seems like you've put a bit of effort into it."

"I guess," he bashfully admitted. "The hardest part was learning how to cook Applejack's apple pie."

"She taught you?"

"Yep. After I asked her and told her what it was for, she was happy to help. Provided, of course, that I don't tell the recipe to her cooking to anypony besides you and our friends. Speaking of help from the Apples." Dark paused as he brought out a de-thorned pink rose from the picnic basket and tucked it behind Twilight's ear. "I was also told that giving my date a flower usually helps."

"Can't argue with that," Twilight commented before giving Dark a peck on the lips.

Sitting themselves down, Dark started pouring some grape juice as Twilight continued looking at the food. Along with her favorite sandwiches, Dark also had a salad, some fresh apples, the apple pie that Applejack taught him how to make, and some celery sticks with peanut butter. With everything set out, the two started digging in. During their few silent minutes of eating, Twilight continued looking over Dark, seeing the changes that had been done to him.

"So, when did all of this happen?" she asked.

"When what happened?" he wondered.

"This," she said gesturing him with a hoof. "When did you change your coat color and shave off your facial hair?"

"The coat was the night before the last. Thankfully, Rarity had a bottle of it that she wasn't using."

"Why would she have a bottle of that?"

"... let's just say that the temporary dye they used on us wasn't their first choice."

Twilight's mouth made an O in understanding what he meant by it, and also caused her to shiver slightly as the thought of the dye being permanent.

"As for the beard, that was done yesterday. Had to do a bit of searching, but I was finally able to find that barbershop."

"Any particular reason as to why?"

"Well, I figured that I would be more presentable by having one coat color instead of certain limbs being of a different color. Especially if we're going to be in Canterlot next week. Besides it being the capital city, I heard that the ponies up there are rather judgmental of everypony, and I'm sure that my being a kirin will get me enough strange looks as it is."

"I wouldn't doubt it," she sighed. "It would be nice if the Canterlot Elite would be more open to everypony instead of being snobby to them. They've gotten better, but there are still plenty of those who are stubborn. So, what about your beard?"

"That's an easy one actually. I got rid of it because you said that it felt itchy."

"That's it? You got rid of your goatee because I said that it felt itchy to me?"

"I thought that it was a good enough reason. Besides, I could always try growing it back out if I wanted to."

"Just as long as this is something that you want."

"For you to feel comfortable is what I want, and if it means having to ditch the beard, then I'm perfectly fine with it."

Smiling softly, Twilight got up and sat herself down against Dark. "Thank you."

They continued eating in silence again as Twilight's thoughts returned once more to Dark and Nocturne, causing her one pleasant expression to fall. Seeing the unhappy look on Twilight's face, Dark gently went to address it.

"Is everything alright, Twilight?" he asked. "You seem unhappy about something."

Twilight sighed. "It's just... just something that's been bothering me these last few days." Seeing that this seemed serious, Dark pushed his food off to the side, giving Twilight his full attention as she continued. "It's about your new powers. If you're suppose to be the new Incarnation of Death, then what changes would that bring? Would you change into something like Nocturne was, or would-"

"Twilight," Dark interrupted as he draped a reassuring wing over Twilight. "Look at me and tell me who you see."

"I see you."

"See who now?"

"You, Dark."

"Exactly. Even if I am Death Incarnate, and even after these changes that I've already gone through, I'm still me, not Nocturne."

"I know, but it still makes me nervous that the magic that you've inherited is based around shadows and death."

"If you're worried that this magic will corrupt or overtake me, then you can relax. You know me well enough that I wouldn't allow it to happen so easily. And besides that, my special talent deals with shadow magic, and to some extent, I would think it would also include Nocturne's death magic. Plus, I also have you and our friends watching over me if something should happen."

Feeling her tense up and seeing the worried expression on her face, Dark leaned his head down to gave her a reassuring kiss. Although it only lasted a few seconds, it was enough for Twilight to calm down. Once they parted, she looked up to Dark, her worried expression mostly gone.

"Feeling better?" he asked.

"Still a little worried, but better," she smiled before giggling. "Actually, when I think about it, I find it sorta weird that my coltfriend is suppose to be the Embodiment of Death."

Dark raised an eyebrow. "You think that's weird? My fillyfriend is an alicorn princess, has saved Equestria several times, and is a Bearer of Harmony."

"Point taken, but it still surprises me about how the dragons of the Dragon Kingdom have nightmares of you."

"... how do you know that?"

Twilight mentally facehoofed for letting that little bit of conversation she had with Nocturne slip out like that. Although she didn't want to lie to him, she also promised to not tell him about Nocturne. With little left to go with, she went with her best option of telling him without telling him.

"Remember when I said that I had access to some of your memories?" she asked.

"Yes, but I don't remember anything about that."

"I know, and that's why I don't think that I should tell you."

"... is this like what Discord said about how it's something that I should learn on my own?"

Twilight sighed in relief. "Pretty much."

"So you're not going to tell me then."

"Sorry, but I made a promise to not tell you and let you find out for yourself."

"Figures."

"You're not upset, are you?"

Dark smiled. "Not at all. I understand that these are apart of my lost memories, and that I should learn them on my own like you said."

"Good. Thank you."

With a nod, Dark then noticed that the sun was about to set. Lighting his horn, Dark conjured several small flames to give Twilight some light. As she went back to her meal, Dark went over and brought a telescope and book out of his Shadow Storage. Seeing them suddenly set up, Twilight looked curiously to him.

"Where did that telescope come from?" she asked.

"New spell that lets me store items in the shadows," he explained simply.

"Alright, so what's it for then?"

"Well, I heard that you used to like stargazing and thought that perhaps you'd might like to."

"It's been a while since I've done that, probably since the Golden Oaks Library was destroyed."

"So are you alright with it, or would you like to do something else?"

Twilight shook her head and made her way over to adjust the dials on the telescope. "No, this is perfectly fine. I've actually been meaning to do this for a while now, and now I finally get to."

Over the next few hours, Twilight and Dark took turns looking through the telescope at the stars and constellations. Whenever they would switch to a different group of stars, Twilight would begin explaining what it is and the history behind them. While Dark didn't care much for astronomy back in Stonewall, he was actually enjoying his time with her learning about them. However, as much as they were enjoying their time, it had to come to an end as the hour was starting to turn late for them. After packing everything away with his Shadow Storage, Dark and Twilight made the walk back home together side-by-side, neither saying anything until they arrived outside her bedroom doors.

"Thank you for tonight, Dark," Twilight thanked.

"You're welcome," he smiled. "Maybe we could go out again soon?"

"I'd like that. But next time, I get to pick where we're going."

"Alright. So then, I guess I'll let you be and see you tomorrow then," Dark said before giving Twilight a kiss and turning around, only for him to be dragged back across the floor by his tail.

"Where do you think you're going?" Twilight asked him.

"To my room?"

"Nope," she told him as a book titled 'Rules of Being in a Relationship' appeared beside her. "According to this book, as my coltfriend, we're allowed to freely sleep with each other."

"When did you read that?"

"Well I had to do something to keep myself occupied while on bedrest."

Dark raised an unsure eyebrow. " Alright, but just to be clear, you mean 'sleep' as in just sleeping like we've been doing, right?"

With a maddening blush, Twilight turned away from him. "O-Of course I do. I didn't mean for it to sound like... the other thing."

"I completely understand. After all, we did just start dating, so it would be a bit rushed if we started doing that so soon."

"I'm glad we agree on that. So then, ready to call it a night?"

With a silent nod, Dark followed Twilight to bed. Getting themselves comfortable, the two laid in silence before Dark remembered something.

"Just so you're aware, I might be gone to work in the morning before you wake up."

"It's alright. As long as you're here until then, then I'm perfectly fine with it."

Giving her a goodnight kiss, Dark watched as Twilight drifted off to sleep. With a silent yawn, he too started relaxing himself as sleep started taking him, his last thoughts being on how this was, in his opinion, the best night ever.

Comments

[Titan Commander Sebaste]

Wow, that happened...

[Kingmoonwar19]

6863282 I have warhammer and warhammer dark crusade on pc

[DracoBrony]

Who'd want to steal a dragon's fang?

apparently twilight doesn't read ancient Greek myths

[Admiral_Gravleos]

7840211 Able to cure all but most disease...

[Tide Hunter]

Rarity walked over and put a hoof on Spike's shoulder. "That, my dear Spike, is something that you shouldn't know about until you're older."

He already had the talk.

[DivideByTurtle]

8126423
They mean BDSM. Its pretty obvious.

[AlicornCreator]

"Alright. So then, I guess I'll let you be and see you tomorrow then," Dark said before giving Twilight a kiss and turning around, only for him to be dragged back across the floor by his tail.

When I read that last bit, in instinctal reaction and words I didn’t mean to say were uttered... they were ...

“ Hollly Shit!”

And that’s when I knew* close up* that all females are scary AF!

[Bronyshot2020]

7052323
Not to sound rude but if you can remember how was that relevant heh

[Aragon ill]

7052323
It's called dawn of war not warhammer