Chapter 62- The Heat
Dark woke up tired and groggy, no thanks to the past few weeks of work that Fluttershy put him through. When Fluttershy confronted Dark in Ghastly Gorge, she wasted no time in giving him a tongue-lashing. Being reminded of how similar this felt to when his own mother used to scold him, Dark quickly found himself reduced to a withering, shivering pile of tears.
When Princess Celestia and a few dozen of her guards arrived to inspect what had happened, upon seeing Dark's state at the hooves of Fluttershy, her concern turned from the sudden explosion and mushroom cloud, to him. But, after taking a few moments to interview Twilight and the others about what had happened, she understood the cause of the explosion, and by extent, the reasoning behind Fluttershy's ire.
Since that day, and thanks to some help from Twilight and Discord, Dark was able to continue practicing on perfecting the Flare without worrying about any repercussions. However, during the early morning and late evening hours, Fluttershy all but demanded that Dark come to her cottage and tend to the animals for her as his way of making up for what he did. And while he didn't think that it would be too bad at first, he was quickly proven wrong as news of what happened to the other woodland critters had reached their ears, causing Fluttershy's animal friends to give Dark a hard time while there.
Now, though, after his third week of working for Fluttershy, Dark was finally finished. And with it being the weekend today, that meant no work for him, which he was thankful for as he could finally spend some alone time with Twilight.
Speaking of Twilight...
Opening his eyes, Dark saw Twilight sleeping contently in his arms and smiled. Even though she'd returned, with him working for Fluttershy, he didn't get a lot of snuggle time with Twilight.
Maybe that's why she's been extra affectionate to me during what time off I have lately, Dark mused. But then again, so have the rest of our friends. At least, except for Fluttershy. Especially these last few days. I mean, since when did Applejack and Rainbow start deliberately brushing up against me and nuzzling me like that?
Feeling stirring in his arms, Dark broke away from his thoughts to see Twilight starting to wake up. But, before she even opened her eyes, a smile crossed her lips as she leaned her head up and subconsciously met Dark's lips with her own. Humming in bliss, Twilight wrapped her hooves around Dark's neck and rolled him onto his back with her laying on his chest, all without breaking their kiss.
As the minutes rolled by, Twilight continued to make out with Dark, uncaring about anything else but the stallion she had beneath her. However, with the lack of air in her lungs, Twilight was reluctantly forced to break apart from him, save for a small strand of saliva that connected their lips. Licking her lips, Twilight opened her eyes to give Dark a half-lidded, hungry gaze.
"Good morning," she said, tracing circles on his chest with a hoof.
"And a good morning to you," Dark returned with a chuckle, one that suddenly went silent when Twilight began nibbling on his ear. "Wow. Somepony's frisky this morning."
"Can you blame me? Ever since Fluttershy had you working for her to take care of her animal friends, you've been returning home half-asleep. Almost literally at times."
"I know," he sighed apologetically. "I'm sorry that I've been neglecting you. But now," Dark gave Twilight a fanged grin, "I no longer have to work for her, so I'm all yours now."
"That's good, because you're not going anywhere until I'm satisfied. In every. Single. Way."
Getting her message loud and clear, Dark rolled them over to where he was now on top. Leaning down, Dark kissed Twilight for a few moments before breaking it and began to slowly leave a trail of kisses and nibbles down her neck, causing her to lightly pant in turn. As he got lower towards her stomach, Dark paused for a moment as he felt something off about her.
That's weird, he thought confusingly. Twilight doesn't usually radiate so much heat off of her body like this. Not even when we're in the middle of doing this kind of thing... and what's this alluring smell that's coming from her?
"Dark?" Twilight moaned in slight disappointment. "Why did you stop?"
"Sorry, Twilight."
Returning back to it, Dark slowly continued down to Twilight's stomach. The farther down he went, the hotter he could feel her getting. But, before he could get any lower, a banging on the door interrupted them. Peeking up from the covers, Dark saw the irritation on Twilight's face as she glared at the noisy door.
"I'll go check it out," Dark sighed, hopping out of bed.
Making his way to the door, Dark opened it to see Spike nervously shifting from one foot to the other.
"Hey, Spike. What's up?"
"Uh, hi, Dark," Spike replied, glancing past him to see Twilight giving him a death glare. "Umm... hey, would you mind coming with me for a moment? I need to talk to you."
Dark glanced back to Twilight. "Not to be rude, Spike, but can it wait? We were in the middle of something and-"
"That's why I need to talk to you! Now, Dark!"
Taken aback by the excessive firmness behind his voice, Dark gave Twilight an apologetic look before leaving their bedroom and closing the door behind him.
"This had better be important, Spike," Dark stated, his unhappiness clear for Spike to see.
"Oh, believe me, it is," he said. "You know how Twilight's been acting weird lately?"
"Just a little bit, but I just thought that was due to our time spent apart and not having as much time together. Why?"
"Well, you're half-right, but the other half isn't what you think. You know how it's warmer around Twilight lately?"
"Huh, so I wasn't just imagining that," he said out loud to himself before returning to Spike. "But what does this have to do with what you want?"
"I'm getting to that," Spike replied before showing the calendar that he'd been holding in his claws to Dark. "Here. Look at this."
Taking a quick look, Dark scanned over it. "What about it? It's just a calendar with today's date circled, but with nothing written on it."
Spike's left eye twitched before he began pointing a claw at a date with a red marker circling it.
"Dude, you don't know what today is?!"
"No, so could you just spit it out already?!" Dark barked, having enough of this guessing game. "Look, Spike, I'm sorry for snapping at you like that, but I've got Twilight waiting for me in bed, giving me the most seductive looks she's ever shown, her scent is very alluring, and she's radiating heat like a mare in... wait..."
As Dark's mind began to put the pieces together, his irritation turned to realization. With eyes widened in disbelief and his jaw dropped, he look down to see Spike smirking triumphantly at him.
"No."
"Yes," Spike nodded, pointing again at the circled date on the calendar. "Since you didn't know, Twilight's heat starts today."
"Okay, now Twilight's weird behavior makes sense." Dark paused for a moment, a few other things, or ponies, coming to mind. "What about the others?"
"Huh?"
"Some of our friends have been acting more closely to me during these past three weeks. Almost affectionately with Rainbow and Applejack."
Spike facepalmed. "Of course they would. Dark, that's one of the early warning signs of them going into heat too. It has something to do with the chemicals in their brain that causes them to become attracted to males more. And since you've been hanging around them so much more than any others, that means they're attracted to you."
"... how do you know so much about this?"
Spike gave a deadpan look. "Twilight."
"... of course. So, this little thing they have for me is only temporary and will only last until their heats are over with?"
"Yep."
Oh, thank Celestia. "Okay then, how long does it last for them?"
"Only for a week with our friends. It would be the same for Twilight, but ever since she became an alicorn, it now lasts up to two weeks for her."
Taking a few breaths to calm himself, Dark sat down and began to start thinking.
"Okay, I'll just have to try avoiding our friends for now then. As for Twilight, how did she... uhh... 'take care' of it before?"
"Either with some tea or a spell to make it more bearable as far as I know."
Dark nodded. "Alright, so we just need to get her some tea and she'll be good."
Spike shook his head. "Sorry, but it won't be that easy."
"Why not?"
"I read it in one of Twilight's books about this sort of thing. If a pony is in a relationship, their heat will become so bad that it'll be almost unbearable for them unless they're... ugh, you know."
"But if I do do that, then-"
"I know," Spike interrupted. "That's why I'm here for you, so that I can help get you somewhere safe."
"And what about Twilight? Can we really just leave her there without her following us?"
Spike raised a claw to protest, but quickly found the words dying in his throat. "Yeah, you're probably right about that. If we do run and hide, she could just teleport to us."
Dark thought about it for a moment before coming up with an idea. "What if we were to restrain her?"
"How?"
"I have an idea. Just wait here and I'll be back."
Turning around, Dark made his way back into his and Twilight's bedroom. When he did, though, he was surprised to see that the room was littered with lit candles, rose petals scattered across the floor, and most noticeably, Twilight laying on their bed wearing her lingerie.
Oh, crap, Dark mentally cursed. This is gonna be hard... in more ways than one.
"What took you so long?" Twilight asked seductively.
"Uhhhhhh..."
Gigging, Twilight slid off of the bed and sashayed her way over to Dark.
"So, where were we?"
Gulping, Dark Shadow Melded out of Twilight's sight. However, any sense of safety he felt was replaced with worry as Twilight began to giggle again.
"Oh, trying to play hard to get, huh?" she teased, looking around for any signs of him. "Well, if you're trying to hide from me, then it won't be much of a challenge. After all," Twilight lit up her horn and began channeling her magic. Seconds later, her eyes started glowing purple, "I've read that spellbook of yours, so I know all of your spells. Even the one for your Soul Eyes and Second Sight."
Looking around their bedroom, Twilight soon found Dark's soul moving against the wall, but froze as soon as her glowing eyes landed and remained on him.
"I see you~"
With a nervous gulp, Dark dispelled his Shadow Meld. "Look, Twilight, you're not thinking straight. It's your heat. It's messing with your head."
"Oh, I know what it does," she replied, slowly making her way towards Dark. "I've read plenty on it before my very first heat, and learned even more after I began to experience it."
"But still, do you know what'll happen if we go through with this?"
Twilight gave a half-lidded smile as she whispered into his ear, "Well, we did talk about the possibility of it, right?"
At that moment, Dark froze and felt his heart skip a beat. "T-Twi-light. A-Are you s-sure about this? Are we even ready?"
"I know I am, and in more ways than one, if you know what I mean. Just think, Dark, it would be our own little foal. Yours and mine."
A dozen thoughts were running through Dark's mind now. With the possibility of being able to start a family of his own actually being within his grasp, Dark was considering it even more.
Then again, after being responsible for taking so many lives, it would be nice to actually help bring one into this world. That, and I did get the ring from Gem Cutter last week, he mused, a small smile gracing his lips as he further entertained the idea. However, despite the temptation, he was a still little unsure about it and broke that train of thought. I'm sorry, Twilight, but as much as I want to, I'm going to have to think about it.
Using his magic, Dark created several shadowy tendrils and wrapped them around Twilight's legs before laying her flat on her back onto the bed. Unfortunately for him, this didn't seem to affect Twilight as she seemed to actually be enjoying it.
"Well, this is new. You've never uses your tendrils before," she said before hungrily licking her lips. "I like it. It's kinda kinky."
Taking in a deep breath, Dark recollected and steadied himself. "Sorry, Twilight, but with how sudden this is, I'll need to think about it for a moment. So, until then, you'll have to stay there."
As Dark made his way over to the door, Twilight smirked.
"You know that these won't hold me down here forever," she told him. "I'll be out of these things soon enough."
Standing in the now open door, Dark looked back. "I love you, Twilight, but not just yet."
With that, Dark closed the door to their room and walked over to Spike.
"Yikes, dude," he said. "I heard everything. How'd you manage to not fall to that?"
"I have no idea, Spike," Dark sighed tiredly. "By the way, where's Pyre and Soul?"
"I'm right here," Soul answered, reappearing alongside Spike.
"Soul?"
"The emotions coming from you and Twilight in there were ridiculous," he commented. "It may not completely be love, but it's enough to make me turn invisible for a few moments. By the way, what did you two talk about?"
"Having a foal together," Spike blatantly answered.
Soul's eyes shimmered. "Cool! That means that I get to be a big brother!"
"Actually, Soul, I'm not so sure I'm ready yet," Dark said.
"Why not? You love her and she loves you, so why not have a foal?"
"It's... complicated for me, Soul. Like I said, I'm not quite ready yet."
"Yet means that up to this point in time, which means that you might be ready any second now~" Twilight sang through the closed doors.
"Okay, we better get going," Spike said, running with Dark and Soul down the hallways and stairs.
Once they got to the second floor, they about to make a run for the first floor when Twilight suddenly teleported in front of them, minus her lingerie.
"Told you that I would get out of them," she said licking her lips.
"This way!" Spike shouted, leading them down another corridor with Twilight leisurely following after them.
After turning the corners of several hallways, Spike led them down another set of stairs. Reaching the bottom, they were about to turn right in a four way intersection when they skidded to a halt at a sight that brought fear to Spike.
Before them, standing side-by-side, were Sweetie Belle, Apple Bloom, and Scootaloo. Each of them giving half-lidded smiles.
"Hello, Spike," they said eerily in unison.
"Uhhh, h-hey, girls," he nervously replied, taking a step back. "Umm, what brings you three here?"
"You see, Spike," Sweetie Belle began.
"It turns out that we're experiencin' our first heat this year," Apple Bloom continued.
"And we were thinking that since you're our coltfriend," Scootaloo added.
"That you could help us with it," they ominously finished together.
Hearing hoofsteps from their right, Dark, Spike, and Soul looked to see Twilight turning the corner.
"Okay, let's split up!" Spike shouted in a panic. "Soul, you come this way with me! Dark, you go that way! We'll meet up at the rendezvous point!"
Running down one of the free hallways, Spike and Soul quickly disappeared from around the corner, leaving Dark standing there confused.
"What rendezvous point?!" he shouted.
Hearing Twilight getting closer, Dark quickly booked it down the last hallway, leaving Twilight and the Crusaders to meet at the intersection.
"So, first heat, huh?" Twilight asked.
"Yeah," they replied.
"Well, good luck to you then."
Waving to each other, Twilight and the Crusaders parted ways to chase after their respective coltfriends.
Over in the main library, Spike and Soul darted in and looked frantically around the room.
"Where to now?!" Soul panicked.
Glancing around again, Spike saw an open window up above and pointed to it. "There! We can escape through that!"
Looking up, Soul followed the direction of Spike's claw. "I might be able to get both of us up there."
Grabbing onto Spike, Soul was just about to lift him up when the window became shrouded in a light-green aura and closed.
"You know," Scootaloo began, "you might've gotten away if you two didn't leave the door wide open."
Turning around to face them, Soul hovered back with Spike still in his forelegs.
Closing the door behind them, the Crusaders each closed in on the two until they were backed towards one of the bookshelves. Feeling like they had them cornered, they stopped and smiled devilishly.
"Looks like we finally win this little game of tag," Sweetie Belle said.
"And now, for our reward," Scootaloo added, hovering off the ground.
"But should we really be doin' it right here?" Apple Bloom wondered.
"What's wrong?" Sweetie Belle questioned. "The carpet is nice and soft, and we also have couches too."
"Ah know, but what about Soul?"
The other two Crusaders hummed in thought for a moment before Scootaloo came up with a thought.
"Hey, Soul's part changeling, right?" she asked.
"Yeah?" Sweetie Belle and Apple Bloom answered.
"So he can shapeshift, right?"
"Yeah?"
She turned and began eyeing out Soul, "So does that mean that he can also shapeshift into Spike?"
With their eyes widening in understanding and mouths drooling slightly, they each slowly turned their heads and faced the two young males.
"GET THEM!"
With horror in their eyes, Spike and Soul gulped.
"Well, it's been nice knowing you, Soul."
"It's been nice knowing you too, Spike."
Running down the hallway, Dark glanced back to see that he'd lost Twilight at some point. Turning another corner, he leaned up against the wall to take a quick breather.
Okay, okay, okay. So, I'm in a section of the castle I've barely explored with Twilight chasing me, Dark thought, trying to think of a plan. First, I need to get out of the castle and find some help. Hopefully somepony will be willing... to... how could I be so stupid?! I'll just Shadowport to the throne room and call Princess Celestia with that communication crystal she gave us!
Mentally slapping himself for not having thought of that sooner, Dark Shadowported into the throne room and began pouring his magic into the crystal. Seconds later, a projection screen appeared above the crystal, but it was covered in snow.
"Come on, come on, come on," he muttered, waiting for the screen to clear up. Moments later, a clear image appeared on it.
"Princess Celestia, I need your help with TwiliiiiOOOOOHHHHH MY GODDESS!!!"
Turning the crystal off, Dark froze like a statue, taking quick breaths as he paled.
"There are not enough 'Nopes' in the world for what I just saw."
Glancing back to the crystal, Dark began thinking over his options. Okay, so Princess Celestia is... currently unavailable, and Princess Luna is most likely asleep. So, all that leave for me to talk with is... crap.
Feeling cornered and without any other choice, Dark sighed in defeat as he activated the crystal again. However, this time when the image appeared, it was of Shining Armor sitting on the throne in the Crystal Empire.
"Dark? What are you calling me for?" Shining curiously asked.
"Uhh... hey, Shining?" Dark nervously began. "I've got a... let's say 'problem' here."
Shining let out a long, sympathetic sigh. "You too, huh?"
"Huh?"
"Twilight's in heat, isn't she?"
"... how'd you know?"
"Because I'm having the same problem with Cadence."
"Is every mare on a synchronized heat timer or something?!" Dark groaned in exasperation. "It was never this bad back in Stonewall!"
Shining chuckled. "Well then, that sucks for you, Dark."
Rolling his eyes, Dark looked to Shining. "Okay, if you're having the same issues with Cadence, then how is it that you're sitting there all calm and comfy, while I'm running like my life depends on it?"
"Because I tied her up on our bed."
"Yeah, me too. Except that Twilight's broken free and is now chasing after me like a silent serial killer in one of those horror movies."
"Yeesh."
"Anyway, I need your help, Shining," Dark said almost pleadingly. "What am I suppose to do with her until her heat wears off on its own?"
"Call the guards for help?"
"Some might if I asked them, but Twilight outranks me, so she could just order them to follow her instead."
"What about your own personal guards? Didn't I hear you mention something about you creating guards out of shadows?"
"Yes, but I also made them so that they would treat any order that Twilight gave them as though it were my own. Think of it as a conjoint deal."
"In that case, in my opinion, if she's already broken free from your restraints and is after you, then you'll just have to find a place to hide."
"For two weeks?!"
Shining arched an eyebrow. "'Two weeks'?"
"Spike told me that Twilight's lasts for two weeks ever since she became an alicorn."
"Ouch. Well, while that does suck for you, you'll still have to hide."
Dark sighed and rubbed his temples. "Okay. Maybe I can hide out at Sweet Apple Acres or in the Everfree Forest. And if not, then maybe I can hide in either Canterlot or in the Crystal Empire. I've actually never been up there yet."
"While those are fair ideas, I wouldn't recommend-"
"Prince Shining Armor!" Running into view of the screen was a vaguely familiar orange pegasus with a blue mane. "Sir! We've got a serious problem!"
"Hey, aren't you that one guy who came with Shining when he came to Ponyville?" Dark asked, the name on the tip of his tongue. "Umm, Flash Sentinel, right?"
"It's Flash Sentry," he corrected with a small edge to his voice. "Anyway, Prince Shining Armor, we have a problem."
Shining's brow furrowed. "What kind of-"
"OHHHHH, SHINYYYY~"
"... oh no." With urgency in his eyes, Shining faced Dark again. "I'm sorry, Dark, but it looks like I now have my own problems to deal with. Good luck trying to avoid my sister."
"Too late for that," Twilight giggled, silently walking up alongside Dark. With a yelp from Dark, Twilight watched as he Shadowported away, leaving her alone with the projection of Shining and Flash. "Hey, Shiny. Are we still on for Skyla's birthday next month? Still can't believe she was born so early."
"As far as I know, we are. And her early birth may be because of her being an Alicorn. Now, I'm sorry to cut this short, Twily, but I really need to go!" Shining said.
"That's okay, Shiny," Twilight shrugged before turning and walking away. "After all, I have myself a sexy kirin to catch."
Having Shadowported to the front doors, Dark quickly made his way through them and took to the skies.
"That was too close," Dark said to himself as he flew high above Ponyville. "Okay, if I can make it to either Sweet Apple Acres or the Everfree Forest, then I should be safe there until I can think this thing over, or until this heat thing- OOMPH!"
Feeling like something had crashed into him, Dark was sent hurdling down to the ground with a weight on his chest. Skidding to a halt after leaving a small trench behind him, Dark looked up to see Rainbow standing over him, panting.
Oh, no. Not now.
"Hey, Dark," she grinned. "Whatcha doing?"
Dark gulped before replying to her. "G-Getting away from Twilight's heat."
"Oh, that's neat," she said as she lowered herself onto him until she was laying on top of him. "You know, on our way back from Trottingham, I asked Twilight if she would be willing to share you with me for this."
Dark's eyes widened. "R-R-Really?"
"Mhmm. She considered it for a while, but as it turned out, she didn't want to. Not because she wasn't willing, but because she didn't know how you would feel about it."
Dark cleared his throat. "Well, that was nice of her to think of me."
"So? What do you say?"
"Sorry, Rainbow, but I'll have to decline. Nothing against you or anything, but Twilight's the only mare for me. That, and I'm sure that this heat thing is messing with your judgement."
With a disappointed sigh, Rainbow shook her head and got off of Dark to let him back up.
"Should've figured you'd remain loyal to Twilight, but that's what I like about you," she said before shrugging. "Oh well. Maybe I'll have better luck with Pyre."
"Well I- wait... Pyre?! Why him?! You barely know each other!"
Rainbow looked back and smirked. "We might've gotten off on the wrong hoof when we first met, but we've been hanging out for a while now. What? Didn't you ever wonder where he goes during his time off?"
With that, Rainbow gave Dark a quick wave before taking off, leaving him standing there in surprise with his jaw dropped.
"Huh. Who'da thunk?"
As Dark continued to watch Rainbow flying away, Dark saw a familiar speck of lavender in the distance. Quickly glancing around, Dark found the nearest building and ran into it, uncaring of what building it was. Slamming the door shut behind him, he began to lock it shut before leaning up against it and slowly slide to the floor.
"What did I tell you about slamming my door shut, Dark?" a voice asked him.
Snapping his attention up, Dark began to see where he'd gone and hid in, which just happened to be Rarity's Boutique with Rarity herself sitting on the couch, looking at him with a frown.
"Twilight's after me and I needed to hide," he excused.
Still frowning, Rarity took a sip of her tea. "Am I to believe that it's from her heat?"
"Yeah. I already had Rainbow literally crash into me and try hitting on me, but I managed to get away from that after a quick talk." Dark paused as he looked wearily at Rarity. "You're not going to try starting something like that with me too, are you?"
Rarity recoiled as though she'd been insulted. "Dark! What a rude and uncouth thing to assume of a lady!"
Dark winced. "I'm sorry, Rarity, but with the explanation Spike gave me, and having to deal with Twilight and then Rainbow, I'm not sure which mare I can trust right now."
Taking it as a fair enough excuse, Rarity nodded and sat he teacup down. "I understand, darling."
"Speaking of which, and please don't get upset for me asking, but why haven't you tried something yet?"
"It's quite simple, really. While I admit that I too am in season like every other mare currently is, I am still a lady. And as such, a lady mustn't allow for herself to succumb to such primal urges."
"And Sweetie Belle?"
Rarity blinked. "What about her?"
"... you know that she and the other Crusaders are expiring their first heat, right?"
"No, I did not," she said, setting her tea off to the side. "She wasn't even showing any of the early signs of it. Do you know where she is now?"
"Last I saw, she, Apple Bloom, and Scootaloo were chasing Spike through the castle."
"Oh, dear. In that case, you'll have to excuse me, Dark. I need to go find Sweetie Belle before she and the others do something that they might come to regret."
Dark nodded. "And I need to get moving before Twilight finds me again."
"Too late~"
"GAAAAHHH!!!"
Without hesitation, Dark bolted through the door that Twilight had left open and flew away.
"Hi, Rarity," Twilight greeted. "Nice day today, huh?"
"Oh, yes, of course, darling," she replied.
"Well, I guess I'll see you around."
With that, Twilight trotted out the door again, leaving Rarity all alone.
"Goodness, Dark," Rarity sighed with a headshake, "now I see why you were so nervous about her before."
Dark was now soaring across Ponyville to the point where his eyes were beginning to sting. Wanting to get as much space between him and Twilight as he could, he brought his arms up to shield his eyes as he quickened his pace. And while it seemed to have been working in his opinion, his shielding of his eyes prevented him from seeing anything, which led him to being shot down from the air and to crash down into the middle of Ponyville.
With a groan, Dark cracked his eyes open to see confetti raining down from all around him. Seconds later, he heard something humming as he was dragged by his tail along the dirt until it turned to wooden floorboards. Recognizing the interior as Sugarcube Corner, Dark was suddenly taken by surprise as he felt himself sliding down what felt and looked like a slide before coming to a stop. Seconds later, Dark saw Pinkie looking down at him from above.
"Heya, Darky," she smiled. "How ya doing?"
"Pinkie?" Dark groaned. "What happened to me?"
"Sorry, but I had to shoot you down with my party cannon so that I could talk to you for a moment."
"And you couldn't just call me, why?"
"Well I tried, but you didn't seem to be listening to me."
With another groan, Dark rolled himself over and stood up to take a look around the cave he was in.
"Where are we?"
"Oh, that's right! You've never been down here before!" Pinkie exclaimed as she bounced around. "This is my Party Cave. It's where I do most of my party planning." She paused as her smile grew. "But for now, this is going to be a cave for a different kind of party. One for just the two of us."
Not liking the tone in which she said that, Dark began looking around for a way out. However, the only way back up was the slide they came down from.
It shouldn't be too hard to get out, if at all, he mused. I can just Shadow Meld up there and escape that way.
"If you're thinking about escaping, then you might as well stop now," Pinkie said. "Besides, you Pinkie Promised me that you would help me in a few weeks, and that time's up."
Dark glanced over to her curiously. "Pinkie? Did you-"
"Plan for this? Yeppers."
"No."
Pinkie's smile dropped along with her mane. "What?"
"I'm not doing it."
Pinkie's eyes now appeared to have a small fire burning inside them. "Nopony breaks a Pinkie Promise."
"I'm not breaking it because what you're asking of me is going against what we agreed on," Dark argued.
Pinkie paused in mid-stride as her eyes narrowed. "Explain."
"I said that I would do whatever it was you wanted as long as it wasn't unreasonable, Pinkie. And what you're asking of me, in my opinion, is just that."
Pausing to think about it for a moment, Pinkie slowly backed away, her face now turned to regret.
"I'm sorry," she apologized. "I guess this heat's really getting to me, huh?"
"Kinda," Dark admitted, offering her a friendly smile. "But, then again, so is just about every other mare. I mean, if you'd seen how Twilight's been acting today, you'd understand."
Pinkie smiled, her mane returning to its poofy state.
"You're right. Just about every mare is acting weird today," she said before pointing a hoof behind him. "And now that I'm looking at her, I can see what you mean about Twilight."
Dark froze in place as he felt a pair of hooves reach around and hug him from behind. Immediately after, out of the corner of his eye, he caught the sight of Twilight as she leaned up and began to nuzzle his cheek with an occasional lick.
"You're a hard guy to get, you know that?" Twilight said teasingly.
Taking a few sniffs, Dark's mind briefly froze, noticing that the pheromones from Twilight had gotten significantly stronger since he'd smelt her in their bedroom. Not wanting to stay any longer, less he'd fall to her completely, Dark Shadowported up to the dining area of Sugarcube Corner and ran out the door, leaving Twilight alone with Pinkie in her Party Cave.
"So, you tricked him into Pinkie Promising to help you with your heat, huh?" Twilight questioned with a raised eyebrow.
"Yeah," she admitted. "Granted that I didn't think about that little loophole he pointed out, but I guess that it's for the best."
"Yes, it is-"
"I mean, other than you, Dark, you, what's-her-name, Spike, the Crusaders, Fluttershy, and Discord, the rest of us in our group aren't being shipped, so you've got nothing to worry about." Pinkie tapped her chin in thought. "And, yeah, Rainbow is chasing after Pyre, but nothing's going to come of it. Besides, she's not suppose to be shipped in this story."
Twilight blinked in confusion a few times before letting out a tired sigh.
"You know what? I'm not even going to ask."
"Probably for the best," Pinkie nodded, watching as Twilight left the cave before calling out to her. "By the way, Dark's heading to Sweet Apple Acres next!"
"Thanks, Pinkie!"
Once she was sure Twilight was gone, Pinkie sealed the entrance. "I might have to share this the other two. Hmmm... maybe during the next Pinkies Night Out. If nothing else, it should give them a good laugh."
Dark was never happier to see Sweet Apple Acres as he dove down below the treetops and picked out a random apple tree to hide in. Making sure that he was tucked in deep enough to not be spotted, Dark leaned back against the insides of the crown, closed his eyes, and sighed in relief.
"Finally," he breathed. "No chance of her finding me in here."
"Dark? That you in there?"
Opening his eyes by the male voice calling his name, Dark poked his head down below the branches to see Big Mac looking up at him.
"Big Mac! Oh, thank Celestia I finally found another guy."
Big Mac nodded. "Havin' trouble with the mares?"
"Yeah. Twilight's been after me ever since she woke up this morning. What about you? How are you handling this?"
"Alright," he said with a shrug. "Was just on my way over ta see Cheerilee now that Ah'm done chainin' Applejack up and lockin' her down in the apple cellar."
Dark blinked. "Why would you need to do that?"
"Dark, ya ain't ever seen an Apple mare in heat before. And with Applejack, anythin' less would let her escape. She'd already brought down a barn a few years ago, so since then, Ah've had ta chain her up just ta keep her from breakin' free. And with the metal beams and concrete anchorin' her chains down, ain't no way she's gettin' free without somepony ta free her."
"... okay. Oh, you do know that Apple Bloom and the other Crusaders are experiencing their first heat and came to the castle this morning looking for Spike, right?"
Big Mac's eyes widened. "She's what?!"
"... I take it that you and the others didn't know about this?"
"Where is she?! You said she's in the castle, right?"
"With Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo, yes. But I don't know if they got Spike yet. After all, he had Soul there to help him, and they were talking about meeting up at some rendezvous point somewhere."
"Thanks. Ah'll go ta the castle and look for Apple Bloom then."
"Okay. Uh, hey."
"Yeah?"
"You mind if I hide out from Twilight here in the orchard?"
"Go ahead. Oh, by the way. Would ya mind helpin' us out in a few weeks? It's almost Applebuck Season, and we could use some extra help."
"Sure I can, and thanks for letting me hide here, Big Mac."
Watching Big Mac disappear past the rows of apple trees, Dark retreated back up into his spot and laid back to relax. Stretching his arms, Dark brought them around the back of his head and laid his head against them. Starting to feel relaxed, Dark sighed and closed his eyes, listening to the leaves rustle from the breeze and hearing the birds chirping. However, his moment of peacefulness ended when he caught that scent again. With a grunt, Dark sat up to flee when he felt a hoof gently grab his claw.
"Dark?" Twilight called, leaning up with her back against the other side of the tree. "Can we please talk for a moment?"
Dark paused, now noticing that Twilight tone wasn't flirtatious like the other times, but calm and pleading. With a quiet sigh, he returned to his spot against the tree and held Twilight's hoof back.
"No tricks?" he asked.
"No tricks," she confirmed. "I just want to talk to you for a moment." Feeling Dark gently squeeze her hoof, Twilight took it as her sign to continue. "First off, I want to apologize for my behavior up to now."
"It's okay. I understand that this whole heat thing is messing with your head and impairing your judgment."
"Well... kinda."
"What do you mean?"
"You're right about it messing with my head, and I find what it's driving me to do to be a little scary. But, at the same time, I suppose that I kinda also want for this to happen."
Dark turned his head to glance around the tree at Twilight.
"What are you saying exactly, Twilight?"
Twilight nervously gulped. "... what if we were to actually... you know... try it? A family I mean."
Climbing on the branches, Dark made his way around the tree to face Twilight and sat himself down in front of her on the same branch.
"Is this the heat talking, or you, Twilight?" Dark questioned.
"No, this is all me," she admitted. "I actually wanted to talk to you at Rarity's, but without the spell that I used before talking to you now, it was my heat that was talking."
Dark swallowed a large lump in his throat as he tried to keep himself calm. Yes, they'd talked about it, but nothing beyond that. And yes, she did bring it up before back in their bedroom. But now, after admitting that this is actually Twilight herself saying that she wanted this instead of her heat, along with her seeming like she's serious about it, Dark felt himself quickly caving.
"I... I know that I asked you this before," he began, "but are you sure that this is what you want, Twilight?"
She nodded. "I'll admit that the thought of having a foal of our own is kinda scary, but I do. We've done good with Soul during the time we've had him, right?"
"Right, but we haven't really had him for very long, and Soul's a teen who can take care of himself. A foal is complete different."
"I know, Dark. I've foalsat Skyla a couple of times already." Twilight paused as she saw Dark's eyes darting around. "Is something wrong with us having a foal, Dark?"
"N-No. N-Nothing's wrong," he stammered.
"Then why are you acting so nervous about it?"
With a nervous gulp, Dark took both of her hooves gently into his claws and looking into her eyes.
"I... um..."
"It's okay. Take your time."
Dark nodded and took a moment to calm himself before speaking.
"I've never admitted this, Twilight, but during my time back in Stonewall Village, I'd often daydreamed about having a family and foal of my own. Even some nights when I fell asleep, I would dream about it. But, when I would wake up from it, I would find myself quietly sobbing every time, knowing that it was merely just a dream. And as the years continued to pass by, I began to seriously doubt that it would ever happen."
Dark bit his lip, trying to hold back tears that threatened to fall from his eyes as he continued.
"But now, after meeting you, living with you, and getting to know you after all this time, along with you saying that you want a foal of our own too... I don't know. I mean, I would still love to start a family with you, Twilight, but for me to go from just dreaming about it to it being a very possible reality, it's kinda..."
Leaning forward, Twilight wrapped her wings around Dark as she lovingly nuzzled his cheek.
"I understand, Dark," she whispered. "You want to, it's just that you were caught off guard by the suddenness of it, right?"
"Y-Yeah," he answered. "Not just by the sudden suggestion of having a foal, but the time of this heat season too. Normally in Stonewall, it didn't start for another month. Speaking of which, if you don't mind me asking, what are the months for when you mares normally go into heat?"
"April and August," Twilight answered knowingly. "You say it wasn't the same in Stonewall Village?"
"No. For some reason, it would instead happen during May and October."
"Then why didn't you bring it up last October?"
Dark shrugged. "Between Shining trying to kill me and meeting King Inferno, it kinda slipped my mind."
"Huh. Well, in terms of why it's different, the change in climate and location could have something to do with it. That, or since Stonewall was disconnected from Equestria for so long, the magic caused the heat cycle there to go out of sync. Who knows."
"Sounds like you're just guessing now."
Twilight pouted. "Without knowing for sure or running any tests to make a comparison, all I can do is make theories about it."
With a small chuckle, Dark wrapped his arms around Twilight and nuzzled her back.
"Thanks for making me feel a little better with your nerdiness, Twilight," he thanked.
"You're welcome. Even if I wasn't trying to be funny."
"Regardless, it still helped."
"I'm glad then... so?"
"So?"
Twilight blushed and glanced away. "Do you want to?"
"... are you absolutely sure this is what you want, Twilight? Not just to help with your heat, but what you overall want?"
Twilight shyly nodded. "Yes. I want this.. for both of us," Twilight reached a hoof down and rubbed her stomach, "and for our future."
Feeling comfortable with this, Dark pulled her into a loving and passionate kiss. Tightening their embrace, Dark and Twilight deepened their kiss as Dark's wings flared out and folded around them, shielding them with some privacy from the outside world. Taking a moment to breath, Twilight looked expectantly into Dark's eyes.
"So, does this mean..."
"Yes," Dark smiled. "But you do know that if we do happen to have a foal, then I'll have to make our family official, right?"
Twilight's breath caught in her throat as she felt her face and ears burning at what Dark was implying. But, regardless, she nodded all the same.
"O-Okay. Just.. a little warning, though, Dark."
"Yes?"
"Well, even with me being in heat, the tea that I've been drinking before now might reduce our chances of conceiving."
"By how much?"
Twilight briefly shrugged for a moment. "About fifty percent. If I stop drinking it, then the odds should increase."
"... wow. That must be some strong tea, huh?"
"Yep," she giggled, giving Dark a peck on the lips.
"In that case, I guess we've got a busy two weeks ahead of us."
"I guess we do. So, back to our room then?"
Dark glanced off to the side and looked down. "Considering that it's either that or here in this tree, I'll go with the bed."
Dark and Twilight released their hug and flew together up out of the tree before gliding alongside one another.
"By the way, Twilight, how'd you find me here?"
Twilight smiled. "Pinkie told me."
Dark sighed and shook his head. "Of course she did."
"Also, would you be alright if we used something different this time?"
"Like what?"
"Well, since we'll be... busy, could we maybe try using some aphrodisiacs?"
"An afro-what? What does it do?"
Twilight gave Dark a knowing smirk. "Oh, you'll like it. Trust me."
Over at Fluttershy's cottage, Spike and Soul were panting on the couch as Discord sat in the chair opposite of them.
"That was a close one, you two," Discord said with a small chuckle. "Good thing that I got to you two before three girls did."
"Yeah... thanks... Discord," Spike said between gasps of air.
"Yeah," Soul panted, "thanks a lot."
"It's no problem," Discord dismissed. "Now then, what about Dark?"
Spike and Soul looked to each other before turning to Discord and shrugging.
"Last we saw, he was running from Twilight," Spike said.
"Um... excuse me," Fluttershy spoke, poking her head through the front door, "but are you sure?"
"Yeah... why?"
"Because I just saw Twilight and Dark flying back to the castle."
Soul's pupils turned to pinpricks. "OH NO! SHE GOT HIM!"
"HE'S SO SCREWED!" Spike shouted in a panic.
Discord snorted at Spike's unintentional double meaning before turning to Fluttershy. "And you saw this?"
Fluttershy nodded, her eyes briefly flashing blood-red before returning back to their normal turquoise color. "My eyesight's gotten a lot better since I became a bat pony. So much so that I saw them leaving together from somewhere over Sweet Apple Acres."
Nodding, Discord reclined on his chair. "Then there's nothing we can do about it."
"Why not?!" Soul questioned.
"Yeah, Discord!" Spike agreed. "We need to go help Dark!"
"No we don't," he argued. "If what Fluttershy saw was true, and that they're really leaving together, then Dark has most likely made his decision. And if that truly is the case, then who are we to interfere?"
With a small huff, Spike reached over to the coffee table and grabbed a cookie.
"Fine, but if it turns out that they do end up have a kid from this, then I'm not changing its diapers."
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Well, that just happened. Have a ''nice job'' from me!
Interesting chapter but I was wondering what's The Heat?
7408726
It's the time of year for ponies to ahem...
Usually to get foals.
My apologies if anyone has pointed this out before, but the cover art originally came from here:
http://www.deviantart.com/art/Dragon-of-the-First-Age-150658041
7408791 You mean as in marriage?
7408875
Sure why not? Go with that.
7408875
More of a one week stand really... ugh...this is so...awkward...
I'm wondering if Twi and Dark do end up having a foal. Would it be a kirin or a only slightly draconic pony ? Or would it be purely pony , because Dark is a turned kirin not born? So many questions! Can't wait for the next update. Love this story.
Blessed be ~ TRK
Geez, that happened! Talk about a whole bunch o awkward!
"Where are we?"
"Oh, that's right! You've never been down here before!" Pinkie exclaimed as she bounced around. "This is my Rape Cave. It's where I do most of my Rape planning." She paused as her smile grew. "But for now, this is going to be a cave for a different kid of party. One for just the two of us."
Im Sorry Im So Sorry
7437011 ......
Oh my, Oh my! Tis a Wonderful day! This spring time Feeling!
I know how Dark feels here. I to have had dreams about having a family of my own and a kid. But as I'm getting older that is looking like a dream and not much else.
I'm happy and jealous of the guy.
You fuck.
Rest of the chapter:
i2.kym-cdn.com/photos/images/original/000/451/224/1d9.gif
Oh, thank you for writing this! I love heat chapters/stories!
Ok it's not often when a story makes me stop and just ask WTF but that part with "Pinkies Night out" and "Telling the other two" just.....wha?
Thank goodness.