Anima Mea Tenebre

“This land shall bleed along with all who live here. You will have no one to blame but yourself.”

Dante woke with a start as he breathed hard. He rubbed his eyes as he got up from his sweat soaked pillow. He looked at his wrist where he saw the familiar sight of the magic dampener hanging from it. He had put it on the day before. It served the dual purpose of limiting the amount of power Dante could use and, known only to himself, reducing the severity of the nightmares that had been plaguing him for months.

He sighed as he pushed the dark memories from his head. He got up and put on the outfit that Rarity had provided the day before. As he looked at himself in the mirror, he noticed a dark spot that had formed just a little left of where his heart was.  It looked as though it had been burned into his skin but on closer inspection, he noticed the thin veins creeping from the affliction. It pulsed and grew slightly larger with each beat as though it was feeding off his blood. He ran his hand over it and felt a chill go down his spine as his nails grazed the area. The black mark felt cold in contrast to the rest of his body as he gently prodded at it.

Did the Bullywug infect me?

Bullywug blood was notorious for causing strange ailments. Symptoms could range from temporary blindness to violent seizures. He quickly peered into his bag before withdrawing a small vial of green liquid. Popping off the cork, he steeled himself as the foul tasting contents burned their way down his throat. He looked at the spot to see that it had stopped pulsating, but otherwise appeared unhindered by the antidote’s effects.

“Strange,” Dante muttered to himself as he put his arms through the sleeves. He made a mental note to find a healer in town to examine the strange mark. He inspected the rest of his body and was relieved to find nothing else growing on him. He stretched as he unleashed a yawn before exiting the room. He was greeted by the scent of pancakes cooking as he regarded the damage from the previous day.

Various pieces of furniture had been destroyed and were still scattered around the main floor. Torn pages and books were mixed into the mess while the walls bore a few scorch marks. He grimaced as he picked up a book only to have it disintegrate in his hand. He found one book on the history of Equestria, the slightly blackened pages held firm under the heavier cover which had taken most of the damage. Silently he sat down with the book and began to read. Starting first with the founding of the nation and the three tribes, and continuing until he reached the story of the fall of the Lunar Princess and her banishment. He was interrupted by the sound of Twilight entering the room. He closed the book and turned to see her with a plate of pancakes and juice balanced on her back. “Good morning Twilight.”

“Oh, I didn’t know you were awake,” Twilight said as she levitated the food onto the table. She noticed the book in front of him and gave him an inquisitive stare. “What are you reading?”

“It’s the history of Equestria,” Dante replied as he flipped  through the pages. He stopped at the diagram of the elements before pushing the book back towards Twilight. “It mentions the Elements of Harmony a few times but never goes into detail. Do you have any other book on the subject?”

“Yes I do,” Twilight said as she got up from her cushion. She went over to one of the bookshelves where she began to rummage through it, not noticing the weakened state of the bookshelf. “Here it is! The Elements of Harmony: A Reference Guide.”

“Twilight, the bookcase!” Dante shouted as he ran towards the stunned mare. The bookshelf gave a creak as it began to fall towards Twilight. Dante summoned a quick burst of wind and propelled himself forward as he grabbed Twilight and used one hand to hold up the bookshelf.

Twilight found herself pressed closely to Dante’s chest with an arm wrapped around the small of her back. She felt Dante edge away from the bookcase with his arm still wrapped around her. He fell back as he let go of the bookcase falling to the floor on his back. Twilight’s mind flashed to some of the cheesy romance novels that Rarity had lent her as her arms clung to Dante’s body.  She was on top of him, staring directly into his eyes as he breathed heavily. She pressed herself deeper onto his body as she felt the safety of his arms release her. A warm feeling made itself apparent in her chest as she looked at the Dante’s worried expression as he checked her for any injuries. A sudden creak sounded as the door opened and a group of figures entered the library.

“I’m telling you Moe, I think she’s got something against me!” Coppa’s voice rang out as he complained. Moe gave a sigh as he stopped before looking down at Dante and Twilight, causing Coppa to walk into his back. “Hey why’d you—Oh wow Dante, you work quickly I see.”

The comment caused both Dante and Twilight to blush as they separated and got up from the floor. Coppa stood there with his hands on his sides sporting a wide grin, while Moe stood silently with a small amused smile. Twilight fidgeted with the book in her hooves as she tried to avoid their gazes.

“I hope you don’t mind if we borrow our friend for a moment,” Moe said as he sat down on a couch. “Or if we want we could come back in an hour or so.”

“Its fine, what did you guys need?” Dante said as he got up. He brushed a few bits of dust from the book case off his shirt as he glared at his friends. “I’m assuming this is important?”

“Yeah, Rainbow said she was going to show us the town and all the sights!” Coppa said as he went towards the door. “Sam’s gonna join us later though. He was in the middle of something when we found him in the forest.”

“I might as well see what Ponyville has to offer,” Dante said as he began to head towards the door. He turned to Twilight with an apologetic look  as he closed it behind him. Twilight sighed as she levitated the bookshelf back in place before looking at the book on the floor. A thin wave of heat rose to the mares face as she placed the book on a nearby table before the door burst open causing her to jump with a yelp.

“By the way, Pinkie said she needed you for something,” Coppa said as he poked his head through the door. Twilight tried desperately to slow her heartbeat as she breathed heavily. “Didn‘t say what it was about though. Also, could please tell her to stop popping out of nowhere? It’s kinda freaky.”

The door closed before Twilight could respond. She gave a huff as she heard the sounds of Spike waking up. She sat back down at the table and played with her food as the image of Dante holding her caused her to blush again.

*****

“So did you find anything interesting?” Moe asked as Rainbow Dash spoke to Sam and Coppa. She had spent the last few hours dragging the four students around Ponyville. They had stopped at every major spot from the Library, where Dash had gone on a long-winded speech about the greatness of the “Daring Doo” series, to the hospital where they had all guessed Rainbow had spent many nights in.

“I found out a bit about the country’s history and the roles of the princesses,” Dante replied as he recalled what he had read. “The princesses apparently have the power to raise and lower the sun at will. Also, the three types of ponies all came from different tribes.”

“Anything else on the princesses or the elements?”

“I didn’t find much on the elements, and anything concerning the early rule of the Princesses seems pretty vague. Almost like it was heavily edited.”

“Strange, we’ll have to ask if we ever get to see Princess Celestia again.” Moe said as a sudden cough came from behind them. They both turned their heads to see Rainbow Dash giving them an annoyed look. “Sorry Rainbow, what was that?”

“I was asking if there was any other things you wanted to check out?” Dash said as she rolled her eyes. “We’re almost done with the tour.”

“Yeah is there any place where we can get a drink?” Coppa asked as he looked around at the ponies giving them odd glances. Dante’s heart slowed as he heard the question. “Y’know, like alcohol and stuff?”

Please say no for the love of all that is holy.

“There is actually,” Rainbow said with a grin as she looked at Coppa. Dante swore under his breath as Coppa’s grin seemed to grow to immense sizes. He could have sworn that the dwarf also let loose some sort of low rumbling noise that sounded like a squee. “We have a winery that Berry Punch runs. She makes all the wine in Ponyville plus some other drinks.”

“Does she have beer?”

“What’s that?” replied a confused Rainbow who landed next to Coppa. He head cocked to the side as Coppa rummaged through his own bag before withdrawing two glass bottles. He popped the cap off of one and presented it to the rainbow mare who wrapped a hoof around it. She gave a sniff and made a face as she took a sip. She coughed as she swallowed the amber coloured liquid before a smile graced her face. “Wow that’s awesome!”

Oh god, not her too. Dante facepalmed as Rainbow downed the rest of the bottle and lead them to a house where a light purple earth pony was busy staggering around. The pony waved drunkenly as she saw Rainbow Dash approach only to lose her balance. Coppa grabbed the mare before she could hit the ground. She giggled to herself as Coppa helped her to her hooves.

“Well, hiya Rainbow *hic*!” Berry said as she stumbled a bit and knocked into Coppa, who had let go of the mare. “Who are these stallions? They look kinda funny, except you, you’re really soft.”

“Umm, thanks I guess?” Coppa said as the mare began to stroke his ears. Rainbow snickered as Dante had an amused look on his face. Berry started to nuzzle herself against Coppa’s cheek as she wrapped her hooves around his neck. Coppa turned red as he tried to escape the mare’s firm grasp. “Umm Berry was it? Can you let me go now?”

“*Hic* I just love soft things,” Berry said as she sat down with a half-lidded expression. Dante glanced to her side to see a number of wine bottles littering the ground. He continued to watch Berry stroke Coppa’s fur as she ignored his request. “Are you those stallions who saved the town yesterday?”

“Yes that would be us,” Moe said as he gently kept Berry from trying to undress Coppa. The dwarf’s tail twitched in annoyance as he dusted off his pants. Dante tried to stifle a laugh as Coppa glared at him. “Coppa just wanted to ask you a few questions about your inventory.”

“What do ya want to know?” Berry punch asked as Coppa began to withdraw a second bottle of beer from his bag. He gave the bottle to Berry whose expression changed from drunken to a straight face in a flash. She gave a sniff of the contents before taking a sip of the alcohol. “Hmm... Main ingredients are malted barley, water, hops and yeast. Alcohol content, sitting at around fourteen percent but is dependent on the ingredients. Process to create requires heating, boiling, and mashing of the mixture. What do you call this drink?”

“Beer, I was just wondering if you have anything like it.”

“Nope,” Berry said as she giggled and swayed. “Just cider, but I’m all out of that right now.”

“Okay, maybe another time then.” Coppa said as he waved goodbye. The mare giggled happily and waved as the four left. Rainbow gave them directions to Sugarcube Corner, saying that she need to discuss something with Berry. Dante cast a glance at Coppa and the dwarf met his gaze. He let out a defeated sigh as Dante smiled when he turned the corner to the giant bakery. “All right, what are you going to say?”

“Oh, nothing. Just who’s the one that’s working fast with the locals again?.”

Dante could hear Sam and Moe snicker as Coppa’s ears flattened against his head. He let out a grunt as they opened the door to the bakery. They were greeted with a pitch-black room that was deathly quiet.

“Are you sure this is the right place?” Moe said as he tried to find the light switch.

“Yeah. Something seems off,” Coppa said as he edged his way back towards the door. He jumped as the door slammed shut behind them. A sudden flash and stream of confetti caused the four to fall back as a massive crowd of ponies appeared from nowhere.

“SURPRISE!!!” They all shouted in unison as the four scrambled to get up from the pile.

“I can definitely get used to this,” Coppa said with a smile as the ponies all laughed. Dante let out a sigh but felt the corners of his mouth form a smile as he looked at the happy face of Twilight. Coppa laughed as a few ponies helped him up. “You guys are in for one wild night.”