A Night to Remember (or not)

“Have any of you seen Dante?” Twilight asked as she navigated the crowd of ponies dancing in the middle of the room. Moe was talking to Rose, Lily and Daisy as they stared in awe while ignoring an annoyed Rarity. Coppa was in the middle of the party right next to Lyra and Berry punch as they tried to match him in a game of shots. Sam had disappeared but Twilight found him sitting next to Fluttershy who was busy trying to make herself as small and inconspicuous as possible in his presence. None knew where Dante had gone and had suggested the other.

“Maybe he needed a breather,” Twilight said as she tried scanning the crowd again. Her gaze was blocked by a wall of pink as Pinkie shoved her face into Twilight’s. “Uhh, hi Pinkie.”

“Who are you looking for?” Pinkie said as she bounced up and down. “Is it Dante? Coppa was saying something about you two becoming special someponies. Does this mean I can throw another party now? It’ll be like Partyception!”

“Pinkie, I don't know what Coppa told you but he’s just a friend!” Twilight said annoyed as she felt a blush creep on her face. Pinkie just bounced with a large smile adding further insult to injury with her random ways. Twilight took a breath and calmed herself before she spoke up again. “I’m just wondering where he went.”

“He went outside!” Pinkie said as she stopped bouncing and pointed a hoof at the door. Sure enough, Twilight could see a part of Dante as he stood next to the doorway. The Diablon was busy staring into space as he swirled the drink in his hand. He had an indifferent expression as he watched the ponies come and go from the party exchanging hellos and goodbyes to those who stopped. Twilight‘s mood fell a bit as she thought back to when she had first arrived in Ponyville. Pinkie in the meantime had bounced back to the dance floor and was egging on a teetering Lyra while Coppa and Berry Punch sat back unfazed.

“I’ll just go have a talk with him,” Twilight said, cringing when Lyra fell to the floor unconscious. She levitated a glass of punch and took a sip before heading towards the door while the others made sure the fallen pony was unhurt.

“Undefeated!” Coppa shouted while a few ponies around him cheered. Twilight only caught the collective sigh from both Moe and Rarity as they watched Coppa stand on the table while doing a small jig with Berry Punch.

****

Dante took a sip from his glass as he looked at the night sky. He sighed as he heard the noises of the ponies and his friends enjoying the party. Staring into the night sky, he leaned against the wall of the bakery and watched as a star shot across the sky. He had never been one for parties, but the beat of the electronic music had started to catch his attention. He drummed his finger on the wall behind him as he began to quietly hum to himself.

His mind drifted off as he began to go over the few things had managed to learn from Equestria’s history. His focus however, was on the six elements. They were a source of great power and had been used to defeat anything that threatened Equestria. Powerful enough to defeat the god of chaos and banish one of the two diarchs. His thoughts ended as a sharp pain lanced through his head followed by a dark voice.

But will that petty power stop me? Will they be enough to save this land?

Dante’s eyes widened as he recognized the voice from his nightmares. He slowed his breathing as he tried to regain his composure. More pain came as he tried to suppress the voice as though it was resisting his attempts. A moan of pain escaped from his lips as he clutched his head. A final push ended the pain just as the voice intensified.

How long will you be able to suppress me Dante? How long until it happens again? You can try but you’ll never wash the guilt away.

No I won’t free you again! I can stop it this time! I won’t let you hurt anyone else!

Deny me all you want, I shall be the one in control. You four will be these ponies’ downfall.

“Are you alright Dante?” Twilight asked with worry in her voice. Dante cringed as he saw her poke her head out of the doorway. His head throbbed slightly as he sat down on a crate.

“Yes, I’m fine Twilight,” Dante lied as the voice died down. He hid his shaking hands behind him as he took a deep breath. The cool night air felt cold against his brow as the mare gave him a worried look. He looked around as his hands finished shaking before he tried to divert attention away from himself. “Beautiful night isn’t it?”

Twilight kept her eyes on the Diablon for few lingering seconds before turning towards the night sky. She turned back to him as she exited the doorway and took a seat next to him. He eyed her cautiously as his nerves righted themselves. He flexed his fingers a few times before he sent a small stream of magic to his hand.

Twilight gasped as the air hissed and popped while small red flames danced in Dante’s palm. She stared as the flames grew more intense and slowly began to engulf the outstretched limb. No signs of any sort of strain were visible on his face as the flame flickered. As suddenly as it began, the flames extinguished themselves as Dante balled his hands. He looked towards Twilight who was still staring at his hand. “How did you do that?”

“The flames?”

“Yes, I wanted to ask about the magic in your world. More specifically, the magic you use.”

Dante sighed as he flexed his hands again. They both watched as instead of a flame, a small ball of electricity formed in his palm. Twilight stared in amazement as he did the same motions a few more time changing the form and element of magic in his palm. “Might as well get it over with. What do you want to know?”

“Everything,” Twilight said, barely containing a squeal of excitement as she watched Dante stretch his arm. The flames ignited once again and he held the flame towards Twilight. She looked at it uncertainly before she tried touching it with her hoof. Instead of a burning sensation, she felt a pleasant warmth as the flame left Dante’s grasp and rested on her hoof. She stared at the flickering flame as it changed colour every few moments. She watched as Dante drew a circle in the dirt with a short line in the middle of the circle. Four smaller circles were placed at various points on the circle while two were placed at the opposite ends of the centred line. “How do you use magic?”

“Wizards like me draw our magic from these elements and the reserves of magic or mana that we are born with.”

“Your kind has elements too?”

“Sort of. In my world, there are six natural elements that all magic draws from. They are fire, water, electricity, and earth,” Dante said as he pointed at each individual circle. He then pointed at the last two in the centre. “These two represent light and dark.”

“Why are they in the centre though?” Twilight asked as she regarded the flame in her hoof. She turned her head towards Dante who was still staring at the diagram. “What makes them different?”

“Each element has its strengths and weaknesses. The wheel represents these,” Dante said as he pointed at the first circle. “Water may be strong against fire, but it is weak to electric attacks. In this case light magic is both weak and strong against dark magic. No other element really affects them that much.”

“So you can control all these elements?” Twilight asked. She let out a surprised squeak as the flames in her hoof suddenly sputtered and died out. She rubbed the spot as the warmth of the magic faded.

“Most of them,” Dante replied as he erased the diagram. He sat back down as he took a final swig from his cup. He set down the cup as he cracked his knuckles. “I can control the four outer elements but light magic isn’t my specialty. That type of magic is mainly used by other classes, like clerics.”

“What about this one?” Twilight said pointing at the final element. She saw Dante’s expression grow pained as her hoof pointed at the element of darkness. She retracted her hoof and gently placed it on his shoulder while giving him a concerned look. “Are you okay?”

“I’d rather not talk about that one Twilight,” Dante said as he erased the drawing. Twilight wanted to push the subject but stopped herself as she saw the beginning of tears start to build up in his eyes. Dante noticed her staring and quickly wiped his eyes. “Sorry, wind got something in my eye. Anything else you want to ask?”

“Just one last thing,” Twilight said as she scooted closer to him. Dante readied himself for whatever he thought the intelligent mare might have about his magic or world. “Can I touch your horns?”

“What?” Dante said as he stared at Twilight who shuffled uncomfortably. A moment of silence passed as he registered the request. It seemed innocent, but the rather abrupt change of direction in the conversation caused him to do a double take.

“Can I ask why?”

Twilight was silent for a moment before her mouth opened. “I was curious about their purpose.” She pointed towards her own horn while Dante watched as a magenta aura surrounded it. “I thought maybe they were like unicorn horns. I wanted to test my hypothesis if that’s okay with you.”

“I guess it can’t hurt to try,” Dante said as he lowered his head towards Twilight. He watched as the purple hoof slowly made its way before grazing the side of his left horn. A shiver ran down his spine as the hoof found its way along the length of the horn before resting at the tip. As much as he hated to admit it, Diablon horns were extremely sensitive. They acted as a sensor, locating sources of magic that were abundant back home. He didn’t really understand why he was letting the purple unicorn inspect them. It just seemed like he could trust her and it confused him to no end.

“Not as sharp as I expected,” Twilight muttered as her horn began to glow. Dante’s eyes widened as the words brought back a bittersweet memory. He felt a warmth escape from his eyes as images he fought to suppress flashed before his eyes. For a moment, Twilight’s mane changed colour to a bright red as the rest of her body became more human. He lowered his head as a few tears fell from his eyes while Twilight finished her analysis. She lifted her head as Dante wiped his eyes with his sleeve. “Dante, what’s wrong?”

The mare reminds you of her? Good, then you know what to expect.

“Nothing,” Dante said as he rose from his seat. Twilight wanted to protest but her mind told her to not press the issue. Out of the four arrivals, Dante was the hardest to read and she didn't wish to push him away. Yet there was something dark about him that sent shivers up her spine. An unknown factor that made him more dangerous than the others that seemed to weigh him down. She decided to investigate it later, she had a party to help keep control of. Yet her heart fell as she saw Applejack trot towards Coppa with a scowl and a barrel of hard cider on her back.

This can't be good.

****

“Pardon?” Coppa stood still with an amused grin as he regarded the sour looking pony in front of him. The entire room had gone silent as the tension steadily rose. His furred ear flicked as he caught the soft whispers of a few onlookers. To his surprise, even Pinkie had stopped bouncing and wore a concerned expression. He sighed as he decided to play dumb as he regarded the second barrel of cider that brought in by Big Mac. “You wanna run that by me again?”

“Ya heard me!” Applejack scowled as her voice rose. She tapped a hoof against the barrel marked with at least six large black X’s. “I challenge ya to a drinkin contest! If ah win, ya leave the farm.”

“Coppa, think this through,” Moe said as he tried to defuse the situation. Coppa just stood there calmly as his gaze shifted from Applejack to the barrels. He chuckled as he thought about how ridiculous the situation looked. He had faced down dragons, giants and all sorts of other monsters that would make these ponies wet themselves.

“Sorry but I refuse,” Coppa said as he got up from his chair. He could clearly hear the sighs of relief coming from his friends. A small smile formed on his face as Dante and Sam nodded in respect at his decision. He flashed a grin at Moe as his gloated silently. "I got better things to do."

Suck it Moe, you’re not the only one who can be “Mature.” Now only to find the bathroom and-

“Yer just a bucking coward!” Applejack swore as Coppa stopped in his tracks. He was about to disregard the comment until the mare opened her mouth again. “A no-good bucking mangy, cowardly mutt!”

Fuck maturity! This bitch is so going down! Coppa thought as he sat back down, a frown replacing the confident smirk. He slammed down two mugs as he stared directly into Applejack’s eyes causing the mare to flinch. His neck cracked as he rotated his head. He cracked each knuckle as he poured the cider into both mugs before handing the orange mare one. Applejack was taken back as she watched him down his first mug and slamming it down, denting the table. He spat on the ground as he cleared his throat. “Your turn.”