A Demon, a Devil, and Ponies

Chapters

Ch. 2 - A New Evil
Ch. 3 - Blending In
Ch. 4 - Good Times
Ch. 6 - Just Below the Surface
Ch. 7 - Who are you?
Ch. 8 - Lookin' at You
Ch. 9 - Cue the Fight Music
Ch. 10 - Can't wait to see that fight in 3D
Ch. 11 - Concessions, Confessions, and a Few Mean Words.
Ch. 12 - The Problem(s)
Ch. 13 - Insert Generic Chapter Title Here
Ch. 14 - Frenemies
Ch. 15 - Running Gags? Perhaps.
Ch. 16 - Well, that happened.
Ch. 17 - Meh, it was more dramatic the first time
Ch. 18 - Do What it Takes
Ch. 19 - The Plan
Ch. 21 - What did they expect?
Ch. 22 - Facing Your Demons
Ch. 23 - Helping Friends
Ch. 24 - Hark! The Battle Begins!
Ch. 25 - Get Ready
Ch. 26 - Aselith
Ch. 27 - Goodbye
Ch. 1 - Welcome to Equestria
Ch. 5 - Making Friends in all the Right Places
Ch. 20 - Bad Idea, Bad Dreams, Bad Person

Ch. 2 - A New Evil

('Thoughts written like this' "Sending messages written like this")

“Discord!" Celestia yells as she stands from throne and teleports. She ends up outside a vault in the castle. Ever since Discord escaped the first time, Celestia has had him kept in a separate vault, away from any chaotic or disharmonious energy that may come near him. As she moves to the vault, Luna appears next to her.

“Sister!” Luna exclaims to Celestia. “Is Discord…?”

“We shall soon see.” Celestia aims her horn at the lock and applies her magic to it, unlocking it. The large, metal door creaks as it slowly opens, revealing its sole resident: Discord, still incased in his stone prison.

“Thank goodness he is not free.” Celestia sighs with relief.

Luna looks at the statue with scrutiny before turning back to her sister. “But if it’s not Discord, then what was that surge of magic? And what is this evil feeling in the air?”

“I don’t know, but we’re going to find out. I’ll inform captain Shining Armor to have his troops keep a lookout for anything out of the ordinary. For now, we must stay calm. No need to cause anypony to panic over nothing.”

~ _ ~ _ ~ _ ~ _ ~

“What the shit is that supposed to mean?!” Dante yells at Aselith while drawing his blade and parrying a charging wolf. “And what the shit are these thing?!”

“Too many questions. You’re smart; you’ll figure it all out. I’ll be seeing you around.” Aselith turns and changes his form to that of a semi-glowing ball of light and zips away, swerving around the trees.

“Get back here!” Dante takes off after Aselith, flying through the air as fast as his magic will let him.

“Dante! Wait!” Iatril calls after him, only to be returned with silence.

Dante is zigzagging through the trees, barely able to see where his prey has gone, let alone catch up with him. As he passes tree after tree, he notices something: the trees are becoming less and less ominous. They begin looking more and more like any other tree one would expect to find in a forest, though he was moving far too fast to properly identify them. After a few minutes of nigh aimless flight, Dante emerges from the forest to see a small village before him. He lands on the ground to take measure of his surroundings.

‘I can’t believe this!’ he thinks to himself. ‘We had him! We actually had him! The second I’m about to end all of this, he goes and escapes because of that stupid wizard! I’m going to tear that worm apart!’

He focuses his magic on his thoughts and sends a message to Iatril. “Aselith is gone. Escaped through the forest. Probably jumped into the plane of shadows. Unable to track. How’s your situation?”

He moves to a nearby rock and sits on it, crossing his legs. “Wooden wolves subdued. No serious injury. Wizard is dead. Killed by wolves. Remains thoroughly obliterated from pre-cast spell. Location?”

‘Great. The one person we might’ve been able to get information from is gone with no intact corpse. As much as I hate Aselith, I have to give credit where credit is due. He knows how to cover his tracks.’ He takes a moment to look around for any signs or notable landmarks to give a hint to their location. When he sees one, he can barely hold back a laugh. Some distance between himself and the village is a sign with the words “Welcome to Ponyville” written on it. 'Surely the townsfolk or local governor could have thought of a better name.' Then again, Dante is no creative genius when it comes to naming things. His familiar’s name is Raven for goodness’ sake. He didn’t even bother giving it any name besides what animal it is. ‘Oh yeah, where is my familiar?’ He focuses again and sends another message.

“Name of nearby village is ‘Ponyville’. Never heard of village before. No discernible landmarks besides mountains. They appear to have a city atop them.”

“Not familiar with the name or landmark. I’ll move to you. Your location?”

“Straight from where I left the wolves. Due…north? Is my familiar there with you?”

“‘Sigh’ yes, your familiar is here. Meet you soon.”

With that, Dante relaxed and really began taking in his surroundings. To his right, some distance away, stood a house that looked like it was built into or around a tree, resembling a mushroom in appearance. The house itself was covered in a moss like roof with yellow walls and several glass windows on the sides. ‘Someone is either really creative or really eccentric to put expensive glass in a forest home.’ A tree in front of the house had several little boxes hanging on the branches, almost resembling small houses. ‘I take that back, they’re just crazy. Who would take the time to build small houses for…what? Birds? Squirrels? Or…wait. Maybe it’s some sort of ritualistic thing. Maybe those are for the ashes of dead family members. Either way, whoever lives there is probably not right in the head. I mean, Iatril has taken care of animals before, but mostly just nursing them back to health or training them. Sometimes she keeps a few around to live with, but the animals only stay for few months at a time. Those little box-homes look like they are built to last. An admirable thing to put such conviction into your work, if not a little off-putting.’

He turns his attention to the village before him, noting the architecture and layout from his vantage point. He can see that the homes are built of a healthy looking wood and the roofs made from packed straw. The walls of the buildings have several darker planks of wood that would appear to separate the floors of the buildings and reinforce the integrity of the walls. ‘So, there is a village of aristocrats living in the middle of nowhere. Okay. I can handle that.’ What he sees next is not so easy to accept. Around one of the buildings trots a teal colored horse. ‘Um…what?’ The horse has a similar colored mane and tail, both with a strip of white running through them. It also appears to have a teal colored horn and a brand on its flank. At first, the brand looks to be a horseshoe, but after a moment Dante sees that it is actually a lyre. ‘Oookay. So…there is a teal unicorn with a lyre branded on its flank. Okay, I can still handle this.’ Around the same building corner trots another horse, this one cream colored with a long pink and dark blue mane and tail that curls at the ends. On the flank of this horse are three strange, striped symbols, all light blue in color. ‘I, uh…I’m not sure…what?’ What’s more, these two horses appear to be talking with each other. ‘…’

~ _ ~ _ ~ _ ~ _ ~

Iatril walks to the edge of the forest with Flurry and Raven, only to be stopped by Dante, who is standing in the middle of their path, waving his hands around like a mad man.

“Iatril! Horses! Colored! Talking!”

The wolf, the elf, and the raven all exchange looks. “Dante,” Iatril says in a calming voice, “what are you talking about?”

“In the village! Talking, multicolored horses!”

Iatril gives him a look before walking around him to observe the village. Exiting the forest, she looks to the village to see what Dante could be so worked up about. Immediately, she sees several of these horses walking around.

“Dante, those are ponies, not horses.”

“Yeah, and every square is a rectangle, but not the other way around. Who cares! The point is, I’ve never seen creatures like them before!”

“So? What’s the big deal? I haven’t either, and you don’t see me walking around and screaming my head off about it.”

“I know of every creature in existence! Every magical beast, every form of outsider. Hell, even every animal and plant!”

“So you missed a species. It’s not that bad. That’s what learning is for. Now you can learn about a whole new species. You should be happy.”

“No, this isn’t right. I know this isn’t right. I just can’t explain why.”

Iatril puts her hand on his shoulder. “Look, it’ll be alright. We can worry about this later. First thing’s first: have you contacted the army?”

Dante calms himself before speaking. “No, not yet. I’ll get right on that.”

He takes a moment to concentrate on the lieutenant he spoke with last time. ‘Maybe talking to that human will help calm me down a little. Hearing of another’s impending doom can really take your mind off of the little problems in life.’

After a moment of concentration, he sends out the message. “Lieutenant, Aselith has escaped. We will gather what intelligence we can. Unknown location. Status update.”

The simple things in life have always had a way of calming Dante. A walk around town, studying a new spell, assassinating a high priest, the simple things. Hearing about the deaths of hundreds of humans at the wretched hands of ghouls and zombies should really brighten his day.

After half a minute with no answer, Dante sends the message again. ‘Odd. He should have responded immediately. Ooh, maybe he died too!’ After another thirty-some seconds, there is still no reply.

“Hey, Iatril, I think the lieutenant is dead too. I’ll try someone else.” And with that, he began trying to contact every officer whose name he bothered to learn. After every attempt, he was met with silence. “Uh, scratch that. I think everyone is dead.”

“Really?”

“Maybe. Or at least the officers. I’m going to contact the king and let him know.” ‘And tell him his army was worthless and he should feel terrible for ordering them all to their deaths. Heh.’

“King Obadiah, I can’t reach your army through my spell. Assume all dead. Aselith as escaped. Unknown location. Will pursue. Respond.” Dante waits for a response, looking back to the village to see even more ponies walking around. ‘Unbelievable.’

Dante gives the king a full minute before sending the same message again, hoping for a response. Another minute passes and then…nothing. No response.

“Iatril…I can’t contact the king either.”

Iatril looks on with concern. “How is that? Did Aselith hit you with a spell or something to stop you?”

“There is no spell, at least none that can be seen by either of us. Something like this shouldn’t be able to happen unless they are specifically trying to block spells on their side. The only other way to prevent a Sending spell from reaching its destination is if we were on two separate planes, and even then it’s unlikely to interfere. Something else must be blocking me, something about this place. I can try divining the answer after we rest and change spells.”

“Alright. Until then, we can learn about this new race. We can go into town and--”

“No.” Dante turns back to the forest and starts walking into it.

“No? Why not? Didn’t you just have a problem with not knowing what they are?”

“Several reasons. First off, we have no idea how these creatures will react to us. They could be friendly or hostile with unknown beings. Second—”

“Hostile? Dante, have you taken a close look at them? I’ve never seen a group of creatures so happy together. They are literally walking around with smiles on their faces. I doubt they could be that hostile.”

“I can name at least three creatures that look friendly or appealing and, once you lower your defenses, have no problem attacking and killing you.”

“Name them.”

“Succubi, Nymphs and Merfolk.”

“Merfolk are tricksters, not killers. And have you ever seen a Nymph try to seduce and kill someone?”

“Yes, twice. Both times me.”

“But why would a Nymph try to kill you? Nymphs are generally good creature who…oh.”

“Don’t like demons, and I have enough demonic energy coursing through me to be confused as one, easily. This brings me to reason number two: if they are such good creatures, my presence would do nothing less than incur their wrath, should they have any.”

“Okay, so you stay in the forest and I’ll go investigate them.”

“Which brings us back to my first point of how they will react.”

“Dante, it will be fine. Look, if you are so concerned about this, and I can feel that you are, I’ll just take on their form. Both of us can freely shift forms for the next few hours. I’ll take on the form of a pony and go into town. AND, before you mention it, I’ll leave Flurry here. I won’t bring a large, magical wolf into a town of ponies.”

Dante looks around for a second, as if looking for an argument to prevent her from going. “Okay, fine. But take Raven. I am actually curious about them and I’m in tune enough with Raven to actually see and hear through him. Which type are you going to go as anyways? Normal, unicorn, or pegasus?”

“Well, I was…pegasus?”

“Yeah, there’s one flying over the town now. See?” He points over the windmill where a cyan pegasus is flying towards the center of town, moving lower as it does so.

“Oh wow.” She has a look on her face of utter enjoyment.

‘Wow.’ Dante thinks. ‘150 years old and she still acts like a child. She probably doesn’t even really care that it’s a new race. She just wants to get a closer look, just like a child would. Well, a child who can command the forces of nature itself and break a solid rock in half with a punch. Whatever, I still get to learn from this, so it doesn’t matter her reasons. Besides, she isn’t the same child I met all those years ago anymore. She knows what she’s doing.’

“Ahem. So, which type?”

“Pegasus.”

“Figures.”

She takes a moment to prepare herself for this new form. While she has taken on the form of a horse before, she has never taken the form of a majestic pegasus, especially not one so small. Her body begins shrinking and shaping itself. Her arms and legs are replaced with hooves, her clothes merging with her body, exposing her now light green coat of fur. A pair of light green, feathered wings sprouts from either side of her. Her hair is freed from its bindings and hangs behind her head, still as golden as ever, with a tail the same brilliant color stretching out of her flank. Her blue eyes grew wider to match that of the ponies in town. Around her neck clung the jade jewelry, more firmly clasped to her than before. At the end of her transformation, she looked indistinguishable from the other ponies. Well, mostly.

“How do I look?” She asks in a voice higher than her own.

“Like a strangely colored pony.”

“Good. I’ll head into town and see what I can find out.” She turns to leave.

“Uh, I think you’re forgetting something.”

She turns back around to face the human. “What am I missing? I’m the same size, I have the wings, and my coat is colorful. What could I possibly be forgetting?”

“The brand.”

“The what?”

Dante walks over to the pony-shaped elf and points to a group of ponies. “All these ponies seem to have some sort of brand on their flanks. I saw one with a lyre, another with an unbound scroll, and a big one with a green apple.”

“Hmmm. Oh, I know!” In an instant, a pair of spikey, green leaves with red berries appears on either side of her flank. “Holly! How’s that?”

“You are an artist in your own right.”

She sticks her tongue out at him and starts trotting off. “I’ll be back in a few hours. Until then, try to cheer up. I can really feel your animosity right now.”

“Yeah, yeah. Have fun with the ponies.” He looks over at the raven perched on the back of the wolf. “Go, Raven.” At once, the bird flies off and lands on the back of Iatril as she trots over to the village. “So, Flurry. What should we do while we wait?”

The wolf simply turns and walks into the forest. “Fine, don’t talk to me. You never have anything good to talk about anyways.”

~ _ ~ _ ~ _ ~ _ ~

To say that Iatril was excited wouldn’t begin to describe how she felt. All around her were these wondrous and beautiful creatures. Every one of them she passed had greeted her with a smile on their face, and she returned nothing less.

Near the center of town she found a market. She saw many ponies selling their wares to others. In one part there’s an orange pony with three apples on her flank, a blonde mane, and form of hat on her head selling apples and some interesting pastry items. In another there’s an off-white coated pony with two shades of red in her mane selling flowers. She was so enthralled with all the ponies around her she didn’t even notice the pony in her way until she ran right into her. Both Iatril and her obstacle fell to the ground in a daze, the raven barely keeping his footing on Iatril’s back.

“Owe. Sorry about that, I wasn’t watching where I was going.” Iatril says to the curled up pony before her. “Are you alright?”

The curled up mare peaks her face up from behind her long, pink mane. “Y-yes.” She says barely above a whisper. “Sorry.” She says even more quietly.

“Oh no, it’s my fault. Here, let me help you.” She walks over to the yellow pony and helps her onto her hooves. At this point, she can see that this pony is a pegasus as well. “Again, I apologize. I’m new here and got so taken in by everything that I wasn’t paying attention.”

“Oh, that’s alright.” The timid pegasus said with a bit more confidence.

“What’s your name?” Iatril asks yellow pony before her.

“Um…I’m Fluttershy.”

“I’m Iatril.”

“That’s an interesting name.” Fluttershy says before hiding behind her mane again.

“Thanks. If it’s not too much trouble, could you tell me a little about Ponyville?”

“Oh, uh…certainly. If you want, I can introduce you to my friends so you have ponies you know here. That is, if that’s alright with you.”

“That sounds nice, thank you.”

The pair walk over to the apple stand where the orange pony was selling her wares.

“Well howdy, Fluttershy.” The pony greets with a strange accent. “Who’s yer friend?”

“This is Iatril. I just met her here and offered to introduce her to you and the others.”

“Well that’s mighty kind of ya, Fluttershy.” She turns to face Iatril. “Mah name’s Applejack.” She says, holding out her hoof Iatril.

“Hello Applejack. It’s nice to meet you.” Iatril replies, moving her hoof to meet Applejack’s, only to have it furiously shook, leaving it a little shaky when she set it back on the ground.

“Is that there raven yer pet?” She points a hoof at the raven perched on Iatril’s back.

‘Oh. I’d completely forgotten about him.’ She thought.

“Yes. He was…given to me by my friend. His name is Raven.”

Applejack looks at Iatril with skepticism. “Raven, huh?”

“Y-yeah. My friend named him. He isn’t very creative.” Raven pecks Iatril in the back of the head, earning an annoyed look from her.

“I heard that.” Said the voice of Dante in her mind.

“I could tell.” Iatril replied in kind.

“So,” Applejack continues, “what brings y’all to Ponyville?”

“Well, my friend and I are searching for someone and got lost, so I came into town to ask around while he stayed behind."

Fluttershy perks up after hearing this. “Oh, I didn’t know you had a friend with you. Is he around here?"

“Yeah, he’s waiting in the forest right outside of town.”

“T-The forest? Y-You mean t-the Everfree Forest?” Fluttershy was starting to breathe faster and more deeply.

“Maybe? It’s the forest that’s near the little cottage at the edge of town. Why?”

Fluttershy quickly falls over, rigid, after hearing this.

“What in tarnation is yer friend doing in there?!” Applejack speaks up, almost upset.

“Well, we got here through the forest. What’s so bad about it?”

Fluttershy curls up in a ball, shivering, before speaking up. “T-there are scary monsters that live there. There’s manticores, and timber wolves, and even a dragon!”

“Timber wolves? You mean the wooden creatures? They weren’t a problem for us. I may not look it, but I’m pretty good in a fight.”

“But what about yer friend? Is he gonna be alright alone?”

“Oh, he’ll be just fine. He’s quite the magician, I’m sure he can handle himself…”

‘Oh wait! Do they have magic? I mean, there are unicorns here, but I don’t know if they have magic powers or not! This could be bad.’

“Oh. Yer friend’s a unicorn then. Still though, he shouldn’t be waiting around in the forest. It’s dangerous.”

“She’s right. I mean, a manticore might show up and I’d have to snuff the life force out of it. Oh woe is me.”

“Be silent!”

“He’ll be fine. He’s done some pretty dangerous things before. This is normal for him.”

“Oh great,” Applejack says, her voice dripping with sarcasm, “just what we need: another thrill seeker. We should introduce him to Rainbow Dash. I bet they’d get along well.”

“Who’s that?”

“Only the greatest flyer in all of Equestria!” Said an almost raspy voice. A cyan pegasus landed right behind Iatril and Fluttershy, eliciting a squeak from the yellow pegasus. “Sorry Flutters.”

“Rainbow! Shouldn’t you be working the weather right now?” Applejack stared menacingly at the cyan pegasus.

“Oh, lighten up Applejack. I can take care of that in ten seconds flat! Besides, I overheard something about some ponies living in the Everfree Forest, so I had to come down and find out about that!”

“Oh, we aren’t living there, just passing through.” Iatril says.

“But he’s there right now, isn’t he?”

“Well, yeah, but—”

“So he’s in the forest, just waiting around for something to come after him?”

“Well, I wouldn’t say that.”

“I would, since it’s actually true.”

“I told you to shush!”

“Huh. Maybe I should head over there and see what he’s like and—”

“NO!” Iatril shouts, earning three sets of eyes on her, one of which is partly hidden behind a long, pink mane. “I mean…he isn’t very sociable. He likes to keep to himself, mostly.”

“Heh, his loss. He doesn’t know what he’s missing. Plenty of ponies would love the chance to meet me.” Rainbow boasts, puffing out her chest while doing so.

“Sure Dash, whatever ya say.” Replied Applejack, voice full of sarcasm again.

There was silence between them for half a minute before Fluttershy spoke up. “Well, I guess we should head out so I can show you more of Ponyville. Um, if you’d like to, that is.”

“That would be great, Fluttershy.” Iatril says quickly, happy to have an excuse to end the awkward situation. “It was nice meeting you two. We’ll have to meet again sometime.” And with that, the two pegasi left the apple stall.

“Okay, what’s with that look AJ? I know something’s up.” Rainbow Dash said to her friend once the pair of pegasi were out of hearing.

“I don’t know, Dash. Somethin’ just ain’t right about what she said.”

“You think she made it all up?”

“No, but she definitely weren’t honest about it. Maybe you should take a look around the Everfree Forest.”

Rainbow is almost taken aback by this. “You actually want me to go into the forest?”

“Only if you’re fine with it, and only around the edge. I just don’t feel right about her.”

“Hmmm, yeah, I guess you’re right. I’ll take care of the weather and then head over there.”

~ _ ~ _ ~ _ ~ _ ~

‘Well,’ thought Dante, ‘I’m bored listening in on her conversations. Guess I’ll scry around for a while and see what I can pick up.’

Dante pulls out a long, thin needle from his belt and draws a circle with it in the air. A moment later, a small hole appears where he drew the circle. He reaches his hand in and pulls out a crystal ball the size of a human skull. After that, the hole promptly disappears. The ball itself appears foggy on the inside of it. The fog is a purple, swirling pattern that almost seems to react to his touch.

The mage holds the crystal ball in his hands and focuses his magic into it.

“Show me Aselith.” He says in a strong, stern voice.

No image flows into ball, but a pressure is felt by the mage.

“I figured you wouldn’t go around without some form of protection about you. That’s fine.” The mage pulls out the needle again, tracing another circle in the air. The portal opens again and he reaches in, pulling out a small lens connected to a thin metal shaft about a foot long. He walks over to the forest’s edge and looks through the lens, towards the city on the mountains. Through the lens, he can see the streets of the city, full with all types and colors of ponies walking around. He even spots a few who seem to be wearing some sort of shirt over their front half.

‘Well…that’s just silly’

The mage walks back into the forest and sets the lens down, holding up the crystal ball again.

“Show me…that pony” He says to the ball.

After about a minute of bizarre patterns forming in the sphere, it finally shows the pony in mind. The unicorn is wearing what looks to be fine clothing, coving his front half from around his neck to his front hooves, down halfway his stomach. Part of the clothing on top of his back stretch over either side of his flank. On said flank appear three golden crowns, each with about three points on them. His mane and tail are silky and a nice indigo color, and on one of his eyes rests a monocle.

“Now then, let’s see where you lead me."

~ _ ~ _ ~ _ ~ _ ~

Over two hours have passed since the two pegasi started their walk around Ponyville. Fluttershy was showing Iatril around everywhere she could think of. Several times they stopped to talk about different animals they’ve seen or taken care of, and that would either keep them in one spot or lead them in a circle around a few streets. Several times, Iatril earned herself a peck from the raven on her back whenever he thought she may be saying too much, and every time the raven earned a glare from Iatril. Eventually, they ran into an over excited pink pony with a darker pink mane and three colored ovals on her flank. She didn’t stay long; just long enough to look at Iatril, gasp, and run off in a cloud of smoke. Fluttershy had to explain that ‘Pinkie Pie was just being Pinkie Pie’ and she should probably expect a welcome party later on. Iatril had to decline, saying she would need to leave for the forest before too long.

Their tour of the village ended in the early evening, just outside the large, hollowed out tree that Fluttershy said was the library and home to her friend, Twilight Sparkle.

“Thank you very much for showing me around, Fluttershy.” Iatril said, bowing as she said so.

“Oh, it was my pleasure. Are you going to be staying in town for a while?”

“Well, maybe. I hope so. It was so nice to slow down and meet some new peop–ponies. I haven’t done that in a long time.”

“I hope you do too.” Fluttershy looks around for a bit before continuing. “Um, if you want, so you don’t have to stay in the Everfree Forest, you could stay at my house for the night. And your friend can come too.”

“That’s very kind of you, Fluttershy, but I couldn’t. I wouldn’t want to impose on you.”

“Oh, it wouldn’t be a problem at all. I have plenty of room.”

Iatril looks at her caringly. “That’s sweet of you, but I still can’t. My friend is expecting me back in the forest soon, and he has the magic to keep us safe during the night. He would insist that we do so as well, anyways, and he can be very persistent.”

“Oh, okay…” She looks away slightly.

Iatril looks at her and quickly speaks up. “But, maybe I can stay over tomorrow. I don’t think my friend would mind too much about it.” She braces herself for another peck from the raven, maybe even a full on assault, but nothing comes. When she looks at the raven, it’s just looking off at the sky, not seeming to care at all.

“That would be nice.” Fluttershy says, snapping Iatril back to attention.

“Well, until tomorrow then. Goodbye, Fluttershy.” Iatril gives Fluttershy a quick hug and trots in the direction of the forest.

“B-bye” Fluttershy manages to squeak out.

~ _ ~ _ ~ _ ~ _ ~

At the edge of the forest, Iatril looks around for any sign of motion. She sees none.

“Dante! You here?” She calls out, to no avail.

She walks into the forest and looks around the spot Dante and Flurry were last seen, only to find a dead manticore lying on the forest floor, about as pale as a ghost. ‘Wow, he really did run into a manticore.’ Then, she notices a small movement on one of the trees. When she gets closer to it, she finds it to be an eyeball with spider legs coming out of it.

“Oh, hello there.” She says to the organ. “So, where is Dante hiding at?” She asks, waving a hoof forward to move it along. The eye crawls down the tree and begins moving across the forest floor, walking over any leafy or wooden obstacle in its way, with Iatril close behind it. The eye leads them to a large rock standing tall over Iatril. Once they arrive, a horizontal white line appears a few inches off the rock. The line quickly opens like a mouth, about the size of a doorway. From the white light steps Dante with his left eye missing.

“Took you long enough. I thought you’d never get back.” He says, picking up the spider-like eye and sticking it into his socket, aligning it with his other eye.

“I was on a tour with Fluttershy, remember? Of course it was going to take a while. I learned much from her.”

“I learned much too. For starters, Aselith is still smart enough to shield himself from my sight. More importantly, I was able to scry in the city on the mountain while you were in town. But first, let’s retire to the mansion.” And with that, he turns back into the doorway, leaving Iatril to follow after. As soon as she enters, the portal closes and vanishes from sight.

“So, why did you need to set up the mansion so early anyways?” Iatril asks, resuming her own form.

“The cyan pegasus came by looking for me, so I had to make myself scarce, as well as Flurry. I set an eye out to keep watch for her if she came down and when she left, and for when you got back. She did end up finding the dead manticore though. Needless to say, her reaction was priceless.”

Several glowing forms came around them, carrying several platters of food, ranging from the freshest meat to the ripest fruit. They each took some food and sat down at a table in another chamber. The rooms, as always, were full of decorative pieces and furnished quite extravagantly.

Iatril starts out, “So listen, Dante, I have something to ask you.”

“No.” Dante replies, not even looking up from his food.

“You don’t even know what I was going to say!”

“You were going to ask me to either change form and meet them or make it so you could stay as a pony longer, neither of which are going to happen.”

“Why? I understand why you don’t want to meet them, but why can’t I stay a pony and live there for a while?”

He looks up with a raised eyebrow. “Live there, you say?”

Iatril looks to her side. “You know what I mean.”

He sets his food down and looks her dead on. “Yeah, I do. I’ll prepare the spell in the morning.”

Iatril turns back with shocked happiness on her face. “Really? But, you just said—”

“I lied. Really now, I lie all the time. While I won’t change my form to really interact with them, there’s no reason to stop you from doing so. Besides, if I didn’t, you might just use your spells to keep yourself looking like a pony most of the day anyway. This way, you can prepare other spells you might need, and I don’t have to listen to you complain about it. Besides, I have no idea where Aselith is hiding. It will take a long time to find him again. Also,” his face shows a devious grin, “I heard what you said to her at the end.”

Her cheeks turned beet red at hearing this. “I-I didn’t mean anything! She was being nice, and I didn’t want to turn her down! Besides, we aren’t even the same race, and we’re both female! How would that even work?”

“Hah! Same race? I have seen plenty of bastard offspring between races. Come now. Half-orcs? Half-elves? Sorcerers? Think about that for a second: a dragon and a human or elf or something. The race card is pointless, and you know it. Anyway, I know how you feel. Even through this pocket dimension, I could feel what you felt. You like her, regardless of gender.”

“Yeah, well…I do.”

“Go for it.”

This took Iatril for a loop. “Excuse me?”

“Go for it. Gods know we aren’t going to be together like we used to be. Go try it out; see if you two can make it work. If you can, good for you. If not, there’s always more fish in the sea. Don’t avoid doing something if you think it will make you happy. You know I don’t.”

“Wow…thanks, Dante.”

“Please, I couldn’t stop you if I tried. Now, let’s compare our new knowledge.”

END CHAPTER

Author's Note

So yeah, 2nd chapter out. Hopefully soon after the first, if not right away (not completely familiar with the speed of chapter publishing). So yeah, stuffs happening with Fluttershy. Wink, wink, nudge, nudge. Nah, you know it's not a romance story, at least not chiefly.
Well, it's 4 am and I'm not really thinking straight anymore, so I'll send this out and hope for the best. Next chapter should be out in a week or less.

Ch. 3 - Blending In

There’s an open field as far as the eye can see. In this field, green grass sways back and forth to an invisible wind blowing. In the sky are many white, fluffy looking clouds, slowly drifting away. A small distance away stands a knoll in the fields. Atop this knoll stand three figures. One is a human male with shoulder length white hair, slightly wrinkled skin, and a long, white goatee. Another is a female elf, with long, flowing, blonde hair. She stands shorter than the human with toned muscles showing on her arms and lower legs. The third figure appears to be a male human, but his height is barely over half the size of the bearded human’s. Indeed, he is a halfling. The short one has light brown hair cut to have a shaggy appearance. His arms, though skinny compared to a human, do hold some muscle to them. On his back is a long, stringed instrument. This instrument has numerous strings going up and down its neck; at least twenty strings. The instrument itself appears to be too big for the small creature, as it is almost as long as the creature is tall.

The two taller ones are both looking down at the smaller one. The tall human opens his mouth to speak, but no words are heard from him. The small halfling tilts his head to one side in confusion. The tall human tries again to no avail as only silence leaves his lips. Off in the distance, a bright light moves closer to the group. It moves with great speed, burning the grass it moves through. Once more, the tall human calls out to the small one, only to have no words come. The light is moving faster and faster towards the group, towards the halfling.

At last, the glowing sphere is upon them, striking the back of the halfling. His body contorts with pain as the sphere enters his body. The eyes of the halfling quickly melt into red goo as fire and blood spew from his eyes and mouth. His Torso bursts opening, exposing his quickly melting organs to the open air. All the while no sound is heard from any of the three figures.

With one final attempt, the human opens his mouth to shout.

~ _ ~ _ ~ _ ~ _ ~

“Garret!” Dante yells, sitting up quickly with a start.

Dante is sitting on a group of white pillows filled with feathers, covered only by a brown blanket. Around him are the walls of the same magic mansion he built the day before. On one of these walls is the door leading to the antechamber and, thus, the other rooms he constructed with but a thought.

Dante himself is covered in sweat. His dark brown hair is messed up, showing a night of tossing and turning. On a few of the pillows are scorch marks where his hands were. Luckily, no fire seems to have come from them. Next to him lays Iatril and Flurry, still mostly covered by the same blanket, undisturbed by his outburst.

Dante pulls the blanket off him and moves quietly to the door, opening it and exiting the room.

In the foyer stand the few dozen conjured servants of the mansion in two rows.

“You two,” he points to a pair of servants, “fetch me my clothes. You, bring me some ale. You three, get me some food.”

Dante walks over to a wall and leans on it for a moment.

‘Soon. Soon I won’t have to dream these dreams anymore.’

~ _ ~ _ ~ _ ~ _ ~

To say the intelligence Dante and Iatril retrieved was useful would be a huge understatement. For starters, these ponies seemed to rely less on magic and its application to the world and more on technological advances. Through scrying, Dante was able to see a large, metal box on wheels move along metal rails under its own power. He theorized it was some form of fire-based power, based on the smoke cloud rising from a hole in the top of it, and the fact that some dwarves were trying to make something similar for mining. Dante was also able to see machines that are able to write letters and words on paper, grand food establishments, and various other advances unknown to any human. For what he assumed to be a capital of sorts, it was relatively undefended. While a city built on a mountain provides excellent defense against conventional siege and infantry, as well as a greatly fortified position for archers, it provides little in terms of aerial defense. The towers and spires are indeed impressive, but they don’t provide enough room for archers to shoot upwards. An acid breathing dragon could decimate the city defenses easily. What’s more, the city is highly susceptible to earthquakes. A single casting of such a spell would likely be enough to dislodge the city and send it off the mountain. Blocking scrying on the castle does provide an amount of discretion for what troops are readily available, which is exactly the case. Though, being able to block scrying over such an area is, in itself, more frightening.

Iatril’s information was a bit more tactical, at least in Dante’s eyes. She also found the technological advances of these ponies interesting, but far more interesting were the rulers of this country. The two ruling sisters were called Celestia and Luna and they each controlled the position of the sun and moon in the sky, respectfully. Apparently, they are both called ‘alicorns,’ meaning they have traits of all three tribes of ponies: flight, magic, and a connection with nature. Both are also at least 1000 years old, as the years began being tracked sometime after their rule began. Luna had apparently been banished to the moon for 1000 years for attempting bring everlasting night upon the land. Personally, Dante could have thought of a worse punishment for the crime, but he wasn’t immortal, so he couldn’t say for sure. What’s more, when Luna came back, still under her name of Nightmare Moon, Fluttershy and her friends defeated her with magic artifacts called the ‘Elements of Harmony.’ These elements have been used by them twice: once on Nightmare Moon, and once on the chaotic spirit called ‘Discord.’

This spirit intrigued Dante. From what he was told, Discord sounds more like a god or demigod than some loose spirit, especially since nothing less than the Elements of Harmony could stop him. Even then, they could only turn him to stone. According to Fluttershy, he was still being kept somewhere in the palace. Apparently, he was just sitting around in the garden like a decorative piece before he broke out.

After the divulgence of information and a good night’s sleep (for Iatril, at least), the two began meditating for their divine spells for the day. Only…one problem.

“Iatril, I can’t feel the connection to my deity!” Dante cried to his companion, who was sitting crossed legged next to him.

“I can’t feel the connection to nature either! We’ve prepared our spells in this mansion before, right?” She called back.

“Yeah, I know we have. I don’t know what could be stopping it.”

“Maybe…we just need to leave the mansion. This isn’t our own plane we’re connected to, is it?”

Dante ponders this thought for a moment. ‘Yeah, another plane. Wherever we are, this certainly isn’t the material plane. At least not one I’m familiar with. Maybe being in the mansion is just too much.’

“Alright, let’s step out then and try.”

They move to the portal entrance and step out, with Flurry and Raven close behind. Dante promptly closes the portal behind them and ends the spell. It’s not long after sunrise, maybe half an hour. They sit on the ground and try again. After a few minutes of concentration, Dante still cannot find the connection.

“Grrr, it’s still not working. How about you?” He asks. Iatril remains silent, still focused. “Well, goody for you. Guess I’ll just prepare my arcane spells then.” He says, opening the portal with his needle and pulling out a spellbook, opening its pages and looking it over.

An hour later, both spellcasters had prepared their spells. Upon completion of his study, Dante began casting his daily spells and invocations on himself: a few for eyesight, two for flight, some defenses, and one mind shielding spell. His eyes took on a more devious look, like that of a predatory animal, glowing an ominous yellow. Upon his back sprouted two shadowy, black wings, which he promptly folded around himself to give the appearance of a cape over his cloak.

“Dante, does this mean you can’t use your divine magic?” Iatril asks.

“No, I can still feel the energy within me, but I can’t reclaim it once I use it. This much I’m sure of.” Dante responds, a little despondent. “Okay, let’s test this out.”

He casts a spell and before them stood a circular portal, glowing with a white light. He walks up to the portal and touches it with his hand. Instantly, the portal shivers and collapses, as if torn apart by an unseen force.

“What was that?” Iatril asks.

“It was supposed to be a portal to the material plane. I’m not positive, but I’m pretty sure that means we’re stuck here, wherever ‘here’ is. On a positive note, that means there’s no way Aselith can escape this plane. I won’t even bother trying to contact another plane with a spell. It’s not worth the possible backlash, and if a Gate spell can be shattered like this, there’s no way a divination can make it through.”

“So, we’re on our own again?”

“Just like old times. Now then, your transformation. You want to look exactly like you did before, correct?”

“Of course.”

“Okay.” Dante says, shifting his body to face Iatril. “Be ready to work your own animal shifting into this. I don’t want your mind to get altered by this spell.”

“Don’t worry, Dante. I know what to do.”

Dante casts his spell, shifting Iatril into the form she had the day before. Every detail was exactly the same, except her amulet wasn’t clasped tightly to her neck from the shape shifting.

“I am an artist. How do you feel?”

“Like a beautiful, majestic creature.” She responds cockily.

“Of course. Now,” he turns to the wolf, “it’s your turn.”

“WHAT?” The wolf cried in a deep voice.

“There’s that lovely voice of yours!” Dante said snidely. “Come now, her ‘friend’ was waiting in the forest, remember? He can’t just leave; he has to come into town to meet all his new friends.”

“You just want to turn me into a pony, don’t you?” Flurry looks at Dante with an ‘I know what you’re thinking’ face only a wolf could have, which is to say not a good one.

“That too. So, how do you want to look? I’m thinking white, since you’re so fond of that color. Maybe I’ll make you a little bigger than a normal pony, just to make you feel better. Also, you’ll have to be a unicorn, since your friend over there let it slip about the magic.”

“Hey, it worked out!”

Flurry looked almost pleadingly at Iatril, who only gave him a sad face in return. “Alright, just make me big. I don’t want to be in a small body in case things go bad.”

“Don’t worry, I was going to do that anyways. Otherwise, I couldn’t make this permanent.”

“Wait, what?!” Before Flurry could offer any argument, his body started to change from Dante’s spell. Quickly, his fur shrank to a little longer than stubble, with the exception of the fur on his head, which grew out slightly. His tail became, for lack of a better word, swishier. Out of his head grew a horn, a little longer than the average unicorn’s. His paws changed to hooves and his snout grew a bit wider. His entire body shrank from its original size, but still notably larger than Iatril. Soon, where Flurry the winter wolf stood was now Flurry the unicorn.

“Lo and behold, the powerful unicorn Flurry!” Dante proclaimed.

Flurry looks himself over before baring his substantially flatter teeth at Dante. “I hate you.”

“Ah, I can feel the love.”

“Um, Dante.” Iatril chimed in. “I just thought of something. I told them you were a powerful mage and, while Flurry is strong, he doesn’t know much magic.”

“Don’t worry, I’ve taken care of that. Flurry, take a look at your… ‘cutie mark’.” He couldn’t help but laugh at the name of it.

Rolling his eyes and turning his head, Flurry found that on his flank were three spheres, red, blue, and green, with small tails coming out of them, all looking as if to circle each other.

“What does that mean?” He asks the still laughing warlock.

“I combined some of my eldritch magic with your supernatural breath and forged it into your horn. You can now fire off eldritch energy like I can, though it must be fire, frost, or acid. I could not make it fire raw energy like I can.”

Flurry gives a look of confusion at him. “How do I use it?”

“It should be similar to how you use your frozen breath, but you may need to pour some emotion into it as well, like anger or hate. We warlocks channel a vast amount of emotion into our attacks.”

Flurry looks around for a target and spots the rock the mansion portal was next to. He lowers his horn and focuses, giving a small whiny and firing off a blast of fiery energy at the rock. He gives off a laugh and tries again, this time firing a blast of frost. This continues for a whole minute before Dante cuts him off.

“Okay, I get it, you’re excited. Just know that I had to warp that spell on the spot in a way I’m not used to or comfortable doing. Be grateful. Now, to end the spell, you merely say ‘magic’ in a separate language. For Flurry, the language is ‘Giant.’ For Iatril, ‘Druidic.’ This spell should be permanent otherwise, but it may only last a week instead, given I’m still not completely sure what type of creatures these ponies are.”

“You mean besides being magical, talking ponies?” Iatril asks smugly.

“You know what I mean, smartass. And with that,” Dante walks to a tree, stepping in its shadow, “I shall be off to see what I can find out near that city. I’ll keep in contact with you every day; expect it to be around nightfall. I’ll leave Raven here, just in case. I know he and I will be out of range for communication, but if something comes up, you’ll have a way to contact me eventually.”

“Be careful, Dante. And don’t go killing any of these ponies for any reason!”

“Oh, you think you know me so well.”

With that, Dante dives into the shadow of the tree, disappearing from sight.

“Well, Flurry, Raven, let’s go meet our friends!”

~ _ ~ _ ~ _ ~ _ ~

The plane of shadow connected to this plane is interesting to say the least. On his material plane, the plane of shadows is difficult to see through and one always moves with great speed relative to the material plane. In this land’s shadows, sight is very clear. All around is every tree, every house, every hill, all quite clear; relatively speaking, anyways. Color was all but absent here. What Dante saw was shadowy figures with clear, white outlines. The speed Dante could travel at was almost twice as fast as normal, and he could move as slow as a walk. Of course, his destination several miles away, he went full speed to the mountains.

Within twenty minutes, Dante was outside the large mountain-city. He moved behind a tree near the gates and exited the shadowy plane. Upon exiting, he took measure of the gate and walls of the city. From what he could tell, there seemed to be more guards stationed there.

‘Odd, it wasn’t so defended yesterday. Is something special happening here today?’

He loosened his shadowy wings and cast an invocation of invisibility upon himself. After that, he took flight, moving straight up and over to the wall. Truth be told, the wings aren’t even necessary right now with the other, slightly faster flight spell he has on himself. It’s good to have as a backup should his spell be removed. The wings themselves need not beat upon the air to move him either. They simply manipulate the magic around him, much like his spell, though instinct will tell him to move them anyway.

Once over the gate, Dante looks around for a place to perch. He finds a nice looking rooftop that looks to be part of a food establishment. It isn’t exactly close to the center of the city, but that didn’t matter much right now. Dante moves over to the roof to be greeted by the scent of freshly baked goods. These goods smelled similar to bread, but had a sweet scent to them. Gliding down to the window, he can see a pony behind a counter with a blonde coat and light brown mane. Atop his head is a white hat of sorts and around his front is a similarly colored shirt. Behind the pony is an array of circular pastries, some of which having colored dots, others with a crème covering, and some with both.

‘I don’t know what those pastries are, but I know I want one.’

~ _ ~ _ ~ _ ~ _ ~

The market area is much slower than it was yesterday. Most of the stalls have already been set up and are being run, but a few are still bare. One of these set up stalls belonged to a certain orange pony with a tan colored hat, who was currently organizing her wares. Iatril looks at Flurry and Raven and nods toward the cart. The trio then walked over to meet her.

“Hello, Applejack. How are you this morning?” Iatril ask in an almost peppy voice.

Applejack looked up from her apple foods and focused on Iatril. “Oh, good mornin’ Iatril. I’m mighty fine, thanks fer askin’. Who’s that tall pony next to you?”

“This is my friend, Flurry. Flurry, this is Applejack. She’s one of Fluttershy’s friends.”

Applejack sticks out her hoof to Flurry, who only gives a nod for a greeting. She slowly lowers her hoof with a quizzical expression on her face.

Iatril turns to her companion. “Flurry, be nice. So, Applejack,” she turns back to the farm pony, “have you seen Fluttershy today?”

“No, Ah haven’t, and Ah need to have word with you about her.” Applejack looks Iatril dead in the eye when she speaks next. “Ah don’t know what it is you’re trying to hide, but it had better not hurt Fluttershy.”

Iatril is taken aback by this. “Hurt Fluttershy? What are you talking about?”

“Yer hiding something. Something big. Ah can tell by how you talk.”

“Applejack, I would never hurt Fluttershy. She’s the first friend I made since coming here; my first actual friend I’ve made in years! You have my word I will bring no harm to her.”

Applejack looks Iatril over with scrutiny for a bit before speaking again. “Alright. But if anything happens to her—”

“It won’t.”

“Alright.” There’s silence for a minute before Applejack speaks up again. “Look, she’s one of mah best friends. Ah have to make sure she’ll be fine.”

Iatril looks at her with a smile. “I understand.” She raises her hoof towards Applejack. “No hard feelings?”

Applejack bumps Iatril’s hoof with her own. “No hard feelings. If you want, try checking by Fluttershy’s cottage. She should still be there this early in the day.”

“Thanks Applejack! I’ll see you around then.”

The trio turns to leave and heads off towards the edge of town, leaving Applejack to sell her wares. Applejack watches as the group rounds a building, disappearing from sight.

“Somethin’ is still off about those two.” She says aloud to herself. “But they seem harmless enough.”

~ _ ~ _ ~ _ ~ _ ~

The scene behind Fluttershy’s house was spectacular. There were so many different animals, from chickens and squirrels to eagles and bears. A group of song birds are singing above a chicken coop. Two raccoons are chasing each other around a small elm tree. A falcon is sitting on a wooden fence preening its feathers. In the center of these woodland creatures is the small, yellow pegasus, feeding some field mice.

“Hi Fluttershy!” Iatril yells as she and Flurry approach the fence, with Raven still perched on Flurry’s back.

Fluttershy jumps a little, letting out a small squeak. She turns to see the source of the voice.

“Oh, hello Iatril.” She says, giving a small smile.

‘That smile.’ Iatril thinks. ‘Such a beautiful smile. It’s been too long since I’ve seen anyone happy to see me, besides Dante. Well, I suppose it’s because I’m with Dante when they see me. He isn’t the first choice people have for seeing people.’

“Um, Iatril?” Fluttershy tilts her head to the side.

‘That is so adorable! Wait, did she just say something? Crap, she did!’

“Oh, uh, sorry about that. Oh! This is my friend, Flurry. Flurry, this is Fluttershy.”

The large, white coated unicorn bows his head. “Hello Miss Fluttershy.”

“H-Hello Flurry. It’s nice to meet you.”

“So, Fluttershy,” Iatril starts, “what would like to do today?”

“Oh, anything is fine with me.”

“Nonsense. You spent over two hours showing me around Ponyville. We should do something you want to do today.”

“Well, I could introduce you to Twilight and Rarity. That is, if you want to.” Fluttershy says, hiding a part of her face behind her long, pink mane.

‘That is the cutest thing I’ve ever seen.’

“That sounds great, Fluttershy.”

“Good. Let me just finish feeding the animals and I’ll be ready to—”

Out of nowhere, a small, orange carrot smacks Iatril in the face. Immediately, Fluttershy, Iatril, and Flurry look over towards the cottage to see a small, white rabbit glaring daggers at them with its front paws crossed.

“Angel! That wasn’t very nice.” Fluttershy says in a motherly way. The white bunny just starts tapping one of its rear feet on the ground expectantly.

“He seems rather upset.” Iatril says, giving her assailant a glance.

“I’m so sorry about that. Angel’s just a little grumpy this morning.” This only earns Fluttershy a more intense glare from said bunny. “I’ll go see what he needs.” She says, trotting up to the cottage, leaving Flurry and Iatril alone with the animals.

All the animals just stare at the pair of ponies before them.

“What’s their problem?” Asks Flurry, a little worried about the horde of animals around them.

“Maybe they just don’t like white ponies.” Said Raven, earning a look from Flurry.

“They’re just shy. Let me talk to them.” Iatril replies. She steps forward and casts her spell. With a swirl of a hoof and a few nonsensical words, her spell is complete. She clears her throat then opens her mouth.

“Hello there. How are you all?” Iatril asks. Her words are nothing more than chirps and growls, but make perfect sense to the animals before her, which is evident from their reaction. The first to speak is one of the raccoons.

“How can you be talking to us?” It asks in a chipper voice.

“Magic!” Iatril exclaims with a chirp.

“I thought only ponies with horns could do magic.” Says the bear, slowly.

“I’m special. I can do magic too.”

“That’s because you aren’t really a pony.”

All eyes (except those of an oblivious Flurry) turned to the falcon perched on the fence.

“W-what do you mean? Of course I’m a pony” Iatril stammers out. The falcon just stares at her.

“No you aren’t. I saw you change your form in the forest before you went into town. You were some kind of weird, tailless monkey! And the white one was a large wolf!”

This elicits a round of gasps from the other animals.

“Flurry wouldn’t hurt any of you. Trust me! We feed him food we make ourselves with magic.”

“I saw you fighting with a pack of timberwolves yesterday.”

“They attacked us first! We had to defend ourselves.”

“True. Where did the unsettling one disappear to, hmmm? I saw him vanish into shadows before you left.”

“He just went off to look around the city on the mountains and…unsettling?”

“Yes. There is something…wrong…with him. He is like the weird dragon that changed everything once. It feels like he wants to attack everything around him.”

“I see. Well, there’s no reason to fear him either. At least for you. He takes no pleasure in attacking animals.”

“But what about the yellow one?”

This grabs the attention of every animal present. They all start talking at once, not giving Iatril the chance to understand even one of them. Iatril quickly grabs hold of the situation.

“Listen! Fluttershy is in no danger either. No one from this village is. Neither are the ponies in the mountains. We’ve only come to find one person and that’s it.”

“Who are you looking for?” Asks the bear.

“Someone from…where we’re from.”

“Why are you looking for them, huh, huh, huh?” Asks a very jittery squirrel.

“He…hurt us a long time ago, and we need to stop him from hurting other people too.”

“Awe, that doesn’t sound very nice. He doesn’t sound very nice. I bet he’s not nice at all! I hope you find him and make him stop being not nice!”

“Uh, thanks?”

Just then, Fluttershy steps out of her cottage and begins walking over.

“Oh!” Iatril whispers quietly to the animals. “Uh, please don’t let Fluttershy know I’m not a pony! I’ll make it up to all of you later, okay?”

All the animals quickly agree. Even the falcon does so, begrudgingly. They all then quickly scamper and fly away.

“I hope I didn’t keep you waiting.” Fluttershy says meekly.

“Oh, no worries.” Iatril responds. “Ready then?”

“Yep!”

The three ponies and Raven head off towards the town.

“So,” Flurry whispers to Iatril, “what was with the animals?”

“I’ll explain later.” Iatril sighs.

~ _ ~ _ ~ _ ~ _ ~

‘Donuts are the BEST thing ever created!’ Dante gushes over his pilfered pastries. For the past half hour, he’s done nothing but float around on the ceiling in the pastry shop and eat donuts when no one was looking. Of course, the universe decided to have pony after pony enter the shop and order something, making it difficult to lift a donut without one of them noticing. A round bit of cooked dough floating in the air isn’t that subtle.

After his twelfth donut, Dante had contented himself to listening in on the conversations the ponies had with each other. Most of said conversations were small talk with the baker about the weather or various tedious events happening in the city. Dante was about to follow the last pony out as he was leaving, but then a pair of guards clad in shining, golden armor enter the shop.

“Morning, gentlecolts!” The one called ‘Pony Joe’ says to the guards. “What can I get for you two this morning?”

“We’ll have the usual, Joe.” Replies one of the guards.

“Coming right up.” Joe grabs a bag with his mouth and selects a few donuts to put in it. He looks around for a moment, and then says “So, I can’t help but notice the extra guards around the city. Something happen?”

This time, the other guard speaks up. “We can’t say much about it. Or, rather, we don’t know much about it. I heard through the grape vine that Princess Celestia herself had Captain Shining Armor order extra shifts for the guards. I don’t know why, though.”

The other guard perks up after hearing this. “I heard there was some strange creature roaming around near Canterlot. The other guards I’ve talked to think it wants to free Discord!”

“Hey now, don’t go spreading rumors like that around! We’re also supposed to keep ponies calm about this. You won’t say anything, will you Joe?” They both look at Joe expectantly.

“Of course not. I don’t spread rumors; I just listen in on them.”

“Thanks Joe.” One of the guards hands…hoofs over a few bits and collects the bag of goods. “We’ll see you around.”

As the guards exit the shop, Dante swiftly glides above them through the door and up into the air.

‘Hmmm. Captain Shining Armor. Well, I’d say some parents just don’t know how to name their children, but, then again, elves have pretty interesting names too. I mean, “Iatril” literally translated means “Day-Dancer,” so I guess I can’t complain too much. Personal identification aside, this is interesting. I didn’t think someone could detect powerful life forms at such a distance. Now, the real question is, was Aselith the one detected, or was it me? Or both? Well, I suppose the easiest way to find out is straight from the horse’s mouth, and I feel just spectacular being able to say that literally.’

He heads off towards the palace, a plan slowly forming in his mind. All of a sudden, he stops midflight.

‘Wait, wait, wait! If I’m going to break into a royal palace and reveal myself, I’m not going to be half-assed about it. I’m going to do it right. I’m talking about shifting my form into a grotesque monstrosity with tentacles and a bunch of eyes and mouths and…and I think I know what I’m going to look like.'

He quickly flies out of the city to a nearby lake. After quickly looking around for wary eyes, Dante undoes his invisibility and walks over to the lake. In it, he can see his reflection as clear as in a mirror.

“Let’s have a little fun.”

END CHAPTER

Author's Note

Well, here's the next chapter. I'll be honest, I held onto this for the week just to make sure I wouldn't have a huge gap in between published chapters, though that is probably going to happen eventually anyways.

One thought I was playing around with was making a game out of knowing what spells were cast in each chapter and posting the winner in the Author's Notes section, and the winner would get...I don't know. An imaginary cookie or something. Maybe use a story twist or something they want to see, or include some kind of joke or real world reference they like. I don't know, so I'll throw the idea around in my head some more and come up with something later.

Since the holidays are upon us, the next chapter may be out a little later than a week, but probably not by much. For now, have a happy nondenominational-gift-giving-holiday everypony!

Ch. 4 - Good Times

The walk to Fluttershys friend’s house was a long one. It was for Flurry, at least. The whole walk there, Iatril and Fluttershy talked constantly about the different aspects of nature, their preferences in animals and climate, and how others treated said animals and climates. This isn’t to say that Flurry despised nature; quite the contrary. However, listening to a discussion about nature with Iatril was never a favorite of his. Iatril has a tendency to be overzealous about nature and, if her view is challenged, will debate for hours about it. Luckily, Fluttershy shares many of her view points, especially the desire to help animals in need and the sheer beauty of nature, something Flurry is quite grateful for.

They arrive at the hollowed out tree serving as the home of Fluttershy’s friend and the element of magic, Twilight Sparkle. Fluttershy knocks on the door and is soon greeted by a small, purple and green lizard-like creature.

“Hey, Fluttershy.” Says the creature. “Who’re your friends?”

“Hello, Spike.” Fluttershy says to the small reptile. “This is Iatril and this is Flurry. They’re visiting Ponyville and I’m showing them around town. Is Twilight here?”

“Yeah, she’s in the other room reading. Come on in.” Spike steps back, allowing us space to move into the room.

All around were rows and rows of books on the walls; in this room alone, there must be several hundred. Through a doorway, Flurry can see even more books organized on the walls. Never before had Flurry seen so much literature in one place. The most he’s actually seen was in the castle Aselith was in, but he’s heard that Dante’s own private collection was even greater than that. Dante has never said how large his collection was, but Flurry is sure it’s not so large as to fill this whole building.

“Twilight, we have guests!” Spike called into the adjoining room.

“Be right there!” Called a voice back.

Out from the room came a lilac unicorn with a blue mane with two colored stripes, one pink and one purple. On her hide is a pink star with smaller white stars surrounding it. She looks over to the doorway to see her guests.

“Well, hello Fluttershy. What brings you here? And who are they?” The lilac unicorn asks.

“Hello, Twilight. This is Iatril and Flurry. I’m showing them around Ponyville and I thought I would introduce them to you.”

Twilight looked at both Iatril and Flurry and nodded at both of them.

“It’s nice to meet you.” She says cheerfully.

“The pleasure is ours.” Iatril responds.

Flurry, instead of meeting Twilights gaze, was now transfixed on the reptile, who was putting books back onto the shelves. Twilight takes notice of this and tries to get Flurry’s attention.

“Is there something wrong?” She asks with curiosity.

Flurry snaps out of his trance and looks back at Twilight.

“Sorry.” He says quickly. “It’s just…is he a dragon?”

“Yep! And, he’s my number one assistant. Right, Spike?” She calls to the dragon behind her.

“You bet Twilight!” He replies back.

Flurry looks between them both, a bit bewildered.

“How…strange. I did not think dragons would be this close with ponies.”

“Dragons and ponies usually aren’t. I hatched Spike from an egg as a test to enter the school for gifted unicorns when I was a filly. Ever since, Spike has been like a little brother to me.”

“That’s…interesting.”

“Why don’t I brew some tea and we can all chat for a while?” Twilight asks, turning towards the kitchen.

“I’ll help you set up.” Fluttershy adds, following Twilight, and leaving Flurry and Iatril standing near the door.

Flurry looks down at Iatril and whispers, “I think Dante should have stayed. He would have appreciated the irony of a dragon among the peaceful.”

“That may be so,” Iatril replies in kind, “but one of us needed to search for Aselith. I’m sure Dante would find his efforts to be more important than this.”

~ _ ~ _ ~ _ ~ _ ~

“MONSTER!” A cry echoes throughout a corridor of the royal palace. Four guard ponies armed with lances face down a creature that looks as if it was spat out from hell itself. The creature is amorphous, shifting its pinkish body around like a liquid as it floats in the air. All across its body are eyes and mouths with sharpened teeth, constantly babbling nonsensical noises as it approaches the guards. As the creature approaches, the guards continuously back away, afraid of what horrors this thing is capable of. In an instant, the creature lunges forward in the air towards the guards with a roar, causing them to break formation and run away, yelling down the halls.

‘Hah! This is great! I haven’t had this much fun in ages! Some guards, though. They may act tough, but the second some strange creature comes floating along, they run away and hide. I swear, this same exact trick has only worked one other time for me, but I used it on kobolds. Those tiny lizardmen really couldn’t put up a fight anyway, so they’re excused. But four good sized ponies armed with lances, a concept I won’t even begin to question, are turned away by an abomination the same size as them.’

Dante floats down the hallway, looking for more ponies to terrify.

‘Actually, I should probably stop screwing around like this. I mean, if I want to even think of asking this nation for help, it would be much more beneficial if I was NOT caught like this. I’ve already scared about twenty ponies total, so I think—oh look! More ponies!’

Around the corner were a group of nine ponies; one was in the front of two rows of four. The front pony has a multi-hued blue mane and a white coat, donning a more illustrious golden armor than the other soldiers. Atop his head stood a helmet with a tassel out the back and a hole in the front for his horn. On his hide was a dark blue shield with a pink star in the middle, covering most of the shield. He wore a stern expression on his face.

‘Ooh, another tough guy. Let’s just see how tough you are.’

Dante charges at the group, shape twisting, yells coming from each of his mouths. Before he reaches the ponies, he slams into a wall of pink force. All around him is a sphere made of this force. He pushes against the sphere, only to be pushed back, leaving no indication of change on the sphere.

‘Heh. Well played.’

The pony with the blue mane turns to one of the guards to his right. “Inform the princesses that the creature has been detained.”

The guard salutes his ranking officer. “Yes Captain Armor.” He turns and gallops down the hallway.

All the eyes of Dante’s form look upon the white pony.

“Armor? As in ‘Captain Shining Armor’? I’ve heard of you. Heh, what are the odds?” He says, each word from a different mouth.

All the ponies in the hall look aghast at the creature that is Dante; all but Shining Armor.

“So,” says the unafraid captain, “you can talk.”

“Of course.” Dante responds with a laugh. “And so can you. I can see there is much we can learn from each other through communication. You can release me now.”

“I don’t think so. You broke into the palace and attacked the guards! Why would you think I would just let you go?”

“Well, for starters, I didn’t attack any guards. Guards don’t flee in the face of the unknown like those ponies did. Regardless, I have attacked no one.”

“Be that as it may, I will still not release you.”

“But Shining!” Dante morphs his form into that of the pony before him, bare of armor. “I’m you! Why would you do this to me? To yourself?”

“A changeling!”

“A what, now?” Dante asked, genuinely confused.

“Don’t play dumb with me, changeling! What is Chrysalis up to?”

“Who? So many names to keep track of, so little caring. I’m not even a changeling.”

“Oh, of course you aren’t. You only changed forms right in front of me. Now talk!”

“Well, you know what you know, and I know what I know. And, guess what, I know I’m not a changeling. I’m about 98% sure of that.”

“You can be as sure of that as you want, you still aren’t getting out of there.”

“Well now,” He says, quickly disappearing from the sphere and reappearing right in front of Shining. “I wouldn’t be so sure of that.”

Shining quickly shoots a ray of energy at his doppelganger, only to have it dodge the strike and start floating in the air above him.

“Well, this has been fun. We should play this game again sometime soon. You know, I chase the guards, you catch me, it’ll be great fun! But, for now, I must retire.” And with that, Dante disappears from sight.

Shining Armor frantically looks around the hallway for any sign of him. “Quick, fan out! Maybe we can still catch him!”

All the guards in the hall run either way down the hall, turning corners and disappearing behind them. Shining Armor himself gallops full speed down a corridor. Once all the guards have left, Dante starts floating lazily down the hall, towards the window, invisible.

‘Silly ponies.’

He flies above the castle, shifts his form back to normal, and looks down into the courtyard to see the guards scrambling to find the intruder and set up guarding locations.

‘Seems so chaotic…I like it. I should spread chaos more often. Hell, I hardly need to do anything really. All I did was scare a few guards and disappear from sight, and this spectacle before me is the fruit of my labor. All without any consequence whatso—’

His thought is interrupted as a bolt of magic zips by him, nearly hitting his head. Dante looks behind him to see two unicorns with their horns aglow and pointed right at him. Looking down at himself, he can see a partly transparent pair of pants and his cloak through said pants.

‘Know when to hold them, know when to fold them, know when to walk away, and know when to run. As much as I’d love to start blasting things with magic, I did make a promise. I think I can hold onto that promise for now, so it looks like it’s time to run…err, fly.’

Dante quickly soars through the air, narrowly dodging magic and arrows alike. A volley of arrow is launched into the air, several piercing into his arm as he avoids the others. Just in front of him, another pink barrier springs into existence. This time, Dante simply teleports himself away from the castle, arriving on the rooftop of the donut vendor. He promptly pulls the arrows out of his arm to inspect the wounds, only to have them seal up instantly.

‘Heh. Demon powers are the best powers.’ He looks over at the castle to see the pegasi guards flying in the sky, searching for him. ‘Well, that probably wasn’t my brightest moment. Still though, they found me, which is more than I can say about other guards I’ve snuck past before. I should probably keep a low profile for a while; let them calm down on their search. Besides, I feel as though there was something else I was supposed to be doing. Hmmm…right! Donuts!’

~ _ ~ _ ~ _ ~ _ ~

“…and that’s how I earned my cutie mark.” Twilight said, finishing her tale. The group had moved to the room Twilight was reading in previously, sitting around a small table with a few cushions on the ground to lay on.

Flurry looked at her, mildly impressed. Iatril, however, stared wide-eyed upon hearing this awesome display of magic.

“That’s amazing!” She said in awe. “Are you a goddess?”

Twilight blushes a little before responding. “Oh no, I’m not that strong. That only happened because I lost control of my magic.”

“But to display such power when you’re so young! No wonder you’re the element of magic!”

“Well, thank you! How about you two then? How did you get your cutie marks?”

“Um…” Iatril starts. ‘I never thought of this! Fluttershy told me yesterday about hers, so why didn’t I think of something!?’ She looks over at Flurry, only to receive a shrug for a response. ‘Okay, quickly. Think of something, Iatril. Something that made me who I am. Something…or someone…’ She looks back at Twilight and Fluttershy.

“I got my cutie mark thanks to Flurry here.” Flurry looks at Iatril questioningly before leaving well enough alone. “You see, when I was young…I never knew my parents. I was left at an orphanage, basically. The ones in charge there became my family…for a time. But, they weren’t a very good family. They didn’t want me around, and once I saw it, it became obvious. One day, I met Flurry. We…got into an argument over something, I can’t even remember what it was about now, but it ended with him giving me some advice. To this day, I can hear his words ringing in my ears. He told me to stop caring for those who don’t even pretend to care for me and to blaze my own trail in life. After that day, I left for the nearest forest to start doing what I really wanted to do: care for nature. Years later, I met Flurry again, and we’ve been travelling together ever since.”

“Oh wow.” Fluttershy says, holding her hooves over her mouth. “I’m so sorry to hear that.”

“Ah, don’t worry. It’s all in the past.”

“Did you ever find your parents?” Twilight asked.

“Well, yes, I did. I, uh, found their grave.”

“Oh my.” Twilight says.

“Like I said, don’t worry. I think I already knew that’s how I would end up finding them, so it wasn’t that bad when it happened.”

Regardless of her reassurance, the room still fell into silence. That is, right until Raven decided to let out a caw and draw everyone’s attention to him and Flurry, who was looking rather annoyed at the bird at this point.

“So Flurry,” Twilight begins, “how did you get your cutie mark? I’ve never seen anything quite like it before.”

“Oh…uh…” Flurry says, stumbling over his words.

‘Come on, Flurry’ Iatril thought. ‘Just make something up. It’s not that hard, just think of something. Anything!’

Like an unspoken prayer being answered, a knock at the door brought the attention away from Flurry.

“I got it.” Spike says, standing up and walking to the other room. “Hi Rarity!” Spike says excitedly upon opening the door.

“Hello Spikey.” A feminine voice replies. “Is Twilight around, dearie?”

“In here!” Twilight calls out to the voice.

Through the doorway, a very white, very dazzling unicorn steps forward. Her mane is a deep purple with curls in a strange, if not beautiful, way. “Darling, have you heard the news? It seems…oh, hello there.” She says, looking at Iatril and Flurry. “I’m sorry, I didn’t know you had guests over already.”

“That’s fine, Rarity. We were just getting to know each other over some tea. Care to join us?” Twilight asks, holding her tea in the air with her magic.

“I’d love to darling. I don’t believe I’ve had the pleasure of meeting you two before.” She replies, trotting over to the cushions next to Flurry.

“I am Iatril, and this is my friend Flurry. It’s nice to meet you, Rarity.”

“The pleasure is all mine.” She says, batting her eyes at Flurry. “So, when did you two move to Ponyville?”

“Oh, we haven’t moved here. We’re just passing through. We came here through the ‘Everfree Forest,’ I believe it was called.” The looks on Rarity’s, Twilight’s, and Spikes faces all showed the same fear as the others. “Why is that always the reaction? Is the forest truly that bad?”

“Well…” Rarity says, reluctantly. “It is a very unnatural place. But, and I don’t mean to spoil the mood here, Rainbow Dash found a dead manticore near the edge of the forest yesterday afternoon. She said it looked like it had its life just taken out of it, since she didn’t see any wounds on it. And, hearing you came from the forest, well…”

All eyes in the room were on Iatril and Flurry, the fear on their faces clearly visible. ‘Oh, no. No, no, no, no!’ Iatril thought. ‘How could I have forgotten this! Dante, why couldn’t you have hidden the body or something!? Oh, Fluttershy. Please don’t look at me like I’m a monster. Please don’t—’

“I did that.”

The attention quickly shifted over to Flurry.

“I was waiting in the forest for Iatril to return when that beast came upon me. Of course, I had to act in defense for my own protection. I also understand the implications of ending the life of any creature. I apologize if my actions have upset any of you.” He explains, finishing with a bow of his head.

‘Wow. When did he learn to lie like that?’

“Oh…of course! I would never imply a stallion such as yourself would ever do such a thing without good reason. Of course you needed to defend yourself” Rarity replies quickly.

“Killing is still wrong.” Fluttershy says just above a whisper.

“Indeed it is, and I shall take care in the future to avoid circumstance where such force is even an option.” Flurry says with yet another stroke of genius.

‘I really should start worshipping whichever deity that keeps helping us out of these situations. Or start thanking Dante for lying so much around Flurry.’

“I am sorry if I ruined the atmosphere of the room here. Gossip can be a terrible thing at times.” Rarity apologizes again.

“Hey everypony.” Spike says, walking into the room. “You know what will cheer everypony up? A trip to Sugarcube Corner!”

“Spike,” Twilight says, “I don’t see how—”

“But Twilight! You know how good Pinkie Pie is at cheering ponies up. It’s almost surprising how good she is at it.” Spike says, making sweeping motions with his claws.

“I still…oh! Yeah, you’re right. Maybe we should go over there.” Twilight says, perking up a bit.

“I do believe a change in scenery would help.” Rarity says, standing and heading over to the door.

‘Far be it from me to pass up a perfectly good excuse to avoid a topic.’ Iatril sighs in relief, following Rarity’s lead. Pretty soon, the whole group is exiting the library and to Sugarcube Corner. ‘Come to think of it, given that there are no guards around, things being killed is probably very rare around here. So, it stands to reason that when it does happen, the ponies here would get more anxious about it. But then, why did they let it go so easily? Perhaps it is best not to dwell on it.’

As they approached the delicious looking building, Rarity moved to one side next to the door. “After you two.” She said to Iatril and Flurry.

“Thank you.” Iatril happily replies. Upon opening the door many small, color bits of paper are thrown about right in front of her, followed by very loud ‘surprise’ yelled by everyone in the room, which was a good amount of ponies. Her view, however, was obscured by one particular pink pony standing right in front of her with her hooves in the air. The pink pony in question also had light green hoof barely an inch from her face.

“Wow, you really were surprised, huh?” The pink pony said, smiling away.

Iatril lowered her hoof back onto the ground. “Yes, very! Please don’t scare me like that! I almost hit you in your face!”

“Don’t be silly. That’s why I wasn’t any closer to the door.”

“Wait, you knew I would swing at you?”

“Yep! My Pinkie Sense told me so. Now come on in and enjoy you ‘Welcome to Ponyville’ party!” She said, pulling in Iatril by her hooves.

“Wait, your what?”

“Oh don’t worry about that. Now you and Flurry come and enjoy the party!”

“How…when…what?”

~ _ ~ _ ~ _ ~ _ ~

“And have you found any trace of the creature?” Shining Armor asked.

“No sir. It seems to have just disappeared.” Said the guard pony. “If it’s still in Canterlot, it’s being very discrete about it.”

“Inform the city guard that I will be down shortly to assign patrol routes.”

“Yes Captain.” The guard salutes then gallops out of the throne room. As he leaves, another enters.

“Have you got the sketch of the creature?” Captain Armor asked the new guard.

“My apologies sir, there was not enough similar information from the guards who got a look at it. The only things in common were it wearing some sort of red cloak. It may have also been wearing some dark clothing, but we can’t discern if it was clothes or its skin. It also seems to have two sets of appendages, one near each end of its cloak.”

“That’s not much to go on. You are excused.” With a salute and a turn, the guard left the room. Shining then turned to the princess of the sun. “What do you think, Princess?”

Princess Celestia motioned to her two guards, who promptly moved to the end of the room and left through the large doorway, closing it behind themselves.

“I do not know. From the moment I first felt this presence in Equestria, I haven’t been able to find where it’s coming from. It feels as if it is all around us. Luna has had no better luck. If this creature is what’s causing this disturbance in the air, I can only imagine what its plans are. To be able to hide itself from both my sister and I is terrifying. Only Discord has ever been able to do this.”

“What do you recommend then?”

“If the guards do manage to track this being down, tell them not to engage it. Inform either Princess Luna or myself and we will deal with it.”

Shining Armor grew concerned. “Is it truly that bad?”

“If it has the power to hide itself from our sight I can only assume it has some other great power as well. I don’t want anypony to engage this creature. Is that understood, Captain?”

“Yes Princess!”

“Good. You are dismissed.”

As Shining Armor left and her guards re-entered, Celestia had nothing but worry on her mind.

‘Be safe, my little ponies.’

END CHAPTER

Author's Note

Well, either Dante can't handle sugar that well, or he's just an asshole. So here's the next chapter of my little story, out when I planned it to be no less. Not sure what else to say at this point. I did edit the previous chapters to indent at every paragraph (out of some strange desire and need to indent them) and I changed where a few paragraphs started; so nothing story-wise, just grammatical. I figured out a trick with Word so I wouldn't make those mistakes with the paragraphs again. I say this because I don't know if editing a chapter keeps the story under the "new chapters" part of anyone who favorited this story. (Incidentally, thank you to everyone who has marked this as a favorite or liked it. I'll keep up the good work so as not to disappoint.) So just in case it does, I apologize. (But I don't think it does, so....) Anyways, I'm rambling on. I'll try to have the next chapter up in about a week. Happy (belated) New Year!

By the way, the 'Know when to hold them' thing is lyrics from "The Gambler" by Kenny Rogers.

Ch. 6 - Just Below the Surface

“…and by sending the energy over any distance, you can see and hear a small area around the target of the spell.” Dante said, finishing his explanation of scrying to his new friend.

“And this power can be blocked by magic that’s less powerful?” Shade Strider asked.

“Exactly. Think of it in terms of that magic bauble you want. What would be easier? Locking it in some vault or beating everyone around you so they wouldn’t think of stealing it from you?”

“I guess that makes sense. It just seems surreal that weaker magic can stop stronger magic. I guess I would have to be a unicorn to really get it.”

“I’ve got something that will really confuse you then.” Dante said, chomping down on another donut. “My specialty is evocations, basically manipulating energy at its most basic level. For example, shooting fire or lighting from my hands. One powerful spell unleashes a freezing ray of energy at a target. It can be blocked outright by a spell of much lower power, albeit it must be cast by a powerful magic user. After that’s said and done, both spellcasters have used up one spell; one used a higher level spell, the other a lower level spell, and they both have one less spell they can cast that day.”

Shade Strider looks at Dante confusedly, sipping a bit of his wine. “That’s another thing I don’t get: ‘cast that day.’ Are you saying you can only cast so many spells in a day?”

“Well, yeah. But see, our spells are different from unicorn spells. I won’t go into too much detail, but suffice to say that our magic isn’t really our own. We’re just borrowing it from the world around us, where unicorns seem to have their own, true magic. You pegasi do too, with your weather manipulating powers, and earth ponies, who can manipulate plants and the land, to a degree. In truth, even—ah shit!” He yells, standing from his cushion.

“What? What is it?” Shade asks, looking around nervously.

“Some guard in the cave just grabbed my eye with its magic. I can’t move it.” He says, covering his eye socket. “Damn, not even a little bit.”

“Does this mean you’re going to be missing an eye forever now?”

“Sigh. No, I can regrow it, but it must be destroyed first. And, judging by how the unicorn is handling it, I don’t think that’s going to happen anytime soon. This is just an inconvenience for me. A really annoying inconvenience. I’ll just have to get it back when I steal that bauble for you. Well, it’s getting late, so I think I’m going to turn in for the night.” He says, turning to leave.

“Hey, I’ve got one more question for you.” Shade says, moving from his cushion.

“What’s that?”

“Well,” He pauses, looking around for a second. “Do you believe in coincidence?”

“Nope. Why do you ask?”

“Well, I know one of the ponies your friend met.”

“That’s not really a coincidence. Know them how?” Dante asks. Shade hesitantly broke eye contact again. “Look, you should probably tell me now, rather than later. I have a tendency to do stupid stuff, so if one of them is your lover or something, I should know so I don’t accidentally kill them or something.”

“Rainbow Dash. She’s…my sister. My younger sister.”

“Oh. Well, that’s definitely not a coincidence then.”

“Why not?” Shade asks, a look of confusion on his face. “I meet a strange creature while hiding in the mountains, and that creature has a friend who meets and befriends my sister. That seems like a real coincidence to me.”

“A real coincidence would be if you had said Fluttershy was your sister, since Iatril bumped into Fluttershy at the market yesterday. Or the fact that Rainbow Dash is your sister at all, not the meeting between her and Iatril, since that was bound to happen anyway, given the circumstances.”

“So, what would you call this then?”

“The aftermath of a coincidence.”

“Are you just making this up as you go?”

“Probably.” Dante said jovially, heading towards the hallway. “Well, I’m going to bed. Feel free to sleep in any of the other rooms and eat whatever you want.”

As Dante walked out of sight, there was only one thought that repeated itself in Shade’s mind: ‘This is definitely going to be the weirdest business I ever do with anyone.’

~ _ ~ _ ~ _ ~ _ ~

In a tower in the royal palace, a group of unicorns were working in what could be called a magical laboratory. One part of the room held beakers with various powders and liquids. In another part, open tomes covered a table. Occasionally, a unicorn would walk over to an open book, look up a piece of information, and return to what had stirred them into research: a small creature that looked as if it was just an eyeball with legs attached to it.

Not even an hour ago, a search party in the mountain caves came across this creature near an entrance by a waterfall. When it was brought back to the palace, Captain Shining Armor confirmed that it was related to the creature he encountered early this day. Since then, several magi have been researching what it could be, though no definite answers have been found. One theory proposed by Crescent Moon, the head magi of the mage’s council and leader of the investigation of this ‘eye’, was that this was simply the eye of the creature, though how this could be is still unknown.

So far, various spells have been cast to find the location of the creature this small, eye-creature belongs to. Each one resulted the same way: with failure. This does, however, show that the creature that broke into the palace has the ability to shield itself from locater spells. Every spell used to determine the power of this eye has also yielded nothing. Again, Crescent Moon theorizes this eye acts as though it were still connected to the creature, in that the creature can see everything the eye can. This, too, has no scientific or magical backing.

From the reports of the search party, the eye tried to escape the telekinetic grip of a private for only about a minute before ceasing its efforts. Since then, and while it’s been in the lab, under observation, it has made no movement other than occasionally adjusting of its legs. Once again, Crescent Moon believes the eye must be commanded by its owner to move, otherwise it will remain stationary. Like his previous theories, this has no evidence in support of it, only intuition.

All this and more was contained in the report sitting on Celestia’s desk. The solar princess looked over the report many times, hoping she missed some piece of information and would find it eventually. Alas, there was nothing. There was no way to track the creature and no way to locate it. The only information on its whereabouts was it recently being in the mountain. It may even still be there, but, if so, it is exceptionally well at keeping itself hidden. Never the less, a squad of pegasi and unicorns were keeping watch over all entrances to the caves.

A knock at the door stirred the princess from her thoughts.

“Come in.” She said, making sure she held her composure.

The door opened and in stepped Princess Luna. “Sister, what are you still doing up? It is nearly midnight.”

“I know, Luna. I’m just going over the report from—”

“Celestia.” Luna said sternly. “No matter how much you go over it, nothing will change. For now, we must wait. You know this.”

“Yes, I do know this. But the thought of a creature like Discord running around Equestria freely terrifies me!”

“Which is all the more reason you should rest, so that when we do find this creature, you will be able to confront it.”

Celestia stood from here desk. “You’re right, Luna. I suppose I should retire for the night.”

“Good.” Luna said. “Now, I must return to open court. I shall see you at dawn, Sister.”

As the sisters parted, Celestia’s thoughts went back to the creature. ‘I simply do not understand how it could have come into the castle and left without either Luna or me noticing it. Now we supposedly have a part of the creature and still can’t locate it. All of this in little over a day. I shudder to think of what it will do tomorrow.’

Celestia reached her bedchambers and entered the room, passing the saluting guards. As soon as she reached her bed, she fell onto it, exhausted from worry. ‘Luna is right. Nothing will get done if I run myself ragged. Perhaps more will develop tomorrow.’

~ _ ~ _ ~ _ ~ _ ~

A town cloaked in the dark of night stood near the edge of a forest. The denizens of this town, however, were anything but sleeping. On the streets of this town, humans walked around, catching up with old friends and bartering with vendors. The streets were lit with torches and, in the busiest areas, magical torches that would never cease burning. Down one less populated street, Dante walked around, observing the buildings.

‘Huh, I wonder where I am. I know this is a dream, but I recognize this place…somehow. I must have been here before, but I don’t really see anything familiar.’

As he passed an intersection, he heard the voice of an elderly man cry out. “Where are you, you fucking warlock!?”

When he turned to look, Dante saw an old man wearing a dark blue robe, swinging his staff in the air as he walked around aimlessly. His eyes were clearly stabbed out and covered with a faint, red glow.

“You think you can kill me, you lowly warlock!? As soon as I find you, I’m going to burn you alive and feed you to the wolves! Then you’ll know better than to come after me!”

‘Hah! Well, this is familiar, I’ll give it that. The scenery is off and he isn’t being escorted by any paladins, but hey, I can enjoy killing a dream version of that annoying prick.’

Dante brought up his hand and fired bolt of acid right into the chest of the elderly man. He cried out in pain only to fall over, dead, a moment later.

‘Eh. Not as fulfilling as I remember. I probably shouldn’t have killed him the exact same way as before.’

Dante continued his journey down the street. The more he walked, the more diverse the buildings became. Some were made of stone and wood, and others were built into trees that seemed to be randomly placed in town. A few were even made from mud. Every building shared the same thing: the residents were dead, staked to the ground in front of their homes.

‘Huh. That’s new. I’m pretty sure I never did anything like this. Too much work.’

Finally, he came to the end of the street. Before him stood a wooden structure that seemed to go on forever on either side. As far as Dante could see, the pale, wooden wall of the building stretched over the horizon. The building itself wasn’t too tall; it stood a little taller than ten feet. On a sign hanging above the door to the building, the words “Bark’s Tavern” were embedded. Shrugging, Dante entered the building, figuring he might as well get drunk if his dream wasn’t going to make sense.

The tavern was dark, lit only by a single lantern hanging in the center of the room. This, however, was no problem for Dante, since he could see in the dark. All around, the tables were barren of any substance, the chairs and barrels used as seats were pushed under the tables. The walls were covered in scorch marks and the floor stained with blood. Behind the bar counter, a man with short, black hair stood, cleaning a glass, his back to Dante.

“Hey, Chief,” Dante said to the man, “how about a round?”

The man didn’t reply. He simply kept his cleaning his glass. Dante, growing impatient, walked over to the counter. “Hey! I want some ale here!” He called again. The man still kept his back turned. Dante grabbed the shoulder of the man and turned him around. “Hey, dream guy, listen to me when I’m—” As the man turned around, he fell on top of the counter. His face was burned off, only a blackened skull remaining. He lied there, motionless, as a soft laugh came from behind Dante.

When Dante turned, he saw a young woman standing before him. She had curly red hair that came just down to her shoulders and had slightly pointed ears. She stood less than a foot shorter than Dante. She wore a simple dress, clearly made from low-quality cloth and colored a dark shade of yellow. The dress stretched down just to her ankles, showing her bare feet on the ground.

“What’s so funny?” Dante asked. “For that matter, who are you?”

“You’re funny, Dante! You know Bark is dead. And you know who I am too!” She replied happily.

“Sorry, I don’t believe I know any half-breeds.” He said stoically.

“What do you mean?” She asked, tilting her head to the side. “It’s me, ******”

‘What the hell was that? I couldn’t hear her voice for a second there.’ Dante pondered. “What did you say your name was?”

“It’s ******” The young woman said again.

‘There it was again. It wasn’t that I couldn’t hear her, it’s that her voice was distorted. Why can’t I hear her say her name?’

The half-elf looked at Dante sadly. “You really can’t remember me, can you? Did I really mean that little to you?”

“Apparently.” Dante said, feigning arrogance. “If we really did meet and I can’t remember you, then you obviously weren’t worth remembering.”

“But you can remember the name of every paladin you’ve ever killed! You write their names down in a journal!”

“I’m not going to get into an argument with a dream.” Dante said angrily. “Now be gone from here so I might drink in peace.”

“Fine!” She yelled, before calming down. “I’ll leave. I know someone else who will remember me, anyways.”

“Oh?” Dante asked smugly. “And who would remember you?”

“Me” A menacing voice from the girl said.

Instantly, her body was absorbed into a great ball of fire. The writhing flames struck out at the surrounding tables with tendrils of fire, smashing into them as if the flames were solid. The sphere grew in size until it reached the ceiling, catching it on fire. Quickly, the walls and floor of the building were aflame, lighting up the entire room. Soon, the sphere condensed itself into a figure, standing as tall as the ceiling.

The figure was similar to that of a man. Its skin was blood red, its hair course and short, standing in a narrow line trailing behind its head. On either side of its head, a yellow horn stood out sideways. The creature’s torso, arms, and legs were bulging with muscles. Out of its back, two dark wings spread wide, making the creature seem bigger than it really was. In its left hand was a whip, seemingly made of fire, and in its right was a lightning bolt shaped sword, covered in flames.

“You!” Dante yelled, taking a step back. “How dare you break the sanctity of my dreams!”

“Come now, Dante. Your dreams are my dreams, too. Your memories are my memories, even if you can’t remember them.” The creature laughed manically. “Tell you what, I’ll make a deal with you: you let me have control and I’ll let you remember this pretty thing.” It said, now holding the girl from before with his flaming whip.

“Like I would agree to that!” Dante yelled, drawing his blade and pointing it at the monster. This blade was made of a sparkling, green metal that looked sharp enough to cut into steel. “That girl probably never existed in the first place!”

“Hahaha!” The beast bellowed. “Poor Dante. Can’t even remember what mattered most to him! Can’t remember anything at all! You might as well relent. Your struggle with Aselith has left you with little time to garner power over me anymore. I’ll be in control soon, anyways. By the looks of this place, you won’t be able to find any energy to contain me any longer! Or, maybe you’d like to try using the life force from some dual-nature creatures?” The beast laughed again. “I’m sure that will turn out well for you!”

“Silence!” Dante screamed at the being before him. He charged his eldritch energy into his sword and flung it at the creature, stabbing it in its chest. The energy released itself and shot out in all directions from the creature. The creature itself quickly exploded in a ball of fire, taking the woman with it. The flames passed by Dante harmlessly, striking the bar and breaking it apart. Just over the flames of the building, the creature’s voice could be heard, laughing.

“So angry. So vengeful. You can pretend you’re in charge all you want, but it’s a simple fact: you can’t hold me in forever. All I have to do is wait for you to call on my power one more time, and then I’ll be the dominant one. And this time, I won’t let that elf bitch stop me! I’ll string up her corpse in this land’s capital and preserve it forever, just so you will know who is really in charge.”

Dante had had enough of this place. He turned to the door and walked right to it. He flung open the door and saw Shade Strider standing right in front of him.

“Are you okay, Dante?” He asked. “I heard some banging and what I thought were blasts of magic, so I thought I should see if you were okay.”

Dante turned around to see that the burning insides of the tavern had disappeared. In its place, the room he slept in appeared, albeit with much of the room burned and scorched.

“Uh, yeah. I’m fine.” Dante replied, collecting himself.

“Bad dreams?” Shade asked, turning to walk down the hallway.

“Yeah.” Dante said, following him. “You could say that.”

END CHAPTER

Author's Note

Here's the next chapter, everyone. Sorry it's out so late; college and whatnot. It's also a bit shorter than intended, but I'll try to make up for it in the next chapter or two. Please enjoy your reading...well, I guess you would have already read the chapter before this part. Hmmm. Well then, a preemptive 'enjoy your reading' for the next chapter. :D Peace out.

Ch. 7 - Who are you?

Dante sat at the dining table in his conjured mansion, idly playing with a dagger he had hidden under his cloak. The food he had his servants bring him was barely touched, mostly just moved around on the plate. A chunk of cheese, a donut, and few pieces of meat from a pig, all being mixed together in an attempt to ease the burden on Dante’s mind.

‘He’s right.’ Dante thought to himself. ‘I can’t hold out much longer. As it is, excessive healing my body does on its own could very well set him loose. I’ll have to use divine magic to heal my wounds so my body won’t do it by itself. That, however, is a very short term solution. I still can’t regain my divine magic, so I’ll have to be careful how much of it I use.’

Dante turned to see Shade Strider walking over to the table from the hall of living quarters. Once Dante had awoken from his sleep, he decided to remain awake. He’d rather not have to see that demon again if he could help it, and he already got enough sleep to regain his spells, so he figured there was no harm in remaining awake. He did not, however, take into account his obsessive need to think about things beyond his control. He had spent several hours contemplating strategies to attain more energy for the demon, but it all came back to one thing: he didn’t know where any outsiders could be found. Or, rather, he had an idea about two, but wanted to avoid that line of thinking.

Princess Celestia and Luna both sound like they are outsiders. They have lived an incredibly long time and possess power beyond that of normal ponies. They could, of course, be like dragons instead. Dragons have been known to live thousands of years and have great magical abilities. If that’s the case, trying to bind their life forces to him would only end badly. Dante remembers the last time he tried that…somewhat.

‘Actually, when have I ever tried that? I don’t think I ever have. Could he have been talking about…well, that doesn’t really matter. If that is what would happen, I definitely don’t want to try that, especially with one or both of the princesses.’

Dante shakes these thoughts from his mind and rises to his feet.

“Okay.” He says aloud. “Shade, I’m going to check outside the portal. If there’s anyone there, we’ll have to move out before I enact my plan.”

Shade looks over his shoulder from his seat. “You mean the one about getting the amulet?”

“Yeah.” Dante replies, heading towards the doors that serve as the portal. “One second.” He opens the doors and sticks his head through the portal. Looking around, he sees no ponies around, but after a moment of listening, he hears a voice. He can’t tell what the voice is saying, but he can tell it’s just on the other side of the waterfall. Dante moves his head back into the mansion and faces Shade. “Okay, there’s someone outside of the cave, but that shouldn’t be a problem. We’ll move deeper into the cave, just far enough so they can’t hear me speak, and I’ll create another mansion. You can wait in there until I come back or I send you a message.”

“What’s wrong with this one?”

“This one will only last one more day; less than that, truthfully. I’ve prepared a spell to make another mansion that will last twice as long, given that I don’t know exactly how much time I’ll need to steal the amulet for you.”

“What if they find the mansion before you get back?”

“I’m actually surprised they haven’t found it already.” Dante says, laughing. “Even if they do find it, they won’t be able to get in. No amount of brute force or magic will allow them entry. They can, however, simply dismantle the spell. If they do that, well…just cooperate with them. I can break you out of the dungeon or jail or whatever they have in the capital. We’ll call that ‘extra credit’ on my part to show you how great a boss I am.” He finishes jovially.

“So, my only real hope is that you are as powerful as you boast you are.” Shade deadpans.

“Exactly!” Dante replies as he spins back around to face the portal. “Well, let’s get a move on then.”

Both Dante and Shade exit the mansion, right after Shade grabs his cloak. Dante ends the spell, leaving no trace of the mansion behind. They move deeper into the cave, the only light coming from the early sun rays passing through the waterfall. Soon, it is pitch black.

“I can’t see anything!” Shade exclaims in a whisper.

“I can see fine.” Dante replies in kind. “Just hand me your wing and I’ll guide you.”

“I…uh…that’s…” Shade stutters.

“Speak up!” Dante exclaims in the same whispering tone as Shade.

“Um…pegasus wings are very…sensitive.” Shade mutters.

“Well, it’s not like I’m going to pull out your feathers or anything.”

“No, I mean…it’s arousing for a pegasus to have their wings handled.” Shade says, clearly embarrassed.

“Really? Huh.” Dante replies. “Well, we’re far enough in that they shouldn’t see this light.”

With the uttering of a nonsensical word, a light springs forth from Dante’s right hand, illuminating the narrowing cave. The cave walls and ceiling have closed in slightly so that Dante can barely stand up straight without needing to duck a little. There’s still enough room for the two of them to stand side by side, but Shade remains behind Dante, merely following him.

After less than another minute of walking, Dante stops and turns to face the side of the cave.

“I’ll set up the portal here.” He says. “I’ll make it so you can enter and exit it freely, as well as open and close it.” With the same foci as before in hand, a nonsensical word, and a flick of his hand, a portal opened up before them. “I’ll come back in a day or so with the bauble, or I’ll send you a message telling you where to go.”

“How will I know if you send me a message?” Shade asks, turning his head to look up at the warlock.

“Like this.” Dante’s voice rang in Shade’s head.

“Whoa!” Shade jumps back. “How’d you do that?”

“Magic. Try saying something back in your mind.”

With a moment for Shade to collect himself, he thinks hard about his reply.

“LIKE THIS? IS IT WORKING? HOW CAN I TELL IF YOU CAN HEAR ME OR NOT?” The voice of Shade rang loudly in Dante’s mind.

Dante, for his part, simply rubbed his forehead. “Yeah, I heard you. You don’t need to yell it in your mind. You just need to focus on what you want to say back. Keep in mind you can only reply in twenty-five words or less.”

“Oh. Sorry about that.” Shade says sheepishly.

“It’s fine. I’m going to go now. If you don’t hear from me in…let’s say four days, assume I’m dead. I don’t think that will happen, but I figure giving you a time frame is the right thing to do. Besides, the mansion will last about that long anyway, so you’d have a reason to leave. Farewell.” Dante spins on his heels and heads toward the exit, leaving Shade to enter the mansion.

A short walk later, Dante is at the entrance of the cave. He quickly makes himself invisible, slips outside, goes around the waterfall, and slips past the guards. There are two pegasi and one unicorn guard stationed on a cliff just outside the cave.

‘Yeah, Shade will probably be in some serious trouble if I die. Pfft, like that’ll happen.’

Dante soars through the air, looking around on the ground, seeing more guards posted than the previous day, and much more than the day before.

‘Yep, they are definitely still looking for me.’

Dante quickly floats down to the familiar donut shop and sits down, crossing his legs.

‘So…what am I going to do now?’

~ _ ~ _ ~ _ ~ _ ~

As the early morning sun began its ascent into the heavens, its light bathed the village of Ponyville. The denizens of this village began emerging from their homes, ready to begin their day. In a certain yellow pegasi’s cottage, however, the occupants had already begun their day. Well, most of the occupants that is.

Fluttershy had already begun tending to the animals under her care. Iatril, waking a short time after Fluttershy, had tried waking Flurry from his slumber, only to be met with failure. Apparently, Flurry could hold his drink even less than when he was a wolf, despite his still great size.

After the attempt of waking Flurry, Iatril went downstairs and informed Fluttershy that she would be going for a walk. What she didn’t tell her, however, was that this walk would be in the Everfree Forest. Fluttershy offered her breakfast before leaving, but Iatril declined; she already ate a berry she blessed a few days ago, but she didn’t mention that to Fluttershy.

As Iatril trotted through the forest, she took note of all the differences between this forest and what she’s seen in Equestria thus far, as well as the forests from where she’s from. From what she’s learned from Fluttershy, this forest acts on its own. The plants, the animals, the weather, it all acts as it does from her world. However, the plants are definitely different. In her world, plants respond to a druid when a druid tries to commune with them, like when regaining spells. The plants in this forest feel as though they are trying to commune with her. This isn’t entirely strange. When a forest feels threatened, it will try making its will known to any fey or druids nearby. What’s different in this case is the forest isn’t trying to ask for help. Rather, it is merely trying to speak to her, as if they were old friends.

Seeing no reason not to oblige the woods, she casts her spell.

“Hello?” She calls out to the trees, continuing her walk.

“What…are…you?” It calls back to her in a slow, old voice. The sound of heavy wood creaks in the distance.

“I am a druid, a guardian of nature.” She says proudly. “I receive power through nature and, in turn, use that power to defend nature from those who would destroy it.”

“Yes…you…have…some…of…our…power.”

“That is correct. I am thankful to you for that. And, well, I am here again to ask that you continue to support me.”

“What…need…do…you…have…for…our…power?”

“There is a man, a creature similar looking to my true form, who brought us here. He is a threat to this world and its inhabitants.”

“Not…to…us. Not…our…concern.”

Iatril stops her walk to look around at the forest. “But, should he conquer the ponies that live around you, he will eventually come here. Does that not concern you?”

“We…fear…nothing. We…are…eternal.”

“What do you mean?”

“It means we don’t have anything to worry about from anything, pony or otherwise!”

Iatril turns to see a large timberwolf sitting before her on the ground.

“We have existed for hundreds of years here. The ones that lived in the castle in our forest have tried many times to push us back. While we forest sentinels are weak against them, the forest itself is beyond them. When the ancient dragon spirit came back, even his great power could not affect the forest. Being untamable to any being, it has truly earned its pony given name ‘Everfree.’ Why should this unmovable entity give you power?!” It finishes with a snarl.

“I-I mean no disrespect to you or the forest. This man…I believe he is beyond even the princesses. O Great Forest, you saw him as we came into this world. Do you truly think him so weak?”

“Not…beyond…us.”

“He is strong enough to cast the deadliest of spells! These spells are powerful enough to level mountains and forests, even you!”

“How do you know this?” The timberwolf barks.

“I have seen the remains of such a spell cast. The forest I once called home was completely consumed in a fire that rained down from the sky. Miles upon miles of trees, plants, and the animals and creatures that dwelled there were all eradicated. The land itself, I knew, would not recover from such a travesty; not for several centuries, at the very least. And, given the option, he will do it to you too.”

“Why?”

“If you cannot beat something, follow it. If you refuse to follow it, search out a way to destroy it. That is what he believes in.”

“How…can…you…stop…him?”

“The forest is right. If this creature possesses such great power, what can you do with the power you now wield?”

“To cast such a spell, he would require an artifact, an object of great and ancient magical power. Even then, he would need to invoke the spell, which I know takes a whole day to cast. My friend and I fought him right before we came here, and we beat him, but he tricked us and got away. If you continue to give me strength, then we can beat him again!”

It was silent for a moment, and then the forest responded. “One…condition.”

“What’s that?”

“The man you came here with. The one who is your friend. He is not welcome here. He killed a manticore using dark magic. Worse, he is…possessed by an evil spirit. We cannot allow such a thing to roam freely here.”

“I…” Iatril paused, looking at the forest floor. “I won’t be able to stop him, should he choose to enter the forest. But please, do know that he is in control, not that…thing he bonded to himself!” Iatril spat out.

The forest moaned in response, dropping leaves from its trees.

“Fine, but if he come here, we will attack him. Is that understood?”

“Yes, of course.” Iatril gives in.

Several roots from several trees slowly push through the ground around them and approach Iatril. As they near her, several vines spring forth from each of the roots, gently wrapping around Iatril. The vines then begin to glow green, lightly. As they do, Iatril can feel the power of the forest enter her body. Quickly, she forms the spells she wants in her mind and the forest easily obliges. After a few short minutes, Iatril accomplishes what is done in an hour: she has her spells set within her. Even the spell she just cast was replenished.

“Thank you for your help.” Iatril bows as she is released from the vines.

“Return…for…more.”

“I will.” Iatril then turns to leave. Before she takes two steps, she stops in place. “Oh, I also have a favor to ask.” She turns back around. “The yellow pegasus that lives near the forest border sometimes comes in to look for lost animals. If she does, please don’t harm her.”

“Fine, but only her. We will treat all other ponies as intruders.”

“Thank you.” She turns again and trots towards the edge of the forest. ‘At least one of the beings I care for will be safe.’

Exiting the forest, Iatril sees Raven and the falcon sitting on a nearby tree, presumably talking to each other. Deciding to leave them be, she heads back to the cottage to see Fluttershy.

As she enters the cottage, she sees Fluttershy on her couch, reading a book. Upon entering, Fluttershy looks up and greets her.

“Did you enjoy your walk?” Fluttershy asks.

“Oh, yes. It was just what I needed.” Iatril replies. “So, do you need any help with your animals today?”

“Not right now. I already gave them food for the morning, so they’ll be good for a while.”

“Okay. Could you give me a moment then. I think I’m going to try waking Flurry again.”

“Oh, he already got up while you were on your walk. Rarity came by not too long ago and asked him to an early lunch. They left just a few minutes before you came back.”

‘Oh, this is going to be good.’ Iatril mused. She turned her attention back to Fluttershy. “So what would you like to do today?”

“Well,” She shifts nervously, closing her book, “I was hoping we could talk some more, like we did yesterday.”

“Of course!” Iatril replies happily. “Although, I’m not sure how much more there is we can talk about nature and animals without repeating ourselves.”

“Actually,” Fluttershy says quietly, “I wanted to know more about you.” She says, gradually getting quieter.

“More about me?” Iatril questioned.

“I don’t mean to ask you anything you don’t want to answer, but I feel like you know all about me now and I hardly know anything about you and I really enjoy talking with you and I want to get to know you better, but if you don’t want to talk about anything that’s fine, I just wanted to see if you did but I can see you don’t want to talk about it so—” Fluttershy spoke so quickly she started to sound like Pinkie Pie.

“Fluttershy!” Iatril interrupted. “I’m fine with telling you about me.” She trotted over to the other end of the couch and sat down. “What do you want to know?”

“Well, whatever you want to tell me.” She said, visibly more relaxed.

“Hmmm.” Iatril took a moment to think this over. ‘What am I thinking? There isn’t a lot I can tell her that isn’t…well, something she would frown upon. I could just make stuff up, but…no, I shouldn’t. I don’t understand how Dante can lie all the time and keep all the lies straight. Maybe…maybe I should just tell her the truth.’

She took a breath and looked at Fluttershy, who was waiting patiently for her to begin.

“Uh, before I begin, I have a question for you, Fluttershy.” Iatril says hesitantly.

“What is it?”

“What if…what if I said I wasn’t a pony?”

“What do you mean?”

“What if I said this form you see is just one I took using magic, and I’m really something else?”

Fluttershy drew her hooves closer to herself. “A-Are you a changeling?” She asked, panic in her eyes.

“I don’t know what that is, but no, I’m not. I’m…not from this place, this world, this plane, whatever you wish to call it. We were brought here through a spell.”

Fluttershy just sat there, starring at Iatril. She didn’t move a muscle or her gaze from Iatril’s eyes, searching for an answer, hoping this was just some funny joke she wasn’t getting.

“I know this can’t be easy to accept,” Iatril continued, “but it’s true. I’ll…I’ll show you.”

She stood from the couch and took a few steps away from her. She closed her eyes and focused on her spell, sending her magic into her jade amulet, making it clasp firmly around her neck. She opened her eyes and looked at Fluttershy again.

“Please don’t be afraid.”

In a moment, her form changed back into that of an elf, her hair coming together in its bindings, her clothes forming around her, an oak staff in hand. She stood about a foot taller than Fluttershy, who only sat there in awe. They continued looking at each other, waiting for something to happen. Time seemed to slow to a crawl as neither one said anything.

At last, Iatril broke the silence.

“Please…say something.”

Fluttershy, who seemed far more relaxed than Iatril thought she would be, took a moment before speaking.

“Why did you lie?”

Such a simple question and not something Iatril was expecting either.

“I…I don’t know. I thought…aren’t you mad?” She exclaimed.

“Not really.” Fluttershy responded calmly. “I mean, I guess I would have been scared if I saw you coming into town looking like that. I’m not the bravest pony around. So I can see why you would change what you look like. I guess what I’m really asking is, why tell me know? We’ve only known each other for a couple of days.”

“I…” Iatril started, only to stop to consider her reason. ‘Why did I tell her? She’s right. Why bother hide something if you’re just going to show it off anyway? I asked those animals not to say anything, something I probably didn’t need to do in the first place, all for nothing. Why didn’t I, right from the beginning, just say I wasn’t a pony? It would have…Dante. That’s why.’

“-Sigh-, I don’t like lying to others. It just feels so unnecessary. I only shaped myself into a pony because my friend is a paranoid, callous idiot.”

“Who?” She asked. “You mean Flurry?”

“No, someone else. Flurry is, well, a wolf.” Fluttershy shuddered at the mention of the word. “He’s not dangerous!” Iatril quickly added. “He doesn’t eat meat, at least not real meat. He’s not really a wolf, either. It’s like how you aren’t really a…pony. Hmmm, this is hard to explain. Dante would be better at explaining this type of thing.”

“Is that your friend?”

“Yeah, for lack of a better word. He’s in Canterlot right now looking for clues.”

“Clues for what?”

“I wasn’t lying when I mentioned we were looking for somepony…I mean someone. He dragged us to this world and Dante is looking around Canterlot for anything that may help us find him.”

“Why are you looking for him?”

“Heh, I’ve got to say, you’re handling this better than I thought you would.” Iatril let out a chuckle. “He… is very dangerous, to say the least. We fought right before we came here. He had some wizard cast some weird spell which sent us into the Everfree Forest. After we realized what had happened, he flew away, out of the forest and towards this village. Dante went after him, leaving me to fight a bunch of timberwolves (don’t worry, they’re fine). The timberwolves did get the wizard, and his body just burnt to ash.

“After that, Flurry, Raven, and I came out of the forest to see your village. I wanted to look around so I came in and met you. The next day, Dante left for Canterlot to look around, albeit a lot more stealthily, while I stayed here and…did nothing productive.” Iatril looks down at the floor. “Kind of makes me feel bad. But!” She says, looking up again. “Dante did say I should enjoy myself, since it would take a while to pick up a trail anyway. And, well, here we are I guess.” She finishes with a shrug.

Fluttershy sits there, processing everything she was told. Soon, she perks up and asks Iatril, “Could he still be around here, in Ponyville?”

“No,” Iatril replies calmly, “He’s too smart for that. The best thing for him to do was to get as far away as possible. He could have dove into the earth, hidden in the shadows, or simply turned invisible and flew away. Staying here would only make finding him easier for us.”

“Maybe we should contact the princesses. I’m sure they would be able to help find him.” Fluttershy said hopefully.

“That…would be a very bad idea.” Iatril replied despondently.

“Why?”

“Dante…isn’t a very good person. Rather, he’s a terrible person. From what you’ve told me, your rulers are the most benevolent creatures I’ve ever heard of, right next to angels. If Dante were to approach them for help, either he or the princesses would start a fight.”

“The princesses wouldn’t do something like that.”

“Then Dante would for sure. He doesn’t trust anything waving a flag of peace. He’s been betrayed by those deemed ‘good’ so many times he’s just stopped listening to them. Seeing how you and this village act, I wouldn’t doubt the goodness of the princesses. Dante, however, would never see this. For now, let’s just let Dante search around. I doubt Aselith, the one we’re looking for, would show up anytime soon.”

Before Fluttershy could say anything else, a familiar large unicorn pushed open the door, stomping right into the cottage.

“I’m back!” Flurry called out. “You would not believe what that—” He stopped in mid step, staring at the now elven Iatril.

Iatril looked around, hoping to find some sort of distraction. Seeing none, she decided to just confront him.

“Okay, now, before you get mad, let me say—”

“WHAT THE HELL?” He yells at the top of his lungs. Fluttershy scrunches up in a ball on the couch from his booming voice.

“Look,” Iatril says quickly, hoping to diffuse the situation. “I know you’re mad about me blowing our cover, but—”

“I don’t care about that!” He yells again.

Iatril looks at him skeptically. “You don’t?”

“NO! Why couldn’t you wait longer before doing this?! Now I lost my bet!”

“What are you talking about?”

“I made a bet with Raven about how long you could keep this secret. I bet him you could last a whole week, but you couldn’t even last THREE DAYS! Now I have to eat those stupid magic-berries you make for a whole month!” He turns around, grumbling. “Better go tell that stupid bird he won.” He leaves the cottage, slamming the door behind him with his rear hoof.

Iatril just stares at the door for a minute, making sure what just happened really happened. Then she just turns back to Fluttershy and shrugs. “Oh, yeah, and Raven is a talking, magical bird.”

END CHAPTER

Author's Note

Well, someone can't seem to make up her mind. Now, I know what you're thinking: Did The Main Man just try to move the plot along haphazardly, or is there some sort of plan to all this? Or, maybe he's just pulling this all out of his ass and makes it up as he goes. Well, I'll tell you. It's...

~3 hours later~

...and that's how I saved the world. No, wait, I was supposed to talk about something else. Oops. :twilightsheepish:

Well, that's all for now then. See you in about a week.

Ch. 8 - Lookin' at You

“…but personally, I find such acts of force distasteful at best.” Raven said to the falcon, whom were both perched upon a tree limb near the Everfree Forest.

“Then why continue working with him?” The falcon returned in her avian tongue.

“Being a familiar to a mage is complicated. I could leave him, but then I would cease to have the mental power I do now. A familiar forms a connection with their master. In exchange for giving mages a new outlet to use their magic, we familiars grow stronger and smarter. Should I choose to leave Dante, I would revert back to a normal raven. Back where I’m from, animals aren’t as smart as you and the others.”

“So you can either live a dull and simple life, or you can be smart and in service to someone you can’t stand?”

“That’s not it!” Raven says quickly. “It’s not that I can’t stand him; I can. I just wish he wouldn’t go as far as he does to prove a point. I’ve only been his familiar for the past few years. I don’t know what’s happened to him to drive him so far, he’s never told me. Only Iatril knows, maybe Flurry too. And I don’t want to leave him, I’m grateful to be his familiar. Most familiars aren’t given the choice to leave, but Dante made it a point to let me know I’m free to go any time.”

The falcon just nodded her head. “I understand what you’re going through. Take the yellow one, for instance: since she has grown closer with her friends, she has become less and less timid. We animals can’t help her with that. You, however, can help to change your master’s ways. You can easily talk with him, guide him, help him however you can. If, in the end, you can’t end up changing him, then maybe he just can’t be changed. Not everyone is meant to think the same way, after all.”

Raven chuckled through his beak. “You are quite wise for a lowly animal.”

The falcon laughed in kind. “And you are quite naive for a magical animal.”

“Raven!” Flurry called, lazily walking over to the tree.

“Yeah, Flurry?” Raven replies, switching back to common speak.

“You won the bet. Iatril just told Fluttershy about us.” He says grudgingly. “I’ll start eating the berries today.”

“Excellent!” Raven says happily, leaving Flurry to grumble under his breath as he walks away. “Well, this gives me a chance to use your advice.” He says, turning back to the falcon. “I must travel to Canterlot and inform Dante of this. Maybe I can talk to him while I’m there. I’ll see you later.” And with that, Raven took to the air towards the mountain capital.

The falcon sat on the tree, watching Raven fly off in the distance, smirking to herself. “That should do for now.” She says to herself, taking flight into the Everfree Forest.

~ _ ~ _ ~ _ ~ _ ~

The streets of Canterlot were just like they always were: busy. Of course, today was no exception. Unlike every other day, however, there were many more guard ponies around. Twilight Sparkle grew concerned. Sure, when special events are scheduled, more guards are sent out; that made perfect sense. But besides her going to the castle today, there was nothing going on. Even then, her going to the castle doesn’t count as an event.

As Twilight neared the castle gate, a pair of guards blocked her path, crossing their held spears.

“Halt!” The unicorn on her right proclaimed to her.

“Identify yourself!” Called the earth pony on her left.

“Uh, Twilight Sparkle?” She said, confusion in her voice. “It hasn’t been that long since I came for a visit, has it?”

“Just a moment, Miss Sparkle.” The unicorn said. He lit up his horn and a light washed over Twilight’s body. After a few seconds, he dimmed his horn and relaxed. “You may enter now, Miss Sparkle. My apologies.” Both guards then lifted their spears, opening the path to the castle. “Do be careful, Ma’am. A dangerous creature is loose in the city. Among other things, it has the power to shift its form.”

“Like a changeling?” Twilight asked nervously.

“Not exactly.” The earth pony replied. “We aren’t even sure what it really looks like. We just need to keep a look out for anything suspicious and check everypony coming to the castle.”

Twilight said her farewells and made her way up into the castle. There were more guards on duty than she’s ever remembered. After asking a guard where he was, she made her way to her brother’s quarters. She rapped on the door a few times and waited for a response. In no time at all, Shining Armor opened the door, fully clad in his royal armor.

“Shining!” She called out, embracing her brother in a hug.

“Twily? What are you doing here?” He asked his little sister.

“I came to visit, like we planned. Remember?” She let go of her brother, dropping back down onto all fours. “What’s going on here?”

“Something broke into the castle yesterday and attacked the guards.” Shining said, a serious expression on his face. “We don’t know what it is or where it’s hiding. You shouldn’t be here! It’s not safe!”

Twilight placed her hoof on her brother’s. “Shining, my friends and I have fought against both Nightmare Moon and Discord. We were even at your wedding when you and Princess Cadence fought back Chrysalis. I’ll be fine.”

“I know.” He said, letting out a breath. “I just worry about you.”

“Well, since I’m here, why don’t I help you out?”

“Twilight, that’s not…well, alright, I guess. You’d probably try to figure this all out on your own anyways.” He said with a chuckle. “But promise me you won’t try and go off on your own to find this creature.”

“I promise!” She replied happily.

“Okay.” Shining moved out of his room and closed the door behind him. “Well, follow me then.”

The two siblings made their way down the hallways of the great palace. Each corridor they passed, a pair of guards stood at attention; one a unicorn and the other a pegasi or earth pony. After several twists and turns in the palace, the pair arrives at a magical laboratory. Several unicorns are there reading through tomes and going over notes. One unicorn stands out from the rest.

“Crescent Moon!” Twilight called out, trotting over to a navy blue unicorn with short, white hair, wearing a dark blue robe with a full moon depicted on the back.

“Hmm? I recognize that voice.” The stallion said, turning to face the approaching lilac unicorn. “Why, if it isn’t Twilight Sparkle.” He said with a smile. “To what do I owe the pleasure?”

“She’s here to help out with our missing creature problem.” Shining Armor chimed in.

“Ah, very good.” Crescent Moon said, looking over Twilight. “Perhaps we’ll actually get somewhere then. We’ve had no luck figuring anything out about this creature, even with the thing we caught.”

“What did you catch?” Twilight asked.

“Come over here.” He said, turning to a nearby table. Upon this table, there was a single glass box. Inside it, there was something Twilight wasn’t expecting to see.

“Is that an eyeball!?” She exclaimed. The thing in question was standing on its four spidery legs, looking straight across the room at an open space.

“Yes. I’ve theorized that it is the creature’s eye and that he can see through it, though I don’t have any proof of this yet.”

“Does that mean it can see us now?” She asked curiously, stepping closer to the box.

“Perhaps.” Crescent Moon returned coolly. “But I believe it’s just waiting right now. It hasn’t moved since we brought it in, except to stretch its legs every so often. I’ve looked into several sight spells and believe it can only see through this eye when it’s actually focusing on it. Maybe with you here, we can uncover something I may have missed or even…find…”

“Crescent Moon?” Twilight prodded the stallion. “What’s wrong?”

“The eye.” He said softly.

Twilight looked at the eye and saw why Crescent Moon was acting strange. The eye had turned and was now looking directly at her, and she looked directly at it. For a moment, nothing was said. Then, Twilight decided to take a few steps to her left. The eye turned its body, continuing to face her, its yellow iris never straying from her for even a moment.

Without waiting another moment, Crescent Moon lit up his horn and let a light shine over the eye. He then motioned to two other unicorns who followed suit. Twilight, however, was too preoccupied with her observer. She wasn’t sure what she was looking at. She knew it was an eyeball, but beyond that she couldn’t say. She knew what she felt, though. It felt like something was looking in her, instead of at her. It felt like she was being sized up, only to be eaten later. Before she could stare into it any longer, the eye turned to face Crescent Moon. After a brief moment of staring, the eye relaxed its legs, lowering itself closer to the table. Seconds after doing that, Crescent Moon and the other two unicorns ceased their magic.

“Damn.” Crescent Moon muttered under his breath. He turned his fellow observers. “What did you two find?”

“It’s definitely still in the city.” One of the unicorns responded. “I can’t tell where.”

“I think it noticed what we were doing.” The other unicorn added.

“Hmmm.” Crescent Moon hummed to himself. “It definitely transmitted what it saw to its owner. It may also have reacted to Twilight coming close to it.” Crescent Moon turned to look at the lilac unicorn next to him, only to find her staring at the eye still. “Twilight?”

“Twily?” Shining Armor stepped closer to his sister. “Are you okay?”

“Huh?” Twilight snapped back to reality. “Oh, yeah. I’m fine.” She said, half convinced.

“Are you sure?” Shining Armor asked, his voice full of concern.

“Yeah.” She replied, looking over at the eye again.

“Why don’t you visit Cadence for a while?” Shining Armor suggested. “I’m sure she’d be happy to see you.”

“I…yeah, I think that’s a good idea.” Twilight conceded.

“I’ll have somepony take you to her.”

“No, that’s alright. I can go by myself.”

Shining looked at sister for a moment before nodding. “Alright. She should be in her study about now.”

Twilight didn’t hesitate even a moment in leaving the room. She quickly trotted down the hallway, looking for her former foal sitter’s study. All the while, an image kept flashing in her mind: Some sort of biped, wreathed in fire. In every direction of the biped was a sea of flames.

‘What was that?’ She thought to herself, but kept trotting on.

~ _ ~ _ ~ _ ~ _ ~

“…and that’s how I really met Dante.” Iatril said, finishing her tale. The sun has already reached its highest point in the sky by now and has already begun moving down again. While explaining a part of her past to Fluttershy, Iatril decided it was a good idea to revert back to her pony form, less she be seen. Fluttershy had sat on the couch, listening intently to Iatril’s story, gaining answers and questions as to who Iatril was.

“Why did the, um, ‘peep-el’ at your monastery want to kill Dante?” Fluttershy asked, playing with the foreign word.

“Well, Dante was…is a terrible person. He’s done horrible things to others, sometimes for no reason at all; not even enjoyment. He’s done things just to prove he would.”

“That’s horrible!” Fluttershy exclaimed, throwing her hooves in the air, then bashfully putting them back down.

“Heh, yeah, it is. But the reason they gave me was because he was a dangerous criminal that needed to be brought to justice. Of course, as I said before, they were hoping he would just kill me so they wouldn’t have to deal with me anymore. But that’s okay, I suppose. I left after I confronted them about it. Years later, I heard that the whole place was destroyed by some wizard. It didn’t take long to figure out that wizard was Dante. Though, back then, he didn’t know how to cast any wizard spells. It was just assumed a warlock could never lay waste to the whole monastery, so they called him a wizard instead.”

“What’s the difference between a wizard and a warlock? Can’t they both use magic?”

Iatril paused for a moment to think about that. “Well, warlocks don’t actually cast spells. They have…oh, what did Dante say they were called? I can’t seem to remember, but he also called them glorified tricks. Warlocks can also shoot out raw energy from their hands. Wizards, however, cast spells that they must prepare from a spell book. Being a wizard is more about learning how magic works, where being a warlock is about simply using it.”

“What about you?”

“Me? I’m a druid. I gain my magic through nature.”

“How does that work? Earth ponies grow the plants and pegasi change the weather. Do you get you magic from that?” She asked, full of confusion.

“Oh, no. Here, I get my magic from the Everfree Forest.”

With that, Fluttershy looked at Iatril as if she sprouted a second head, an action that actually isn’t impossible, given the right spell.

“But the Everfree Forest is such a scary place! Why would you get you magic from there?”

“It actually isn’t so bad. I was able to talk to the forest a few hours ago. It doesn’t really like ponies going through it. I think it has a grudge against your princesses for trying to get rid of it. Don’t get me wrong, I’m sure they didn’t know the forest was sentient.”

“Maybe they did and they just don’t want anyone to know.” A voice said from below them, causing Fluttershy to jump.

Iatril looked around for the source of the voice, only to find Raven walking out from under the table in the room.

“Raven! Don’t sneak up on us like that.” Iatril warned the avian.

“Oh please. I’ve been here for well over an hour.” Raven replied, hopping onto the table with a flap of his wings.

“Why?” Iatril asked.

“Well, how else am I going to learn about yours and Dante’s past? Seriously! You two talk so little about yourselves.”

“Why don’t you just ask us? It would save yourself the trouble of eavesdropping.” Iatril stated matter-of-factly.

“I have. Dante always ignores the question and you always say you don’t want to talk about it. Apparently, you have no problem telling someone you hardly know your life story. I see how it is!”

“I…Raven, I don’t mean…I’m not—”

“Hah!” Raven yells, hopping onto Iatril’s back. “I’m just ruffling your feathers. If you don’t want to tell me directly, that’s fine, I suppose. However, that doesn’t mean I won’t eavesdrop on your conversations.” Looking over Iatril’s head, Raven spotted the yellow pegasus looking at him. He hopped off of Iatril and landed on the couch, right in front of Fluttershy. “Hello. I don’t think we’ve been formally introduced. I am Raven.” He said, bowing his head slightly.

“Hello.” Fluttershy greeted in kind. “I’m Fluttershy. I’ve never seen a talking bird before. That’s so interesting.”

“Hear that, Iatril?” Raven asked, turning to face the green pegasus. “I’m interesting.”

“Meh. Turtles are far more interesting than you.”

“Hey, now, I resent that.” Raven said, slowly walking over to Iatril. “Turtles are nothing compared to me. Now, dragon-turtles are far more interesting, I’ll admit.”

“Dragon-turtles?” Fluttershy asked.

“Yep.” Raven turns back to Fluttershy. “Just as it sounds: a dragon mixed with a turtle. I’ve seen some pretty strange things with Dante and Iatril…and Flurry too, I suppose. Listing mixed animal things alone, I’ve seen owlbears, dragonnes (dragon-lions), centaurs (human-horses), chimera (which have several different heads), sphinxes (basically human-griffons), and more! Oh, here’s one you can relate to: hippogriff. Those are like horses mixed with eagles. Imagine that, why don’t you.” Raven finished with a devilish smile on his face.

“Raven, stop trying to scare Fluttershy!” Iatril warns the bird again.

“Actually,” Fluttershy cuts it, “I know what a hippogriff is.”

“What?” Raven deadpans at Fluttershy.

“Well, I used to know a hippogriff in Cloudsdale. They have a pony parent and a griffon parent. It’s not too common, but they are around.”

Raven just stands on the couch, staring at Fluttershy. “You’re no fun.” He finally says, hopping off of the couch and taking to the air. “I’m just going to go bother Flurry now.”

“Hey, where is Flurry anyways?” Iatril asks.

“If he hasn’t moved since I started listening to you talk, he’s in bed, mumbling something about Rarity trying to flirt with him.”

“So that’s what that was about earlier.” Iatril said with a laugh. Fluttershy looked at her questioningly. “Flurry doesn’t like to socialize with others. He barely talks with Dante or Raven.”

“Which is exactly why I’m about to go up there and pester him. Don’t mind any yells you hear.” And with that, Raven flew up the stairs.

“So, what else do you want to know?” Iatril asked.

“Um, how did you and Dante end up traveling together?” Fluttershy responded.

“Ah, yes. That, well, is a more involved story, so I’ll only tell you about how we met up for the second time. That all happened a few decades later. You see…”

~ _ ~ _ ~ _ ~ _ ~

The day passed by quite smoothly, despite being stared down by a disembodied eyeball. The hours went by as Twilight visited with Cadence, both catching up with each other. After visiting for a while, Twilight dared to go back down to the laboratory to see what else was uncovered and to see if she could assist them. With the exception of what they uncovered when the eye moved earlier, nothing new was learned. The whole time she was down there, the eye made no movements, not even to stretch its legs.

As evening rolled around, Twilight began to realize how tired she was, which was weird given she usually stayed up half the night reading. She bid Crescent Moon and the other mages a good night and headed off to her room.

‘I still don’t understand.’ Twilight thought to herself. ‘Last time I was near the eye, it stared straight at me. Now it won’t react at all. Why did it react to me at all in the first place?’

As she was about to open the door of her room for the night, a glimmer in the corner of her eye broke her from her thoughts. Floating just above her door was a tiny, shimmering sphere, smaller than a bit. The sphere was moving along the corner of the wall and ceiling and was moving towards where she just came from. Curious as to what it was, Twilight went after it. It wasn’t hard to follow; the sphere was moving no faster than a slow trot. The sphere turned down a corridor with Twilight following close behind, lighting up her horn and letting her magic flow over the sphere.

She wasn’t able to determine what exactly the sphere was, but she knew she’s never seen magic like it before. It was hard to describe: it felt like it was completely made of magic, but it wasn’t being controlled directly. A thought crossed Twilight’s mind.

‘This was made by the creature!’

She had no way of proving this, of course, but what else could it be? The orb turned another corner and flew out the open window towards the front gate of the palace. Not wanting to lose the orb, Twilight started galloping down the halls. She passed several guards, but they didn’t get in her way. Exiting the castle, she searched the sky frantically for the orb. Seeing pass over the gate and going down the street on her right, she galloped towards it. She saw the two guards that stopped her earlier that morning leaving, probably changing shifts.

“Hey!” She called out to them. The earth pony turned and motioned to his partner to do the same.

“Yes, Miss Sparkle? What can we do for you?” The earth pony guard asked.

“I…ha…I think I know where the creature is!” She panted.

“What? Where?!” The unicorn asked, full of anticipation.

“I saw some weird, glowing ball around the castle. It was a spell I’ve never seen before. It’s going down the street now!”

“Show us!” The earth pony called, readying his lance.

“This way!” Twilight turned and headed where the glowing ball went. Behind her, the two guard ponies followed. One of them yelled something to the guards at the gate, but Twilight didn’t hear what. She was too focused on finding the sphere again. Running down the streets, she looked all around for the elusive orb. A slight movement to her left told her where the sphere disappeared to: down an alleyway.

The alleyway was poorly lit due to the setting sun and how close the buildings that made it up were. She slowly walked into the alley, looking all around for anything. The two soldiers flanked her on either side, keeping their guards up. They came to a corner where their only option was to go right. Just as they turned, Twilight saw the sphere turn another corner to the left. The two guards, seeming to notice the orb, stepped forward, quietly. Twilight followed right behind them.

As they rounded the corner, they entered a small, square area with no other exits, save for the sky. The walls around them were made up of the bricks of the buildings. The ground was mostly cobblestone. In the farthest corner of the area, a creature stood with its back to them. Several other spheres were floating around the creature. Just around the creature, Twilight could see an appendage of it holding one of the spheres. A moment later, the sphere disappeared and one of the floating spheres took its place. One by one, the spheres went to the creature and disappeared, while Twilight and the two guards watched from the corner. Finally, the last sphere, the one Twilight followed back, went up to the creature. The creature grasped the sphere and it soon disappeared like the rest. Then, the creature made a noise. It slowly turned to face Twilight and the guards.

Its face had some fur around its mouth and its mane stretched just below where its neck met its body. She could see that its back was actually a red cloak and that it was wearing some sort of blue shirt and black pants. She also saw three necklaces around its neck and a band around its head. Most importantly, she saw a lightly glowing, yellow eye in the creature’s right socket, but its left socket was empty. The eye was looking straight at her, just like it was before.

“Hi~” The creature said, not taking its eye off of Twilight. “I suppose you were looking for me?”

The unicorn besides her let out a beam of magic straight into the sky, exploding into a bright light above them.

“Pretty.” The creature spoke again, looking up at the quickly fading source of light. “What was that about, hmmm? I’m sure it wasn’t to impress me, was it?” The creature returned its gaze to the ponies before it, slowly walking forwards. “Perhaps you’re signaling someone?”

“Retreat!” The earth pony guard yelled, grabbing Twilight with his hoof and turning her to the exit. Not sure what else to do, Twilight ran with the guards down the alleyway. When they turned the corner, right in front of the street, the creature stood in their path.

“Where do you think you’re going?” It asked casually.

The unicorn guard quickly fired a blast of magic at the creature, which held up its appendage, stopping the blast. It then fired one of its own from its other appendage, right at the unicorn, knocking him out. The other guard charged at it with his lance, only to be sidestepped and hit in the side with a blast from the creature. Twilight quickly lit up her horn and teleported to the other side of the creature. She started to run again, only to have the creature teleport in front of her.

“You still haven’t answered my question, you know.” It said. Twilight lit her horn again, but this time the creature grabbed it with its appendage. Despite the discomfort, she tried casting her spell, only to find the magic for it disappearing. “No. None of that now. No more spells.” It said with a smile on its face.

“Let go of me!” Twilight yelled at the creature, trying to pull her horn away from it to no avail.

“That’s a silly request. I grabbed your horn to stop you from leaving, you know.” The creature moved its other appendage in front of Twilight’s face, lighting it up with magic. “Now, what to do with you?”

Twilight could see the energy in its appendage grow stronger and stronger, crackling with destructive power. Still struggling to get away, she called out to anypony that might hear her, but the streets were deserted, something she should have noticed earlier. They ran right into a less occupied area of Canterlot without her noticing. How stupid was she? Shining Armor told her not to do exactly this: go off and search for the creature. Sure, she was with the guards, but that was beside the point. Now she was going to be killed by this thing!

Just as she started to lose hope, a bright flash of light came from behind her.

“ENOUGH!” A regal sounding voice called.

Twilight was able to move her head just enough to see who had come to save her. “Princess!” She called out. Sure enough, Princess Celestia stood behind her, facing the creature, wings flared out. Another flash of light from behind the creature, this time revealing Princess Luna hovering in the air on her wings.

“Release Twilight Sparkle and surrender immediately!” Princess Luna commanded the creature.

The creature stood there for a moment, looking back and forth between the regal sisters. It then released its hold on Twilight and slowly raised its appendages behind its head.

“I surrender.” It uttered.

Twilight quickly moved behind Princess Celestia, who lowered her wings, separating Twilight from the creature’s view. She conjured up a pair of cuffs which she floated over to the creature. The creature, realizing what she wanted, slowly held out its appendages. The solar princess locked its appendages into the cuffs, sealing off its magic. In no time at all, Shining Armor arrived with a squad of unicorn royal guards.

“Captain,” Princess Celestia began in a powerful voice, “Take the prisoner to the royal dungeon. Keep it under surveillance.”

“Yes, Princess!” Shining Armor saluted, ordering his soldiers to surround the creature.

Princess Celestia lowered her head to her student. “Are you alright, Twilight?” She asked soothingly.

“I’m fine.” Twilight responded shakily. Celestia draped one of her wings over her student to comfort her.

“It’s alright now.” Celestia said, trying to calm her student.

The creature and its captors began heading off towards the castle and, thus, the dungeon. What no pony saw, not the princesses or Shining Armor or Twilight Sparkle, was the smile across the creature’s face.

END CHAPTER

Author's Note

Helloooooooo everyone! Here's the next chapter to feed your FIM Fiction addiction. I know what you're thinking: Fluttershy gets to know about Iatril's past before you do. Don't worry. I've given you enough vague information to keep you guessing (I think) and keep you happy (hopefully).

Also, I think I'll try out that idea I had before. The one about letting you guess what spells are cast in the chapters. In this chapter, Dante cast 1 spell. (Well, one you could see, at any rate. You know, the orbs thing). Whoever posts the name of the spell in the comments first wins. I'll check in every so often to see if there's a winner. If there is a winner, I'll let you all know. Then, the winner can PM me what they'd like to see in the story. It can't be some huge plot point, but it can be some minor twist or something small or even some sort of real world reference or something. More on that later, if there's a winner.

Hope you all enjoyed this chapter. Next chapter in about a week. :pinkiehappy:

Ch. 9 - Cue the Fight Music

The royal dungeon wasn’t too bad, as far as dungeons went. The floor was clean, aside from the pile of straw in the corner used as a makeshift bed. The walls had no blood or filth on them, though they were still nothing special to look at. They were, after all, still made of stone; thick stone, at that. One wall was separate from the rest, composed of thick, vertical iron bars that showed a hallway of the dungeon. There were no windows for lighting. The only sources of light were the torches on the walls. Dante assumed them to be magical, given that he didn’t care to check them out when he passed them. His only company was two unicorns in shiny, golden armor. For the past hour, they have said nothing to him; they only looked over at him every now and again.

“Hey, guards!” Dante calls to his keepers. “When’s dinner? I’m getting hungry over here!”

“Quiet, Prisoner!” One of the unicorns calls back.

‘Tsk, typical. I’d almost forgotten what it was like to be a prisoner.’

Dante didn’t have too much to complain about; nothing that wouldn’t have obviously happened. Every item on his person that possessed any amount of magic was confiscated by Captain Armor when he arrived here. There were no chains on him restricting where he could move to in the cell. His magical restraints remained on his wrists, of course, but he did find it necessary to complain about that. It wasn’t so much that it nulled his magic, they just really itched. In fact, they didn’t null his magic, not completely. A while ago, he tested the strength of the restraints with his magic. He found that he could still use his warlock powers, but he would need to concentrate more on it. Traditional spells were out of the question, simply because of the magical dampening of the restraints. There wasn’t even magic in the restraints; they were just made of a material that was good at stopping magic: cold iron.

The only natural material in his world that was able to absorb magic was the iron mined deep underground. These restraints were obviously made of the same material. Normally, Dante would enjoy the irony of a group of good creatures being weakened by the same thing he was weakened by, but he was too preoccupied with the chaffing from his restraints. Of course, this did make Dante think more about the two worlds’ similarities.

‘If cold iron exists here, then perhaps other rare metals do too, like adamantine or mithral. They may even have developed alchemically treated silver. I wonder, though: is subduing unicorns the only use for cold iron they have, or is there another? I haven’t thought about it since coming here, but maybe there are no demons here. With the little evil I’ve seen, perhaps they’ve been kept at bay using this cold iron, somehow. More likely, if demons do exist here, they fear the rulers of this kingdom.’

Dante shudders at the thought. When he gazed upon the princesses, he opened his eyes to their magic. He saw so much magical energy within them. Indeed, they must be quite powerful to radiate an aura as they did. However, there is still the possibility that they aren’t mortal. If they were a form of immortal creatures, like angels or devils, they would only appear strong. That was the question floating around in Dante’s mind: were they outsiders? Could he potentially use their life forces to keep his own demon at bay? And if so, would he use them like that?

‘Of course you will.’ The voice of said demon called out in his mind.

‘Piss off. I’m still in command here.’

‘For now. I give you two weeks at the most, mortal. Then, when you can no longer hold me, I will finish what you started. Maybe I’ll kill those two princesses first and take their life force for myself; we demons are much better at using it than you, human.’ The demon’s voice rang in Dante’s mind.

‘Bah! You demons know only destruction!’

‘And you don’t? Face it, Dante; you are just as bad as us. I’ll be watching you.’ And with that, the demon’s presence left Dante’s mind.

Dante sat down on his makeshift bed, thinking over what the demon said. He knew he couldn’t hold out much longer, and the demon’s taunts weren’t helping him. Pretty soon, he might have to kill the princesses. If it’s between those two and the whole population of this city, Iatril would probably understand.

‘Iatril. I need to let her know.’

Checking to make sure the guards weren’t looking over, he turned to face the corner and concentrated on his magic. It took a few seconds, but he was able to focus on the invocation.

“Hey Iatril, reporting in for the evening. I think I’ve got a problem.”

“What’s the problem?”

Dante again focused his magic past his restraints, feeling them burn his wrists.

“The demon is close to release. I need to find something to sedate him longer. Any ideas?”

“…I don’t know. How long do you have?”

“Maybe two weeks. It’s already speaking with me in my head.”

“Hmmm. The Everfree Forest has some strange power. Perhaps I can convince it to help you. Problem is the forest hates you.”

“Typical. I’ll try coming around tomorrow. A separate issue came up that I’m taking care of now. No need to worry. Dante out.”

“Goodnight then.”

With that, their psychic conversation ends; with good timing, incidentally. Forcing the magic through the restraints left pretty harsh burns around Dante’s wrists. His body began healing the wounds slowly; even more slowly as the healing got closer to the restraints.

‘Goodnight indeed. Perhaps I should just rest. I was told I would be questioned tomorrow morning anyway.’

He lies down on the straw bedding, hoping sleep takes him quickly. Thankfully, he passes out soon after laying down.

~ _ ~ _ ~ _ ~ _ ~

Dante stood just outside a small house in a small village. Snow covered the ground and the streets were barren. The stone house in front of him had a small column of smoke rising from its chimney. The windows, made of actual glass, were covered on the inside by thick looking cloth. The plating on the roof was a faded red and partially broken. The walls of the house were various colors and shades, spanning the whole rainbow and then some. If one were to look at this house, they would think a very strange person lived there. Dante knew better, or rather knew ‘strange’ wasn’t the right word.

“Well, come on in already. I won’t bite.” A sickly voice calls from inside the building.

Dante reached for the handle and pulled open the door. Inside the small home, a fire was roaring in a pit on the right and few bookshelves lined the wall on the left, just behind a cushioned chair. Directly in front of him sat an old man in another cushioned seat, his hair reaching far down his sides and touching the ground. Across his forehead was a long, horizontal scar and his left eye was a faded blue, showing he was blind in that eye. He wore a black robe, something a temple priest might wear, and had a single necklace on. This necklace looked to be the same one Dante wore. It looked as if someone took a long piece of metal and bent it around on itself, flattened it, and strung it into a necklace. Few knew what it meant: it was a symbol to a very powerful deity.

Dante stepped into the humble home and closed the door behind him. The old man in the chair just looked him over, smiling.

“It’s good to see you, Dante.” He says in an old, but sweet, voice.

“I suppose the right thing to say would be ‘it’s good to see you too,’ but I think we’re past that now.” Dante replies, moving forward and sitting in a seat across from the old man.

“Of course, of course.” He nods knowingly. “But it doesn’t hurt to say it anyway.”

Dante just stares at him. “It’s good to see you too.” He concedes.

“You don’t sound happy to see me. What’s the matter?”

“Isn’t it obvious? The fact that I’m seeing you right now with everything that’s happening!” He stands, yelling at the sitting old man.

“What is going on?” He asks, not batting an eye.

“Don’t play with me! You already know.”

“I suppose I do.” The old man looks over at the fire, still raging in its pit.

“I was really hoping I wouldn’t see you. I was hoping being in this other world would mean I couldn’t see you. Now I know what you really are.”

“And what am I?”

“You are just a dream. If a Gate spell couldn’t bring me back to my world, then I highly doubt you could contact me from beyond the grave.”

“You doubt my power so much?” He asks with a chuckle. “You even doubt the power of…” He trails off, gesturing to his holy symbol.

“Don’t act so smart. Either way, you should know I can’t regain my divine magic, not since coming here. What does that tell you?”

“That you associate your inability to regain a few spells with being disconnected from our deity.” He says in a stern voice. Soon after, he goes into a fit of coughs. Dante moves over to the far wall, retrieving a blanket from a table. He brings it back over to the old man and covers him with it, leaving his head showing.

“You should keep warm. It’s winter now and you’ve never been in that great of health.” Dante scolds the old man, walking back over to his chair and sitting down again.

The old man sighs in his seat. “You didn’t need to do that. Whether I’m a dream or from beyond the grave, I’m not truly here. It’s not truly winter, either.”

“I know, but it felt right.”

The two sat in silence for a while, just enjoying each other’s company, before the old man broke the silence.

“So, how much do you remember right now?” He asks.

“Everything.” Dante replies solemnly. “I almost wish I didn’t. To see how much I’ve forgotten, to see how much more I’ve lost since the last time we talked, it makes me want to weep. I’ve even forgotten about…”

“I know.” The old man soothes.

“Of course you know, old man. You know everything.” He says with a scoff.

“Who are you to call me old?” The old man laughs.

Looking down at his hands, Dante sees them to be quite wrinkled. Looking at a mirror on a wall a few feet away, he sees his face, albeit much older and worn. His shoulder length brown hair was now stretched halfway down his back and was a brilliant shade of white.

“I haven’t seen my face like this in a long time.” Dante says with a smile. “It’s funny. As an old man, I remember almost everything from my life. As a young adult, I can scarcely remember a thing.” Dante looks himself over in the mirror from his seat. Of course, he doesn’t care that much about his appearance. He just doesn’t want to ask the old man across from him what’s really on his mind. He knows he needs to. “Should I still go after Aselith?”

“You know as soon as you wake up, you won’t have any choice in the matter.” The old man replies. “Regardless, you know what you need to do. It’s not just about you. Other people are counting on you to finish this.”

“Yeah, I know.”

In front of him, Dante could see the back of the house begin disappearing into shadows. He knew what this meant.

“Okay, we better finish this up.” He says, standing from his chair. “Last question: why do you keep showing up here? You’re just a dream. What’s the point?”

“Why Dante, you surprise me.” The old man says, beginning to disappear into the void. “I’m here to tell you what you need to hear, just as I always have.”

~ _ ~ _ ~ _ ~ _ ~

With a stretch and a yawn, Dante awoke from his slumber, more refreshed than ever. He couldn’t remember what his dream was, but he didn’t care; he would never dream again if he could sleep so peacefully every night. He wasn’t sure what time it was, but he knew it was past dawn. His spells and invocations that last a single day have already disappeared from him. Not wanting to be completely helpless, he recast a few invocations, forcibly pushing his magic through the stubborn restraints once again; two for vision, one for flight (which he kept the wings for hidden beneath his tunic), and a ward. Nothing too fancy, but making do with what one has is always an important ability.

Not a minute after he cast his last invocation, a guard came up to his cell, speaking to the other two guards stationed there.

“The princesses are ready for the creature.” He says to them both.

“Oh boy!” Dante calls out. “I get to meet the princesses!”

“Quiet in there!” One of the other guards yells. “All right, let’s move the creature out.”

The trip to the throne room went without incident. Dante followed the orders of the guards exactly as they were given. Of course, he had to give out some smart-ass response after every other order, which they chided him for. Otherwise, he would be cracking jokes at the princesses. Actually, he’d probably end up doing that anyways.

Dante stood in front of the open doors of the throne room. Down the long room, two alicorns sat on their thrones on top of a raised part of the floor. On the left was Celestia and on the right was Luna. Captain Armor stood at attention at Celestia’s right, next to a wooden table which didn’t seem to belong there. It seemed to have all of Dante’s magical possessions on it. Aside from the two guards that escorted him here, there were two more unicorn guards at the end of the long room, one on either side of the princesses on the lower part of the room. Dante was led into the room and stood in front of the princesses.

“Do you know why you’re here?” Celestia asks him.

“Not really, but I’m sure one of you could explain the situation to me.” He responds jovially.

Luna gives him a look of contempt. “You broke into the castle, attacked the guards, and then fled from arrest! Just yesterday, you attacked two more guards and Twilight Sparkle, the personal student of my sister!”

“Ugh, so many lies!” Dante says in mock anger. “I didn’t attack any guards; they attacked me! Then, when I decided to leave, your guards kept attacking me. Then, two more guards came looking for me with—Twilight, I believe—the next day. I was trying to ask them a question and the guards attacked me again. Twilight tried to run away, but I prevented that from happening. Though, to be fair, I may or may not have threatened her. Also, I did break into the castle; you are right on that account.”

Shining Armor stepped forward. “You were dripping acid as you chased the guards around the castle!”

“I was?” Dante pondered this for a moment. “Huh, you’re right. Those things do drip acid from their mouths. How could I have possibly forgotten that? Still, I made no physical or magical contact with any of the guards…that day.”

“I see.” Celestia spoke up. “Then the first charge of attacking the palace guards should be dropped? Is that what you’re saying?”

“Oh, no,” Dante says with a smile. “I was just trying to correct your assumptions. By all means, charge me with whatever you desire. I’m quite used to it.”

“Very well then.” Celestia continued. “Breaking into the castle unlawfully, attacking thirty-three guards, wounding two guards, fleeing the law, and sexually assaulting Twilight Sparkle. These crimes—”

“Whoa, whoa, whoa. When did I sexually assault her? I only grabbed her horn and…” Realization struck Dante. “Really? Your horns are sensitive too? What’s with you ponies?”

“These crimes are punishable by banishment from Equestria.” Celestia continues, ignoring his outburst. “Do you have any objections to this?”

“Banishment? Uh, not like I’m asking for it, but shouldn’t the punishment be more severe? Like ‘death’ for example.”

“The death penalty was removed as a form of punishment over 400 years ago.”

“Ah. How noble. Every life is precious, eh? What foolishness.”

“How dare you!” Luna yells at Dante. “Every life is precious!”

“Said the mare who tried to plunge your world into eternal darkness. How many would have died had that continued?” Luna was seething with anger, but said nothing. “I know a thing or two about you princesses. Don’t act superior to me when you know next to nothing about me, Nightmare Moon.”

“That was uncalled for.” Celestia said sternly.

“Tsk, tsk. Neither one of you has even bothered to ask my name. Why should I show any respect to you then?”

“I suppose you are correct.” Celestia responds coolly. “What is your name?”

“My name is Dante. I have many titles, but my foremost one is Chaos Weaver. Magic flows out of my soul, and I use that magic to disrupt the order of the world.”

“Chaos…” Celestia lets the word linger in the air. “Is your magic chaos magic?”

“Strictly speaking, no. Part of my power comes from creatures of chaos and entropy, but that doesn’t mean the effects are chaotic in nature. Why?”

“That means we can’t just banish you.” Celestia had a serious look in her eyes; a look Dante was all too familiar with, and one he didn’t like seeing.

“I see.” He responds in kind. “I suggest you order your guards from this room then. You know what’s going to happen now.”

The two guards standing in front of the princesses step forward, lighting their horns. The two behind Dante do the same.

“Well, Princess? Don’t you have an order to give?” Dante asks coldly.

“You are of no threat right now. We’ve seen how you use your magic. It moves through your hands.”

The unicorn guards move closer to him, surrounding him on all sides.

“Well,” Dante straightens his stance, “this is going to be quite surprising then.”

With an incredible surge of eldritch magic, Dante forces the restraints from his hands, shattering and burning them. With a quick sweep of his hand, the four unicorns around him are blasted back with the excess magic, slamming them into the ground.

Celestia and Luna rise from their seats, but Shining Armor moves forward quickly, casting a spell. Soon, Dante is in the same pink sphere he was two days prior.

“Really? This again?” He asks the captain.

“I’ve altered the spell. This time, you won’t be able to teleport out of it.” Shining Armor stands proudly between Dante and the princesses. Dante attempts to do just that, but feels his powers blocked by the sphere.

“That’s pretty clever, and really praise worthy. Spells are hard to alter, at least mine are. However, this sphere isn’t all that great. See, spells that make a barrier of force make it incredibly difficult to remove said barrier, even harder to destroy it. Sure, you can hold me here, but you need to keep concentrating on your magic to do so. So what this tells me is…” Dante holds a hand up to the sphere; a small, mouth-looking opening appears in his palm. As he touches the sphere, it quickly collapses in on itself and the energy goes into his palm. “…your pretty little spell is worthless to me.”

Shining Armor quickly tries to cast another spell, but Dante beats him to it. With a shout and a flick of his wrist, he swiftly lifts Shining Armor in into the air, flips him, and slams him into the ground, hard. A sickening crack is heard as his back crashes down onto the floor, leaving a small impression. Celestia and Luna both take to the air, moving away from each other but still in the same general direction from Dante.

“You will pay for that!” Celestia shouts at him.

Dante flares his shadowy wings out of his back. “You wouldn’t believe the number of times I’ve been told that, and here I am. Let’s go!”

END CHAPTER

Author's Note

Hello everyone! Here is the next chapter for y'all. No one has won (or tried) the spell guessing thing yet, so I won't do that for this chapter too, mostly because I find this chapter's spell much more obvious. So, if anyone can guess the name of the spell Dante used in the PREVIOUS chapter, you can post your answer in the comments below, or on the previous chapter's comments.

I was going to say how I might not get the next chapter up until maybe two weeks from now (if that long) because of some stuff I have to do, but I basically know how the next chapter is going to go. I was going to just put it in this chapter, but I got distracted by internet videos again. (I don't have a problem. You can't prove anything). So, bottom line, expect the next chapter in about a week, probably.

Peace out!

Ch. 10 - Can't wait to see that fight in 3D

The fight was hard and glorious, but it had ended with the victorious and the defeated, as all fights must.

What’s that? You want to know how the fight went? Well…okay!

~ _ ~ _ ~ _ ~ _ ~

Celestia struck first. A yellow beam of energy shot from her horn towards Dante, who quickly teleports behind her. As he prepares to fire a blast of eldritch energy at her, Luna fires a blue beam of her own at him, forcing Dante to teleport again. This time he appears on the ceiling. Using his readied energy, he shoots at Luna, who simply teleports out of the way herself. The blast hit the stone floor, but it bounces off of it and redirects itself towards Celestia. The solar princess gives a strong flap of her wings and rises above the crackling energy.

Luna appears right in front of Dante and shoots another blast right at him, hitting him square in the chest. Ignoring the burn, Dante pushes off of the ceiling, launching himself at Luna, energy in hand. She teleports out of the way, giving him a clear shot at Celestia and vice versa. The two fire a blast of magic at each other, only for the energies to clash in the air, emitting a small explosion.

The cycle repeated itself a few times: Dante would fire at one of the princesses, she would avoid, and the other would try to blast him. After the fourth repetition at attacking them, and the third hit on himself, Dante landed on the ground. With their positions in the air, the princesses were each about the same distance from Dante. Throwing his hands up, he lets loose several bands of eldritch fire in the air around him. Celestia avoids them with only being singed, but Luna was hit by a few and spun to the ground, one of her wings badly burned.

Grinning, Dante turns his attention to the fallen alicorn, amassing energy in his hands. Noticing this, Celestia teleports in front of Luna, blocking Dante’s path, and starts charging an attack of her own. With their respective powers charged, they fire off their energy at each other; one through Celestia’s horn, the other through Dante’s extended hands. The two beams meet, pushing against each other, trying to force the other one back. The beams moved back and forth a few times, but it was apparent that Celestia’s was stronger. Not wanting to be outdone, Dante pushed on. Barely noticing Luna appear off to his side, Dante flung an arm in her direction, firing another beam of energy at her to meet her own. Luna’s attack, as well as Celestia’s, quickly overtakes Dante’s and slams into him. Dante is pushed into the air, and then lands on the ground in a spin. He kneels down, trying to cover his arms under each other. The flesh from his arms is blackened, parts of it hanging off of him. His burns extended up to his now exposed shoulders.

Celestia cautiously walks over to him, wings flared. She stood only a few feet behind him.

“This foolishness must end. You cannot defeat us.” She declared.

“Oooah…” Dante moaned. “Maybe…we should just…fight one-on-one.”

“That is even more foolish.” Celestia continued. “There’s no reason for us to give up our advantage over you.”

“Sounds like…you think you’ll…lose.”

“A weak taunt.” Luna said, walking over to her sister. Her right wing was flared out, but her left one was only about half-way flared, remaining level with the ground. “We’ve already bested you. We have nothing we need to prove.”

“Well then,” Dante says, disappearing from sight, “I guess I’ll just have to take care of that myself.”

The two alicorns lower themselves, looking around the throne room. They light up their horns and cast the resulting light around, searching for their foe. A pair of guards come running into the throne room.

“Princesses! Are you—”

“Get back!” Luna yells at them. “Get out and close the door!”

The guard she spoke to stood for a moment before realizing what she said. “Yes Princess!” The guards quickly turned back, closing the door behind them.

“That won’t do them much good.” Dante’s voice calls out. “I can simply teleport around the door if I need to.”

“But you won’t, will you?” Celestia asks, searching in the direction she heard the voice.

“I suppose not. It isn’t very smart to turn your back on your enemy.”

Celestia quickly turns about, searching for her enemy. There was nothing there.

“Quite jumpy, aren’t we?” He mocks.

“How cowardly of you to hide from us.” Luna says, checking around the throne. “I was beginning to think you wanted to fight us. Now here you are, hiding.”

“You have to roll with the punches, not simply take them.” Dante says a few words of power, then continues. “Sure, I wanted to fight you two, but I was hoping for a little one-on-one with Celestia first. That makes you far less important to me, Nightmare Moon.”

Luna notices a shift in a nearby curtain and fires her magic at it, cutting a section of it from the rest. As she did that, the needle on the table was lifted into the air, right before it disappeared from sight. Neither alicorn seemed to notice.

“Why do you keep calling me that?!” Luna yells all around her.

“That’s your name, isn’t it?” Dante mocks again. “I mean, 1000 years ago you changed your name. Don’t be embarrassed; many would be conquerors change their names to make themselves sound scarier. It’s perfectly normal.”

“What I did back then was a mistake that I must live with. I’m no conqueror!”

“No, you’re just a princess. How easy a title can change when it needs to. What will happen when war comes to your precious little kingdom?”

Behind another curtain, a small hole appeared in the air and two rolled up scrolls were taken out of it. They disappeared as quickly as they came.

“Do you plan on waging war on Equestria? All by yourself?”

“Why not? That’s what you did. I’ve had a lot of practice conquering places. It shouldn’t be any problem for me.” Dante spoke a few more words of power. This time, a bit of dust fell to the ground, visible, right where he stood.

Celestia, noticing the disturbance, shot a ray towards the dust, hitting the wall.

“That gibberish.” She began. “You’re casting spells, aren’t you? Word magic?” She started walking closer to her throne.

“That’s just spell magic where I come. I’d love to get into a whole spiel about it, but we’re in the middle of a fight, aren’t we? But I promise to tell you all about it after I trounce you both.”

“Unlikely.” Luna states, joining her sister. “You are badly injured, outnumbered, and have inferior magic.”

“Inferior this!” Dante yells, appearing between the two sisters with a scroll in hand. In an instant, a sphere comes into being in his empty hand and explodes in a brilliant display of colors, all colliding with each other and everything in the immediate area. The regal sisters are buffeted by the colorful magic while Dante remains unfazed. Not missing a beat, Dante unfurls the scroll.

He speaks another few words of power and a clear, nearly invisible block of force surrounds Luna. Shaking off her confusion of what happened, Celestia blasts Dante again, hitting him in the back and pushing him away. Pushing past the pain, Dante whips around and casts another spell. A ray of black, crackling energy shoots from his outreached hand. Celestia lights her horn to teleport away, but quickly finds her spell blocked. She is struck by the wicked looking magic, feeling as though her life is being sucked right out of her.

Celestia tries to fly up and backwards, towards her throne, but finds her movements to be a bit sluggish. This gives Dante enough time to shoot another ray of eldritch magic at her, similar in style to his last spell. When the energy strikes her, Celestia feels the exact same sensation as she did from the spell. This time, however, she felt wounds open up on her body: several cuts, some bludgeoning, a burn or two, all randomly spread out on her body.

Regaining her bearings, Celestia lights her horn once more.

“ENOUGH!” Her voice resounds about the room. Grasping the situation, Dante quickly builds up energy for his attack. The two remaining combatants launch their magic at each other, the beams meeting halfway between them. This time, Dante’s blast starts overtaking Celestia’s. The focal point of the two magics quickly reaches Celestia’s horn, harmful energy cascading over her body. Her wings give out as she begins to fall.

Seeing the falling alicorn, Dante reaches out for the wooden table. His sword, still in its sheath, swiftly flies over to him. He catches it, pulls the sword from its sheath, and dashes towards the throne. Celestia lands with a thud on the ground. The moment she lands, Dante is over her, sword inches from her throat.

“Surrender.” He tells her calmly.

“I *cough* I won’t surrender. I won’t…let this kingdom fall to you.” She says, fighting back the urge to enter a coughing fit.

“SISTER!” Luna yells, doing whatever she can to escape her confinement. She tries teleporting out, blasting the walls with magic, and bucking the walls; the barrier remains strong, and she remains confined.

“I promise you, I won’t take over your kingdom. I have beaten you. Now, admit defeat and let us be done here. There’s no need for you to die. Not yet.”

Celestia gazes into Dante’s only eye. She doesn’t see the murderous intent of a monster there. She only sees the gaze of a creature who is tired of fighting.

“I…I surrender.”

Dante smiles and lifts his sword straight above his head. In one quick motion, he brings it back down at the defeated alicorn. The sword is plunged into the stone floor, barely an inch from Celestia’s exposed throat, angled to lie above her.

“Oh thank the gods!” Dante calls out, falling on his ass. “For a moment there, I thought you were really gonna make me kill you! That would not have fun to deal with!”

Celestia just glares at him. “What are you talking about!?”

“Heh, don’t worry about. In the end, no one died, so I’m not in trouble.”

“The guards—”

“Are fine. If that weak blast killed them, then you have some serious recruiting problems.”

“And what about Captain Armor?!”

“He’s…uh…shit, hold on.” Dante stutters. He casually flies to the side and hovers over the unconscious captain. Staring at him intensely, Dante finds what he’s looking for. “He’s breathing. Barely, but breathing none the less.”

“He needs…medical attention.” Celestia coughs out.

“Heh, so do you, but I’ll just worry about him for now.” Leaning down, Dante speaks a word of power and presses his hand on Shining Armor’s side. Part of his side lights up the faintest amount before dimming again. “There. That should keep him from bleeding on the inside.” Turning again, he sees Luna glaring daggers at him past her prison. “Hi~” He calls to her.

“Let me out of here!” Luna yells at the human.

“Now, now. That would defeat the purpose of putting you in there to begin with, wouldn’t it?” Dante says smiling, gliding over to the lunar princess.

“What do you want?” She glowers at him.

“I…uh…” Dante twists his face in contemplation. He shifts his eyes back and forth before returning his attention to his prisoner. “Wow, that’s a really good question. Shit! What do I want?”

“You don’t even know?! You fought us and you don’t even know why?! How could you—”

“Okay, hold on! Just…just give me a minute. Hmmm. Alright, I came to the castle, chased guards around, ran away, thought about asking for your help with something, decided to wait—”

“Help you?!” Luna yelled again. “Why would we help you?!”

“Because there’s someone even more powerful than me on the loose, now please!” Dante snapped at Luna. “Let’s see. I went into the mountain caves, met that pegasus, chatted it up, tried to hire him, he wanted…” Dante claps his hands together. “That’s it! You!” He points towards Celestia. “You have some sort of amulet that improves one’s physical strength, right? I want it.”

Celestia looks more confused than angry at this point. “What are you talking about?”

“It’s in your private collection or something. My associate planned on stealing it, so I’m going to get it for him. Where is it?”

“I don’t know what you’re talking about. I don’t have anything like that.”

“Well, my associate, and soon to be employee, says otherwise. You know what, that’s fine. I’ll just tell him to come here and find it. But first…” Dante turns to the closed doors of the throne room. “Guards!”

The twin doors opened inward, slowly revealing a group of three guards. Upon seeing one of their princesses captured and another bruised and bleeding on the floor, they charge into the room.

“Ah, ah, ah!” Dante points his hand at Celestia, lighting it with magic. “Attack and all that will remain of her head is a skull.”

The guards stop in their tracks.

“Good. Now,” He says, pointing at the first guard, “I have someone…err, somepony hiding in the caves behind a waterfall. I want you to inform the guards in that area to bring him to me, unharmed. He’s with me. You.” He points to the second guard. “Somewhere here, my eye is sitting in a glass container. Bring it to me. And you.” He points to the final guard. “I’m hungry. Have someone…somepony bring me some food. I’m thinking fruit. Go!”

The guards look to their princesses for an answer. Only Luna responds with a simple nod. The three guards leave the room, closing the doors behind them.

Seeing a break from everything, Dante focusses his eldritch energy in his body. Releasing the energy, his burns begin healing. It begins with the hanging skin dropping off, new skin taking its place. The blackened skin slowly returns to its original color, closing up gaps in the skin where the energy that struck him was stronger. Soon, his arms were back to how they were before the fight, minus the sleeves of his tunic. The light burn on his back and torso also healed up, though not completely.

“Well, then.” Dante says, walking over to the throne and sitting upon it. “I better come up with a list of demands while I’m here.”

~ _ ~ _ ~ _ ~ _ ~

Twilight Sparkle galloped down the halls as fast as she could. She slowed down only the slightest bit after every corner she turned, and then sped right back up. Her legs hurt, but she kept running.

She saw everything.

Using a spell she learned, she was able to see the whole fight. Right after the creature went into the room, she came around and cast her spell. She was able to see and hear their whole conversation. Princess Celestia gave her permission, of course. Twilight didn’t want to face her attacker just yet, and it was a good thing she didn’t. The second the creature beat Celestia, she ran. Now, she knew what she needed to do.

Arriving at a door guarded by two royal guards, Twilight collapsed on the ground, out of breath.

“Miss Sparkle!” One of the guards calls, kneeling next to her. “Are you alright?”

“Hah…the creature…Celestia…trouble…” She says in between breaths. “Where’s…Cadence?”

The second guard knocks on the door and calls for the princess. Moments later, Princess Cadence stood before them.

“Twilight?” She looks down at her sister-in-law. “What’s wrong?”

Standing up and taking a deep breath, “The creature has Princess Celestia and Luna in the throne room!” She yells at the top of her lungs.

“Twilight, calm down.” Cadence says calmly, getting Twilight to breathe with her a few times before continuing. “Now, tell me what’s happened.”

“They brought the creature in to question it, just like they planned to. Then, it broke its magic-cancellation restraints and attacked them. It…Shining…he’s….” She started breaking into sobs.

Cadence stood there, dumbly. She quickly gathered herself together and spoke.

“Guards, come with me.” She steps out of her room.

“What are you going to do?” Twilight barely manages to speak the words.

“I’m going to the throne room to assess the situation.” Twilight starts to protest, but is silenced by Cadence. “I’ll be careful. We need to know what is happening right now so we know what we can do. That being said, I have something I need you to do.”

“What is it, Cadence?”

“Can you send a letter to Spike? Do you know how to do that?”

“I…I’ve never tried, but I’ve seen Celestia send letters before. I can try.”

“Good. Tell him to get your friends together and to come to Canterlot. I don’t want to send out a chariot, just in case this creature decides to go after it. After you send the letter, go get the elements of harmony. I’m going to see if I can reason with it. If nothing else, I’ll keep it distracted until your friends get here. Do you understand?”

Twilight looks up to her old foal sitter, fear more than present in her eyes. She dried her eyes and stood tall. “I understand.”

“Alright. Use some parchment from my desk. Go quickly!” With that, Cadence took her leave with her escort.

Twilight stepped into the room, moving over to the desk. She found some spare paper and a quill and began writing her note.

‘Spike,

There’s an emergency at Canterlot. I need you to find Applejack, Rainbow Dash, Fluttershy, Rarity, and Pinkie and tell them to come to Canterlot. When they get here, tell them to meet me in the castle foyer. I’ll be waiting with the Elements of Harmony.

Please hurry.

Twilight Sparkle’

After looking over her note once, she picked it up in her telekinetic grip, rolled it up, and focused on it. She tried to remember how Celestia used to send letters to various diplomats and tried to mimic the spell. After a few seconds, she cast it, making the scroll disappear into a whisper on the wind.

‘Now, time to get the elements.’

~ _ ~ _ ~ _ ~ _ ~

“Hey, Celestia?” Dante asks the prone alicorn before him. “Hypothetically speaking, if someone were to attack and conquer your kingdom, what would they do it for?”

Celestia just sat there, still under Dante’s sword, ignoring his question. This was fifth question he’d asked her about spoils of war, and just like every other question before, she gave no reply.

“Whatever. Nightmare Moon, same question.”

The princess of the night said nothing, continuing her assault on her cage, earning no progress.

“*sigh* You two aren’t helping at all. Look, my food, my eye, and my underling have not arrived yet, so why don’t we just try to get along?”

Celestia mumbles something under her breath. Taking interest, Dante stands from the throne and floats in front of her.

“I’m sorry, what was that?” He asks, leaning his ear down to her mouth.

“Monster.” She says plainly.

“Monster? Where? All I see are two princesses, a captain, and four guards. Huh, you know, I think I hit them harder than I originally thought. They should have woken up by now. I think—”

“How can you act like this!?” Celestial yells at him. “How can you just fight for no reason!?

“What is your deal with this? Both of you! I fight for a reason. Today, that reason is actually several. I wanted to get the amulet so I’d have someone under me. I wanted to test your combat prowess. Finally, I wanted to settle a curiosity of mine: I wanted to see if you were outsiders or not.”

“Outsiders?” Celestia asks, still fuming. “You mean like you?!”

“Oh, no. You must have a different word for it. An outsider is a creature composed of essence that isn’t from the material plane. I saw you two radiate with such magical energy yesterday, so I had to be sure. If I was able to beat you, like I have, then I would know you were outsiders. If I’d been easily beaten, well…then I wouldn’t know.”

“And what does us being ‘outsiders’ mean for you?”

“Well, that opens up some options for me, but that’s for later.”

“I should have known something like this would happen. I knew the second we saw you that capturing you would be the wrong choice.”

Dante stares down at her. “What do you mean?”

Celestia looks him straight in the eye. “The moment I saw you, I could tell you were wicked. You say you saw great magic in us? Well, we could see a great darkness in you!”

“Oh?”

“Creatures like you shouldn’t exist!”

Dante lands and takes a few steps away from the solar princess. He looks around the room, viewing the defeated guards, Luna trapped in his magical cage, Shining Armor with a broken back and barely alive, and a lightly burned and broken throne room. Looking back at Celestia, he has a hard expression on his face.

“So, this isn’t even about what I’ve done, or even what you think I might do. This is about what I am.” Dante begins walking back towards the solar princess. “I’ve dealt with that a lot in my life, and every time it began with those damn paladins. Every fucking paladin I’ve ever met has looked down at me like I’m just a beast! And every time, I’ve had a way to deal with it.”

Standing right in front of Celestia, Dante picks up his sword.

“You’re just another paladin in the guise of a magical horse. There’s no room for people like you in the world, yours or mine.”

He raises his sword high above his head, gripping it tightly in both hands. Eldritch energy swirled around it.

“Be gone from this world and preach your self-righteousness in the next!”

END CHAPTER

Author's Note

Hello, hello! Sorry for the slight delay in releasing this. Well, I said it might take 2 weeks, so you have it in advance, if you think about it.

Okay, so, Dante cast more spells in this chapter. I count 4 that are actual spells. 1 spell isn't legitimate (ie, isn't in any DnD book). The good news is that spell had no discernible effect. It was the first spell he cast after turning invisible, so don't worry about that one. Here's a hint for the others, since there were so many of them: The orb that exploded into colors was a Cleric spell. Now, since there were so many, you only have to guess 3 of the 4 spells. Post your answers in the comments below. If you want to show off your DnD knowledge and try to guess all 4 of them, go right ahead. Just don't put down the entire list of spells or anything. Whoever guesses at least 3 of them right first will win. The game from 2 chapters ago is still on (as of right now) so you can guess that one too. Just be sure to write what chapter you're guessing for, since this game will probably be a more-or-less regular thing and I'll quickly get confused otherwise. (Phew! Long paragraph)

Expect the next chapter in a week (probably). Have a good day/night/week everyone!

Ch. 11 - Concessions, Confessions, and a Few Mean Words.

“Stop!” A voice calls out right as Dante was about to swing down. Turning slowly, he sees the source of the voice: a pink alicorn at the entrance of the room. She has a guard on either side of her and was looking at him with a stern expression.

“Another alicorn?” He asks no one in particular. “Jeez, how many of you fuckers are there? I thought there were just two! Fuck this! I’m just going to level the whole damn city.”

“There’s no need for that!” The pink alicorn says quickly. “I’m the only other alicorn, and I have no intention of fighting you.”

“…Really?” Dante asks, looking over the newly arrived alicorn. “You sure?”

The pink alicorn responds with a nod.

“Huh. Well, damn. I was all ready to fight again.” He pauses, looking over at the table with his possessions on it. “Well, if we aren’t going to fight, and you don’t want me to kill Celestia, then I might as well get my stuff together. What do you want, anyways?” He asks, floating over to the table and landing behind it, facing the pink alicorn.

“I’m here to find out what you want, and to see if we can resolve this conflict.” She says, stepping closer to the throne.

“A diplomat? You’re a little late to the party here.” He dons his cloak and headband, letting his shadowy wings seep through the cloak, and starts claiming his rings. “Well, I’m still pissed at Celestia, so why don’t you just do your thing? See if you can’t put me in a better mood.”

“Very well. I am Princess Mi Amore Cadenza, current head ambassador of Equestria. You may call me ‘Cadence,’ if you wish. How should I refer to you?”

“I am Dante, former grand leader of the City of Magic, warlock of the wild and damned, and high priest of The Bringer of Entropy. ‘Dante’ will suffice.” Dante finishes with his rings and dons his three amulets. Placing his bracers back on his arms and the needle in his belt, he’s fully equipped again.

“What is it you wish…to…” Cadence trails off, coming up to the throne with her escort in tow. Next to the table, she sees the limp form of Shining Armor.

Dante notices her hesitation and sees what she’s looking at.

“Someone you know?” He asks.

“My husband.” She says, barely maintaining her composure. “Is he…”

“He’s alive. I can fix him with one spell, but I’m going to hold off on that. I get the feeling he’ll only get in the way here.”

“Thank goodness.” She lets out a breath she didn’t know she was holding. “Now, what is it you wish to obtain here?”

“Ah, the list of demands.” He walks back over to the throne, reaching towards his discarded scabbard as he does so. The scabbard swiftly floats over to him and he sheaths his sword, tying it back to his waste.

“Well,” He starts again, sitting down on the throne, “I’ve tried coming up with some ideas, but nothing has really stuck out to me. I already ordered for my eye, my underling’s safe passage here, and some food. Ah, speak of the devil.”

As if on cue, a pegasus mare appeared at the entrance with a plate full of fruit on her back. She looked in cautiously before entering.

“I…I have the f-fruit you requested, sir.” She stutters as she walks closer to the throne.

“Hmmm. I don’t recall asking you for the fruit.” Dante says, scratching his goatee with his hand. The mare looks as if she just had the blood drained from her. “I’m kidding.” Dante laughs. “I don’t care what that guard is doing or why he sent you instead. Just bring it over.”

The pegasus quickly comes over to the throne and sets the plate down. She then turns to leave.

“Hold it.” Dante says, picking up an orange. He looks it over for a moment before continuing. “Where’s the poison?”

“Th-the what?” The pegasus asks, shrinking back.

“You know, poison? That stuff you can put in food to kill people? I don’t sense any on this.”

Cadence, seeing that Dante is trying scare the young pegasus, chimes in. “Poison use isn’t a part of the Equestrian military’s discipline. We wouldn’t use it.”

“Seriously?” Dante asks doubtingly. “There’s being honorable, and then there’s being stupid. Then again, I don’t always do the smart thing. You’re dismissed.”

The pegasus gallops quickly out of the room. Not a moment after, the guard Dante sent to retrieve his eye returned with said eye in its container, hovering in the guard’s telekinetic grip.

“Wow. Did you guys time yourselves to exit and enter like this?”

Ignoring him, the guard continued forward until he reached the throne. He set the container down and stepped next to the other guards with Cadence, getting in formation. Dante levitated the container in front of him and smashed open one of the sides with his fist. The wounds closed instantly, and the eye crawled onto his hand, up his arm, and into his empty socket. Blinking a few times, his golden eyes were aligned.

“Much better.” He says with a chuckle. “Hey, Celestia. Do I still look like a monster?”

Celestia just ignores him. She doesn’t even look in his direction. She just continues laying on the ground.

“Moving on.” He continues. “What I want the most right now is information. Some information you will have, and some you won’t; I understand this and won’t hold it against you for not knowing something. In exchange for this information, the amulet my associate is here to collect, and a pardon for said associate, I will release Celestia and Luna. I, of course, will not answer for my crimes, as I have just beaten two of the most powerful beings in your kingdom. You are free to pursue me, if you wish, but I will be far less merciful. Of course, I have a separate proposal after this exchange, so that may be belayed. How does that sound?”

“Who is this ‘associate’ you speak of?”

“His name’s Shade Strider.”

“Did somepony call my name?”

From the doorway, the gray pegasus walked into the room with a pair of pegasi guards at either side of him. “Well, I suppose it would be ‘someone,’ wouldn’t it?”

“Ah, Shade. Good to see you here. Did the guards give you any trouble?” Dante asks his new companion.

“Nope. They were very professional in escorting me here.” Moving closer to the throne, Shade examines the remnants of the battle. “Wow, you really are this powerful. I was starting to think you were just really crazy.”

“Can’t it be both?” Dante questions him. “So, Shade Strider, meet Princess Mi Amore Cadenza. Princess, meet Mr. 70,000 bit bounty.”

“This is your associate?” Cadence asks, pointing a hoof at Shade. “The most wanted thief in Equestria is working for you?!”

“Maybe. Depends on if he agrees to it.”

“You expect me to just grant him a pardon for all that he’s done?!”

“Yeah.” Dante responds calmly. “Look, I’m not a professional gambler, but I’m pretty sure the guy who’s holding all the cards gets to make the rules. Now, what’s more important: one thief, or the lives of your fellow princesses?”

The expression on Cadence’s face was beyond angry. “Very well.”

Dante gives a toothy smile and stands from the throne. “Off with thee, Sir Shade. Fetch thine new trinket and returneth to my side post haste!” He hollers, waving Shade off.

“Yes sir, Captain Crazy!” Shade salutes, turning around and heading back out the room with the guards in tow.

“My apologies, Princess. I seem to be getting easily distracted.” Dante says, sitting back down. “I swear they planned to enter like this.”

“What is the information you seek?” Cadence asks, regaining her composure.

“First off, I want to know more about the creatures present in these lands. I’ve heard of changelings and griffons, and I’ve seen firsthand manticores and timberwolves.”

“We can give you a book about the animals and creatures here, assuming you can read our language.”

“Not a problem. I would also like some books on the history of griffons and changelings, if you have them.”

“Griffons, yes. Changelings, no. If you know about them, I assume you know about the changeling invasion in Canterlot a few months ago. While we don’t have any history books about them, our researchers have put together a dossier about them. You can have a copy of that. May I ask why you need these things?”

“Just in case my second proposal to everyone here is rejected. Now, I have two more things I want to know. These are more of observations than simple explanations.”

“What are they?” Cadence asks.

“First, I want to see the stone statue of Discord.”

“Absolutely not!” Celestial yells from her position on the floor.

“Nice of you to join the conversation.” Dante says smugly. “Why not?”

“Your mere presence may be enough to free him from his prison!” Celestia yells again, attempting to stand.

“My presence? Are we back on the whole ‘evil, chaotic monster’ thing?”

“I won’t allow you to free him!” Celestia says, standing tall and facing Dante.

“Relax. I’m not going to…okay, I might free him, but only if I’m absolutely sure I can control him.”

“You can’t control him! Nopony can!”

“Which brings me to my second observational action I wish to take: I want to see the Elements of Harmony.”

“I won’t allow that either!” Celestia lowers her stance.

“Celestia, don’t—”

“Come now, Celestia.” Dante says, arrogance oozing from his voice. “I’ve already beaten you once, and you were at your best then. Besides, the situation is out of your hooves now.”

“What do you mean?” She asks, not changing her stance.

“I mean we just have to wait until Twilight’s friends arrive with them.”

The looks on all the princess’s faces were that of shock and confusion.

“What? You didn’t think I didn’t know about that? Oh sure, I don’t know the exact details, but I’ve often found such details to be irrelevant. Consider this: a powerful creature attacked and defeated two of the most powerful beings in this kingdom, who happen to be the rulers themselves. What, then, would be the next step of this kingdom? To call upon the most powerful magic they have. In this case, the Elements of Harmony. They will be brought to me and I won’t have to lift a finger. So, we’re all just going to sit back, relax, and wait for their arrival.”

Celestia looked Dante straight in the eye. “What makes you so sure they’ll come straight here? How do you know they won’t run?”

“A meaningless suggestion.” Dante says, looking towards one of the tall windows in the hall. “They’re already on their way.”

~ _ ~ _ ~ _ ~ _ ~

Less than half an hour ago

The small cottage at the edge of the Everfree Forest has been relatively calm all morning. ‘Relatively’ being the key word, as animals would frequently come and go. But aside from the occasional critter scurrying around, the inside of the cottage was calm. Iatril was taking full advantage of this calmness.

Iatril lay in the bed Flurry had slept in the past two nights, a small book open before her. She read through the lines of the book, not making a sound.

‘Day 29,

The voices are growing worse. I’m hearing them right now, even though I’m awake. They encourage me to feast upon their brethren, to add more of them to myself and gain more power. There are still only seven inside me, as far as I can tell, and I’m going to keep it that way. I can’t imagine the mental fortitude required to hold more of them at bay. I have begun using the life forces of outsiders as a source of energy to help keep these voices at bay, but I know this isn’t a permanent solution; the energy will run out and I’ll have to ensnare more outsiders again. Thankfully, using outsiders as energy like this doesn’t fuse them to my soul, so I’m not experiencing more feedback because of it. I still have not told my lover about my experimenting. She has been growing more suspicious, but I feel that telling her will only cause her to worry. Hopefully, I’ll discover a permanent way to subdue these outsiders soon.’

Skipping a few pages, Iatril reads on.

‘Day 55,

I’m losing more and more of myself by the day. Just yesterday, my lover came back from the war front to report something to me. I didn’t even recognize her until she told me her name. I’ve been losing other parts of my memory as well. I can’t remember the name of the village I was born in, the name of my mother, and others, just to name a few. I remember factual things, like the weak points of creatures and geographical landmarks, so it appears only personal memories are disappearing. I’m also blanking out at various points in the day. I’ll be eating a meal or reviewing troop disposition, and then I’ll be walking around the city. I don’t know where I’m headed each time I venture outside. I’m really scared.’

A few more pages are skipped.

‘Day 103,

How could I have done this? My home is in shambles. The City of Magic is in flames. Everyone here is dead. And worst of all—’

“Iatril?”

“Gah!” Iatril jumped, slamming the book closed before falling from the bed. On her back, she could see Fluttershy in the doorway, looking concerned. “Oh, Fluttershy. Hi. What’s up?” She asks before rolling over and getting on her hooves.

“I was just checking to see if you were hungry. You haven’t eaten yet, have you?” Fluttershy asks, stepping into the room.

“Oh, I ate one of my berries this morning. I’ll be good for a few hours. Thanks though.”

“No problem.” Fluttershy looks over at the bed. “Um, if you don’t mind me asking, what were you—”

“I’d rather not talk about it right now, if that’s okay.” Iatril interrupts. She sets one of her hooves on the book. A second later, it disappears from sight. “So, what plans do you have for today?”

“Oh, I was just going to go out to the market for a few things.”

“Mind if I come with you?”

“Not at all.”

The two go downstairs and head out the front door towards Ponyville. After walking for no more than a minute, they’re stopped by Rainbow Dash.

“Fluttershy!” She yells, flying down to the ground in front of them. “We’ve got an emergency!”

“What is it?” Fluttershy asks.

“Twilight needs us in Canterlot to use the Elements of Harmony! Come on!” She starts pulling Fluttershy, leading her towards Ponyville.

“Wait!” Iatril calls out. “What’s going on?”

“I don’t know!” Rainbow calls back. “Twilight just said she needed us in Canterlot!”

“How do you plan on getting there?” Iatril asks, trailing after them.

“We’ll take a train there.” Rainbow responds, no longer pulling Fluttershy, as they are both flying towards Ponyville. Iatril takes to the air as well. After flying for a few minutes, the group of pegasi arrive at the train station. There, Pinkie Pie, Rarity, Applejack, and Spike are waiting.

“We’re here!” Rainbow calls out to her friends.

“We’ve got another problem, RB.” Apple jack says as Rainbow lands.

“What’s that? We’re all here.”

“The next train isn’t gonna arrive for at least two hours.”

“What!? Why not?”

“I spoke with the station manager.” Rarity spoke up. “He said the train that was supposed to be coming in broke down. This couldn’t have happened at a worse time!”

“Ugh! Let’s just hoof it there.”

“Dear, that would take just as long as waiting for the next train, if not longer.”

“Well we can’t just wait around!” Rainbow threw her hooves in the air. “We have to do something!”

“I can take you there.” All eyes were on Iatril. “If I really push myself, I can have you there in about twenty minutes, I think.”

“How can you do that?” Rainbow asks, though rather loudly.

“I just can, but not right here. We need to go back to Fluttershy’s first.”

“Why?”

“Please, let’s just go. I’ll explain when we get there.”

“I don’t see how—”

“Do you have any better ideas?” Rainbow said nothing. “Then come on!” Iatril flies off, leaving the group to follow.

They fly and run back to the cottage, going around it to the back. There, Flurry was sitting on the ground, talking with Raven.

“Flurry! Raven!” Iatril calls out. “We’ve got problems!”

“What is it?” Flurry asks, turning to see the group. Upon seeing Rarity, he quickly gets up and turns around. “What’s she doing here?”

“Don’t worry about that.” Iatril says, landing in front of Flurry. “There’s an emergency in Canterlot.”

“So what?” Flurry asks.

“‘So what?’ They need to use the Elements of Harmony! Don’t you know what that means?”

“No.” Flurry says plainly. “I’m not a wizard, Iatril. You’re going to need to explain this to me.”

“That means someone really powerful is there!” Iatril shouts at him.

Flurry seemed to get it. “Do you think…”

“I don’t know. I hope not, but it might be.”

“Hey!” Rainbow yells at the two of them. “What are you two talking about?”

Iatril turns to face the group. “I haven’t been honest with you all. We’re here to find and defeat someone from our world. I think whatever is happening in Canterlot is because of him.”

The group, besides Fluttershy, stares at her blankly.

“Wow AJ, you were right. There is something weird about her. She’s crazy!” Rainbow exclaims, landing on the ground.

“I’m serious!” Iatril yells back. “Just…just watch.” She nods to Flurry, who rolls his eyes in response. Flurry speaks in the tongue of giants. In mere moments, his form grow slightly, taking the shape of a large, white wolf. Iatril then speaks in her druidic tongue. Her legs become longer as she stands on her hind legs. Her front legs turn back into arms, her hair becomes braided again, her green fur disappears, and her clothes sprout from her body. She is back to her old, elven self.

The group of ponies take a few steps back, with the exception of Fluttershy again, and Pinkie Pie.

“What the hay are you!?” Applejack says first.

“Are you a changeling!? Rarity asks next.

“Oh cool! So that’s what you look like!” Pinkie says, devoid of any fear.

“W-What do you mean?” Iatril asks the pink pony. “How did you know I wasn’t a pony?”

“Oh, that’s easy! My Pinkie Sense told me so.”

“But…no, I’m not even going to try.” Iatril shakes her head. She then turns her attention back to the group as a whole. “I am an elf. As you can see, Flurry is a wolf. And Raven…is just a raven.”

“Hey!” He yells, flapping his wings and then landing on Iatril’s shoulder. “I’m a magical, talking raven, thank you very much.”

“Hush.” Iatril says. “I can take you all to Canterlot by flying you there.”

“There’s no way we’ll let you take us there!” Rainbow points her hoof at Iatril.

“You don’t have that many options. Weren’t you just complaining about needing to get there fast?”

“Yeah, but that’s not—”

“It’s okay, Rainbow.” Fluttershy chimes in. “We can trust her.”

“You don’t know that, Fluttershy!”

“Yes I do. She’s my friend.”

“She could have just been trying to earn your trust!”

“Just like a friend would.” Fluttershy says calmly.

“Look.” Iatril breaks in. “I get it. I lied to you. I know you have a reason to not trust me. But, if what’s happening in Canterlot is truly happening, then we need to get there as fast as possible. We can talk about this later, but we need to get there now!”

Fluttershy looks right at Rainbow, pleading for her to agree. Rainbow looks at her friends for an answer; they all seem pretty uneasy.

“Well, I reckon we don’t have much choice here.” Applejack concedes.

“Ugh, fine!” Rainbow relents. “But I’ll be watching you!”

“So, how are we going to get there?” Spike asks.

“Whoa there, partner. I don’t think Twi would appreciate us bringing you. It’s gonna be dangerous.”

“It’s fine.” Iatril speaks up, earning a look from Applejack. “I’ll protect him.” Applejack looked as if she were going to protest, but thought better of it. “Now,” Iatril continued, “please stand back.”

Focusing her magic into her amulet, her body begins to ripple with magic. Her form quickly grows, her body gaining brilliant, gold scales. Her hands and feet become clawed, her neck grows longer, and her whole body grows several times in size. As she stands on all fours, out of her back sprouts a pair of golden, fin-like wings, attached to her body from the nape of her neck down her newly formed tail. Two similar looking fins sprout from her neck, a pair of horns sprout from her head, pointed back, and a patch of whisker-like tendrils sprout from her face. In a matter of seconds, Iatril has taken the form a huge gold dragon.

“Climb on.” She says in a deep voice. Not missing a beat, Flurry climbs on, soon followed by Fluttershy. Raven had to shift himself so as not to fall off, and thus positioned himself right at the nape of Iatril’s long neck. Pinkie climbs on excitedly, mentioning something about a dragon ride. Rarity, Applejack, Rainbow Dash, and Spike just stare wide-eyed.

“Well? We need to get moving.” Iatril says impatiently. Rarity, Applejack, and Spike climb on quickly, but Rainbow Dash remains.

“I’ll just fly myself.” She says, taking to the air again.

“Suit yourself.” Iatril turns towards Canterlot and starts running. After she builds up a little speed, she takes to the air as well. Rainbow leads the way.

For the first few minutes, the trip was silent, besides the rush of wind around them. Applejack eventually breaks that silence.

“What do ya think is happenin’ in Canterlot, Iatril?” She shouts over the wind.

“If we’re lucky, this is just my friend acting up.” Iatril responds in kind.

“I thought Flurry here was your friend.”

“He is. Another friend of mine went to the capital to look for the guy we’re here to find. However, there’s the chance that what’s going on in Canterlot is the result of who we’re looking for. If that’s the case, I need to find Dante as soon as possible.”

“What about us?” Rainbow calls back. “We have the Elements of Harmony. Why do we need this ‘Dante’ guy?”

“…In case you don’t get the chance to use them. The one we’re searching for is very cautious in everything he does. If, for example, he knew you six had to be together to use the elements, well…five wouldn’t cut it, would it?”

The implication was more than enough of an answer for Rainbow, as she said nothing further. The rest of the trip was silent. As they came upon the castle, a voice entered Iatril’s mind.

“Iatril? What’s going on? Why are you coming to the capital?”

“Dante, are you the one causing trouble?”

“Um, no. I’ve been in jail since last night. Probably should have mentioned that, but I didn’t think it was that big of an issue.”

“That means Aselith is the one causing problems! Why are you in jail?!”

“Long story. Just get over to the dungeon quickly! We’ll deal with this after I’m out! It’s in the right wing of the castle, underground.”

“Okay, I’m almost there!”

“Hey, everyone, here’s the plan.” Iatril says over the wind. “I’ll let you down outside the castle. Then, Flurry, Raven, and I will search for our friend. You ponies do what you need to do, but be careful. Spike, you’ll come with me. I can’t allow a child into such a dangerous situation, regardless of race. Is this acceptable?” She was met with a resounding affirmation.

Iatril lands on the ground, just outside the gates of the castle. The ponies around the gates scatter, fleeing from the draconic form of Iatril. Immediately noticeable is the lack of guards around. After everyone got off of Iatril, she shifted back to her own form.

“Okay, here is where we part for now. Spike, get on Flurry. We’re going to be running there. Good luck to you all.” And with that, the group split. The five ponies ran right up to the main entrance, while Iatril’s group headed for the right side.

‘I’m coming, Dante.’

~ _ ~ _ ~ _ ~ _ ~

“You must be crazy if you think I’ll just allow this to happen!” Celestia yells at Dante. “I’ll—”

“Do nothing.” Dante finishes her proclamation. “You are in no position to do anything, Princess. Remember, the life of your captain hangs in the balance here.” Dante slowly float up and over to the unconscious Shining Armor. “Sure, he has no internal bleed, but with just a tiny knife wound—”

“DON’T YOU TOUCH HIM!” Cadence shouts, lighting her horn and aiming it at Dante.

“Easy, easy!” Dante says, holding his hands in front of himself. “I’m not going to do anything.” He slowly floats back over to the throne and sits upon it. Cadence lets go of her magic, but doesn’t remove her gaze from Dante. “My apologies. I sometimes forget how strong the bond of true love can be.”

“Hah!” Luna laughs from her prison. “As if a soulless monster like you would know anything about love!”

A blast from Dante’s fingertips to the cage was enough to scare her back a step.

“I don’t want to hear something like that from you, you hypocrite!” Dante yells, swiftly flying over to the cage. “I am not some beast, filled only with hate and destruction! Yes, I hurt people. Yes, I enjoy doing so. But I’ll be damned if I’m going to take any lip from someone who lost herself to her own selfishness! Even if hate was all I knew, at least I never lost control of my emotions! What I have to live with, deep in my soul, is something I must keep in constant check, less I be consumed by it. You, however, don’t have that problem. But you fear it. I heard how the Elements of Harmony freed you from the darkness of your soul, but I can see the fear. The fear that, deep down, that monster you became is still there.”

“Be quiet!” Luna yells at Dante, trying to move backwards, but having nowhere to go.

“Leave my sister alone!” Celestia yells, moving towards Dante but nearly falling on the ground as she did so. The quick movements of Cadence let her catch Celestia on her back, easing her down to the ground. The three guards get around Cadence and Celestia, forming a triangle.

“Whatever remnants of that thing are either gone or buried so deep that it’ll never be free, for I can see no presence of evil in you. You don’t care, though; you fear it anyways. Why? Because you, like me, know what your darker part is capable of, what it’s done, and what it plans to do.”

“Leave me be!”

“However, unlike me, you have nothing to fear, and that’s what sickens me about you! If I’m not careful, everyone I care about, everything around me, it will all be destroyed! Everything I’ve worked so hard for will amount to nothing, and you have the audacity to be afraid of your own shadow!”

“I’m the one who did those terrible things!” Luna cried out. “How do I know I won’t try that again!?”

“If you don’t know yourself, that’s your problem. You have all of eternity to figure yourself out. A piece of advice, from one tyrant to another: don’t dwell on the past, but don’t forget it either. If you become so fixated on one thought, it will consume you, body and soul.” He turns back towards Celestial, Cadence, and the empty throne, and heads towards them. “That’s when you become a real monster.”

“Creature!” A voice calls out, just as Dante reaches the throne. He turns to see Twilight Sparkle, along with her five friends from Ponyville, standing at the entrance of the throne room, all wearing fine pieces of jewelry. The expressions on their faces were quite serious.

“And so it begins again.” Dante says, facing the group completely. “I can only assume you’re here to stop me.”

“That’s right!” Twilight says, taking a step forward.

“Well, you’re off to a good start.” Dante says, taking a few steps forward. “You sure you’re all up to it?”

“We will make you answer for your crimes!”

“Funny, I recall saying the exact opposite to Cadence a few minutes ago.” Dante continues walking forward, just passing Luna. “I’ll have to keep my word, or my name isn’t Dante.”

“Dante?” Fluttershy says, looking him over. “But…you’re Iatril’s friend.”

“Who?” Twilight asks. The moment she turns her head towards Fluttershy, Dante sprints forward. He then teleports right in front of Twilight, grabs her tiara, and teleports back to where he just was before anyone could react. “Hey!” Twilight calls out to Dante, who is quickly floating backwards towards the throne.

“You should keep a better grip on your trinkets.” He says, sitting down on the throne.

“Give that back!” She yells, smashing one of her front hooves onto the floor.

“Let me think about that…no.” Dante says, twirling the tiara around his index finger. “Really now, who would do that? But hey, you’re young, you make mistakes.”

Lighting up her horn, Twilight wraps her magic around the tiara. As she tries to pull it towards her, Dante grabs onto it, keeping it with him. Twilight continues trying to pull it, but Dante holds firm. He then shoots a blast of eldritch energy at Twilight’s hooves, forcing her to step back and give up her attempts.

“You’re going to have to do better than that!” Dante mocks.

Twilight lights her horn again, this time teleporting. She ends up only a few yards forward, looking confused. She’s still a few yards away from where Luna is held and further still from Dante.

“That’s not going to work either. Don’t you have any other tricks? I would have thought the student of Celestia would be stronger, but I guess I was wrong.”

“Why don’t you give back my tiara?” Twilight called to him. “Then you’ll see how strong we are!”

“Tsk, tsk. I said you, not them. You see, having—ouch. OUCH!” Dante yells, dropping the tiara to the ground. Looking at his hand, he sees a very serious burn across his palm. He picks up the tiara with his other hand and fits it in his belt. “Damn good magic. Where was I? Oh, right. Having your friends fight with you doesn’t determine your own strength.”

“My friends make me strong!”

“Your friends, as a group, are strong. Individually, you are weak. Look here! I have taken away one trinket from you, and now you are powerless. You can’t even—” A blast from Twilight’s interrupts his spiel. He quickly blocks the blast with his uninjured hand, so as not to let it hit his face. A few more bolts of energy strike his hand before he uses his eldritch magic in his other. Right next to Twilight, a stone hand, a little bigger than her, grabs her.

“That was sneaky! Don’t do sneaky things!” Dante rubs his burned hands together.

“Let her go!” Rainbow Dash yells, zipping in the air straight towards Dante.

With a magic word and the thrust of his hands, waves of dark energy cascade around Rainbow, Twilight, and the other wielders of the Elements of Harmony. When Rainbow reaches Dante, she takes a swing at his head, but her movements seem sluggish. Dante is able to move one of his arms up to catch her swing, and he used his other to grab her other hoof as she tries to swing with that one instead.

“What…what did you do to me?” Rainbow breaths out quietly.

“Don’t worry.” Dante says, standing from the throne. “It’s nothing you’re not used to!” With a shout, he spins her around and throws her towards the group of ponies in front of him. She lands with a spin, on her stomach, in front of Fluttershy. “So, who’s next?”

“You. Big! JERK!” Fluttershy shouts, gradually getting louder. “Who do you think you are, hurting ponies like this? You should be ashamed of yourself!” She looks deep into Dante’s eyes, slowly walking towards him. “Just because you have this power doesn’t mean you can do whatever you want! I almost couldn’t believe what Iatril told me about you, but now I see that she was right!” Fluttershy got right in Dante’s face, flapping her wings to hover at his eye level. “You don’t hurt the princesses! You don’t hurt my friends! You don’t hurt ANYPONY! Got it!?”

“BACK OFF!” Dante yells, his voice devoid of any humor, filled only with hate. He swung one of his arms at Fluttershy, his hand filled with raw eldritch energy. Fluttershy’s stare breaks for a moment as she sees the attack coming, unable to react. Barely an inch before connecting with her head, his arm is stopped by his other arm, barely restraining it.

“You are lucky,” He says, his voice back to its previous pitch, “that a certain someone cares enough about you. Otherwise, your head would be rolling at my feet, or blown to pieces.” The energy dissipates from his charged hand as he walks around Fluttershy. “I don’t know exactly what she’s told you, but I have a tendency to not take prisoners. Look before you.” He says with a sweep of his arms. “The guards have been knocked out, one princess beaten, another locked away, and,” He points at Shining Armor, “the captain has a broken spine, yet he still lives.”

“My brother…is alive?” Twilight slowly speaks, still grabbed by the stone hand.

“Brother?” Dante looks between the two siblings. “I can’t say I see the resemblance, but you aren’t the only siblings I know of.” He gives quick glance at Rainbow before turning back to Twilight. The cyan pegasus didn’t seem to notice. “I should take this moment, however, to apologize to you in particular, Twilight Sparkle.” He walks over to where Twilight is, dismissing the stone hand.

“Apologize?!” Twilight yells, teetering to the side a little right after. “After everything you’ve done?! Why would I—”

“Please.” He says quickly, cutting her off. “Yesterday, I grabbed your horn without knowing the social taboos of such an action. And for that,” He bows before her, crossing an arm over his chest, “I am truly sorry.”

Twilight takes a few steps back. “Is this some sort of trick? Compared to everything else, grabbing my horn doesn’t really measure up.”

“It’s a big deal to me.” Dante says, straightening his posture. “I find such actions uncouth and unruly, not to mention detestable. Make no mistake, I have taken part in torture when I’ve found it a necessity, but I’ve never done anything like what I did to you in such an activity. When I’m truly sorry about something, I will make sure to not do the same action again. Be sure of that.”

“Yo, Dante!” Raven calls, flying into the room through the door.

“Jeez, is everyone meeting here or something? What is it?”

“Iatril’s on her way. She’s pretty pissed.”

“No shit, genius. How long until she gets here?”

“Beats me. Maybe thirty seconds, if you’re lucky.”

“Hmmm.” Dante looks around the room, observing all of the ponies around him. “Okay everyone, we’ll be postponing our discussion until a later time, as I am about to be in a great deal of pain.” He takes a few steps away from Twilight, standing a few feet from all the ponies in the room. “…wait for it…”

“DANTE!” Iatril’s voice rings throughout the room, albeit with reverberations. In through the doorway comes a huge, swirling, cloud-like body with whirlwind-like tendrils for arms. The cloud flies above Twilight and her friends and slams down onto Dante with one of its tendrils. “WHAT ARE YOU DOING?!”

Dante spits a bit of blood to his side. “Well, I was waiting for you to do something like this. Or, did you mean before just now?”

Wind dispersing from her body, Iatril lands and takes her own form, lifting Dante above her, holding him by his tunic. “I can’t believe you! I told you not to harm any of these ponies!”

“No,” Dante replies calmly, “you told me not to kill any of these ponies. And, as you can see, none of them are dead.”

“You know what I meant!”

“But that’s not what you said. Say what you mean and mean what you say. Now, put me down already.” Iatril slowly lowers him to the ground. “Good. Now, first order of business is—” A swift punch to his face cuts him off. Reeling back, Dante covers his nose, trying to realign it. “Okay, I had that coming, now—” Another punch, this time to his chest, cracking a few ribs. Before Dante can say anything else, Iatril delivers a final punch to his stomach, forcing him to kneel over in pain. “*cough* …Okay…I… *wheeze* …I deserved that.”

Iatril just looks down at him coldly. “You weren’t productive at all, were you?” She asks.

“Not *cough* not true.” Dante says, slowly rising.

“Oh?” Iatril crosses her arms. “What exactly have you done that’s productive?”

“Hey, Dante!” Shade calls, trotting into the room, holding a shiny pendent on his wing. “I found the amulet. Hey, did you hear the huge rush of wind a minute ago? That was…Rainbow?” He finishes, looking up from the pendant and over at the cyan pegasus.

“Shade?” Rainbow asks, looking over at her brother. She doesn’t look confused for long; only angry. “What are you doing here?”

“He’s with me.” Dante answers. “Well, maybe.”

Ignoring Dante, Shade runs right over to his sister. “Are you hurt? Did he do anything to you?”

“I’m fine!” Rainbow yells at him, swatting away his outstretched hoof. “Go be with your psycho!”

“Rainbow…”

“Not to interrupt your little meeting, but we are in the middle of something here.” Dante says, grabbing Shade’s attention. “By the way, she’ll be fine. She’s just a little tired. Now, go deliver the amulet. I’ll contact you later about our business arrangement.” Shade looks up at him before slowly trotting out of the room. “Be quick about it!” Dante calls after him.

“Unbelievable.” Iatril shakes her head. “You are truly unbelievable.”

“Well, I do lie a lot, I suppose.”

“This whole time, you’ve been messing around and hiring thieves!”

“Oh, and you’ve contributed so much to our plight. You’ve made few friends. I’ve just proven my worth to the rulers of this country!”

“You attacked the rulers of this country! You’ve battered one princess and locked the other in a cage!”

“Yeah, well, they pissed me off.”

“We need their help!”

“There are at least two other civilizations we can get aid from. I like them better and I haven’t even met them yet!”

“Gods, you never change! You toss aside everyone you think you don’t need when you desperately need them!”

“And you always try to befriend everyone, even when it’s pointless!”

“Brute!”

“Weakling!”

“Demon!”

“And proud of it!”

The two of them stare hard into each other, neither one wanting to break first. Iatril has her hands balled into fists, ready to strike him. Dante has his eldritch magic stored and ready in his hands. The tension in the air was so thick it could be cut with a knife. Eventually, Dante lets out a breath and lets go of his magic.

“Whatever.” He says, walking right past her. “Since you’re here, go fix up everyone.”

“Where do you think you’re going?!” She yells at him.

“I’m going to take a nap!” He snaps back. “If I stay, we’ll just end up killing each other, and then where will we be, huh?!” He casts his spell, opening up an entrance to his mansion near the entrance of the throne room.

“Wait, what about the cage you made?”

“Fuck you, fuck the cage, and fuck the smug princess inside it!”

“Hey!” Twilight yells, getting in his way. “The element of magic!”

Dante quickly soars over her, landing in front of the portal.

“Shut up.” And with that, he disappears into the portal, closing it behind himself.

Iatril just stares at where the portal once stood, holding back her rage.

“Hey everypony.” Spike says, riding on top of Flurry as they enter the throne room. “What’d we miss?”

END CHAPTER

Author's Note

Hello once again! Here is the next chapter for y'all. If you ever had any doubts about it before, Dante is officially an asshole. I know this may come to a shock (not really) but it's for your own good that you know this. :trollestia:

For this chapter, I'm not going to do the Spell guessing game. (It was Waves of Exhaustion, by the way). I just figured it was too easy. Still waiting on the other two chapters (8 and 10) to be guessed at, but I'm sure someone will get around to that eventually...maybe.

Also, just a neat little thing my friend showed me, I took some Mary Sue test for Dante. Turns out, he IS a Mary Sue. (Unbelievable, I know) :rainbowlaugh: I should probably warn readers in the summary that this fic contains a Mary Sue.....nah :trollestia:

Next chapter in about a week, I think.

Ch. 12 - The Problem(s)

Iatril stood there, staring at the spot where Dante disappeared.

‘Why does he have to be like this?’ She thinks to herself. But now’s not the time for that. Now, she has to fix what Dante broke, starting with the princesses.

Turning to face Celestia and a pink alicorn she was not familiar with, she bows down.

“I would like to apologize on behalf of my friend for all that has transpired here.” She says, lifting her head. “I would also like the opportunity to amend the situation.”

Celestia just stood there, still surrounded by her guards. It took her a moment to remember she was actually being addressed, not assaulted or berated.

“What did you have in mind?” She asks.

“For a start, I could mend both yours and the unicorn’s wounds.” Iatril takes a few steps towards the two alicorns.

“Very well.” Celestia says, stepping around her guards.

“Princess!” One of the guards calls. “This could be a trick!”

“No.” She replies simply, standing in front of her throne as Iatril approaches. “I don’t believe this is.”

When Iatril reaches the throne, she speaks a few words of power, lighting her hand with a faint, white glow. She presses her hand against Celestia’s side, allowing the energy to pass over her. Upon touching her, Celestia’s wounds instantly heal; every cut closes, every burn vanishes, every bruise subsides. Iatril then steps down and walks over to Shining Armor.

“Sir?” She asks the unicorn, kneeling down. “Sir, can you hear me?”

The unicorn lay there, unmoving, and unconscious.

“If you can hear me, I’m about to heal your wounds with magic. This may feel strange.”

Casting her spell again, she places her hand on Shining Armor’s side. The bruising where he landed on his back vanishes as his spine realigns itself. His eyes shoot open, allowing him to see Iatril kneeling in front of him. He clamors as he quickly gets on his hooves.

“Wha-What’s going on?!” He yells, surveying the room. “Who are you?”

“Shining!” Twilight yells, galloping over and throwing her hooves around her brother in a hug.

“Twilight? What happened?”

“I’ll tell you later.” She says, holding back tears.

Iatril stands and moves back towards the throne. She approaches the magic cage Princess Luna is held in and stops.

“Princess Luna, I presume?” She asks. Luna confirms with a nod. “I am sorry to say I don’t have the spells to free you from this cage.”

“Then how will I escape?” Luna asks, clearly annoyed.

“You will have to wait.”

“For how long?”

“Well, that depends.” Iatril says, walking around the cage. “The barrier you are trapped in will last for about a day and a half, and I noticed teleportation can’t be used. The spell that prevents that from happening will last a couple of weeks.”

“A day and a half!?” Luna asks incredulously. “I am to lower the moon this night!”

“Don’t worry. As soon as he’s cooled off, Dante will be back and I’ll get him to remove the spells.”

“That monster!?” Luna yells through her prison. “Why in Equestria would you trust him!?”

“I’ve known him for decades. I know what he’s like. As long as I’m here, he won’t hurt anyone else. Please, Your Highness, I know he’s a terrible person, but he won’t be an issue from now on.”

“But why do you trust him?” Celestia asks. “You don’t seem to be like him, so why trust him if you know he’s going to commit such terrible acts?”

“That…is a very involved question, Your Highness.” Iatril says, looking away from both princesses. “Suffice to say we need each other, and leave it at that.”

“Hmmm.” Celestia wasn’t satisfied with that answer, but she decided to leave it be for now. “How long until he returns to release my sister?”

“He’ll likely rest long enough to regain his spells and prepare them again, so maybe nine hours. However, if you wish to try dismantling the spell that keeps her from teleporting, feel free to try. I should note, however, that because of the barrier, Princess Luna will have to dismantle it herself. Even if you figure out how to remove the magic, the barrier keeps the spell intact on her side from your actions.”

“What about Twilight and her friends?” Celestia asks.

“There’s nothing to be done. They’re only tired. A good night’s rest will fix that.”

“I’m glad. One last thing: he used some strange magic against me in our fight. I can still feel its effects on me. It feels like it’s trying to push the life out of me.”

“That’s negative energy. Dante tends to use it more when he’s in trouble. That’s interesting, though.” Iatril says with a smile. “That means, on your own, you’re stronger than him. Don’t worry about the spell. No matter how enraged he may have been at you, he wouldn’t have permanently harmed you. Despite how he may act, he knows we could still use your help.”

“He’s mentioned needing us before. What is it you need?”

“That’s also an involved question. If you don’t mind, I’d rather us wait for Dante to be here to explain it.”

“I’ve got a question!” Twilight says, stepping closer to Iatril from her brother. “Who are you? What are you?”

“Ah, that’s right. You haven’t seen me in this form. I’m Iatril.”

“You are Iatril? You’re the pegasus that came to town three days ago?!”

“That I am.”

Twilight stood there staring, mouth agape.

“I’ve been getting that a lot today.”

~ _ ~ _ ~ _ ~ _ ~

The hours that passed were quick for a few and crawled on for others. Wanting to find everything Dante had broken or otherwise ruined, Iatril had went around the throne room, making a mental note of every burn, cut, and abnormality. After getting over the fact that Iatril wasn’t a pony and the relief that her brother was still alive, Twilight began following Iatril around, trying to find out more about her race. The only fruit this bared was strictly about Iatril’s race, such as her long lifespan and cultural norms. Twilight’s questions about her magic went relatively unanswered. Iatril only told her that her magic was given to her by nature, and that any other questions about magic should be addressed to Dante, as he would no doubt love boasting about it.

Luna, still trapped with little else to do, examined the magic of her cell and the area within. She was joined by Crescent Moon as soon as he was appraised of the situation. Both of them were able to note the differences between the magic of these spells and that of their own. These spells seemed much more structured, meaning there was little room to modify the spells and, thus, a very small likeliness that either of them would be able to dismantle the spells. Celestia, too, observed this new magic for a time, but royal duties had called. She needed to make sure the citizens in Canterlot were not alarmed by recent events, as she learned Iatril came in the form of a dragon. Court for the day had been cancelled, as seeing one of their princesses locked away would not have been a good thing for the citizens to see.

Flurry, not wanting to be left alone with these ponies, tagged along with Iatril as she went about her business. He also didn’t want to be near Rarity; when Iatril asked him about it, he mumbled something about a date and nothing more. Raven, being left out of the mansion by his master, decided to fly around the castle, despite the protest of Iatril. He found a phoenix by the name of Philomena and struck up a conversation with her. Topics ranged from the economic stability of the kingdom to good locations to perch. It was a good day for Raven.

Feeling like he could take on the world, Shining Armor first set to organizing a search for Shade Strider, who he learned had stolen something from Celestia. Iatril advised against it, saying Dante would just break Shade out of jail and steal the amulet for him anyways. Celestia agreed and, not wanting another dispute with Dante, especially since she was still weakened, ordered Shining Armor to leave that matter for later. He wasn’t pleased with that, and neither was Rainbow Dash, but they let it be. With little else to do, Shining Armor decided to reallocate the city guard, since the issue of Dante was mostly resolved.

Princess Cadence, not wanting to go against the arrangement with Dante, set about retrieving the information he requested. She attained a few books on the creatures in Equestria, along with the history of the Griffon Kingdom and the dossier on Changelings. She also brought a few books on the geography of the land, as well as a map. Luna asked why she bothered getting these items for him; Cadence said it was “a sign of good faith” on their part. It was also in part because she wasn’t going to sign a pardon for Shade Strider, at least not yet. She wanted to know more about what was going on first.

Rainbow Dash, completely enraged for no discernible reason aside from seeing Shade Strider, tried going after him several times. Each time, Fluttershy had been the one to keep her from going. Rarity, Applejack, and Spike had asked why she was so mad at her brother, but neither Fluttershy nor Rainbow gave an answer. The group had agreed to wait it out in Canterlot for Dante to come back, just in case they needed to use the Elements. Pinkie Pie…was nowhere to be found. They searched for her for a few hours, but found no trace of the pink party-pony. The group figured she would return soon.

After the search, the group had decided to get some lunch. Iatril was done surveying the damages by then and had offered each of them a berry she enchanted. They all accepted, with the exception of Rainbow Dash. Twilight, more curious with the magic involved in blessing the berry than eating it, held onto it to research. The others ate theirs, feeling the effects of the spell instantly; even Spike felt as though he ate a full meal, despite his gem-filled diet. Aside from Rainbow’s distrust in Iatril and Twilights curiosity with Iatril’s magic, nothing changed with the group. They sat around discussing topics that friends would normally talk about.

Eventually, the time did pass, and everyone went back to the throne room to wait for Dante to come back. Pinkie Pie was still missing, but in her place was Crescent Moon, who was interested in meeting the foreign creature.

The portal opened and out stepped Dante, plus somepony behind him.

~ _ ~ _ ~ _ ~ _ ~

“I’m telling you, nothing is better than donuts!” Dante says, exiting the portal.

“And I’m telling you!” Pinkie Pie says with fake-stern expression on her face as she steps out. “Cake is the superior sweet!”

“Well, until I get to try some, your argument is invalid.” Closing the portal behind Pinkie, Dante looks around the throne room. The other wielders of Harmony were sitting before the throne, Celestia was upon said throne, Cadence and Shining Armor were next to the still imprisoned Luna, as well as some unicorn Dante saw through his disembodied eye a few times. Iatril stood with Flurry to her side and Raven atop Flurry’s head. “Okay, so, where did we leave off?”

“Dante...” Iatril says, looking over at the pink pony beside him. “Why was Pinkie with you?”

Dante looks down at the pink pony and back at the group. Both he and Pinkie answer with a shrug.

“She just showed up in the mansion. She let me rest, so I didn’t see why she couldn’t stay. She even let me see her Element of Laughter.” Dante raised his hand to reveal his palm, the same one he used to hold the Element of Magic. On his palm was a second burn line, similar to the first. “As you can see, it didn’t like me holding it.”

“Maybe you just need to smile more!” Pinkie says cheerfully.

“Right…” Dante trails off, looking over at Luna. “Right, I should probably fix that.” He walks right over to the cage, standing in front of Luna. “You aren’t going to try attacking me once I let you out, are you, Nightmare Moon?”

“Just let me out of here already!” Luna yells at him.

“Good enough.” Dante waves his hand, bringing down the barrier. He then holds his hand straight up, the hole appearing on his palm again as he pulls apart his other spell. “You are now free to teleport to your heart’s content.” He says, lowering his arm and floating a few feet back in the air with his shadowy wings. “Now, on to business.”

“What exactly do you want from us?” Luna asks, walking over to her throne.

Iatril steps forward in front of Dante. “We require your assistance in locating and destroying someone.”

“Jumping right to the point, Iatril?” Dante says, floating in the air as if he were lying down.

“Who is it you’re looking for?” Celestia questions.

“His name is Aselith.” Dante responds. “As I believe I’ve mentioned before, he’s more powerful than me. And, as my partner has already announced, we could use your help.”

“What has he done that’s made someone such as you want to pursue him?”

“Do you want my real reason, or my excuse?”

“Dante.” Iatril prods him.

“Fine.” Dante lands on the ground. “Aselith is an extremely powerful wizard and warlock. He has raised armies of undead and living alike and has used them in his pursuit to rule the entire world, possibly the whole cosmos. He’s organized, he’s efficient, and he knows exactly what to do in every situation. That is the excuse I give to any king, emperor, or ruler that I ask for help. My reason is much more personal. He killed someone very important to me. I want Aselith to suffer and die because of it!”

“So you want to use us for your revenge?” Luna asks.

“Don’t act like you won’t be getting anything out of it. It’s only a matter of time before Aselith starts something up. In all likeliness, it will be when we least expect it. He’s good at doing stuff like that, the sneaky bastard. I’m offering you my services as a learned magic user in exchange for your cooperation. But, if you’re not interested, I’m sure another nation would be. Speaking of which: Cadence, do you have the information I requested?”

“Right here.” Cadence replies, levitating the books and packet over to Dante. He just stares at the texts, dumbfounded.

“You…you really went and got them?” He asks, grabbing a book and leafing through it.

“A sign of good faith from us to you.” She says, earning a frown from Dante.

“I, uh…I don’t know how to respond to this. I’m not used to getting my way so easily.” Dante sets the book down where the others were put. “You do realize you’ve just given me all the information I need to get help from someone else, don’t you?”

“That’s right.” She replies, not missing a beat.

Dante cracks the same toothy smile he gave when Shade arrived. “I think I’m going to enjoy working with you all.”

“We haven’t agreed to working with you yet.” Celestia states, looking down at Dante.

“You’re right!” Dante says, clapping his hands together. “I still haven’t seen Discord’s statue. We can’t move forward if there are still agreements left unfulfilled!” Dante grabs the Element of Magic from his belt and tosses it to Twilight.

“We didn’t agree on that either!” Celestia stands from her throne. “And that is something I won’t agree to.”

“That’s fine.” Dante says as Raven flies off Flurry and lands on Dante’s shoulder. Dante scratches Raven’s head with his uninjured hand. “My favorite little birdie happened to see a very conspicuous door as he flew around earlier. I wonder what’s behind it.”

Before anyone could react, both Dante and Raven disappear from sight. Moving quickly, both Celestia and Luna teleport to the vault. As they arrive, Dante stands in front of it, casting a spell. He quickly turns into a gas and passes through the vault door. The regal sisters run to the door, unlocking it with their magic. As they open the vault, they see Dante standing before the statue, his arms at his hips. Discord remains imprisoned in stone.

“Are you insane?!” Luna yells at Dante, getting between him and the statue. “You could have released him!”

“Yeah, but I didn’t.” Dante says calmly. “Even if I did, I gave back Twilight’s Element.” He continues looking up at the statue.

“That’s not the point!”

“Quiet.” He says, not taking his eyes off of the statue. His looks over every part of Discord; his goat/deer horns, his lion/eagle arms, his goat/lizard legs, a dragon tail, a pegasi wing and a bat wing, and his different sized eyes.

“What is it?” Celestia asks, entering the vault.

“I know this creature.” Dante says, pulling the needle from his belt. Luna lowers her stance, but Dante ignores her, drawing a circle in the air with the needle and opening a small portal. He reaches in and pulls out a book before closing the portal. Putting the needle away, he flips through the withered tome. Settling on a page, he turns the book to show Celestia and Luna. On the page is a crude drawing of a creature with mismatched arms, legs, horns, and wings, plus a tail.

“He’s…been to your world?” Celestia asks, looking up from the drawing.

“He’s from my world. He was a powerful wizard in his time, capable of challenging anyone. Not only that, he was a warlock as well.” Dante says, closing the book and looking Celestia right in the eye. “The first warlock.”

END CHAPTER

Author's Note

Hello all! I'm going to throw you all a bone here and do the Spell guessing game for this chapter. Dante cast 1 spell; what is it? Come on, fellow D&D nerds! I believe in you! Even if you don't believe in yourselves, believe in the me that believes in you!

I'm going to be going through the chapters I've posted to see what I have and have not revealed, so expect the next chapter to come out in about 2 weeks. To distract you from this delay, here's Mr. Conway Twitty.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lJVCjnAolp8

Have a good week!

Ch. 13 - Insert Generic Chapter Title Here

“That’s impossible.” Luna says. “There’s no way Discord could be of your world.”

“Why not?” Dante asks. Luna doesn’t give an answer. “Perhaps I should hear the history of Discord? You two fought against him over 1000 years ago, correct?”

“That’s right.” Celestia says, walking up to Discord’s statue. “When Luna and I were born, Discord was ruling Equestria in a state of chaos. The citizens tried many times to overthrow him, but they were unsuccessful every time. One day, my sister and I discovered the Elements of Harmony when we were researching spells to defeat Discord. After discovering the Elements, we used them on Discord and turned him into a statue.”

“That doesn’t tell me anything I don’t already know.” Dante says with a sigh. “What about before that, when he first ruled over Equestria?”

Celestia and Luna exchanged looks before Luna spoke up.

“We don’t know about then. History keeping wasn’t a focus at all back then. No pony was able to figure out where Discord came from. We thought he may have once been a dragon that got exposed to incredibly powerful magic, but we honestly don’t know. Have you heard the story of how Equestria was founded?”

“No, but I assume it has something to do with Discord.”

“There is no mention of Discord. That is the only other piece of history we have about him: sometime after Equestria was founded, Discord came about and took over.”

“Hmmm. About how long ago did you two imprison Discord?”

“About 1400 years ago.”

“I see. That falls in good time with a bit of history from my world, assuming time flows the same between our worlds.” Dante opens up the book again, turning to the page with the crude drawing of discord. “He who warps the world, or ‘Discord’ as you call him, was a powerful arcane magic user. The few that know about him believe he was a wizard, but I find that unlikely. After all, 1500 years ago, wizardry had only just been born. I believe he was a sorcerer, or possibly a dragon, but I digress.

“Discord had sought out the power bestowed upon outsiders, who, as I’ve mention, are made of essence from planes other than the material plane. He killed many outsiders, good and evil alike, and fey, creatures of magic, binding their essence to his body and soul. History says he lost control of his power and his mind, striking out against everything that was around him. He was even able to battle the gods. Fearing his strength, the four elder gods banished him from the material plane and all the inner and outer planes, forcing him to drift on the astral plane for all eternity. Since he was never seen again, it was believed he drifted so far on the astral plane that he erased himself from existence.

“However, while he was still in control of himself, he gifted his lieutenants with the wild and evil magics he had attained, taking parts of their souls in the process. Since then, all descendants of the lieutenants have had the gift, or curse, of eldritch magic. In exchange for this magic, every warlock born is missing a part of their soul. But I suppose that’s okay. It’s not like we notice the difference.” Dante finishes with a smile.

Celestia and Luna didn’t know what to say. They both just stood there, staring at Dante.

“I know that’s a bit much to put together, never before hearing about outsiders or fey.”

Celestia took a step towards Dante. “So, do you still intend to release Discord?”

“Are you deaf?!” Dante shouts at Celestia. “Didn’t you hear what I just said?! Discord could challenge the gods! No, he’s staying right where he is. I may be crazy, but I’m not stupid.” He takes a few steps, heading towards the vault entrance. “We should probably get back to the throne room. We’ve probably got them thinking we started another fight.”

Agreeing, Celestia and Luna both leave Discord where he is, closing the vault as they exit. The three of them, plus Raven on Dante’s shoulder, teleport back to the throne room.

Upon re-entering the room, they see Iatril consoling the group.

“—and they’ll be back any moment now, with all of them perfectly unharmed and OH THANK THE GODS YOU’RE BACK!” She yells, seeing the royal sisters and Dante appear.

“I’m sure that surprised yell was really just your way of saying how you knew I wouldn’t start a fight, right?” Dante asks, walking over to Iatril. “Or maybe you were really just trying to convince yourself?”

“Regardless.” Iatril dismisses his words. “What about Discord?”

“Yeah, that’s not happening.” Dante says, turning in place as the two sisters return to their thrones. “Never work with someone crazier and more powerful than yourself.”

“That doesn’t seem to be the case with you two.” Cadence says, earning a glance from Dante. He just cracks a smile at her.

“I do hope I end up working with you.” He looks over at Celestia and Luna. “Now, all things considered, I will give you a time frame of one week to decide whether or not to work with me.”

“Only one week?” Celestia questions. “Considering your…approach to us, don’t you think more time to investigate your claims would be appropriate?”

“Nah.” Dante says, turning his back, walking towards the doors. “Rulers have been able to make up their minds in an hour, based solely on my approach. If you need me, I’ll be wandering around that garden I noticed outside. Go, Raven.”

The bird flies off his shoulder as Dante teleports from the room before anyone can protest. Raven flies over and lands on Flurry’s back, half his body hidden by Flurry’s fur.

“Is he serious?” Luna asks Iatril. “One week to decide whether or not to work with some creature like him?”

“Actually,” Raven says quickly, interrupting Iatril, “this is incredibly lenient for him, Nightmare Moon.”

“Raven!” Iatril shouts. Luna only looks down at the avian with contempt.

“Sorry, Iatril. Dante’s orders. I must refer to her as ‘Nightmare Moon’ until he says otherwise. Anyways, from what I’ve seen and heard, Dante only gives people a day at most to make this sort of decision.”

“Then why give us a week?” Luna asks. Raven looks over at Iatril.

“Because,” Iatril says, “you surprised him.” She gestures to Princess Cadence. “At his age, almost nothing surprises him anymore. Besides…” She looks back over at Princess Luna.

“What?” Luna asks.

“It’s nothing. I…need to go speak with Dante for a while. Afterwards, you may consider my services at your disposal. If you’ll excuse me Princesses, Fluttershy, everypony.” Iatril turns to leave, Flurry stepping in line behind her. Raven grunts as he hops off of Flurry’s back and onto the ground.

“Dante has ordered me to stay nearby so I may deliver your answer to him immediately, whenever you should make that decision.” Raven says, walking closer to the throne. “I am also to answer any questions you have, or call for Dante should I be unable to answer anything.”

~ _ ~ _ ~ _ ~ _ ~

‘Ah, what a lovely garden.’ Dante thought to himself.

All around him were flowers and trees of various color and size. Some flora he was familiar with: tulips, roses, sunflowers, a multitude of other ‘pretty’ flowers, as Dante called them. Sure, he knew they had other purposes in nature—as Iatril had told him many times—but that didn’t change their appearance. Though he knew much about the topic, flora wasn’t particularly interesting to Dante. What really got Dante’s attention was the fact that these plants had magic flowing through them.

‘Such intricate patterns. From the roots, up the stems, and to the petals; circle around in the petals a few times, then out into the air. But what if…’ Dante leans over to pluck a sunflower from most of its stem. ‘Aha! The magic stops coming out, circling around much more slowly inside to preserve itself. Ingenious. Much different from the walls of that cave, where the magic just clung to every surface. It seems every living thing contains some amount of magic; even the stone walls have magic over them, though that’s probably not natural. I think that’s just from all these ponies being near them. Or, possibly, the magic from the princesses is so intense it just spreads out and settles on everything in the area. I should figure that out sometime.’

Looking up from the decapitated flower, Dante sees a pair of unicorn royal guards watching him from the outside corridor. Their hard stares, however, don’t even faze the warlock.

‘Bah. As if they could do any lasting damage to me. Not like those princesses.’

Dante looks down at his twice burned hand, observing the two burn lines on his palm.

‘Quite peculiar. The burns from the Elements remain, as is expected. I can regenerate almost any form of damage on my body. Good magic is one of two things that can permanently harm me, without magical healing of course. The other is a weapon forged with cold iron and infused with good magic. The fact that these Elements can harm me is one thing, but the princesses were able do the same thing with their magical blasts. It’s been a long time since I had to actively heal myself with my eldritch magic. My demonic powers have been quite good at healing…my demonic powers. I almost forgot about that. Maybe plants can be used. I’ll have to experiment a little while I wait. Maybe that forest Iatril mentioned will help out and—’

“Dante!” Iatril called out, dropping from the second floor window of the castle to the garden.

‘I was wondering when she would show up.’ Dante turns to face his companion, who was walking around a patch of tulips to meet him.

“What is it?” Dante asks, playing with the sunflower in his hand.

“Just thought I’d check on you; make sure you weren’t getting into any trouble.” Iatril replies, stopping in front of him.

“Psh. Beating up two princesses and five members of a royal guard is enough for me.”

“Yeah, right.” Iatril says, rolling her eyes. “Uh, Dante?” She asks, pointing to the flower in his hand. “What’s that?”

“…a sunflower?” Dante says, rather unsure. “You’re the druid. Shouldn’t you know this? Maybe you’re going senile!” He says with a laugh.

“Why a sunflower?”

“It was nearby and…” Dante stops, thinking for a moment.

‘Do something with it.’

He steps around Iatril, lifting her braided hair and sticking the stem in between the braids.

“What was that for?” Iatril asks, looking back at the sunflower.

‘Say something.’

“Sunflowers are your favorite, aren’t they?” He says, stepping back in front of her.

Iatril looks Dante up and down before speaking again. “Are…you okay, Dante?”

“A fleeting moment of clarity can be wondrous, can’t it?” Dante asks, walking over to a small stream to gaze into.

Iatril stands there, staring at him.

“Dante?” Iatril finally speaks.

“Hmmm?” Dante turns around to face her. “Oh, Iatril. When did you get here?”

“…just a moment ago. I…wanted to talk to you about…your plans for the other nations.”

“You alright?”

“Yeah.” Iatril says, wiping away a tear before it even leaves her eye. “I guess I’m just a little tired. I’m fine to talk, though.”

“Well, alright then.” Dante says, clapping his hands together. “But let’s walk while we talk.” He passes her, noticing the sunflower in her braid. “What’s with the sunflower?”

“I just thought it would be a nice addition to my outfit. You know, more plants.” She says with a smile. “Besides, they’re my favorite, remember?”

“Huh. I guess.” Dante says, continuing his walk, not noticing the silent tears from Iatril as she follows behind him. “So, about the griffons…”

~ _ ~ _ ~ _ ~ _ ~

Evening rolled around without much incident. The three princesses discussed what should be done about Dante and his proposal. There were simply too many different possibilities. For instance, he could be lying to them about this ‘Aselith’; he may not even exist, and if he does he may be the one trying to stop Dante from taking over the world. Based on Dante’s behavior, it wouldn’t be that far of a stretch. A problem with that is Iatril. While Dante was something of an enigma for the most part, Celestia had no trouble reading Iatril’s emotions. She was genuinely concerned about the princesses’ well-being and was aggravated by Dante’s behavior.

Wanting to get a better idea of their visitors, the princesses asked Twilight and her friends what they thought, as they had spent some small amount of time with Iatril. Luna was absent from this meeting, as she needed to rest before night court started. Each of the six had something to say about Dante or Iatril, or both.

Twilight thought Iatril was alright, but wouldn’t even consider Dante to be anything remotely good.

Rarity believed Iatril was good as well, considering how she brought them right to the capital when they were needed.

Applejack wasn’t keen about trusting either of them; Dante for his violence and Iatril for her lying.

Fluttershy believed whole-heartedly that Iatril had their best interests at heart. She was even willing to trust Dante if Iatril did.

Rainbow, with similar reasoning as Fluttershy, refused to trust either one of them. Dante was apparently working with her brother—whom she refused to talk about—and since Iatril was with Dante, she didn’t trust her either.

Pinkie thought Iatril was a good pony/person/dragon/thing and Dante was okay too, despite her still being tired from his spell.

With the varying opinions of Dante and Iatril, Celestia felt it was wiser to validate their claim, rather than their trustworthiness. She set Crescent Moon on the task of scrying for Aselith, having been given a general idea of what he looks like. Raven mentioned the futility of such an action, but Celestia felt it was better to try this anyways. Not wanting to rely on magical detection alone, she had Shining Armor put together a search for Aselith. Raven couldn’t give any advice as to where to search, as Aselith hid in all manner of locations, from barren wastelands to populated capitals. That evening, twenty groups of two pegasi were sent out in every direction to gleam any information they possibly could.

As the hours rolled on, Iatril offered Spike and the mares from Ponyville a ride back to their homes. Both Twilight and Rainbow Dash wanted to stay behind for their own reasons, but Celestia convinced them to head home and rest. Iatril said she would stay in Ponyville for the night and come back tomorrow to make repairs to the castle. Cadence selected a pegasus to act as an envoy to the griffons to alert them of Aselith. The pegasus would leave first thing in the morning, arriving in the griffon kingdom two to three days from now. Flurry, at the request of Iatril, stayed at the castle with Dante, who refused to leave the area. Raven also stayed behind to be near one of the princesses at all times.

After Iatril took everypony back to Ponyville on the back of her cloud-like transmutated body, Luna held her night court. Raven perched himself in the garden to sleep, leaving Luna to do her work in relative peace.

~ _ ~ _ ~ _ ~ _ ~

“No, there is no dragon attack on Canterlot.” Luna said to the fifth citizen that came before her to inquire about the subject. She never before had as large of a crowd as Celestia in her night court, but the crowd tonight was even larger than that. Likely, every pony who couldn’t come during the day felt they needed to come immediately that night, and most of them had similar questions: ‘Why did a dragon come to Canterlot?’ ‘What was the creature that was brought in by the guards?’ ‘Is Canterlot under attack?’ Of course, these questions were important, but their repetition started to wear on Luna’s nerves too quickly. Almost as quickly as something that didn’t belong in the court.

After the last pony came and left, Luna had her night guards leave the room. She sighed and looked around the room from her throne.

“How long are you going to skulk around in here?” She calls out to the room.

“Hmmm, you sensed me.” Dante replies, his form slowly appearing next to the grand doors of the throne room. “When did you realize I was here?”

“Since you came into the room, when night court started.”

“I was under the impression you needed to use your horn to find me.” He said, strolling up to the throne.

“I may not be able to see you, but I can sense the evil in you quite easily.” Luna said with a hiss.

“Heh.” Dante flops onto the adjoining throne, more laying on it than sitting. “Yeah, I suppose it is pretty easy to sense your own, isn’t it, Nightmare Moon?”

Luna doesn’t even change her expression. “You’re just going to keep calling me that, aren’t you?”

“Probably.”

“I may as well get used to it. I don’t feel as though I’ve gotten the hatred I deserve from everypony, so maybe this is making up for it.”

“Awe, don’t say that. Now I’ll have to try harder!”

“Do what you will. I know I deserve it.”

Dante looks over at the princess of the night, eyeing her warily. “Iatril told you how to deal with me, didn’t she?”

Luna smirked. “She may have given me a piece of advice or two.”

“Damn her!” He says, sitting up. “She just had to go and ruin my fun.”

“I don’t suppose this means you’ll cease these foolish taunts now?”

“You aren’t getting off that easy!” Dante says, turning to face the princess. “I’ll stop calling you that once I think you’ve earned to be called something else.”

“*sigh* I thought as much. When do you think that will be?”

“Don’t know. If you decide not to work with me, it won’t be a problem. If you do…well, time will tell.”

“Speaking of time, shouldn’t you be asleep? It’s almost midnight.”

“I’d say the opposite about your sister being asleep. Then again, I’ve known outsiders who need to sleep and eat. Regardless, thanks to a freak accident over a decade ago, I no longer require true sleep.”

“An accident?”

“Yeah. Suffice to say I was trying to obtain immortality, and I ended up with youth and a shorted time needed for sleep.”

“Really? How old are you then?”

“Physically, I’d say about twenty-five. In terms of my years spent alive, about one hundred. If I don’t get myself killed, I could live another three hundred, maybe more. And, before you ask, humans generally live to be about ninety or so, assuming disease doesn’t kill us. If it does, sixty to sixty-five.”

“That’s quite impressive.” Luna says, here interests piqued. “Why were you trying to become immortal?”

“Let’s just say I still had work to do in the world of the living and leave it at that. Now, if you’ll excuse me,” He says, standing from the throne, “I think I’ll retire for the night.”

“I thought you didn’t need more sleep.”

“I don’t, but I’m hungry and have found this conversation to bore me. Goodnight, Princess.”

Before she can reply, he disappears from sight.

~ _ ~ _ ~ _ ~ _ ~

Dante sets up his mansion in the garden and enters it, closing the portal behind him. Once inside, he tries contacting Shade Strider.

“Shade, how’s the trip going so far?”

“What did you do to my sister?! I swear, if you hurt her in any way, I’ll find a way to hurt you! You wanted—”

‘Apparently, he forgot about the twenty-five word limit.’

“Twenty-five words, Shade. She’ll be fine. I only made her tired, like I said before. She’ll be fine in the morning. Now, your trip?”

“…the trip is going fine. I stopped for the night. I should arrive tomorrow night or early the next day.”

“Excellent. Have you considered my proposal to work for me?”

“I’ll need more time to decide.”

“Sure, sure. In the meantime, I want you to deliver a message to the griffon king for me.”

“I’m not working for you yet. Call me tomorrow night and I’ll make up my mind then.”

“Okay, fair enough.”

With that, Dante decided to leave that problem for later. Instead, he turned his thoughts to the day’s events. Discord turned out to be the first warlock ever. Quite a bizarre thing to be found here of all places, but that did fill Dante with some hope. Should the fighting with Aselith turn out well, returning to his own world seemed more possible.

Another thing on his mind was Iatril. She seemed more distracted than usual. He could have sworn he saw her crying, but he said nothing about it. He thought he understood why, though. Lately, she’s been saying things that haven’t actually happened, like a conversation or an event.

‘Maybe.’ He thought. ‘Maybe she’s losing her memory.’

END CHAPTER

Author's Note

Hey everyone. I'm going to start updating this story once about every 2-3 weeks for a while. Stuff piling up, work to do, yadda yadda. Just a heads up for y'all.

Also, the Spell Guessing Game is still going on for Chapters 8, 10, and 12. You can do it!

And...I believe that's everything. See you later!

Ch. 14 - Frenemies

Previously rested and refreshed, Twilight Sparkle had made short work of her night’s sleep. The moment her eyes opened to the morning light, Twilight rose from her bed and poured through her books on magic and spells. She had spent hours going through every page she could, searching for spells that would help against Dante. While she knew Celestia wouldn’t be careless about having Dante around, she just couldn’t stop her mind from wandering. ‘What if he attacks the princesses again? What if he attacks us here?’ These questions tormented her the night before and continued to do so through her search.

Eventually, Spike was able to convince her to take a break sometime in the afternoon. Apparently, Fluttershy had introduced Iatril to Ponyville in her real form while Twilight was reading. This gave her an idea. She told Spike she was going to visit Fluttershy at her cottage for a while and left.

‘Sure,’ She thought to herself, ‘it’s not completely true, but I might be able to think of something for Dante.’

Sure enough, she hadn’t found anything in her books about the type of magic Dante used. She would have to rely on getting something from Iatril.

On her walk to Fluttershy’s, Twilight overheard several conversations concerning Iatril. Most of them were actually pretty calm about a strange creature living here. One pony even referred to her as ‘cute looking’ and another as a ‘hairless monkey’.

When Twilight reached Fluttershy’s cottage and knocked on the door, she was greeted by none other than Iatril herself.

“Good afternoon, Twilight!” She practically sings out. “How are you today?”

“Uh…good.” Twilight replies slowly. “I just came by to visit for a little while. Is Fluttershy around?”

“Actually, she’s visiting Rainbow Dash. She saw her glaring at me when we went around Ponyville and left to talk to her about that. I told her I didn’t mind, but she left anyways.”

“Oh…I see.” Twilight says, caught off-guard a little. ‘I didn’t plan on this.’ “Well, how about we just get to know each other more until she gets back then?”

“That sounds like fun.” Iatril says, standing to the side so Twilight can pass through. The two of them move over to the couch, both sitting at opposite ends. Twilight just lies on the couch, facing Iatril, while Iatril sits cross-legged. “So, should I start, or would you like to?”

“You can start.” Twilight replies almost too quickly.

“Alright. Now…where to begin…”

“Actually, could you tell me how you met Dante?”

“Ah, right. That is an interesting story. I suspect I’ll be re-telling this story many times. How I told you I met Flurry is actually how I met Dante. You see, at the monastery, I went through years of training to be as strong as I am today, decades even. Elves mature more slowly than humans, hence the long time. All the while, the older monks looked down at me and the younger ones copied their attitudes. They kept me doing the most degrading chores they had there. I hated it, but kept doing it in hopes of things getting better. As the only elf there, I should have known better.

“As keepers of peace and order, monks would often be sent to areas of unrest and conflict. There, we would work with the local guardsmen to stabilize things. Occasionally, monks would even be sent off as bounty hunters, bringing in criminals for the reward and using that money to aid the sick and hungry. One day, the headmistress of the monastery came to me with a job. She told me that a warlock was causing trouble near a city a few dozen miles away and wanted me to bring him in. I went to the city and asked around until I came across a name. Care to guess who it was?”

“Dante.” Twilight said, leaning forward in her seat.

“Exactly. After asking around for a few days, I learned that he was hiding in the nearby forest. I went in looking for him, looking to kill him, looking to bring back the bounty and earn the respect I wanted so badly from my elders. In not even a day of searching, I found him. All around his small camp were the bodies of humans who came looking for the same reward. We fought…I lost miserably. I was nowhere close to his league. Magic, flight, resistance to physical damage; the fight was over the moment I entered those woods.

“When I woke up, I had bandages wrapped around all of my burns. There was even a potion to heal my wounds right next to me. Dante was sitting on a rock, making tiny cuts on his arm with a dagger and watching them heal instantly. He looked over at me and basically told me how much of an idiot I was. He said he knew about my monastery and the weak elven monk who lived there. He said he once snuck around there in hopes of stealing something valuable; he found nothing but the elder monks talking about how worthless a person I was. He found it ironic that I was the one who came for him and let me live because of that, and the fact that I wasn’t a human. Sure, I tried to scold him about his wrongdoings, but being broken and wrapped in bandages takes away from the threats. He told me that he was going to study wizardry from the books he stole from wizards he’s killed and that I should study some magic as well. Then, if I wanted to cross paths with him again, I would have equal footing with him. After that day, I didn’t see him again for over fifty years.”

Twilight sat there for a moment, processing everything. “Let me get this straight: He beat you up, probably almost killed you, and you’re FRIENDS with him?!”

“He told me what I needed to hear. Despite what led up to his words, he’s helped me more in the few minutes we spent talking than the monks have over the decades I’ve lived with them.”

“What about at Canterlot? You two looked like you were about to kill each other!”

“Yeah, heh. That happens sometimes. We never get so angry that we lash out at each other though.”

“You punched him in the stomach and broke his ribs.” Twilight deadpans.

“Yeah, but he healed quickly from that. Besides, are you going to sit there and tell me you didn’t enjoy seeing him hurt after what he did?”

“I…don’t enjoy seeing others in pain.” She says, looking to the side.

“That’ a ‘yes’. So, what else did you want to know about Dante?”

“Well, I was thinking maybe—I mean, uh, Dante? What about him?” Twilight asks, shifting around in her seat.

“Oh, come now. Don’t try to hide it. The second I started talking about Dante, you got a serious look on your face. What do you want to know about him?”

Twilight sat there, staring at her. ‘Was I that obvious?’ She didn’t think she let on too much, or even at all, about Dante. But now, Iatril figured her out from nothing but a story. “Well, how does his magic work?”

“Is this from a learning student perspective, or from a strategist perspective?” Again, Twilight didn’t know what to say. “I figured as much. Well, he specializes in evocations, which—”

“Wait!” Twilight interrupts her. “You’re just going to tell me?!”

“Of course! You want to know and, no offence, but I don’t think this knowledge would pose much of a threat to Dante. Knowing what a wizard can and can’t cast is one thing, but planning against a warlock as well is pointless. May I continue?” Twilight nods. “Okay. Evocations are spells that manipulate direct energy, like shooting lightning. He can’t cast illusions, which make things that aren’t real, or enchantments, which influence the minds of others. He also likes necromancy spells, which deal with the life force. Beyond that, magic gets to be a bit too complex for me.”

“But you transformed into a dragon just yesterday!”

“My spells are not learned, but given to me. While Dante spent years pouring over spellbooks and tomes, I spent years communing with nature. That is where my magic comes from. And, before you ask, by ‘nature’ I mean the Everfree Forest.” Twilight lets her mouth hang open. “I got a similar reaction from Fluttershy. Anyway, is there anything else you want to know about Dante?”

Twilight thought to herself for a moment. She knew what was bothering her and needed to know. “How do you know he won’t attack the princesses again? Moreover, how can you trust him?”

“He and I have been…friends…for a long time. He can surprise me every now and again, but he knows just how valuable the princesses are. More so, any potential allies won’t be discarded by him, despite what he may say. And, I’ll tell you something else. Something I told Princess Luna before I left: don’t react to his words. Don’t give him the satisfaction of letting him get to you. He’s like a child in that regard. If you just accept what he says, or merely acknowledge the merit of his words, he’ll lose interest. As for how I trust him, well…let’s just say no one alive could possibly know him better than me.”

“I…see.”

“One other thing.” She says smiling. “You should try giving him a chance. Yes, he’s brute and a scoundrel, but once you get past that, I think you’ll find you have something in common with him.

Content with Iatril reassurance, Twilight bid her farewell and headed home. On her way, she contemplated the whole situation.

‘I suppose Iatril does know best. I still don’t like Dante staying at the castle, but I guess there’s no harm if he doesn’t do anything. And if Pinkie is okay with him, I guess he can’t be all bad. The only thing for me to do now is make sure I don’t react to him. It’s not like I’ll have to worry about that anytime soon.’

As she entered her home, she was about to call out to Spike when she heard a voice.

“And that’s when I burst out of the purple worm’s stomach. Very messy, but quite the experience.”

“That must have been scary.” She heard Spike say from the next room over.

“It was quite a shock. I’d never been eaten before, but after a while you get jaded about things trying to kill you.”

Twilight galloped right to the room the voice was coming from. ‘It couldn’t be.’ As she entered the room, she saw Spike sitting on a cushion drinking tea with Dante right across from him. The man in question turned towards Twilight and grinned.

“Hey, Twilight.” He said, keeping his grin. “How’re you doing?”

END CHAPTER

Author's Note

Hey everyone. Yes, I know, I'm a horrible person. I told you all 2-3 weeks, and here we are at 5. Not only that, but it's a short chapter to boot! Sorry, sorry, I'll just go sit in the corner. :applecry:

(I made a vow to myself that I wouldn't post any chapters for this story shorter than 3,000 words.)

Next chapter should be up in about 2 weeks, and then maybe back to every week.

Ch. 15 - Running Gags? Perhaps.

“YOU!” Twilight yelled, pointing her hoof at the human.

“Yes, ME!” Dante replies mockingly. “So, how was your day?”

“What do you think you’re doing here?!” Twilight quickly trots over to Spike, standing next to, but in front of, him.

“Well, I’d say I’m drinking tea and conversing with a dragon. I mean, how many people do you know who can say that? Well, since I’m one of two ‘people’ you know, I guess not many—”

“That’s not what I meant!”

“Would you believe me if I said I was genuinely interested in talking with Spike?” Dante asks, sipping a bit of his tea.

“I…uh…” Twilight stammers. She hadn’t quite thought her argument out.

“It’s true!” Spike chimes in. “He came by a little after you left to visit Fluttershy. He wanted to know about my whole life in Ponyville!”

“Yep, yep.” Dante nods in agreement. “It’s all part of my 73-point-plan to gain the trust of everypony here.”

Twilight looks over at Dante incredulously. “And I suppose telling me that was also part of your ‘plan’?”

“But of course! Informing you consists of points seventeen through twenty-five. It’s a very intricate plan.”

“Oh? And what’s the next point in your plan?”

Dante strokes his goatee a few times. “I don’t know. Profit? There hasn’t been much profit in the last few days, so it’s probably time for some. Speaking of earning things, sort of, how do you like my tunic?” He flourishes the light purple sleeves of his blue tunic. “I swiped some of the curtains I burned at the castle while fighting the princesses and magicked them to my tunic. I sort of like the mismatch colors. Makes me look…chaotic!” He finishes with a sneer.

Twilight looks at him in disgust. “Rainbow Dash was right. You’re just crazy!”

“Well, your princesses are discussing whether or not to work with me, so…yeah.” He shrugs.

“Are you implying that the princesses don’t know what they’re doing?”

“Hey now, you just said I was crazy. I’m just connecting the facts here. Far be it from me to judge your commitment to your princesses.”

“I—you—gah!” Twilight turns in place, pacing in the room.

“Calm down.” Dante says, levitating the teapot to pour a cup of tea in one of the empty cups. He then levitates it in front of her path. “Drink this. It’ll help you relax.”

Twilight, not even thinking about it, grabs the cup in her magic and takes a sip. She’s greeted by the sweet taste of jasmine. She looks over at Dante, eyeing him warily before taking another sip.

“Good, huh? It’s weird, I usually hate tea. When Spike offered me some, I only accepted to be polite. Then it turns out this tea is delicious!”

“You? Polite? I find that hard to imagine.”

“Always be sure to show respect to those who may one day become much more powerful than you.”

“Who, me?” Spike asks, pointing a claw at himself.

“Well, I’m not talking about Twilight here.” Twilight pouts at this. “In 1000 years, you should easily be able to rival my power. Another 500 years after that, I’d have to call you ‘master’. The potent spells you’d be casting would be scary!”

“Spells?” Spike asks.

“Yeah. You’re too young to know how to right now, but given a few decades, you’ll learn the ways of magic.”

“What are you talking about?” Twilight asks. “Dragons can’t use magic.”

“Huh? Yeah they can. I’ve fought many dragons that have.”

“No, they can’t. While I don’t have many books about dragons, I do know that no dragon in Equestria has ever used magic.”

“Well I…wait.” Dante holds a hand in front of himself, pointing a finger a Spike. “No dragon has been seen using magic?”

“That’s right.” Twilight confirms, feeling a bit giddy knowing she outsmarted Dante.

“And, correct me if I’m wrong, dragons only breathe fire?”

“You’re right.”

Dante cracks a toothy smile. “Spike, lad, you had mentioned something about a dragon living in the Everfree Forest, right?”

“Um, yeah.” Spike replies, scratching the back of his head. “That was when I ran away from home. Why do you ask?”

“How far into the forest was he?”

“I don’t remember. Less than a mile, maybe?”

Dante stands from his seat. “Excellent!” He turns in place and heads for the door.

“Wait!” Twilight calls out, teleporting in front of him. “What are you up to?”

Dante, with a smile still on his face, utters one word. “Profit.” He then disappears from sight, teleporting out of the room.

“Oh no you don’t!” Twilight calls out, lighting her horn and focusing her magic on the spot Dante left from. A moment later, Dante reappears in the same spot, stumbling a little with his eyes spinning.

“Whoa!” Dante takes a few steps to the side, leaning on the nearby bookshelf. “That was weird.”

“Now, what are you up to?!” Twilight steps up to him again.

“How’d you do that? That was some weird magic you pulled there. Reverse teleporting? That’s a pretty neat trick.”

“Don’t avoid the question! What are you planning on doing with that dragon?!” Twilight stands right next to him, inches from his face.

“Awe, why’d you have to go and do that? Did you see how I left here? That would have been really cool, like ‘a lone hero going off to face the evil king’ cool! Hmmm, I should go see a play again. They are pretty entertaining, and the—”

“DANTE!” Twilight yells, pushing Dante on the ground and standing on top of his chest. “WHAT were you going to do with the DRAGON?!”

“Don’t worry about it.” He says in a cheery voice. “Now, if you’ll excuse me—”

“I’m not going to let you up!” Twilight lights her horn again. “I’ll just keep stopping you until you tell me!”

“Well then, I guess I’ll have to use the ancient art of the ninja to escape.”

“What are—” Twilight says right as she is shoved off to the side. Dante quickly charges his hand with magic and slaps the ground. Around Twilight and Dante emerges a veil of darkness. Twilight lights her horn brighter and brighter until her horn hurts, shining light into the darkness and making it vanish. As she dims down her horn, she finds no trace of Dante anywhere. She tries her spell to bring him back again, only for nothing to happen.

“Whoa…” Spike lets out as he looks at where Dante once lay. “Like a ninja.”

~ _ ~ _ ~ _ ~ _ ~

Nearly half an hour passed until Dante emerged from the Everfree forest. His lightly worn cloak flapped as a gust of wind went by, showing a wooden claw embedded in the back of his right shoulder. His amulets hung from his neck, dangling against his exposed chest. The tunic he wore not half an hour ago was gone and the pants he wore were singed and now had a dark blue and light purple pattern, in addition to their original black color. With a roll of his shoulders, the wooden claw fell to the ground, then quickly rose again in a green aura and flew back into the forest.

‘Man,’ He thought to himself, ‘that was an adventure and a half. Iatril wasn’t kidding when she said the forest hated me. I guess I should apologize to it or something. I don’t want to deal with this every time I have to go in there. Still though, I’d say this little expedition was worth it.’

As he entered town, Dante noticed the ponies looking at him curiously; some of them even waved, especially a teal unicorn with a lyre cutie mark. Dante gave a small wave to all the ponies that waved at him and kept on walking.

‘This is weird. Why are they being friendly? Well, I guess this is a nice change of pace from people cowering as I pass by. I don’t even remember the last time people were happy to see me. I don’t…remember…’ Dante stopped for a moment to stare at the ground. ‘Remember…huh. Oh! I wonder if Twilight is freaking out about the whole ‘dragon’ thing. I should probably go check that out.’

Just as he started walking again, a prismatic blur barreled into him from behind, sending him tumbling on the ground. When he stopped spinning, he found a pair of angry magenta eyes staring at him, coupled with a cyan body standing on top of his chest.

“You. Me. Talk. Now!” Rainbow Dash demanded, not moving an inch.

“‘Kay.” Dante replied, still lying on the ground.

“What are you doing with my brother?”

“I’m writing a play and he’s my main source of inspiration. The play is about a lone warrior carving his path in the world. The twist is—”

“Stop lying to me!” She yells, digging her hooves into his chest. “Now tell me what you’re up to or I’ll—”

“Sweetie, there’s nothing you can do to me that’ll be permanent, and I doubt you’d try to kill me over me talking with your brother.”

“You want to bet on that!?” She yells again, pressing her hooves further into his chest.

“Yeah, I do.” They stare at each other for a moment; right up until Rainbow punches Dante in his face. He quickly covers his face, feeling the blood pour of his nose for but a second before it mended itself. “Ow! Why the face?! Why is it always my fucking face?!”

“Now tell me what you’re doing with my brother or I’ll—” She threatened, right before Dante teleported out from under her. With a small thud, Rainbow landed on the ground with Dante standing right in front of her.

“Seriously! Why does everyone punch me in the face first? Is it really so hard to just stab me in the stomach or something? I’m so much more used to that.”

“Just tell me why—”

“Okay!” Dante yells, plopping down on the ground. “Damn. Alright, look, I found him hiding in the caves above Canterlot and I offered him a job working for me. He hasn’t even given me an answer yet, so you’re getting a little ahead of yourself. What’s your problem with him anyway? I can’t tell if you like him or hate him.”

“That’s none of your business!” She says, standing on all fours.

“No, see, that’s exactly my business.” Dante leans towards her. “If you don’t tell me what your problem is, I’ll either have Shade tell me or I’ll extract it right from your mind. I hope it’s one of the former, since that spell is a pain in the ass to cast and it doesn’t always work right. So, what’ll it be?”

Rainbow glares at him angrily, wanting nothing more than to punch his face in again. “Fine.” She says through barred teeth. “I’ll tell you. But not right here.”

Dante looks around and sees several nearby ponies looking on at their little spat. “Right, good point.” Dante quickly charges his hand with the same magic as before and smacks the ground, enveloping them both in darkness. Just as quickly as it came, the darkness disappears with Rainbow and Dante with it.

The two of them stood in Ponyville, albeit on the Plane of Shadow.

“What…What happened?!” Rainbow yells with a small reverb in her voice.

“Don’t worry about it.” Dante responds in a similar pitch. He grabs hold of Rainbow, sprouts his shadowy wings, and zips through the air at incredible speeds. In seconds, they arrive in Rainbow’s home, where Dante releases his magic and Rainbow, bringing them back to the Material Plane. “There, we’re in private. Now, speak.”

“H-How did you…?” She stutters, getting ahold of her bearings.

“Magic.” Dante responds simply, sitting on the floor.

Rainbow nods slowly, sitting down on the floor of her cloud home. She scratches the back of her head, looking around her home.

“Well?” Dante asks impatiently.

“Gimme a second, okay! I’ve only ever told Fluttershy about this.” She takes a breath to calm her nerves before looking back up at Dante. “Okay. When I was a really young, our parents got real sick. At first, we didn’t think it was too bad, but the doctors told Shade it was some terminal disease pegasi get; I didn’t really understand at the time, but when mom and dad didn’t come home, I figured it out. We didn’t have any other family in Cloudsdale and Shade didn’t want to go to an orphanage since he thought we’d get separated, so we lived on the streets for a while. Shade tried finding work, but no pony would hire him since he was still a colt. Every day, he would disappear for an hour or so and come back with food. I never knew where he went. I can’t remember that much from that long ago.

“Eventually, we started living in a house again. Shade told me he found a great job from somepony and he’d been saving up to buy the house. At that time, I started seeing him less and less, but I also started attending flight school, which is where I met Fluttershy. Things weren’t so bad then. I had a home, I had Fluttershy, and I had Shade, but it didn’t last. The year after I got my cutie mark, I found out what Shade had been doing. He’d been stealing from everypony he could: merchants, store owners, he even went to Canterlot to steal from some of the nobles there! I confronted him about it and he tried to defend what he did, saying it was for me! After that, I told him I never wanted to see him again and left for Ponyville. I haven’t seen him since, until he showed up in Canterlot yesterday.”

Dante sat there, absorbing the whole story. When she finished, he continued looking at her for some time before speaking.

“That’s it?” He asks.

“Huh?” Rainbow perks up, looking back at Dante. “What do you mean?”

“I mean, that’s it? He stole for a living. That’s why you’re mad at him?”

“Of course that’s why! He’s a thief! Why wouldn’t I be angry at him!?” She shouts, standing up in front of Dante.

“Maybe because he’s your brother and he gave you a home?” Dante leans on one of his arms, looking bored.

“He should have stopped stealing! He already bought the house, he didn’t need to keep stealing, but when I found out about it he said he would keep doing it! What should I have done, huh?!”

“I don’t know, but wanting him to go against himself probably wasn’t the right thing to do.”

“What are you talking about?!” Rainbow practically roars at him.

“Look, I’ve been observing you ponies for a little over a day, plus everything Iatril’s told me, and I think I have a pretty good idea how you ponies act.”

“Oh really?” Rainbow flaps her wings, bringing herself off the ground and getting right in Dante’s face. “So, how do we act then?”

“You find out what you’re best at, and then you do it. Pure and simple.”

“What, you mean our cutie marks?” She looks at her own cutie mark before turning back towards Dante. “What does that have to do with this?”

“Well, a cutie mark appears when a pony knows what their special talent is, right?”

“Yeah, so?”

“So, if your special talent is, say, going unnoticed in the shadows as you break into a home or store, what would a suitable replacement for that talent be?”

“I…I don’t know.” Rainbow mutters.

“With no alternative in mind, you would have your brother disregard his special talent?”

Rainbow floats down to the floor, speechless. She opens her mouth to argue, but quickly closes it again.

“There are so few things Shade could possibly do with his talent. For goodness sake, his cutie mark is a gray pony that is so similar in color to his coat it’s barely visible. I had to look at it several times before I saw it. The only other option for him would be to work as a spy for the crown, but given his record, that’s not possible now. So, what will you have him do?”

“I don’t know, okay?!” Rainbow yells at the human. “I just…I never really thought about what else he could do…”

“That much is obvious.” Dante says, standing up from the floor. “Look, Shade still likes you. I mean, he dove right into thievery when nothing else seemed good, and he did it for you. You don’t have to forgive him, and I suppose that’s okay, but you should give him a chance, right?”

“I guess…”

“Good. You can tell him that when he comes back in a week to work for me.”

“What?!” Rainbow yells up at him.

“What, you didn’t think I would just not hire him after listening to your story, did you? Look, before you say anything, I’m working on getting him a pardon. After this whole thing with Aselith is over, he’ll be out of a job and you can figure out something then, as a family. Family is really important…not that I would know; I’ve only got Iatril…and Raven…and Flurry, I guess. They’re sort of like a family, I suppose. One really messed up family.” He says with a smile.

“You promise?” Rainbow asks. “About the pardon, you promise you can do that?”

“Nothing is set in stone, but I’ll do my best. I really don’t want someone working for me who’s wanted by a nation. Last time I did that, I had to deal with the emperor who wanted his head. It took a lot of time and dead bodies, and I really don’t want to go through that again.”

Rainbow stares at him slack-jawed. “You’re insane!”

“What, you thought otherwise?” Dante asks, sticking his tongue out. “Don’t worry, no dead bodies this time…except for that manticore! Bwa ha ha ha ha ha!"

END CHAPTER

Author's Note

Hello hello. Here's the next chapter, right when I said it would be. I feel so responsible! Not much to say about this chapter. If you're looking for something action-y to occur, don't worry. In a few chapters or so, something's going down, and I don't mean to Funky Town! :trollestia:

(I am such a dork)

See you all in about a week.

Ch. 16 - Well, that happened.

With the exception of Rainbow Dash trying to chase after Dante, the rest of the day passed by peacefully. Eventually, Iatril went up to the castle to fix what Dante damaged, as she promised. Afterwards, she went back to Fluttershy’s for the night. Dante had spent the rest of the day floating around, avoiding a pissed of Rainbow Dash, or getting sweets from Sugarcube Corner. He had to concede to Pinkie Pie that cake was far superior to doughnuts. He liked it so much he even paid for the cake, instead of stealing it.

When night rolled around, Dante made his way back to Canterlot through the plane of shadows. He arrived at the time the night guard came on duty, meaning Luna was sure to be up and around. Deciding to press on with his annoying of the princess of the night, Dante made his way to the throne room. Passing by Luna’s guards without even a second glance from them, Dante entered the throne room, seeing the princess preparing to open court for the night.

“Ah, Princess Nightmare.” Dante calls out. “How are you this fine evening?”

“Human.” Luna responds, glancing down at him.

“Awe. No resentment? No disdain? All I get is a one word greeting?” Dante strolls up to the throne, standing before Luna.

“Correct.” Luna responds evenly.

“Is this about me leaving in the middle of our last conversation? If so, you should know that I’m likely to do it again.”

“Not at all. I am simply accepting all that you say.”

“Well...okay then. See you later.” Dante says, disappearing from sight.

Luna shakes her head at the ground before looking back up to where Dante disappeared from. “I can still sense you.”

“Bitch.” Dante says, teleporting from the room. As he left, he couldn’t see the smile that crept its way onto Luna’s face.

Arriving back at the gardens, Dante opened up mansion from the night before and stepped in. Closing the portal behind him, he sent out a message to Shade.

“Hey. Have you made it to the Griffon Kingdom?”

“Yeah. I already delivered the amulet…I’ve decided to work for you.”

“Excellent! Now, see what you can do about getting an audience with the king. I’m sure you know how to do that.”

“Of course I can. What sort of message should I give him?”

“Just say that you work for someone who can make him more rich and powerful than any other nation. If and when he decides to—” “—work with me, or consider it more, be back here in six days. Questions?”

“What about after his decision? What will you do then?”

“If he agrees, I’ll meet him myself.”

“Got it.”

With that, Dante decided to call it a day. He made sure Raven and Flurry had access to the mansion before retiring to his room.

~ _ ~ _ ~ _ ~ _ ~

A few days pass with little intrusion from Dante. He came invisibly to a meeting with Celestia, her generals and the arch-magi, but was easily discovered by Celestia and cast out. On that evening, Celestia decided to act on an idea she had the day before. For that idea, she needed her sister.

“You want me to what?!” Luna bellows at Celestia in the privacy of Celestia’s study.

“I want you to go into Dante’s dreams and see if you can find out anything about him.” Celestia replies coolly.

“Surely you jest, Sister! We refuse to enter that beast’s mind! We—”

“Luna, you’re using the royal ‘We’ again.”

Luna collects herself before continuing. “Why do you need me to enter his dreams. Haven’t you been able to read his mind?”

“No. Whatever spell he has placed over his mind is too complex to dismantle, especially without him noticing. But, if you enter his dreams, he may not ever know you were there.”

“But why now?”

“This is something we need to know. The search for this ‘Aselith’ has so far turned up nothing. Don’t you think finding out what he might be hiding from us would be better than trusting his word alone?”

“Of course I do!” Luna exclaims. “I just wish this didn’t need to be done.” Luna takes a breath before returning her attention to Celestia. “I’ll do it. Tonight.”

“Thank you, Sister.”

~ _ ~ _ ~ _ ~ _ ~

Luna lay on her bed, her eyes closed; her night guards positioned outside of her room to keep out intruders. She lay there, focusing on her magic, opening her mind to the realm of sleep.

When she opened her eyes, she was floating in the air in her astral body. She flew herself down to the garden, where Dante made his portal. Hovering into the spot, she stepped through and into the mansion. Inside, she could see the décor of the mansion: the finely crafted walls, the oak tables, even the barely visible servants. She flew down the hall, passing through the doors until she found the one Dante slept in. Approaching him, she concentrated again, changing her view of her surroundings.

When she opened her eyes, she saw a black portal before her, just like every other time she readies herself to enter one of her pony’s dreams. The portal hangs in the air, all around there is nothing but whiteness. When she comes close to the portal, she is blocked by several bars of force that cover the portal.

‘I see.’ She thought to herself. ‘Even his dreams are protected from sight.’

As she turns to leave, a small chuckle catches her attention. When she turns back, she sees a shadowy figure in the portal. The figure looks to be human in shape, and roughly the same size as Dante, but it’s not him; it’s definitely not him. This figure feels so…benign.

“Having trouble, are we?” The figure asks.

Luna moves closer to the barred portal before speaking. “Who are you?” She asks.

“Ah, yes. ‘Who’. That is an important question, but not the right one.” It says with a laugh, its voice seeming to be male. “Care to try again?”

“…what are you?” She asks.

“You’re closer.” The figure speaks again. “One more try now.”

‘Hmmm. If not who or what, then what is the right one? It shouldn’t be where or when, and how shouldn’t matter. Therefore…’

“Why are you?” She asks, though not really looking for the answer.

“That’s right!” The figure shouts out. “Why! That is the question. But! That question is for another time. Now, you would like entry into the man’s dreams, would you not?”

Luna looked the figure over, trying to discern anything about it. “I would. You can do this?”

“Of course!” The figure extends a hand and places it over one of the bars. Instantly, the bars bend to the sides, making room for the princess to pass through. The figure steps further in, disappearing. It then reaches a hand out, free from shadow. The wrinkled, old hand curls its figure towards the portal. “Come along, Luna.”

Stopping herself before she enters the portal, Luna looks up. “H-how do you know me?” She asks.

The figure pulls its hand back in. “Another good question…” It says, its voice becoming harder to hear with each word. “…but for another day...”

Luna looks over the portal, seeing nothing wrong with it, and enters. The room before her is like that of a library: books lining shelves on the walls. Light pours down from the ceiling in the form of candlelight from chandeliers. Tall bookcases block her view, though she can see down each end of the hall of books. As she approaches one end and turns the corner, she sees another hallway of bookcases and books, with a few openings along the path to make turns.

‘I see. It’s like a labyrinth.’

She pulls a book from a nearby shelf with her magic and opens it, finding random words written on the pages. She puts it back and opens another to find the nothing but gibberish. Some words are formed, but mostly it’s random letters strung together.

‘This isn’t a dream. This is—’

“A hallucination.” The voice of the shadowy figure speaks out from a mouth that forms on the book Luna’s holding. “Or, perhaps, a better way of explaining this is like trying to read someone’s mind, but only hearing the surface thoughts.”

“Or having a vision of the future or even judging a book by its cover.” Luna states. “I’ve seen this sort of place before in the minds of strong willed ponies whose dreams I’ve tried visiting. I’ve even seen this sort of thing in those who do not dream.”

“Very astute.” The mouth in the book speaks. “And very accurate. Dante is quite strongly willed, but I’m sure a dream reader such as yourself will still be able to gleam some knowledge from this place.” The mouth in the book disappears, leaving the book as it was before. “Good luck.”

Luna places the book back on the shelf and starts down the hall again. She turns before reaching the end and travels down another hall, passing row after row of bookcases. She travels on for several minutes before hearing a noise. She stops to listen for the noise and she hears it again: laughter. Trying to navigate the halls to the source of the laughter, Luna presses on. Left, right, straight, right, left, she keeps getting closer and closer to the source. Finally, she rounds a corner to find an open area in the maze.

She sees Dante sitting at a table, laughing with chalice in one hand and a chunk of cheese in the other. He laughs, not in arrogance or disdain, but in merriment. Across from him, sitting at the table as well, is what appears to be a human skeleton, clicking its jaw together as if it too were laughing. The only flesh on the skeleton is a pair of dark red wings that hang from its back. Sitting next to Dante on the floor is a black wolf, gnawing on a rather large bone for its size. On top of the table is what looks like a miniature amber dragon, curled up in a circle around a bowl of fruit. Almost out of sight is a bat, hanging upside down at the edge of the table closest to Luna. The room itself is filled not only with the books on the walls, but scrolls on the floor, staves leaning against the bookcases, vials of various liquids and piles of gold and gems spread around the floor.

“What could it mean?” The voice from before rings out all around Luna.

“You could simply tell me.” Luna replies, stepping closer to the table.

“Ah, but then you learn nothing. You are only told. Nothing worth knowing was ever told to anyone!”

“As you say.” Luna turns to see a small bird cage in the corner with a small creature inside. The creature itself is green with horns and leathery wings; its arms and legs are long and slender, though it’s hard to see as the creature is crouching in its cage, shaking it back and forth as it rattles the bars. Luna brings herself closer to the creature to examine it, only to have it snarl at her. “And what are you?”

The creature halts its cage shaking and looks up at Luna. In a dark voice it speaks a single word.

“Power.”

Luna raises her head and notices something: the laughter has stopped. She turns to see all eyes on her; all but Dante, who has his back to her.

“Darkness comes for us all.” The skeleton whispers in a raspy voice. “Whether you are with someone…” It peters off, its body dissolving into dust as its wing tear and break, disappearing from sight.

“…or you are all alone.” The tiny dragon finishes, melting into a pool of blood.

“Whether you make enemies wherever you go…” The wolf says, just before its head falls from its body to the floor. Then, both it and the wolf’s body fade into darkness.

“…or you gain the closest of friends.” The bat finishes, its body glowing brightly before burning to ash.

“What is this?” Luna asks aloud. “How they died? Dante, who were those…Dante?” Luna looks over at the human, but he looks different. His once brown hair has turned as white as snow and travels halfway down his back. Luna walks over to his side to get a better look at him. When she does, she sees his face is worn and old, like an old stallion far past his prime. His hands are wrinkled and bony; his short goatee now long and white; his eyes without their hateful yellow, now brown and calm. Dante just sits there, casually swishing the contents of his chalice as he rests his head on his arm.

“You best be going, Princess.” The voice calls out again. “That is, unless you want to experience it.”

“It? What’s ‘it’?” No sooner had she asked, a gust of wind blew in the room. A rustling was heard behind her, back at the cage. Both she and Dante turn to see the cage bouncing on the ground, lighting itself on fire, as well as the surrounding bookcases. The cage glows intensely as the ground shakes beneath it.

The cage breaks apart in a fiery explosion. In its place, a hole in the ground appears. The room has lost all its light, save for the eerie red light from the hole. Out from the hole sprouts a huge figure. Its lower body remains hidden underneath the ground with its upper half seemingly stretched above; its arms are blood red and covered in muscles; its head is adorned with a pair of yellow horns from the sides, barely bent forward; its hair is course and trailing down its back. This hulking beast holds the same yellow eyes Dante holds while awake.

Dante stands from his chair, pulling a green sword from his side and holding it at the beast in one hand with magic charged in the other. The beast brings its arm down at Dante as he fires a blast at it. The creature looks unhindered as its hand slams down onto Dante. Just as quickly as it came down, its hand is brought back up with Dante clenched in its fingers. In one quick motion, Dante is swallowed whole by the creature, yelling out in pain and fear as it does so.

“Voice! What is the meaning of this!?” Luna calls out around her. Instead of a response from the voice, the monster looks down at Luna with a look of hunger on its face. With a mighty roar, the beast lowers its head in an attempt to devour Luna as well.

Just as it is about to devour Luna, she awakens in her bed in a sweat. She looks around quickly, as if checking to see if the creature followed her back. Holding a hoof to her chest, she breaths out slowly.

Stepping from her bed, she leaves her room and heads towards the throne room. As she makes her way to what will soon be night court, her mind keeps going back to the face of the beast in the darkness.

‘This is a mistake waiting to happen. I’ll have none of it.’

~ _ ~ _ ~ _ ~ _ ~

The rest of the week passes by seamlessly and Dante and Iatril are called to the throne room to hear the Princesses response. Dante stands before the throne with Raven on his shoulder while Iatril stands next to him with Flurry at her side. Both Celestia and Luna are present, but no guards are.

“You sure took your time making up your minds. I didn’t expect you to take the whole week.” Dante says, crossing his arms.

“We had to make sure we had all the information before us before deciding on anything.” Celestia replies.

“What is your response?” Iatril asks.

“We have talked it over with our generals, magi and each other, and have decided to decline to your agreement.”

Dante brings one of his hands to his chin. “That…is unexpected, but not entirely surprising. What part of the deal made you decline?”

“It wasn’t the deal itself.” Luna interjected. “It was what you didn’t tell us about you.”

“And by that you mean…?”

“The monster that dwells within you!”

“Oho!” Dante lowers his hand again and crosses his arms. “Wherever did you learn about him?”

“Irrelevant.” Luna states. “The fact that you hid such a thing from us is more than enough reason to refuse cooperation with you.”

“Huh. Well, let it never be said I didn’t try. Guess it’s time to pack my things. You’ll have to forgive me. I got bored one day and bored a room in the earth beneath your castle, pun intended. I’ll just get my things from there and I’ll be out of your land. Iatril, I hope you’re ready to go.”

“Dante.” Iatril prods his companion. “Are you really just giving up?”

“But of course! We’ll try the griffons next. Maybe wrangle in a few more dragons.”

“More?” Celestia asks. “A dragon has already agreed to work with you?”

“Yeah. He lives in the Everfree Forest. We underwent…intense negotiations, but he eventually saw the wisdom of my words.”

Iatril just looks at him with boredom. “Rainbow said your clothes were in shambles.”

“Rainbow Dash is a liar and a scoundrel. Incidentally, I’m glad I’m back in my regular clothes. Now, ignoring my incredible sense of fashion, we need merely wait for Shade Strider to return—”

“Did somebody call my name?” The pony in question asks, opening the grand doors of the throne room. “You wouldn’t believe how easy it is to move around this castle after throwing your name around, Dante.”

“I don’t know how you show up right when I’m talking about you, but it all works out in the end I suppose. Well, Celestia,” Dante turns back to the solar princess, “are you sure you don’t want our help?”

“Indeed. I am sorry, but there is no place here for someone like you.” She states almost coldly.

“Oh well. Now, let’s get out of pony land!” Dante turns to face Shade as he reaches the group. “Firstly—Guh—!”

Dante looks down at his chest. There, sticking right in his gut, is a dagger, held firmly in Shade’s hoof.

END CHAPTER

Author's Note

I'm a terrible person and you should hate me forever for continuously delaying chapters. From now on, until I say otherwise, assume chapters will be put up about every 2 weeks or so.

So...Dante got stabbed...in the stomach. Can't say he didn't ask for it.

Also, I referenced a TV show in here (or, more accurately, a scene from a TV show really inspired the scene). Care to guess what it was? For fun? Not for the spell guessing game, which is still ongoing.

Well, that's it for now. See y'all in a few weeks.

Ch. 17 - Meh, it was more dramatic the first time

“Shade…” Dante sputters out, “…the fuck…?”

Shade rips the dagger from Dante’s abdomen, eliciting a flash of light from the wound. Just as he begins taking another swing, Iatril swings her leg into his side, sending Shade flying to the side of the room and smashing into the wall. Flurry leaps from his spot and stands on top of Shade, snarling at the unconscious pegasus. Raven hovers in the air as Dante staggers backwards towards the throne. Before he can fall over, he’s grabbed by Iatril.

“Dante!” She calls out, lowering him gently to the floor. “What’s wrong? Your wound…” She lifts her hand to reveal the opening in his front, still fresh and bleeding.

“The…dagger…” He breaths out slowly, pointing at the blade where it fell from Shades grip.

Raven flies over to the dagger and sweeps it up, bringing it back to Dante.

“What’s going on here?” Luna asks, stepping down from her throne. “Why did he attack you?”

With a gesture and a small light from Iatril’s hand, Dante’s wound closes completely. The warlock then stands and takes hold of the dagger from Raven.

“I’m not sure.” Dante says. “But, I’m guessing this knife—FUCK!” He yelps, dropping the dagger as a flash of light emits from it. Looking down at his hand, he sees a searing burn where his hand gripped the blade. Viewing it with his magic, he sees what the blade is made of and the magic within. “That’s cold iron.” He says. “Not only that, but it’s infused with good magic and lawful magic. Also…yes, it’s infused with a magic designed to slay humans, inflict greater damage and draw out blood from the recipient of the attack. This blade was made to kill me.”

“How could he have acquired such a blade?” Celestia asks, walking over to the unconscious Shade.

“Only one person on this plane that knows my full weakness.” Dante says, stepping over to the window. “It has to be—”

“INCOMING!” A voice yells from outside. Just as quickly as it was said, a piece of flaming rock smashes through the wall of the throne room. It heads straight towards Iatril, but with a swing of her fist the boulder is broken into pieces and scatters around her. Outside, the chaos of battle ensues. Griffons in the air, armed with bows and crossbows, rain their bolts and arrows into the city below. The pegasi guards that are in the air attempting to counter them are being blocked by other griffons armed with swords and lances. Behind the pegasi are a group of changelings, flanking them. On the nearby mountaintop sits a couple catapults seemingly built into the mountain.

“No…” Celestia say quietly, flying over to the opening in the wall. “NO!” She yells out at the carnage before her.

“What the fuck!?” Dante asks out loud. “Shade said the griffons would hear me! He…” Dante looks back at the pegasus, searching him for any spells. Seeing none, he teleports in front of him and places his hand on top of Shade’s side, opening the mouth on his hand as he does so. With a surge of magic, Dante drains a spell from Shade’s body; an illusion spell. Once removed, Dante clearly sees multiple enchantments clouding and manipulating Shade’s mind.

“That bastard!” He yells out. “He’s controlling Shade! He already met with the griffons and the changelings!” He drains the remaining spells from Shade’s body, freeing his mind. “I should have known!”

Luna unfurls her wings and runs next to her sister.

“Where are you two going?!” Dante yells at them.

“We have to help our subjects!” Luna calls back.

“You idiots! Don’t you get it?” Dante stands from Shade, stepping closer to Celestia and Luna in long strides. “That’s just a distraction! Aselith gives less than a shit about killing your subjects!”

“We can’t just leave them out there!” Celestia yells at Dante. “There’s far too many for the royal guard and the army stationed here to handle!”

“Which is why they’re being attacked!” Dante cries out. “If you two are out there fighting, no one will stop Aselith from claiming what he’s here for!”

“What are you talking about?!” Celestia snaps at him.

“Discord.” A voice calls out in the room. Searching for the source of the voice, Iatril points towards the throne, where a rat is sitting in front of the seats. “A prize fit for a king, or a god.” The voice emanates from the rat, though it doesn’t move its mouth.

“Aselith!” Dante hisses. “You bastard!”

“Come now,” The voice says casually, “it’s not as if you are using his power. I’ll just take him off your hands so you won’t have to worry about it anymore. Feel free to stop me if you—”

Before the voice can finish, Dante teleports right to the rat and grabs it, crushing its ribs slightly.

“You better believe it.” Dante says through clenched teeth. He throws the rat high into the air and fires a blast of eldritch magic at it, lighting it afire and killing it instantly. “Let’s go!” He yells, looking at Celestia and Luna. The two princesses quickly teleport as Iatril runs up to Dante, who then teleports the both of them. They all end up outside the vault Discord is locked in, still closed. “Quickly! Open it!” He says to the regal sisters.

Celestia and Luna, already working the door before Dante arrived, open it to find a man standing inside the vault with a tiny statue in his hand. Looking closely, they find it to be the statue of Discord shrunken down. Before anyone can react, the man puts up a Wall of Force in front of the opening.

“Ah, Dante. Iatril. So good to see you again.” Aselith says, smiling at the pair. “I see you’ve met the princesses of the sun and moon already. I do hope you’ve been able to make some friends.”

“You!” Celestia points a hoof at the human in the vault. “You’re responsible for this attack on Canterlot! On our citizens!”

“Guilty.” He says with a shrug. “It’s amazing what you can accomplish with a few promises of power. Now, as you have so thoughtfully put up an anti-teleportation spell in this room, I shall casually be taking my leave the way I came in. Good day to you all.” He says, turning his back and heading towards the opposite wall.

Luna steps forward, lowering her glowing horn at the force field. “You think we will just—”

An ear splitting roar from behind the regal sisters cuts off Luna’s words. Behind them, right next to Iatril, is a hulking, red monster, similar to what Luna saw in the Dante’s dreams. The monster wields Dante’s lightning bolt shaped sword in its hand as it howls at the Wall of Force.

“You will not leave this place!” He yells out in a distorted, half Dante’s and half a sinister, voice. He rushes towards the entrance of the vault, slamming his sword into the force field. As he does so, a crack appears on the surface of the wall.

Iatril’s eyes widen. “Shit! Get ba—”

An explosion of force blasts all around them, knocking Celestia back and into Iatril, sending them both into the wall, and sending Luna down the hall way a bit. Aselith, seeing the wall break, quickly passes through the stone wall as if there was nothing there. Not missing a beat, Dante raises his free hand, conjuring an intense amount of magic in the form of fire in his hand. He quickly unleashes the fire forward, washing over the wall and burning a hole right through to outside, spilling flames out from the castle walls.

As he flies through the hole, he looks up to see Aselith with his hand pointed right at him.

“Time for some high powered spells.” Aselith says, casting his spell.

In an instant, a mighty beam of frost springs from his hand and right at Dante, who holds up his sword to the ray. The frost engulfs him, spreading out all around him and the nearby tower of the castle. Behind him, the tower, from its spire all the way to where it connects to the castle itself and nearly a hundred feet further, the walls are covered in thick ice. As the smoke from the spell meeting his sword clears, Dante sees Aselith flying away towards the mountains.

“No you don’t!” He calls out. “Not this time!” He flies after Aselith, quickly closing the distance. In a matter of seconds, he is right on Aselith. Right as he is about to bring down his sword on the fleeing mage, Aselith turns around and gestures at him, casting a spell.

‘Oh shit!’ He thinks to himself just before the spell catches him. In an instant, parts of Dante’s form are blown off, revealing parts of a red cloak, a blue tunic, and half of Dante’s original face. He begins falling to the ground as his left wing was blown off from the spell. Aselith, not waiting to see him fall, resumes his flight to the mountains.

Dante quickly sprouts one of his shadowy wings in place of the demonic one he lost, stabilizing his decent into a hover. Looking at his randomly red patched arms, he curses to himself and looks up again towards Aselith.

'Damn him! I can’t believe he was willing to cast such a spell to stop me! I’ve got to return to the castle and make sure I’m still stable.' Turning in place, he finds Luna flying through the air at incredible speeds, racing right towards Aselith, who turns around again to cast another spell.

“YOU STUPID MORON!” He yells up at her. “RUN AWAY!”

Before she can react, she is struck by four flaming spheres that each explode in a ball of fire around her, sending her falling to the ground. Moving quickly, Dante teleports to the ground, right below the falling princess. As she nears him, he casts a spell at her. When her body comes closer to the ground, she slows down incredibly, allowing Dante to catch her as if being handed something. Her body is mostly burned, showing several patches of dark red where the flaming spheres struck her. The feathers on her wings are slightly melted together and her mane has lost most of its translucent nature.

‘Please don’t be dead.’ He thinks to himself. He waits for a moment, feeling her shallow breathing in his mismatched arms. ‘Good.’ Readying himself, he casts a spell, bringing both him and Luna back into the castle. Iatril and Celestia stand before him, covered in a small layer of frost that made it through the hole. The walls and floor are also covered in ice, albeit a much thinner layer than the outer walls. He sets Luna’s burnt body on the ground before convulsing violently. His demonic body parts shrivel back down to his own form before he passes out.

~ _ ~ _ ~ _ ~ _ ~

“DANTE!” Iatril yells, running over to her companion and crouching down over him.

“LUNA!” Celestial yells, following suit with Luna. Celestia looks over her sister’s burnt body before turning to Iatril. “Can you heal her?”

“I…yeah, of course.” She replies, getting up and moving to the unconscious alicorn. She casts her spell and touches Luna’s side, only to be repelled back as her spell fizzles on the touch. “Damn it!” She calls out, grabbing her lightly singed hand.

“What is it? Why isn’t she healed?!”

“Aselith.” She says coldly. “He must have cast a curse on her that prevents healing. I don’t have the right spell to get rid of it, but Dante does.” She looks over at Dante, who begins to stir. Throwing her hand into a pouch on her belt, she pulls out a vile of water before edging closer to him. “Dante? Is that you?”

“Ugh…” He moans. “What happened?” He leans up from the floor, looking around.

“Thank the gods it’s you.” Iatril says, lowering the vial and walking over to Dante, grabbing his hand and lifting him up. “Hurry now. Aselith cursed Luna and you need to remove—” Her voice is cut off as Dante raps his hand around her neck.

“Don’t worry.” He says in his dark voice. “I’ll take care of her next.”

Iatril brings up the vial of water again, only for Dante to grab her wrist and slam it and her into the nearby wall, smashing the vial.

“No more holy water.” He says again, wrapping his other hand around her neck as well. “No more spells.” Iatril tries punching him in the face and kicking his stomach, but it doesn’t seem to affect him at all. “No more elf!”

Just as she was about to pass out, a blast of light knocks Dante over, freeing Iatril. Looking over, she sees Celestia flying over to her, keeping her horn pointed at Dante. He quickly rises and charges Celestia, unarmed. Again, the solar princess sends him flying with another burst of magic. This time, after he lands on the ground, he doesn’t get back up.

“Are you alright?” Celestia asks, turning to face Iatril.

“*cough*…yeah.” She replies weakly, casting a healing spell on herself.

“What’s going on? Why did Dante attack you like that?” She asks sternly.

“It’s a long story, but we don’t have time right now.” She moves from the wall, heading over to the hole in the vault.

“Right.” Celestia says, walking after her. “We need to stop this attack.”

“No.” Iatril holds a hand in front of her. “I’ll stop it.”

“I cannot—”

“Princess, please!” Iatril pleads. “If they come in here, I won’t be able to protect both Dante and Luna! You can! I’ll go out there and put a stop to this fighting. Right now, Luna needs you more than ever. Just…keep an eye on Dante for me, please?”

Celestia looks Iatril over before looking back at her sister. “Alright.” She says, turning back to face the elf. “But as soon as Luna is in good hooves, I’ll be out there as well.”

“Thank you.” Iatril bows briefly before walking right to the hole.

“What should I do about Dante?” She asks.

“If he wakes up again…send him out here if it’s him. Otherwise…knock him out again, but don’t kill him. That would be bad for everyone.” With one final look over her shoulder, Iatril leaps from the hole, sliding down the wall of the tower. After a moment of sliding, she catches a window ledge and leaps to the wall of the castle, sliding down again. Soon, she reaches the ground, where a group of five changelings are waiting for her.

Hissing and screeching, the changelings charge up their horns and fire at Iatril. She dodges each blast with ease, getting closer with each blast. When she reaches the closest one, she swings at its head, cracking the changeling’s chitin armor and knocking it out. The other four, seeing their comrade beaten so easily, charge at Iatril. The trained monk grabs the one that gets to her first, spinning around and tossing it at two others, leaving one changeling in route to her. It jabs its horn at her, only for her to dodge to the side and bring her elbow down on its back. After it hits the ground, Iatril thrusts her hand in its abdomen, making a wound and covering her fingers in its green blood.

The remaining three regroup and charge at her again. This time, Iatril changes her body into that of a huge air elemental, swiping at the three changelings with her tendril like arm and sending them into the castle walls.

“I don’t have time to waste on you.” She says in a whispery voice. Taking to the air, Iatril flies over to the group of griffons in the air, who are still letting loose arrows and bolts into the city streets below. Shifting her form slightly, she becomes a whirlwind in the air, soaring right up to the griffons and catching them in her winds. The few that evaded her tried launching a few arrows at her, but Iatril keeps going. Eventually, all two dozen of those archers were inside Iatril’s whirlwind form, slamming into each other.

Looking around, she sees what remains of the group of pegasi that attacked the griffons and changelings being herded away by said changelings, leaving the other griffons free to come after her. She quickly flew by a building and launched her captured griffons into it, either knocking out or killing them. She then flew back up to engage the other griffons for the short time she had left in this form. She looked around again, checking out the other groups of pegasi, griffons and changelings in the air and on the ground. There were a little under one hundred griffons left and over five hundred changelings, outnumbering the pegasi at least six to one.

Just as she finished blowing away the group of griffons, a sensation came over her body. Her form quickly reverted back to an elf, making her free fall towards the ground. Reacting quickly, she used her wild shape powers to morph back into an air elemental and stop her descent five feet short of the ground. Looking up, she sees a huge griffon flying towards her with an oversized sword in its claws. She dove to the side, barely missing the blade as it sliced into the ground. She turned around to face the large griffon.

“Not bad.” He said in a deep voice. The feathers around his head were tinted red while the ones closer to his torso were white. His light brown fur had a few streaks of black near his rear paws. While he was nearly three times larger than the other griffons, his most notable feature was his bulging arms. They looked far larger and more toned than expected from a flying creature.

“I try.” Iatril retorts, landing on the ground. “You’re a little big for a griffon, don’t you think?”

“Heh. I’d say something to that effect to you, but I’m not entirely sure what you are.” He swung his huge sword up and over his shoulder, standing tall on his other three limbs. “Well, I know you’re like that thing that came to my master’s chambers a week ago.”

“Aselith?!” Iatril practically screamed out. “Where is he now?!”

The griffon smirked at her. “You’d have to beat me to find out. I am General Redfeather of Lord Highwind’s army!” He pointed his large sword at Iatril, the blade parallel to the ground. “Tell me your name, so I might carve out a tombstone for your corpse!”

“I am Iatril Dryeareplith!” She calls out, soaring right towards Redfeather. “And I shall be marking your grave!”

Redfeather raises his free hand towards Iatril, his palm facing her. In an instant, Iatril’s form again reverts back to her own, letting her fall to the ground a few feet short of the General. He quickly brings up his sword and slashes down, cutting into the stone where Iatril lay a moment ago. Iatril had pushed off the ground, flipping in the air and landing in a defensive pose.

“How can you do that?!” She calls out to the griffon. “I thought griffons couldn’t use magic!”

Redfeather pushes a patch of feathers away from his neck, revealing an amulet that has sunken into his skin. “Lord Highwind has bestowed a great artifact upon me. It strengthens my body and allows me to undo any sustained magic. It also protects me from direct magical attacks, such as unicorn blasts. That creature told me that, with this, you and your friend would be unable to defeat me.” Standing on his hind legs, he grasps his sword with both claws. “I’d rather have a challenge, but I do as my lord commands.”

With a flick of her wrist, Iatril summons her staff from thin air. She points it at the griffon, discharging some magic into the air. “I’ll give you a challenge!” She yells out. In the blink of an eye, the wind in the city street picks up. In a few seconds, it starts pushing at great strength: nearby tents are completely blown away, loose stone is picked up and launched, even parts of the stone buildings crumble away. The griffon, starting to lift into the air, slams his sword’s blade into the ground, rooting him in place. Piercing his claws into the ground, Redfeather starts crawling his way towards Iatril with a grin on his face. The elf in question stares at him in horror.

‘Impossible! How could he move through this? These are tornado strength winds!’

Before she can ponder this further, Redfeather lunges forward, snatching her leg with one of his claws and throws her behind him. She is quickly picked up by the wind, thrown around the street several hundred feet, buffeted by the high winds. When she final slows to a stop, she stops the winds from blowing, returning them to their original state. Standing up, she can see the bruises covering her body from her flight. Casting a spell, she heals her wounds and looks around for her staff. Before she can locate it, she sees Redfeather pick up his sword and soar right at her.

She charges at him head on, narrowly dodging the swing of his sword as she slams her fist into his stomach. Redfeather pauses for a moment before grabbing Iatril and swinging her against a nearby building, sinking in its stone wall. As she stands up and prepares a spell, Redfeather pulls a vial of black liquid from under his wing and hurls it at Iatril, shattering on impact. Ignoring it, Iatril tries healing herself, only for her body to reject her magic as Luna’s did.

“What did you do to me!?” She yells at the griffon.

“The creature also gave me something to stop you from constantly healing yourself, as he said you might. I thought he was some crazed fool talking about healing magic, but I see he wasn’t mistaken.” He puts two of his fingers to his mouth and blows, producing a loud, sharp whistle. A moment later, a dozen changelings fly over to his side. “This fight isn’t worth my time. Kill her!” He commands the horde.

Iatril puts her arms up in a defensive stance as the changelings hover forward.

From the side of Iatril’s view, a large bolt of lightning strikes Redfeather and bends, arcing into each of the changelings, frying them. Redfeather looks over, surprised but unharmed, at the figure in the distance. His expression quickly turns from surprise to contempt.

“Ah, you must be the other one.” He spoke.

Turning, Iatril sees Dante with his hand stretched forward. Making another gesture, he casts another spell. The ground beneath Redfeather quickly turns into rubbery, black tendrils that grasp at him from all sides.

“What is this?!” He calls out. He tries pointing his palm at the tentacles, but they keep moving his arm around. “Get off!”

“Sorry, I don’t have time for my usual banter.” Dante says, quickly flying straight up into the air. Iatril walks over to where Dante began his ascent. Half a minute and five hundred feet later, Dante halts his ascension. Iatril sees him make a couple gestures, but she can’t make them out. A few seconds later, a huge object appears next to him and begins to fall.

“What in Tartarus is…no…” Redfeather gapes, realization coming over him. He vigorously struggles against the tentacles to no avail. “No no no no no no NO NO NOOOO—”

A crater is made in the stony road as the huge earth elemental crashes into the ground.

Iatril looks up at Dante as he quickly returns to the ground.

“Wow.” She says, looking back over at the earth elemental, blood and feathers falling from its back as it stands. “You’re really pissed, aren’t you?”

“Oh, no.” He says with a toothy smile, his dark brown eyes piercing through Iatril. “I’m absolutely livid. I don’t sound very angry because I think I’ve come full circle. Now all I want to do is violently murder everything in the city. How does that sound?”

“Um, how about just the—uh—griffons and changelings?” Iatril asks, taking a step back.

“Sure!” Dante looks over at the elemental and speaks to it in its own tongue. The message is garbled gibberish to all others, but the elemental understood the command perfectly: kill all changelings and griffons. It lumbered off towards the nearest group of enemies.

“Hey, Dante?” Iatril spoke again, stepping closer to him. “Seeing that you could summon this elemental, how about we summon a few more for air cover?”

Dante’s right eye twitches at this. “Fine, but if I don’t get to kill at least thirty more griffons or changelings, I’m taking it out on the ponies. Got it?”

“Y-yeah.”

Dante and Iatril perform similar motions for their spells. Before Dante comes into being two huge air elementals; in front of Iatril appear four huge air elementals, though these ones appear darker and denser than Dante’s. Together they command their summoned allies to act as Dante instructed the earth elemental. Before Iatril can say another word, Dante flies off towards a group of griffons on the ground.

~ _ ~ _ ~ _ ~ _ ~

Dante soars towards the first group of griffons, muttering under his breath. “Stupid dagger. Stupid griffons. Stupid changelings. They should be working for me!” Casting a spell, his body became enwreathed in frost. Casting another spell, fire springs forth in front of the griffons, cutting them off from the guards they were fighting and roasting a few of them alive. Dante slams into the back of one of them, pushing him into the springing flames and killing him. The other twelve remaining griffons start to surround him, but soon back off from fear of the frost and the overwhelming heat. While they were distracted, the guards came around the wall and flanked the griffons on both sides.

They made short work of the griffons, at which point Dante lowered the flames. Looking around, Dante counted the dead griffons.

“Only seventeen.” He mutters.

“Hey, thanks for the help.” One of the earth pony guards says to Dante, though keeping his distance.

“More.” Dante says without turning to face the pony.

“What?” The pony asks, taking a step back when Dante whips his head around, glaring at him.

“More.” He says again, approaching the guard.

“Up there!” Another guard says, pointing a hoof up into the sky. When Dante looks up, he sees a group of five pegasi being chased by at least fifteen changelings. Dante cracks a smile.

“That’ll do.” He says, taking off into the air. He flies up and positions himself several hundred feet in front of the pegasi. He motions his hand down and the pegasi follow, more than happy to have the changelings off of their tails. When the changelings get close to Dante, he casts another spell, sending out a huge wave of frost and frozen air at them, freezing the changelings in midflight.

Dante looks around him, content that he’s satisfied his bloodlust. The air elementals he and Iatril summoned were busy with their own groups of changelings and griffons, their whirlwind power most likely expended. His earth elemental is gliding through the street, chasing down a group of grounded griffons, when it suddenly disappears.

‘Hmmm. The spell must have expired. I must say, we turned this fight around pretty quickly.’

Just as he finished his though, a horn is blown. In the distance, Dante sees a griffon standing on the mountains next to the catapults, blowing on a horn. The griffons and changelings on the ground and in the air take off to the south, heading towards the mountains and beyond.

“Awe, don’t leave yet!” Dante calls out. “We were just starting to get to know each other!” Casting another spell, Dante fires a small, red bead from his fingertip towards the griffon on the mountain. The bead shoots straight into the horn, expanding and engulfing the griffon’s head in fire, melting it. The griffon falls over, no blood leaking from his cauterized wound.

‘Hey, that was a pretty good shot!’ Dante thinks to himself. Seeing his enemies out of his range for his most potent spells, he looks at the aftermath of the battle below him. Most building are either damaged or destroyed; bodies of ponies, changelings, and griffons alike line the streets; fires started from the flaming ammunition of the catapults have caught several other buildings on fire. ‘Well, I might as well help out with that.’

~ _ ~ _ ~ _ ~ _ ~

With the fires put out from the combined efforts of Dante, Iatril, and the local firefighters, the humanoids return to the partly frozen castle. In the courtyard of the castle, hundreds upon hundreds of ponies sat waiting for it to be safe again. Making their way to the throne room, they see Celestia coming out of the infirmary.

“I didn’t see you do too much fighting.” Dante says, coming to a stop right in front of the solar princess.

“Dante!” Iatril shouts, stepping next to him. “None of that! Not now. Besides, she spent half of the fight guarding Luna and your unconscious ass.”

Dante just looks over at her. “You just couldn’t let that go, could you?” He turns back to the princess. “Well, the enemy started to rout a couple minutes after we sent the elementals after them. No doubt they’ve never fought against things like that before. Some huge griffon was wearing some fine jewelry, or so I hear, but, when we checked, it was gone. I can only assume it’s the same one Shade stole from you.”

“That doesn’t matter!” Celestia yells at him. “How-how many of my little ponies…died?”

“How should I—” Dante starts, but is cut off when Iatril places her hand over his chest, shaking her head.

“We don’t know, Princess. We came straight here. From what I saw…many were killed. Perhaps hundreds. Only a handful looked injured as I saw them fleeing towards the castle.”

The look on Celestia’s face was beyond grim. “Hundreds…” She whispers, barely audible.

“I’m terribly sorry this has happened here.” Iatril speaks up again. “I know it won’t change much, but we can help rebuild the city and—”

“Yeah, no.” Dante interjects. “We’re not staying here.”

“Dante! What are you saying?” Iatril yells at the warlock. “The city has just been decimated and you want to leave them here? You can’t even get the changelings or the griffons on your side now!”

“No, you misunderstand. We aren’t staying here, as in this plane. We’re done here.”

“I—you—what?!”

“Yeah, we’re done. Pack your shit. The second I figure out how to bring us back to our world, we’re gone and not a second later.”

“WE CAN’T JUST LEAVE!” Iatril bellows at Dante. “We spent years chasing after Aselith and all of a sudden you’re oh, we’re done here?! How can you—”

“Are you blind!?” Dante snaps at her. “Look at my eyes! Can’t you tell? In case you didn’t notice, I didn’t use a single warlock power while I was out there. Do you know why? My powers are blocked!”

Iatril stares at her companion. “…what?”

“I can’t use my invocations right now. When Celestia blasted me, she knocked the fiend out from control, but nothing’s holding him in place right now. If I so much as fire off one blast or use even my weakest invocation, he’ll take control again. I’ll have to spend hours meditating to keep him in check every day! And without him giving me power, you know what happens next. Besides, I still can’t regain any divine magic. So, with our worst enemy more powerful than ever with not only the changelings and griffons backing him up, but also Discord’s power as soon as he tames it, how are we supposed to do anything when our strongest magic user, ME, has been all but crippled?”

Iatril says nothing.

“That’s what I thought.” He turns to face Celestia, fear present in her eyes. “Look, I’ll be completely honest with you. I want to stay and help; truly I do. But I require a very specific type of energy and it’s not something that you can just give me freely. Without it, I’m useless, not to mention dangerous. This is for the best. I’ll hole myself up in your library and try to figure out how to leave from whatever book I can find. I’ll give you a list of every power Aselith has and every spell he knows, but that’s it. You’ll be on your own.”

“Princess!” A unicorn guard calls out, running up to Celestia with his partner before bowing. “We have news about the mages!”

“What is it?” She asks with a tone of urgency in her voice.

“An explosion occurred in the mages tower. Everypony we found there is dead. Archmage Crescent Moon is missing.”

“If you don’t find him,” Dante interjects, “he’s likely defected to Aselith, willing or otherwise.”

“Also,” the second unicorn says hesitantly, “we found Captain Armor next to a pile of changelings… dead.”

“No.” Celestia breathes out, sitting on her haunches. “What do I tell Cadence? And Twilight?”

Sighing, Dante turns to Iatril. “Come on. I’ll need some help in the library.”

“Mr. Dante?” The first unicorn guard calls out. “I have something to inform you of as well.”

Dante turns to face the guard. “Yes, what is—” The guard cuts him off, sticking his horn into Dante’s chest. Before Iatril can react, the second guard lunges up and smashes his hoof into her face. A green ray is shot out from Dante’s back, right on the opposite side of the unicorn’s horn and right through his heart.

Dante stammers back, falling to the ground. The last words he heard were “Master Aselith says goodbye.”

~ _ ~ _ ~ _ ~ _ ~

“Dante!” Iatril screams out, shooting her hand into the guard that hit her, drawing out a green liquid. The guard fell over, bursting into a green flame before showing the corpse of a changeling. The second guard attempts to flee but is grabbed in a yellow aura and pinned to the wall. Iatril leaps right to him, grasping his neck in one hand.

The green flames come around this guard as well, revealing the impersonator changeling. “And you can tell that princess that her husband died mewling for mercy!”

With a quick push and a sickening crack, the changeling’s neck was snapped. Iatril stepped back and let it hang in the air before Celestia released her magic. Iatril steps over to Dante’s body and kneels down. She checks his throat for a pulse.

“He’s gone.” She says, standing up again.

Celestia looks her over, stepping closer to her. “I’m… so sorry for your loss.”

“No.” She says, leaning over and picking up Dante. “This body is dead. If Dante were truly dead, I would know.”

Puzzled, Celestia asks “So, where is he then?”

“I think he set one of his clones down below where he carved out that room for himself. He’s likely there. I’ll go give him his old body and begin working with him.” She bows and turns to leave.

“Wait!” Celestia says, stopping Iatril. “Will he truly leave?”

Iatril waits only a moment before continuing her walk.

END CHAPTER

Author's Note

Moral of the story: Don't piss of Dante, or he'll summon a 60,000 lb earth elemental over your head on drop it on your ass!

Well, chapter's up on time. Let me just go over my checklist here:
1. Dante gets stabbed twice...check
2. Hulk smash...check
3. Death and destruction...check
4. Profit........uh, nope
(I have no idea what I'm talking about :trollestia: )

What's next after the loss of Dante's powers? Why would I kill Shining Armor? Where IS Waldo? Tune in two weeks for the next chapter of A Demon, a Devil, and Ponies Z!

EDIT:: I must have had a massive brain fart since I forgot about the spell guessing game for 2 whole days. So, in this chapter, Dante was shown casting 7 spells, plus 2 Summon Monster spells that we're just going to ignore. If you can guess 5 of them, you'll win for this chapter. Post your answers in the comments.

Ch. 18 - Do What it Takes

“…and that completes my report, your highness.” The royal guard salutes, standing before his princess.

“Thank you, Lieutenant Fury.” Celestia replies, dismissing her guard.

After he left, Celestia sat alone upon her throne. She had dismissed her usual guards to help in the patrols around Canterlot, leaving her to deal with incoming reports and casualty listings for the past few hours.

Not only was her captain of the royal guard killed, but all of the archmages, with the exception of Crescent Moon, were slain as well. From what was gathered, the archmages appear to have been beaten in magic combat. The conclusion was easy enough to arrive at: Aselith. This man, this monster, was not only able to defeat all of her most powerful unicorns, but he had also allied the griffons and the changelings. This, of course, isn’t all that surprising, as griffon nobles have their own militias and are loyal to the crown as long as their political power remains intact. If Aselith can defeat all the archmages of Equestria and make off with the statue of Discord, then surely he can give the griffon nobles greater power, political or otherwise.

“Your highness?” Iatril calls out, entering the throne room.

“Yes, Iatril? What is it?” Celestia responds.

“I have finished clearing the debris from the streets and have healed everypony I could. Several shops have been restored while others will need new supports, which I can replace tomorrow. Is there anything else I can do for you today?”

“Is there anything you can do for my sister?”

“Not today. I’ll prepare the necessary spells for tomorrow and return in the morning. Raven and Flurry will be working with Dante, if that’s alright with you.”

“Yes, of course.” Celestia rises from her throne, walking towards Iatril. “Tell me, though, and please be honest. Without Dante, what are the chances of us defeating Aselith?”

Iatril shakes her head. “I don’t know how to answer that. Even with Dante at full power, it would be a difficult fight. First, you’d have to get past everything Aselith would throw at you. The griffons, the changelings, not to mention any elementals and undead he controls.”

“Elementals? Undead?”

“Recall the form I took when we first met. That was an air elemental. If you saw our fighting earlier, we had an earth elemental under our command. There is also fire and water. They were summoned from their respective elemental planes, so I suppose our plane and your plane are similar in that regard. Undead, however, are mockeries of all that is beautiful in the world. They are brought back to life through foul magic and some can drain the life of creatures. However, Dante would know more about them than me. He’s the only one here who’s made legions of them.”

“He—” Celestia starts, but stops herself. “No, I should expect this.”

“I know it’s wrong and I hate working with them, but I’ll admit that we would have met our end many times over if Dante hadn’t created so many to work for us. Now, if that’s all, I shall be taking my leave, Your Highness.”

Iatril turns to leave, letting the princess of the sun be alone with her thoughts.

~ _ ~ _ ~ _ ~ _ ~

News of the attack on Canterlot spread quickly. By the time Iatril arrived in Ponyville, the whole town had already heard the news. The ponies pressed her for answers, but Iatril avoided everypony, especially one particular lilac unicorn, though she was nowhere to be seen. She had quickly made her way to Fluttershy’s cottage, barely acknowledging her host as she hid herself in the guest room, shutting herself off from the world around her and sitting on the bed.

Wanting to get her rest over with quickly, she entered her trance. In it, she went through her normal exercises. Namely, reliving her experiences from today. While in her trance, she could see and hear everything from before more clearly: the roar of the fires, the screams for help, and the blood of the changeling killed by her hands. She could even feel the snap of the neck from the last changeling she killed. Every experience, every sensation, was played over and over again in her mind for hours.

When her so called rest was over, Iatril stood from the bed and made her way downstairs.

“Fluttershy?” She calls out. The house gave no reply.

Iatril went to the back of the house and looked outside.

“Fluttershy?” She calls again, and is met with silence again. The setting sun slowly moves over the horizon, signaling the end of the day. Seeing as she is already rested, Iatril took to the street in search of her host.

As she crossed the small river in front of Fluttershy’s cabin, she could see the town before her, completely empty. Well, more accurately, the streets were deserted. As she moved through the streets, she could see ponies in their homes either walking around or peeking out at her. Some of the houses even had boarding over the windows.

Eventually, Iatril found herself standing outside Ponyville Library. The inside was lit up and she could see somepony inside; it looked like it was Applejack. Not knowing where else to look, Iatril walked up to the door and knocked. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw a swirl of pink in the window right before the door opened and a yellow pegasus wrapped her hooves around her.

“Are you alright?!” Fluttershy yells out, looking up at Iatril. “After you came back, I heard Canterlot was attacked and when you weren’t coming out of your room, even after I tried knocking, and—”

“I’m alright.” Iatril says calmly, setting her hand on Fluttershy’s head. “I just…had a lot on my mind.”

“Are you sure?” Fluttershy asks, looking at Iatril’s various bruises and setting her hooves back onto the ground.

“I’m sure.” Iatril says with a smile. “What’s going on here anyway? I thought I saw Applejack through the window before and now I see you’re here. Did something…oh.”

Fluttershy looks to the ground. “Twilight hasn’t said a word in hours. We’re really worried.”

“Who’s we?” Iatril asks.

“Me, Rarity, Rainbow, Applejack, Pinkie, and Spike. We’ve been trying to talk to Twilight, but she’s just lying on the couch. We don’t know what else we can do. Maybe you could—”

“I, uh, don’t think I should come in.” Iatril says, taking a step back.

“Why not?”

“I’ll just be a reminder of what’s happened. Also…there are a few topics I’d like to avoid in regards to Sir Armor. I’ll just head back to your cottage.”

“Oh…alright. Will you be okay by yourself?”

“Yeah. You should stay with Twilight, at least until she gets better. I’m heading back to Canterlot in the morning, so if you aren’t back by then, I’ll come by here.”

“Okay. Well, goodnight then.” Fluttershy says, retreating back into the library.

“Goodnight.” Iatril says, turning as the door closes. She quickly makes her way through town and back to Fluttershy’s cottage.

It’s quiet inside the cottage. Perfectly quiet. Iatril takes a seat on the floor, crossing her legs and relaxing her breathing. She decides to meditate on the events of the day, rather than reliving them again through her trance. She sat there, thinking about the lives she took today, and the lives she would inevitably have to take to end this journey.

‘It’ll all be worth it.’ She hums to herself. ‘Dante will change his mind, and then we’ll keep going. It’ll all be worth it.’

~ _ ~ _ ~ _ ~ _ ~

Morning came quickly for Iatril, who was lost in her thoughts until light passed through a window and into her eyes. Rising from her position on the floor, she stretched her body, giving a few cracks, before surveying her surroundings. She figured Fluttershy stayed with Twilight and her friends, given that she would have noticed her return. Deciding to get her day started, she pulled one of her transmutated berries from a pouch and popped it in her mouth as she left the cottage. She went straight into the Everfree Forest.

She didn’t travel for too long. About ten minutes in, she saw the large timberwolf ahead of her. She cast her spell and spoke to it.

“Greetings, forest sentinel.” She says.

“What has become of your companion?” The timberwolf asks sternly.

“What do you mean?”

“Great…evil…has…been…unleashed.” The forest creaks out.

“How could you possibly know that?”

“We…are…everywhere.”

“The forest can sense what happens near any plant in Equestria. However, there are few plants in the mountain city.” The timberwolf walks closer to her. “Now, answer our question.”

“He…lost control for a minute. Now his powers are crippled.” Iatril says, looking over at the vines crawling along the forest floor towards her.

“And what of your enemy?” The timberwolf asks, circling Iatril.

“He escaped, though most likely with some injury.” The vines on the ground wrapped themselves around Iatril’s feet and some vines in the trees came down around her hands. The familiar green glow began coming out of them, feeding Iatril her magic. “With Dante weaker, though, I should stay in Canterlot for the time being. Otherwise, something might happen to him.”

“So, the dark one is weak?” A rumbling voice calls out.

Iatril turns her head to see a very large green dragon moving around the trees towards her.

“Who are…wait. You’re the dragon Dante fought, aren’t you?!” She yells at the dragon.

“The same.” He speaks again in his low voice. “When the forest said something happened in Canterlot, I thought the Great Discord had escaped again. How interesting that our…friend was the one that caused the disturbance.”

“You can speak with the forest?” Iatril asks, trying to move her hands from the vines. They don’t budge an inch.

“Indeed. I have lived within this forest for most of my life. It is only natural that I learn to commune with it. Now, if you would excuse me, I need to get to Canterlot.” He turns and moves to an empty area in the forest, clear of branches overhead.

“What? NO!” Iatril yells, pulling at her vines, trying to break free. Before she can get loose, the dragon takes a running start and flies into the air towards the mountains. “Forest! Please release me!”

“Not…finished” It creaks out.

“Please! I need to go!”

“Wait.”

No matter how much she pulled, the vines wouldn’t loosen their grip. After a few minutes of glowing, the vines dimmed and released her. Not waiting a second longer, Iatril casts her spell over her amulet, taking the form of a huge golden dragon and flying up after the dragon. He was ahead of her by a few miles, but that only spurred her on. She raced on after him.

After over twenty minutes of flight, Iatril reaches the castle. Fully expecting the castle to be under attack, she didn’t expect to see the dragon standing in the courtyard, facing away from the castle. Lowering herself down into the courtyard, she keeps her gaze fixed on the dragon.

“What are you doing?” She asks in a low voice.

“I am guarding the castle.” The dragon replies, not even looking at her.

“…why?” Iatril asks, not letting her guard down.

“Master Dante is in a weakened state. So, I shall guard the castle from any attack.”

Iatril looks at him incredulously, reverting back to her own form. “I thought you came to get revenge on him for forcing you into service.”

“Not at all.” He says, turning his neck to look down at Iatril. “We may have fought before, but Master Dante agreed to train me in magic if I served him in his battles to come.”

Iatril puts her hand over her face. “Of course he did. I don’t know why I thought otherwise. It’s exactly like him to pull something like this and not tell me.” She looks around the courtyard before turning her attention back to the dragon. “Where are the guards?”

“I ate them.” He says calmly.

Iatril takes a step back before calming herself. “I see you have the same sense of humor as Dante.”

The dragon smiles at her. “Indeed. There were no guards in the courtyard when I arrived. One came, saw me and ran back inside before I could explain anything. If you would be so kind, could you inform the princesses of the reason for my presence here?”

“Yeah, sure.” She says, heading towards the entrance. “If anything does come to attack, give a roar and I’ll be right out.”

Entering the castle foyer, Iatril sees a group of guards watching the dragon. She informs them of the situation, relieving them of their anxiety before continuing to the infirmary. The first order of business for her is to heal Luna properly. Well, that and informing Celestia of the dragon, apparently. Both goals seemed to coincide, as Celestia was sitting alone in the infirmary with her sister when Iatril walked in.

“Greetings, Your Highness.” Iatril says, walking up to Celestia with a bow.

“Good morning, Iatril.” She replies. “You may not be the one to ask, but I’ll ask anyway. Why is there a dragon guarding the castle?”

“Apparently, Dante is on good terms with the dragon he fought before. Of course, he neglected to tell me this.”

“I see. It’s good that he met the dragon then.” Celestia looks over at her sister, who is resting in a bed with bandages wrapped around her burns and wings. She was hooked up to a heart monitor, which gave a steady beat, and an I.V. attached to one of her legs. “Are you able to help my sister now?”

“Of course.” Iatril says, walking over to the princess’s bed. She was about to cast her spell before the machine caught her eye. “Um, I don’t me to prolong this, but what is that thing attached to her?”

“That’s a heart monitor.” Celestia responds, pointing at the machine. “It shows her pulse on the screen. The pouch of liquid is used to numb the pain.”

“Heart…monitor…” Iatril says, looking over the machine. “Simply amazing. Now, I don’t possess the spell necessary to remove her affliction, but I may be able to get past it. I’ll simply cast my spell over and over again until it works.” Iatril cast her spell and placed her hand on Luna. Instantly, a black energy comes up from where she touched Luna and pushes her hand back, dissipating the spell and lightly burning Iatril’s hand. Again, she casts her spell and places her hand on Luna, only for the same thing to happen again.

Two more attempts later, the energy almost overcomes her hand again, but is pushed aside as the healing energy overcomes Luna. She wakes up with a start, gasping for breath. She looks around with wide eyes at the room around her before settling on Iatril.

“What happened?! Where’s Aselith?!” She yells in a more than loud voice, blowing Iatril back a little from the force of it.

Celestia walks over to her sister. “Easy, Luna.” She says, placing a hoof over her sister’s shoulder. “The fighting is done for now.”

“But what happened?!” She yells again.

“Aselith…hit you with a powerful spell.” Iatril says, stepping forward. “After that, Dante and I took care of the invading griffons and changelings. You’ve been asleep for a whole day and—”

“A whole day!?” She shouts out in her powerful voice again. “What. Happened!?”

“Auntie?” A voice comes from the open door. Turning, Iatril sees Cadence standing in the doorway. Her hair was ragged and her eyes looked sunken in.

“Cadence…” Celestia says quietly.

“Cadence?” Luna asks, looking over at her niece. “Are you well, dear? You look like you haven’t slept in days.”

“Luna.” Celestia whispers to her sister. “Shining Armor was killed in the attack yesterday.”

Luna looks over at her niece, unable to say a word.

“You healed her.” Cadence says, stepping forward, towards Iatril.

“Yes.” Iatril responds. “I’ve shown you my healing powers…before…” She peters off, remembering when she did perform healing in front of Cadence.

“Does that mean…you can do more than heal injuries?” Cadence asks, walking right up to Iatril, who began walking backwards.

“What…what do you mean?” Iatril asks, slowly approaching the nearby wall.

“Dante died. I saw you carrying his body in the hallway yesterday. Now he’s in the library, reading, alive.” Cadence stops walking forward as Iatril is already pressed against the wall. “You brought him back, didn’t you?”

“N-No. That’s something Dante prepared ahead of time.” Iatril says, trying to look anywhere but at Cadence. “Look, we really should—”

“But you can bring him back, right?” Cadence gets right up in Iatril’s face, visibly shaking. “You can bring back Shiny.”

“I…no. If I do it, there’s no telling what he’ll come back as. He could be a unicorn, or a pegasus, or even a griffon. There’s no telling—”

“Then what about Dante?!”

“He can’t either. Not right now. He’s too weak. Now please—” Iatril tries to get around her, but Cadence moves to the side, stopping her.

“What does he need?!” Cadence yells.

“Cadence, don’t do this.” Celestia says, walking over to her niece.

“Please, whatever he needs, I’ll get it for him! If he needs supplies or some magic potion or anything, I’ll get it for him! Please! I’ll do anything to—”

“Don’t say that!” Iatril yells, startling Cadence into stepping back. “Please, don’t say such a thing to me!” Iatril takes a step forward, shaking. “Believe me, I want to help you, but you don’t understand what you’re offering me. I want to accept it so badly it hurts, but I can’t do that to you, or Shining Armor.”

“What do you mean?” Celestia asks. “What is it Dante needs?”

Iatril looks up at her sorrowfully. “He needs the souls of outsiders.”

Celestia stares at Iatril, unblinking. “You mean…”

“Like you or Luna; probably Cadence too.” Iatril looks away. “Without that, he can’t use most of his magic, let alone control the monster in him.”

The room quickly grows silent. Cadence looks at Celestia for a moment before turning away.

“I’m sorry about this.” Iatril says, walking around Cadence. “I have to get to work in the city. If you’ll excuse me Princess Cadence, Princess Celestia, Princess…Luna?” When she looks over at the bed, all she sees are a few bandages on the sheets.

~ _ ~ _ ~ _ ~ _ ~

Luna stood right outside the library, fixed on the sight before her. Several maids and workers were standing outside the library, as well as a few guards, looking in through the cracked open door.

“What’s going on here?” She asks loudly, startling the ponies in front of her. The two guards quickly took back their posts, standing at attention on either side of the doorway while the others quickly scampered away.

“Apologies, Your Highness.” One of the guards states. “We were…observing the human.”

“I see.” Luna says, opening the door with her magic before passing through. “Carry on.”

Both guards were confused for a moment before going back to looking in at Dante.

Luna walked over to the table he was sitting at. He had his back turned to her and was wearing his cloak’s hood over his head. A wooden staff sat propped up against the table. It looked to be same one Iatril had been carrying around before. Raven stood on the table in front of him, reading aloud from the book in front of Dante.

“…but such teleportation spells have never been attempted, due to the high risk involved. Star Swirl believed there exists creatures, perhaps even unicorns, that could move through these planes at will, although no proof of any such creature has been found. He even…uh, Dante?” Raven paused, looking up at the princess.

“What?” Dante asks, though his voice sounds lower and even…softer.

“Luna…I mean Nightmare Moon is here.”

“Yes, I heard her before she entered.” He speaks out slower than normal. “Continue reading.”

“Um, alright. He even went so far as to claim—”

“Dante.” Luna says, interrupting Raven’s reading. “We need to talk.”

“No, we don’t. Raven, continue.”

“This is important, Dante!” Luna stands right next to him, yelling down at him. “Iatril spoke with us this morning.”

“That so? I’m sure you had a nice conversation.”

“She told us what you needed to use your magic.”

“Fascinating. Now, unless you’re offering yourself to me, we have nothing further to talk about. Unless, of course, you’re just here to say what a horrid creature I am.”

“Stop being so arrogant for just one minute! I think I know how to help you.”

Dante is silent for a moment. “Raven, go take a break.” Not missing a beat, the bird flies off of the table and through the nearby door. “You might as well take a seat.” He nods at the chair across from him. Luna walks over and sits in it, looking over the scattered books on the table. They’re all open at various parts, seeming to be about planar travel. “Now, what could you possibly have to help?” He doesn’t remove his hood from his head; he just keeps his face concealed; even his hands are hidden in the sleeves of his tunic and rest right in front of the open book.

“You require creatures made of essence other than that of this plane, correct?” Luna asks.

“Yeah. What of it?”

“There is a place in Equestria that leads to the underworld, a place filled with vile creatures and great evil. Surely one of these creatures is an outsider. I can take you there and we can get it.”

Dante hesitates for a second. “Do you realize what you’re saying? You’re basically talking about killing something and feeding me its corpse. Does that not bother you?”

“It does, but something must be done. You’re very powerful and we need your help.” Luna could almost feel a smile creep onto Dante’s face.

“Why Princess, you surprise me! The needs of the many outweigh the needs of the few? Last time I heard that, a king was willing to let a town be invaded so his army could flank Aselith’s. But I suppose it must be done.”

Luna let her mouth hang open. “You…you conceited bastard! I’m trying to help you!!”

“Thanks, but no thanks. Besides, it’s not as simple as you make it. I need to cast a spell to store the creature's soul for the ritual. I was lucky enough to have a scroll of that spell on this plane before I lost my powers, but there’s no way I can cast it.”

“I’ll cast the spell!” Luna retorts quickly. “Give me the scroll and I’ll cast it.”

“Assuming you can. Besides, I’m in no position to fight anything—” Dante leans over, entering a coughing fit. He quickly covers his mouth with his hand, trying to hold it back. After a few moments, he rests his hand on the table. There were two things wrong with it. Firstly, his hand was completely covered in blood. Second, his hand was wrinkled and worn.

Concerned, Luna lit up her horn and gently grabbed Dante’s hood in her magic, pulling it up. Dante’s face was worn and old as well. His goatee was white as snow and stretched down to his chest. His hair was also white, running down the sides of his face and past his beard. His eyes were a cloudy and grey, showing little life in them.

Eventually, words slowly leave Luna’s mouth. “What happened to you?”

Dante sighs, wiping his bloody hand on his cloak. “It’s called ‘Demon Rot’. It’s a disease only the demonic race can get. When infected, a demon’s body will age until it’s grown too old to move and falls apart. When they do, their soul is destroyed, forever, considering the fact that their body and soul are one in the same. It’s not curable. To prevent this death, a demon will return to its home plane, the Abyss, and hurl itself into what’s called the Well of Cleansing. It will fall through every layer of the Abyss it can until its body can take no more and it’s killed. When that happens, depending on how far it makes it in the well, it will be reborn as a more powerful demon. Only infected demons can use the well. All others will be eradicated. It’s a sort of blessing to demons.

“Without realizing it at the time, I bonded an infected demon to my soul. When my body began to rapidly age, I had to use the energy I stored from other demons to suppress the effects. That started a real struggle between me and Aselith. Since I was using more energy, I had to hunt down demons more often. During those times, Aselith would go on the move, conquering lands or relocating. If I focused too much on stopping Aselith, well…you weren’t conscious when it happened, but it’s nothing good, I assure you.

“And now, here I am; my body is nearly at its end, with no spares I can transfer into. I calculate I have about two weeks before I die. My eyesight is gone, so I can’t prepare more arcane spells, except for the few I’ve trained myself in preparing without my book. Since my warlock powers are tied to the soul energy I have, those are blocked. And, of course, I still can’t regain divine magic. Between the fight yesterday and dying twice, I hardly have any variety in my spells.”

“Twice?” Luna asks.

“Aselith cast a spell called ‘Disjunction’ on me. It breaks apart any spell or magic in the area. When it hit me, and my form got distorted, my soul was separated from my body for an instant. When my body and soul rejoined, it felt the same as coming back to life. Whenever a spellcaster is brought back, they lose about half the spells they had prepared. So, not only will you have to cast the spell yourself, but you’ll have to do all the fighting too.”

“I think not.” Luna says, standing from her chair and walking around the table. “While I was lying in bed, I overheard Iatril mention something about a dragon in Canterlot. This wouldn’t be the same dragon that you have working for you, now would it?”

Dante leans back in his seat. “Interesting. I’m surprised he came here so quickly. If it is him then we would be much better off. Hmmm.”

“How about it then, Dante? If I can restore your powers, will you stay and fight?”

“If you restore my powers?” Dante looks in Luna’s general direction. “I would say…fifty-fifty chance of me staying.”

“Honestly.” Luna says with a sigh, looking at Dante with a smirk. “It’s better than nothing, I suppose. We have a deal.”

END CHAPTER

Author's Note

Come to the dark side, Luna. We have cookies here! Or not. I mean, they are evil creatures that likely kill for fun or the like. Come to the grey side, Luna. We have...rice cakes? Hmmm.

Anyways, here's the next chapter y'all. The secret is out: Dante needs to om nom on souls for power. I wonder what Celestia's gonna do about that. Wehehell, if what I've seen other authors do in this sort of situation is any indication, then there may be some hilarity in Dante's future. *Wink* *Wink* :raritywink: *Nudge* *Nudge* Hell, someone might even get stabbed......again.

See you in about 2 weeks.

Ch. 19 - The Plan

“I refuse.” The dragon spoke in its deep voice.

“Refuse?” Luna asks, staring up at the dragon. “Are you not working for Dante?”

“Working for him, yes, but I am not about to storm the gates of Tartarus. If you wish to go there, Princess, then do not let me stop you. I prefer to stay amongst the living.”

“That’s fine.” Dante says, finding his way closer to Luna and the dragon with Iatril’s staff. “I’m sure we can handle ourselves.”

Luna looks over at Dante, angrily. “Dante—”

“Besides!” He quickly interjects. “With one princess going away, the castle wouldn’t be as protected, nor would the ponies who reside here.” Dante stops in front of Luna. “I have confidence in your ability to keep me alive, Princess.”

“I’m over here.” Luna says, talking to the side of Dante’s head.

Dante turns his head, looking around before settling on something off to Luna’s side. “I know that.”

“This isn’t going to work, Dante! I can’t protect you and find some outsider for you!”

“Relax.” Dante turns to face Luna completely. “I’m not completely helpless. Observe.” He gives a flick of his wrist and a short, jumbled word as a nearly invisible field appears over his torso.

“How did you do that?” Luna asks, looking over the barely visible barrier.

“Magic. I told you I had some spells I could prepare. I have a full arsenal of Fireball and Shout spells ready, as well as a few Teleport spells. If you tell me were the enemy is, I’ll let loose my magic in that direction. So, shall we go?”

Luna closes her eyes, shaking her head. “I’m beginning to think you’re trying to get us killed.”

“Nonsense! Though, I’ll admit, having only a few options - terrible ones at that - makes one reconsider their commitment to safety and life, eh?”

“*sigh* Let’s just get this over with. Can you fly?”

“Ah, yes, because flying blind would be such a good—”

“Yes, alright, I get it; terrible idea.” Luna looks around the courtyard. She sees no pony around, except for the dragon, still sitting in front of the pair. She turns back to Dante. “You will tell no one what I’m about to do! Understand?”

“Um, okay?” Dante says, scratching the side of his head. “What are you about to do?”

Luna moves next to Dante, lighting her horn. Dante’s hand, wrapped in a dark blue aura, is pulled towards Luna, resting on her back. “Climb on.” She says.

“Huh?”

“Climb. On.” She repeats with annoyance.

“Is that all?” Dante asks, attempting to climb on Luna’s back. He tries and fails twice, even after Luna lowers herself further to the ground. Rolling his eyes, the dragon grabs Dante by the back of his shirt and cloak and sets him atop Luna.

Luna stands again, spreading her wings and turning to face the dragon. “What is your name, dragon?”

“I am Razorwind of Everfree.” He says with certain note of pride.

“Well then, Razorwind of Everfree, I ask that you keep our destination from Tia. She will most likely not agree with this action.”

“Understandable.” He agrees with a nod.

Without another word, Luna takes to the sky heading south.

It was a good half hour before either one spoke. Dante was the first to break the silence, beyond the rush of the wind.

“Okay, I’ll bite.” He says, turning his head to face Luna’s, though still clinging to her. “What’s your deal?”

“What do you mean?” She asks, not turning her head.

“Are you simply mad, or do you actually have some sort of plan you’re working on?”

“I don’t understand.”

“I’m talking about your seemingly reckless behavior. First, you charge at Aselith, the man who froze almost half of your castle in ice that has yet to melt with a single spell. Now, you’re taking me to the entrance of what I can only assume to be your realm’s hell to collect a soul. What’s your angle here?”

“I already told you.” She says, banking around a cloud. “We need you to stop Aselith. That’s why I’m taking you to Tartarus.”

“Yeah, that’s a lie. You also just avoided my first question.”

Sighing, Luna slows her flight, landing on a nearby cloud. “Why does this matter so much to you? Do you think I have some ulterior motive for restoring you powers?”

“I’m not sure.” Dante says, adjusting himself to sit upright. “When you lie as much as I do, you know when the truth is being kept from you.”

Luna takes in a deep breath and holds it for a moment before releasing it. “You were right about me.” She says, looking down at the cloud’s surface.

“About what?”

“I’m afraid. I’m afraid of what I might do. I’m afraid of who I might hurt. I’m afraid…I’ll want to do it.” She turns her head, looking sideways at Dante. “That’s why I attacked Aselith so recklessly. I needed to show myself that I’m still willing to do what it takes to defend my ponies.”

“Wow. You’re still on about that?” Dante asks, doing his best to look at Luna. “I taunted you a week ago and in anger.”

“Nevertheless, you were right. I spent much time ruminating over my past before you even came along. When you said that…it made me really face it, out in the open.”

“Well then, never let it be said my yelling accomplished nothing.” He says, cracking a grin.

“Also,” She looks Dante right in the eye, unbeknownst to him, “I would rather not be in your debt.”

“Come again?” He asks, puzzled.

“For catching me when I fell.” She said with a smile.

“I did that?” He says, looking to his side. “You must be mistaken.”

Luna gives a small chuckle before flying off the cloud. “I was still conscious when I fell. I only lost consciousness after you caught me. You were…surprisingly warm.”

“A balor’s body is wreathed in flames. You’re just lucky my form was falling apart. Otherwise, you’d have been burned. Well, burned even more than you were.”

They both shared a small laugh. Luna took a moment before speaking again. “Why did you catch me?”

Now it was Dante’s turn to pause. “Not sure. Maybe I wanted someone around who can truly understand what I’ve been through. Or maybe…you remind me of someone.”

“Who?” She asks. Dante doesn’t answer.

“Let’s just get to this place.” He says after hesitating. Luna left it at that.

~ _ ~ _ ~ _ ~ _ ~

Back at Canterlot castle, Razorwind sat in the courtyard, idly watching the clouds hover overhead. ‘It is just not the same as the forest.’ He thought to himself. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw a shape moving in the sky. It slowly made its way closer to the courtyard and closer to him. Just as he was about to get up to check it out, he could make out the shape of it. ‘The falcon again?’

The bird in question flew a circle around the dragon’s head once before settling down near his ear canal.

“What’s the situation?” She asked in the common tongue.

“Dante and the princess left for Tartarus almost one hour ago, just like you thought they would.” Razorwind whispered to the falcon, just in case any ponies were nearby. “I still think they could use my help.”

“They’ll be fine on their own. Getting the gatekeeper to let them in will be the hardest part. Once they’re in, they shouldn’t have any problem collecting an outsider’s soul.”

“I still do not understand how you can know all of this.” Razorwind spoke, shaking his head. “Nor do I understand what you gain from helping them.”

“Do you not trust me then?” The falcon asks.

“If the forest trusts you then I trust you.” He says matter-of-factly. “I simply wish to understand.”

“In time.” She says, spreading her wings. “I must retreat for now, less I be discovered. I will continue checking in and keeping you appraised of my plan.” With a flap of her wings, the falcon takes to the sky and heading towards Ponyville and the Everfree forest.

END CHAPTER

Author's Note

Okay, I know what you're thinking...okay, I really don't. I know, I'm really late getting this out, but that's only because -insert lame excuse here-. I'm thinking the chapters will be coming out more sporadically for a while, and shorter. I might, MIGHT, put this story on hiatus for a little bit to start up another one, just to help the creative juices flow. Hmmm? "What are the creative juices?" It's the same stuff they put in Sunny-D. You know, 'power of the sun, contains 5% juice'. Did you ever think of that? Huh?! Photosynthesis!

Random writing aside, I do apologize for the delay and will try to get chapters out more frequently. But, like I said, it will likely be sporadic. Until next time!

Ch. 21 - What did they expect?

With a twist and a grunt, Dante cracks his back as he walks down the halls of Castle Canterlot. There’s a certain spring to his step as he rounds a corridor. His now dark brown hair, still longer from his previous aging, whips to the side as he continues down the next hall. He’s practically skipping down the hall, twirling a staff in his hand as he proceeds to the throne room.

As he arrives at the double doors, he looks between the two stoic guards before he kicks open the doors, startling the room’s occupants. “Well, well. The gang’s all here.”

Inside were the three princesses, Twilight and her friends, Iatril, Raven sitting atop Fluttershy’s back, and one tired looking Shade Strider. Celestia just glares at him as he begins walking up to the throne, while Luna stares at him, almost scared. The others just watch as he approaches, except for Iatril, who’s turned away from him.

“…not much of a greeting, eh?” He says, nearing the throne. “Where’s Flurry?”

“He and Spike are in a different room in the castle” Iatril says. She doesn’t even make eye contact when she speaks.

He looks over at Iatril. “Why’s that?” He asks.

“The princesses…found out something about you.” Iatril says, still looking away.

“Well, don’t keep me in suspense.” He says, looking over at the princesses. “What major discovery have you made?”

Luna looks away from him, muttering to herself.

“What, no one’s going to say anything?” Dante asks.

Shade looks around lazily before speaking up. “Uh, I’m not really sure what’s going on here.” He rubs his side a bit with his hoof. “I don’t remember much about these last few days. I just woke up this morning with several broken ribs before Iatril here healed me.”

“You were under the influence of Aselith and stabbed me in the stomach with a magic knife.” Dante says, shrugging. “It happens.”

“Uh…huh.” Shade says, slowly nodding.

“So, is anyone else going to say anything?” Dante looks over at Luna. “I get the sneaky sensation that you’re the one that uncovered this truth.” The mare in question looks up at him. “Care to share?”

Luna speaks so quietly, Dante almost misses it. “How could you?”

“Do what?” He asks.

“How could you kill them all?” She asks a little louder.

“You’re gonna have to be a little more specific. Do you have any idea how many people I’ve killed?”

Luna cringes. “A whole village; all humans; all of your own kind. You killed them all without any remorse.” She says quietly.

Dante brings his hand up to his chin, scratching his goatee. “A whole human village? Hmmm. Ah!” He exclaims, pointing his finger in the air. “That’s right! That was…ah hell, what was the name of that village? Westhaven? Eh, who cares. Too long ago to matter.”

“Who care?!” Celestia shouts at him. “You murdered innocent humans for your own pleasure and you say who cares?!”

“Well, I wouldn’t really say it was for my own pleasure, but yeah.” He says, shrugging. “Anyway, I’ve also made a pretty neat discovery. You see—”

“This isn’t something you’re just going to shrug off!” Celestia says, approaching Dante. “I demand an answer for this!”

Dante just groans and looks up at the ceiling. “Are we fighting again?”

Iatril looks over at Celestia and Dante, but she doesn’t say a word.

“You wouldn’t win again if we did.” Celestia stops a few feet from Dante. “I won’t fall for your tricks again.”

“Hah! I can actually sustain my demonic form now. You can’t even touch me. Besides, if you’d listen to what I have to say, then you’d know you can no longer beat me. But, if you really want to fight…” He takes a few steps back opens his arms at Celestia. “…then I’ll show you what I’ve obtained.”

Celestia lowers her horn at him. “You will tell me why.”

“Princess!” Twilight and Iatril practically say at the same time. Iatril continues speaking. “Please, knowing why won’t change what happened. It doesn’t change—”

“No.” Dante says, not even looking at her. “If she wants this to happen, let it.” He grins at the alicorn.

Celestia charges her horn with magic, preparing to strike. The moment she readies herself, three beasts appear out of thin air and surround her. The one in front of her stands about two feet taller than her and looks like a cross between a snake and a human, having a long tail in place of a pair of legs and six arms, all holding swords. A pair of swords cross each other, holding Celestia’s neck in them like a pair of scissors. The other four are aimed at various vital organs.

The second is to her left and looks vaguely like giant human. It has a dog-like face and four arms; one pair sticks out of its chest and has claws at the ends, while the other pair is where they should be and has a set of pincers. It stands at least thrice as tall as Celestia and has one of its pincers around Celestia’s midsection.

The third is to her right and resembles a mix of an ape and a fat boar. It stands on its hind legs about as tall as the four armed one and has a set of tusks coming from its jaw. Two relatively small, black, feathered wings come out of its back. Its teeth are barred and its fists curled as it stands tall over Celestia, waiting to pounce.

Celestia remains completely still, eyeing the monsters around her.

“What are they?” She whispers out in a mix of terror and hatred.

“DANTE!” Iatril yells at the top of her lungs.

“Don’t worry, they’re with me.” Dante says, walking around the encircled alicorn. “A Marilith, a Glabrezu, and a Nalfeshnee; these are some of the most powerful Tanar’ri demons of the Abyss. Their general duties, respectfully, are commanding demonic armies, tempting mortals with power, and punishing doomed souls. They’re very good at what they do, and very loyal to those who wield much greater power than themselves.” Dante waves his hand at them and they release Celestia. “Especially since they know full well the price for betrayal. Isn’t that right?”

“Yes, Lord Dante.” They all respond, kneeling towards him.

Celestia backs away from them, back towards everyone else, before speaking. “You brought these monsters out from Tartarus?!”

“Yep.” Dante states. “Speaking of that place…” Dante tosses the staff to Iatril, who grabs it out of the air. “I retrieved that when I went hunting. It’s out of charges though.”

“I can’t believe you would bring demons here!” Iatril yells as she approaches him.

The demons stand and come closer to Dante, who casually waves them back. “Whatever. You’re missing the bigger picture.”

“Oh?” Iatril stands right in front of Dante, looking up at him. “And what would that be.”

Dante grins again. “These demons claim they came right from the Abyss.”

“So what?”

“That means Tartarus and the Abyss are the same thing. We can potentially get home.” Dante looks over at Celestia, who has been glowering at him. “Aren’t you happy?” He asks the scowling princess.

“Go home?” Iatril asks. “I thought we were staying.”

“We are. Well, maybe.” Dante turns around, pacing the throne room. “On one hand, Luna helped me regain my power.” The alicorn in question cringes at the mention of her name. “On the other hand, Celestia tried to stop me. On a different hand, I told Razorwind I’d train him in magic, and I doubt he’d want to leave Equestria. On one more hand, Luna didn’t fully restore my power.” He stops pacing and faces away from everyone. He pulls out something from behind his belt and wraps it in his fist. “Now, that all doesn’t matter, since I’m not leaving it up to me.” He turns around and thrusts his fist towards the group of ponies. “I’m leaving it up to this!” He opens his hand and holds up the contents between his fingers, showing a shining—

“Oh, gods.” Iatril sighs, walking back over to Fluttershy and her friends.

“A coin?” Applejack says, eyeing the object.

“You can’t be serious.” Rainbow Dash deadpans at Dante.

“But of course!” Dante says, adjusting the coin so it sat on top of his fist, over his thumb. “Here and now, we shall see if I stay or go. There are two sides: red and blue. If it’s red, I’ll stay and fight ‘till the end. If blue, we pack up and leave” He looks right at Iatril as he says the last part. “Sound reasonable? Sound fair? It’s fifty-fifty.” He looks over at Luna, but she doesn’t return the look.

“You’re insane!” Celestia shouts at him.

“True, but that doesn’t mean I’m unreliable. So, are we ready?” Dante asks.

“We can’t leave!” Iatril yells at him.

“Uh, yeah we can.” He responds. “Look, traversing the Abyss won’t be pleasant, but I’m sure I can…convince some of the inhabitants to assist us.”

“That’s not the point!” She sweeps her arm towards everyone in the room. “If you’re going to ignore the plight of this kingdom, I can’t say I’m surprised! But are you really just going to abandon our chase? What about the years we spent fighting Aselith? What about our revenge? What about Garret?!”

“Who the hell is Garret?” He asks, eyeing Iatril.

Iatril just stands there, staring at Dante. She tries to say something, but no words come out of her mouth.

“Well?” He asks again.

A pained look comes across Iatril’s face before she turns away again. “He’s no one.”

Dante rolls his eyes, sighing. “Then why bring it up? Anyway, are there any real objections to this coin toss?” He pauses for a moment. Hearing none, he flips the coin high in the air. It spins for a few seconds before hitting the ground, spinning again. After another few seconds, the coin falls flat, showing red. Dante holds his arms out before letting them fall limp to his sides. “Well, that settles that then. First order of business—”

“Do you honestly expect us to accept your help now?!” Celestia yells again, grabbing his attention.

“Look, I can see you’re mad, but try to keep things in perspective. I’ve yet to kill any ponies, while Aselith has caused the death of…I don’t know how many. What’re a few beings of pure evil and chaos to that? Besides,” He pulls out his magic needle, drawing a large, horizontal circle above him. “I think a little shock and awe will change your mind.” After he draws the circle, he steps back as the portal opens. What falls out grabs everyone’s attention immediately.

“S-Shining?” Twilight mutters, walking towards the bloody corpse of her brother. Cadence follows right after her. Twilight’s surprise quickly turns to anger. “What are you doing with him?!”

“Something pretty neat.” Dante replies. A scroll pops out of the portal as it closes. Dante levitates it and brings it to him, unfurling it. “You’ve seen the shock, and here’s the awe.”

He reads the scroll and kneels over Shining Armor’s dead body, laying his hand on his side. In an instant, Shining Armor gasps for air as a few of his wounds close up. He then begins groaning from his remaining wounds.

“If you’d be so kind, Iatril?” Dante says, standing up from Shining Armor. She slowly walks over to Shining armor and casts a healing spell over him, mending all of his wounds. Shining Armor gasps again from the relief, sitting up and rubbing his head with his hoof.

“Wha-What happened?” He asks, not looking around. Before he can see where he is, both Cadence and Twilight run right to him, wrapping him up in their hooves.

“Shiny,” Cadence says in a muffled voice, “you’re back.”

“Back?” Shining asks, looking around. “Back from—SWEET CELESTIA!” He yells as he sees the demons in front of him.

The trio of demons chuckle darkly. Dante walks up to Shining Armor, leaning down.

“You missed the introductions.” He says, smiling a toothy smile. “How was death?”

“Death?” He questions. “What are…” He trails off.

“Think: what was the last thing you remember?”

Cadence and Twilight release Shining Armor as he rises to his hooves. “Well, I was near the barracks, there was an attack—” He jolts at the thought and pans around the room. “The attack! Are we—”

“We’re past that.” Dante says. “Keep remembering.”

Shining Armor looks up at Dante before continuing. “Um, a flaming stone smashed into the throne room.” He looks over at one of the walls to see it intact. Rather, there was a spot of solid stone as opposed to layers of bricks. “A group of changelings came flying at me. I shot a few of them down before…” His eyes widen when he realizes the truth. “I…died.”

“Congratulations.” Dante straightens himself. “You are likely the first pony to be brought back from the dead via divine magic. Be proud.” He just pats Shining on the head before walking over to Celestia, smiling. “See? I’m not all bad.”

“A good deed here and there doesn’t remove the evil you’ve committed.” She says, glaring at him.

“If it did, I’d have to spend a hundred lifetimes of good deeds to fix what I’ve done.” He stops right in front of Celestia, crossing his arms. “Now, about fighting Aselith.” He briefly looks around at the room’s occupants before continuing. “The only ones who stand a chance surviving a fight with him are you, me, Iatril, and Luna. Twilight and her friends do have the Elements of Harmony, but, well, should one of you die…” The element bearers look away, well aware of that fact. “Anyway, Aselith also has an army; a huge army, if I’m not mistaken, and it will only get larger as he populates it with undead. Therefore, I propose a bit of training for your troops, starting with the royal guard and any other troops here. I’ll teach them the proper way to kill undead and how not to be killed outright by them. I’ll teach them two nights from now. Sound like a plan?”

Celestia looks at Dante for a moment before turning to Luna. The younger sister doesn’t move her gaze from the floor. Celestia looks back to Dante.

“How exactly are you going to instruct the guards?” She asks skeptically.

“I was thinking through example. You know, learn by doing.” He says with a shrug.

“Absolutely not!” Celestia slams her hoof into the floor. The demons look at her with mild irritation, but otherwise they don’t react. “I will not have you defiling the fallen of this kingdom!”

“Of course not.” Dante holds up his hands. “Perish the thought.” He barely holds back a chuckle from his poor pun. “There are plenty of griffon and changeling corpses I can use.”

“I won’t have you making any mockeries of life in this kingdom!”

“Mockeries of…” Dante looks over at Iatril, who is back near Fluttershy, staring at the nearby wall. Dante raises an eyebrow and simply shakes his head. “Fine, fine.” He says, holding up his arms and turning back to Celestia. “I’ll just make some notes about them and explain those to the troops. Is that tame enough for you?”

“That will do fine.” Celestia looks over at the Tanar’ri, still fuming. “And what about them?”

“They’re staying, and I’m having no argument about that.” Dante crosses his arms again. “Consider them my retinue. I also recommend Twilight and her friends stay close by during all of this. I would also recommend leaving Canterlot, but I suppose this is the most defensible position, given the lack of keeps and castles in these lands. I’ll give my input about other fortifications to make, general tactics of Aselith, etc. Anyway, I’d love to stay and chat, but I’ve got notes to make, chores to do, dragons to enlist, and any number of magic baubles to start crafting. So…” Dante teleports from the room. The three demons follow suit soon after.

“That insufferable human.” Celestia murmurs in contempt, starring at his previous spot in the throne room. She looks over at her student and then to her friends, noting the worried looks on their faces. Collecting herself, she speaks again. “But, I suppose he is correct.” She faces the group of element bearers. “All of you would be much safer in Canterlot. I know some of you have other obligations and I won’t force you to stay, but—“

“Princess.” Rarity says, stepping in front of the group. “You don’t need to tell us about the danger.”

“We know they’ll be comin’ for us.” Applejack says next. “Ah don’t think anypony will argue about stayin’ here.”

Pinkie bounces forward. “Sure, I’ll miss everypony in Ponyville, but this is super important.” She has an almost serious tone in her voice.

“Besides,” Rainbow flaps her wings, hovering in the air. “Somepony has to keep an eye on Dante.”

Celestia smiles at hearing their willingness to stay. “Thank you all. That’s such a relief.” She looks over at Shining Armor, who is again being held by his wife and his sister. “Shining Armor?” She says, gaining his attention. “It’s good to have you back.” He stands on all fours and solutes her, smiling.

Luna looks up at Celestia. “I can’t decide if Dante staying will be a good thing or not.” She says.

“I suppose we’ll just have to wait and see.” Celestia responds to her sister, looking over at her. “If nothing else, at least we can still count on—”

“Iatril?” Fluttershy says to the elf, who has already made it half way to the doors. “Where are you going?”

“I don’t really know.” She says, devoid of any emotion.

Everyone in the room watches her slowly make her way out of the throne room.

After she leaves, Fluttershy turns to bird on her back. “Raven, what’s going on?”

He looks at the door, now closed from Iatril’s exit. “Garret was their friend, the one Aselith killed.”

Rainbow Dash eyes the bird. “I don’t get it. Why did Dante act like he didn’t know him?”

Raven glances at Rainbow Dash. “Probably because he doesn’t remember anymore.”

“I don’t get it.” Twilight says, moving closer to the group. “How could he not remember someone he was so willing to kill for? Didn’t he say revenge was his reason for fighting Aselith?”

“Look,” Raven says, “I’m not the right one to be asking these questions to. The one you want to ask, the only one who knows why, is the person who looked like she just lost everything in an instant. Good luck getting that out of her though. Even Flurry doesn’t know why, and he’s been following Iatril for years.”

~ _ ~ _ ~ _ ~ _ ~

Iatril walked right through the gate, paying no attention to any of the ponies around her. Before, she left the throne room almost lifelessly. Now there’s strength in her strides. With every step she moves faster and faster. Pretty soon, she’s at full sprint towards the main gate of Canterlot and then the mountain. She quickly claws her way up the steep slope until she’s halfway to the top. Reaching a small landing, she collapses on the surface with a sharp intake of air.

She gains back her breath and looks forward at the wall of the mountain. Gritting her teeth, she jumps to her feet and charges right at the wall, smashing her fist into it and leaving cracks in the surface. She brings her other fist up and smashes it into the wall as well. She pulls her fists back and punches the wall again; and again; and again. As she continues her pounding away of the mountain, she starts yelling as bloods starts dripping around her. She doesn’t even notice the blood and presses on relentlessly.

After well over three hundred strikes, she steps back from the wall and plops herself on the ground, looking at her work. She’d pushed at least ten feet into the mountain, clearing away the debris in her way as she had went further in.

She brings her blood drenched hands up to her face, rubbing her forehead.

“Get ahold of yourself.” She mutters. “You knew this could happen. Of course Dante would forget Garret. That’s just what he wants.”

“What who wants?” She hears a quiet voice say. Iatril whips her head around to see her friend sitting behind her.

“Fluttershy.” She mutters. “How-How long where you sitting there?”

“Um, I saw you punching the wall a lot. I came looking for you right after you left to make sure you were okay and I heard a lot of yelling coming from up here so…” Fluttershy starts murmuring after saying that.

Iatril just smiles at her. “Thank you.” She says, lying on the ground with her hands above her head.

“Y-Your hands!” Fluttershy gasps upon seeing the appendages.

“Don’t worry. I’m one spell away from fixing them. I just…needed to take my mind off of things for a while, that’s all.”

“Oh. Okay…” Fluttershy says, looking around the mountain from her spot on the ground. Things get quiet for a while until Iatril sighs.

“You can ask me whatever you need to ask me.” She says, not moving from her spot.

Fluttershy looks back over at her. “Well, um, who doesn’t want Dante to remember your friend?”

“The demon in him.” She says, closing her eyes. “It wants to make Dante…more like him; or, rather, more like them, I guess. Not knowing the reason for the hate, but being stuck with it anyway. But making Dante forget Garret…it makes sense why, but it’s so cruel. Garret is partly the reason Dante is…”

“Why he’s what?” Fluttershy asks.

Iatril tries making herself speak, but she resigns herself to her thoughts and says something different. “I’m sorry. I…just can’t say it.”

“That’s okay.” Fluttershy says. “You don’t have to tell me. But…I think you should tell Princess Luna.”

Iatril sits up and looks over at Fluttershy. “Why?” She asks.

“She’s been pretty upset after finding out about how Dante…um…” Fluttershy whispered the next part so quietly even Iatril couldn’t hear her, but she knew what Fluttershy was talking about. “I think Princess Luna should hear why Dante is, well, Dante.”

Iatril looks at the ground for a moment before rising to her feet. She casts a spell, heals her hands, and casts another to conjure water over her hands to wash them.

“You’re right.” She says, drying her hands on her pants. “If nothing else, Luna should know why she saw what she saw.” She walks over to Fluttershy and leans over, giving her a quick hug. “Thanks for that.”

Fluttershy wraps a hoof around Iatril. “That’s what friends are for.” She says.

The pair start their descent, Fluttershy gliding down as Iatril slides down the slope. They head straight to the throne room in search of Luna.

~ _ ~ _ ~ _ ~ _ ~

A day and a half passes as Luna raises her moon into the sky. Following that, she starts making her way to the barracks, where Dante will be explaining to the soldiers about fighting undead.

‘Dante.’ She thought as she walked through the castle. When Iatril explained why Dante’s done some of the things he’s done, well…it was certainly understandable. Aselith is an incredibly strong mage. If Dante was to have a chance at killing him, he had to bind demons to his soul and siphon their power for himself. That’s what she already assumed about Dante. What she didn’t know was Aselith was doing the same thing, but with beings called ‘Devils’. Eventually, he reached the point where he felt he didn’t need any more power and stopped. That’s when Dante’s struggle with finding enough energy to suppress the demons began.

Not only that, but Dante had actually lost control several times. After each time, he lost many memories of his past. The people he knew, the philosophies he accepted, his general attitude on life, they all began dwindling away. Of course, the matter of Dante destroying that village came up in their conversation. Iatril found out about that decades after it happened, sometime before the fighting with Aselith began. She didn’t know why Dante did that, but she also doesn’t think he did it for no reason.

Luna joined her sister on the balcony over the barracks. She looked out at the troops below her and saw Dante sitting at the end of the yard on a stack of three crates. He saw her and gave a quick wave with a smile. Luna doesn't respond.

“What’s happened so far?” She asks her sister.

“The troops have been gathering here and Dante’s been sitting on those supply crates the whole time.” Celestia replies. “Other than that, nothing.”

As if on cue, Dante stands up on the crates and shoots a blast of magic straight up into the air, letting the light of the fire spread out as it ascends and trickle down around him harmlessly. He easily gets the attention of every solder in the yard.

“Good evening, everypony!” He calls loudly so all could hear. “As you are aware, I will be instructing you in how to fight undead monstrosities. However!” He holds his hand in front of him. “I believe a point or two needs to be addressed. First and foremost, I’m sure there are rumors going around about the three monsters I have working with me. Those are not undead. They are entities from Tartarus that I have enlisted into my service, so don’t worry about them. They obey my commands and will only attack the enemy. Now, onto a more relevant point: will Captain Armor please step forward?”

Shining Armor walks over to the crates from his position on the side. Dante jumps from the crates and lands in front of Shining Armor with a small crack in his legs. He straightens himself as he faces the troops.

“Now,” He begins again, “As most of you have heard, Shining Armor has returned from death to live again.” A few murmurs arise in the crowd as Dante continues. “He is NOT an undead. He is alive and well.” He takes a few steps around Shining Armor and moves behind the crates. “Now, you may be wondering what the difference is. Well…”

A moment later, a griffon is pushed out from behind the crates. Its feathers were greying and there were patches where it had no skin, exposing muscle and bone. Its eyes were unfocused and its beak hung open.

“This,” Dante says, walking back out from behind the crates, “is an undead.” He looks up at Celestia, who is fuming, before continuing. “It’s called a zombie. It holds no will of its own. Under the power of a master, it performs no actions other than what it is directed. It’s pretty slow and can’t do much besides swiping at you. It’s weakness?” Dante pulls out his sword and bisects the zombie, dropping it. “Weapons that cut.”

He looks over at the crate. “Come.” He says and another griffon comes out. This one, however, has no flesh on it at all. “This is a skeleton. Similar to the zombie, it has no will. It’s faster, but not as resilient. It’s weakness is bludgeoning weapons.” He twists his blade so the broad side is facing the skeleton as he brings it down on it. In one swipe, it breaks the spine of the skeleton and it falls over, inanimate.

Dante snaps his fingers with one hand and pulls out his magic needle with the other. Three incorporeal griffons come up from the ground behind him as he spreads his wings and flies up a few feet. He draws a circle in the air and opens a portal, letting five more solid griffons fall from the hole. Some of the corporeal ones have their flesh, some don’t. One is even about twice as large as normal griffons and appears to have something inside its chest. Another is completely covered in a sheet.

“Now, let me show you what powerful undead are like.”

END CHAPTER

Author's Note

Ta-da! Next chapter's out! Imagine Dante twirling a stiletto and smoking a cigarette while saying the title. That's what I did. :rainbowlaugh:

So yeah, Dante's hiring Demons and continuing doing whatever he wants. SSDD. At least there's a reason to it, or lack thereof as it were.

I'm thinking the next one will be out in 2-3 weeks, but don't quote me on that. Also, ignore the fact that it's typed right in the "Author's Notes" section in plain view.

Until then, arrivederci!

Ch. 22 - Facing Your Demons

The whole ordeal didn’t even last twenty minutes, but it was long enough. Dante had went over every undead he created from the dead griffons in no small detail. From the flesh craving ghoul to the life draining spectre and soul eating devourer, each was a weapon of destruction.

One that Luna found problematic was the one under the sheet. When Dante went to pull the sheet off, he told every guard and soldier to raise a hoof into the air immediately after. Only about a third raised their hoof right away; the others couldn’t even move. He explained that mummies have a powerful aura about them that causes those who see them to freeze in fear. They can also bestow a powerful curse on those it injures. It’s a truly frightening monster.

The other problematic creatures where the incorporeal ones. Dante explained only magic could hurt them, and even then not always. He’ll be showing any magically gifted soldiers or mages they had left how to enchant weapons to always strike them later.

After his presentation was finished and all questions answered, Dante blasted the whole lot of undead with his magic until they died again or dissipated. After he dismissed the soldiers, he flew over to where Luna and Celestia were and hung in the air, as if he were standing on something.

“See?” He says, holding a grin. “That wasn’t so bad, was it? Much better than just a speech, eh?”

Celestia glares at him, sizing him up. “This won’t go unpunished.” She says.

“Good to hear!” He says merrily. “Don’t worry. I’m sure, once this whole conflict with Aselith is finished, we can go back to killing each other.”

“I’ll be looking forward to it.” Celestia says through barred teeth.

Dante just beams at her before turning to Luna. “And what of you, Nightmare Moon? Was my presentation acceptable?”

“I’m not sure what I was expecting,” She says, barely looking at him, “but it couldn’t have been much worse than that.”

“Awe, what’s wrong? Still mad at me? I heard through the grapevine that Iatril had a little chat with you about me. All good things, I assume.” He says with a grin.

“It’s not you I’m mad at, you stupid human!” She yells, stamping her hoof into the balcony.

“It’s not?” Dante scratches his chin for a moment before his eyes sparkle with understanding. “Ohhhhh! I get it!” He lowers himself to Luna and leans closer to her, smiling. “Meet me in my study in about half an hour. I’ll have a solution to your problem.”

Before Luna can say anything, Dante teleports away.

Celestia looks over at her sister. “You aren’t thinking about meeting him, are you?”

Luna just shrugs. “There isn’t much else for me to lose if I do.”

Luna walks back into the castle. “Be careful, sister.” She hears her Celestia say.

~ _ ~ _ ~ _ ~ _ ~

The time passes quickly; too quickly for Luna. Descending into the lower part of the castle, Luna makes her way to Dante’s ‘study’. He had mentioned in passing that it was down a passageway he tunneled towards the mountain, the entrance being at the bottom of these stairs.

Once she reached the bottom, she could see the tunnel. The hole was nearly circular, having a flat path to walk on, and was large enough to let a hydra pass through, if it ducked its heads. It was well lit, spheres of light at regular intervals down the hall illuminating it completely. It was only a short distance down before the floor leveled off, revealing one of the creatures Dante brought into servitude. It was the one with the dog face and pincers. ‘Glabrezu’ Luna thought, remembering the name.

The towering creature bows slightly before speaking. “Your Highness.” It says. “Lord Dante was expecting you. However, a situation has arisen and he cannot meet with you at the moment.”

“What do you mean?” She demands, glaring at the monster before her. “He isn’t here?”

“No, he’s here.” It says. “It’s just…he was tracked through the Abyss to this location and is dealing with the…situation, currently.”

Luna just rolls her eyes. “I don’t care what sort of problem he’s dealing with. He asked me down here and he’s here. Stand aside, NOW!” She yells, her voice sounding off of the stone walls.

The demon widens its eyes before stepping aside. “As you wish.” It says with a bow.

A large, wooden door stands in Luna’s path. No decorations or odd colorings, just a simple metal handle. Luna grabs the handle in her magic and pulls the door open, stepping inside. Closing the door behind her, she looks around the large room. It’s lit with the same lighting as the tunnel, but far more spread out. Off to the side is a table with various liquids in glass containers. Next to that is another table, this one covered with tomes and a few shafts of wood and metal. Off in a far corner, she sees a large covering over some object against the wall, possible a mirror or a portrait. On her other side are several rows of bookcases in the corner with two cushions near the center.

A shiny, yellow liquid dripping in front of her and the sound of metal clashing draws her attention. Looking up, Luna sees the demonic form of Dante. In front of him, a few feet shorter, is a creature with silvery skin and a pair of snow white wings. Around its lower body is silver-gold cloak, covering the bottom half of its body to just above its ankles. Its body looks to have sustained major wounds, all spilling the same liquid dropped before Luna. Its massive sword grinds against Dante’s, releasing sparks into the air.

“Demon!” It calls out. “I will not be defeated by the likes of you!”

“I doubt that.” Dante says casually. With one hand gripping his blade, Dante pushes against the other creature’s sword, sending it falling towards the ground. Before it hits the ground, the creature spreads its wings and slows its descent, landing softly on the stone floor. “You clearly weren’t ready for this fight.”

“It matters not!” The creature removes a hand from its sword and places it on its chest, letting healing magic flow into its body. All of its wounds close instantly, its golden blood disappearing from all but its cloak. “I am an angel! No demon shall defeat me!”

“Yeah, keep thinking that.” Dante looks over at the princess of the night, waving a hand at her. “Hello there. I’ll finish up in a minute.”

The angel spins to face Luna, staring into her eyes with its glowing white ones.

“You!” It calls out. “You are a ruler of these lands, yet you allow this creature to exist! What is the meaning of this!?”

“What’s going on here?” Luna asks, directing her question at Dante. “Who…What is this?”

“I am a solar, the highest grade of angel!” The angel declares before Dante can speak. “A native to Celestia and servant of Heironeous! Answer my question!” It replaces its hand on its sword, pointing it towards Luna.

“What are you talking about?” Luna asks. “A native to my sister? What do you mean?”

The angel opens its mouth to speak, but is cut off when Dante teleports behind it and brings his sword down, deep into the angels chest. It cries out in pain as Dante slams into it, forcing it onto the ground and slamming his foot onto the angels back.

“A simple miscommunication.” He says, holding a hand over the angel and filling it with fire. “And a perfect distraction.” With a surge of magic, a torrent of fire slams into the angel’s back and head, blackening its body and completely burning its flesh. It howls out in torment for but a moment before it’s silenced.

Dante steps off the angel, his form returning to normal nearly instantaneously. He swiftly floats over to a table separate from the others, this one holding various gemstones on its surface.

“So sorry to keep you waiting.” He says, picking up a black gemstone and floating back towards the fallen angel.

“What just happened?” She asks. “Why did he attack you?” She looks over the smoldering remains, watching pieces of the angel beginning to break apart and disappear.

“Not sure. Probably something about me being one of the greatest evils on my material plane.” Dante holds up the gemstone to the angel and casts a spell. The angel’s whole body becomes transparent and is quickly absorbed into the gemstone, leaving only its cloak and sword, plus a bow and arrows it must have been carrying, behind. “You know, the usual.”

“W-What did you just do?” Luna stammers out, staring at the gemstone.

“Uh, I sucked up its soul?” Dante says as more of a question. “You’ve cast this spell before, you know.”

“But…that wasn’t some fiend or…”

“No. Angels are champions of all that is good and, in this one’s case, orderly. This was a major victory for Team Evil.” He took the apple sized gemstone over to the table with the tomes and set it there.

“Why would you do such a thing?!” Luna screams at him.

“Because I’m a heartless bastard?” He says with a smirk. “Was that not clear? I thought it was pretty clear.”

“I…You…” Luna growls through barred teeth.

“Look, he went out of his way to attack me when he didn’t stand a chance. While I admire his tenacity, his arrogance left me with no reason to play fair or go easy on him. It would have been nice if he searched for Aselith, the greater evil, so I could trail him, but he chose his fate. But,” Dante begins floating towards the back of the room, “we’re not here to talk about his fate, are we?”

“What are you talking about?!” Luna yells at him, slowly following after him.

“Not sure. That sounded more clever in my head. We’re here to talk about your issues…with yourself.”

Luna stops in place, staring at Dante. “What?”

“Come now!” He says, nearing the covered object. “You said you weren’t mad at me—which was a bit of a lie, by the way—so you must be mad at the one who returned me to power:” He pointed a finger right at Luna. “You.”

“I…I don’t know what you mean…” Luna says, continuing her approach.

“Sure~” Dante says, nodding. “I you only helped me, a known murderer of…what, three hundred humans? That sounds right. Well, three hundred that you know of. That took me an afternoon. Given I’ve lived about one hundred years…well, you do the math. A lot of dead bodies. A lot of evil deeds unpunished. And you helped me regain power.” Dante folds his arms as Luna reaches him. “Tsk, tsk.”

“ENOUGH!” She bellows at him. “Is there some point to your ramblings? Or are you just trying to anger me!?”

Dante cracks a smirk and gestures with a folded hand to the covering. Half of the covering is pulled off, revealing the face of a mirror. Luna sees Dante’s reflection in the mirror. Or, rather…

“What is this?” She says, seeing the form of the demon right where Dante should be in the reflection. Same posture, same facing.

“This is a special mirror I liberated from a necromancer once upon a time. In addition to other peculiar tricks, it shows a person’s inner nature. That means if someone is sharing their body with another spirit or, say, a demon, the mirror will reveal it. I figured this would settle your worries. You know,” He unfolds his arms, looking over at Luna. “See if you’re still Nightmare Moon.”

Luna gapes at Dante. “But…you said you couldn’t see any trace of evil in me!”

“True, but my vision isn’t perfect. And, the evil could have simply been buried deeply. I do believe I mentioned that as well. But, more importantly,” He flung his hand out at the mirror, the remaining covers responding by flying off of the mirror.

Luna looks into the mirror to see her reflection. But…

“The mirror doesn’t lie.” He says, gazing at the reflection. “So…that’s what you looked like.”

Luna back away from the image. Every movement is mirrored perfectly. “It…this can’t be real.” She whispers.

“It is.” Dante says, stepping towards the mirror. “Look at it. Know the truth. Know yourself.”

Luna shakes her head. “I’m not like that!”

“Oh? Were you ‘not like that’ when you helped restore my powers? Were you ‘not like that’ when you went gallivanting with me in Tartarus?” Dante turned to face Luna, standing right in front of the mirror. “Face it: you aren’t as good as you say you are. You’re not as good as you think you are!”

Luna steps towards the mirror, watching her reflection. She can’t deny what she sees. The pitch black fur, the whirly mane and tail, the armor, and the eyes; those piercing, teal, slit eyes. Nightmare Moon was staring right at her.

She sighs before looking over at Dante. “So now what? What does this mean?”

“Now?” Dante looks back at the mirror.

In an instant, black tendrils shoot out from the mirror, grappling both Luna and Dante. Luna struggles to free herself while Dante remains still, his body being pulled into the mirror. Despite her best efforts, Luna begins falling in as well.

“Now the fun begins.”

~ _ ~ _ ~ _ ~ _ ~

Luna awoke with a start. She clamored to her hooves, frantically looking around her. She found herself to be in the brightly lit throne room, or what was left of it. The walls were scorched and the stained glass windows were completely shattered, revealing the night sky. The roof of the room was gone, or perhaps in several heaps of debris on the floor.

“Ah, you’re awake.” A voice calls from the throne.

Luna looks up to see Dante emerge from behind the seat, wearing Celestia’s crown.

“What’s going on?!” She demands. “Where’s Celestia? WHAT DID YOU DO!?”

Dante just stares at her, smiling.

“You bastard!” Luna flares her wings and charges her horn. “Where is my sister?!”

“I’ll give you a hint.” Dante says, drawing his blade. “It involves a sharp piece of metal infused with evil magic.”

Luna shoots a blast of magic at Dante, who blocks it with his sword before flinging it into the wall, burning a hole in the stone.

“Why, Luna, you shock me!” Dante puts the back of his hand over his forehead. “To lash out in anger is so unlike you.”

“I don’t know how you did this, but I’ll make you pay for it!” She rushes Dante, horn charged and bursting with energy.

Dante flies from the throne, sword colliding with horn as the opposing magic fires out from the impact.

“Whatever do you mean?” Dante says, dropping to the ground. “What have I done?”

“Don’t play games with me!” Luna shoots a beam of magic at Dante, narrowly missing him as he tumbles to the side. “You’re behind this!”

“Oh, the unfairness of it all! I would never do such a thing, Luna!” Dante backpedals towards the doorway, keeping his distance from the princess of the night.

“Liar!” She charges Dante again, at least twice as fast as before. This time, Dante remains still. Just as Luna is about to strike, she passes right through him, landing on the floor in a skid. She looks up to see Dante floating in the air. “Tia was right! We should have destroyed you when we had the chance!”

“Tut, tut, dear princess.” Dante wags a finger at her. “You are angry, and therefore misunderstood my words.”

“What are you babbling about!?” Luna roars at him.

“Think about it, Luna.” He says with a smile.

‘What nonsense is he spouting?!’ Luna internalizes. ‘It doesn’t matter what he says, I know he did this! He…’ Luna shifts her eyes around the room for a moment before settling back on Dante.

“What did you call me?” She asks, not changing her stance.

Dante cracks an even wider smile. “Luna, my dear.”

“Why are you calling me that?” Luna yells up at him. “You never call me that!”

“True, but I never saw you as ‘Luna’ before. But now, I know you’re truly Luna.”

Luna shoots another beam at Dante, who holds his sword against it. “What are you talking about!?” She climbs through the air, pushing him back with her magic. “I’ve always been Luna!”

“Not true!” He says, not trying to move out of the beams way. “You’ve been Nightmare Moon as well, remember?”

Luna pushes him up and over the wall of the throne room, up into the night sky. “Only when I fought for eternal night before and after my banishment. I’m still Luna!”

“True enough.” Dante says, pushing back with his sword. “I don’t know how long you’ve been alive, but I’d wager you were imprisoned longer than you weren’t. Either way, that’s a considerable portion of your life.”

“You don’t know me!” Luna forces more magic into her blast.

“I know you can’t accept the truth, even when it’s all around you.” Dante keeps on with his sword.

“Your words are hollow and meaningless!”

“I’m not talking about my words!” Dante swings his blade, throwing the energy back at Luna. She dodges and prepares another attack. “Just look around you!” Dante swipes his free arm to his side.

Luna’s eyes glance over to the side before quickly looking back at Dante. She double takes at her surroundings, seeing the vast amount of trees around the castle.

“W-What is this?” Luna mumbles, looking around the forest.

“This may be Castle Canterlot we’re fighting over, but its location is the Everfree Forest, right where your old castle was!” Dante bellows.

“No…this can’t be…” Luna looks in every direction. Aside from the castle, all she can see is trees, plus a narrow path through the foliage. It was exactly as she remembered.

“The throne room is lit bright as day, but the rest of Equestria is plunged in eternal darkness.” Dante points his sword at Luna. “This, dear princess, is because you wanted it so.”

Luna looks back at Dante, but he teleports right above her. With a quick gesture, Luna is forced down by a telekinetic pulse. She barely catches herself, landing on the throne room floor. Dante teleports again, this time right in front of the throne.

“I couldn’t have done this.” Luna whispers. “I wouldn’t!”

“You’re right.” Dante says, his expression grim. “You, yourself, did not. You had her do it for you.” Dante points behind Luna with his sword.

When Luna turns around, she becomes rigid and tense.

“No…” She mouths at the pony before her.

“Yes…” The pony says aloud. “It’s good to be back.”

Luna takes a few steps back, viewing the pony in full. She knows what she sees is there. The dark fur, the teal, slit eyes. It has to be her.

“Nightmare Moon.”

END CHAPTER

Author's Note

Dun dun dun!!! Yes, the next chapter is finally out! Sorry for the delay; life happens.

So, yeah. Dante's killing angels now. A Solar, at that. And there's Nightmare Moon as well. How about that?

Anyway, I hope you enjoyed the chapter!

Ch. 23 - Helping Friends

“W-What is this?” Luna murmurs, stepping away from Nightmare Moon. “How can you be here?”

“Hahaha!” Nightmare Moon bellows. “Awe, is the scared, little child so frightened she can’t remember what happened?” She says, mockingly. “And here I thought you were smarter than that!”

Luna looks over at Dante, still standing before the throne with his sword drawn, before turning back to her alter ego.

“This isn’t real.” Luna says, piecing it together.

“Close, friend.” Nightmare Moon says, circling Luna. “We were dragged into the mirror and into…our mind.” She grins at the lunar princess. “And now, we can see which of us deserves control of our body.”

“What nonsense is that!?” Luna yells. “It’s not our body, it’s mine!”

Nightmare Moon looks towards the throne. “Sir Dante?” She says with a small bow. “Would you care to enlighten this foal? I do not wish to pervert your explanation of these events.”

Dante sheathes his blade before sitting on the throne, crossing his arms. “When two souls share the same body, there is usually a power struggle; one soul tries dominating the other, like with myself and the gestalt of demons in me. Despite this, I am still a mortal; my body and soul are separate. Outsiders such as yourselves don’t have a dual nature; your body and soul are one. You cannot be possessed unless you are bodily manipulated by an outside force. From what I’ve heard, that was not the case. Therefore, I concluded you must have created this alternate ego, Nightmare Moon, as she is presently before us.”

“So, what, you’re saying this…thing!” Luna points a hoof at Nightmare Moon. “This thing has some right to use my body!?”

“You splintered your body and soul and made it look how Nightmare Moon looks. You gave up your full claim to your body a long time ago.”

“If what you say is true, then why hasn’t she tried taking over before?” Luna demands.

“Simple: the Elements of Harmony. They’ve kept her in check since they were used by Twilight and her friends.”

“In that case, why am I here? What’s the point if she can’t control my body?”

“Well, that’s it, isn’t it? The moment we entered the mirror, I dismantled that binding.”

“You WHAT?!” Luna snarls at Dante.

“You see, when an outsider splinters their soul like you did, they do it for power. If the two halves work together, provide synergy to each other, they create a force stronger than each individual half, stronger than the original. However, when they aren’t working together, or when one opposes the other, the power produced is no stronger than one of the halves. With Nightmare Moon bound, you are no more than half as strong as you used to be. Surely you’ve noticed.”

Luna looks to the side, seething with anger. “I thought I was still weakened from my banishment.”

“If Nightmare Moon wasn’t bound, or even if you never split yourself to begin with, you and your sister would have beaten me when we first fought. I can guarantee that. Hell, you might have been able to land a blow on Aselith when you charged him. So, let’s fix this.”

He leans forward, placing his elbows on his knees and locking his hands together under his chin.

“You and Nightmare Moon will decide who gets to be in charge, just like me and my gestalt of demons.” He cracks a small grin before removing it from his face. “If you win, Luna, you will retain control of your body and become stronger than you were before. If Nightmare Moon wins, however, she will be in charge and you will amplify her power.”

“And if I refuse to play this game of yours?” Luna asks.

Dante shifts his eyes behind Luna.

Out of the corner of her eye, Luna sees the energy collect in Nightmare Moon’s horn. The moment the blue beam launches, Luna teleports away and into the air. The beam collides with the nearby wall, cutting through it effortlessly.

Nightmare Moon looks to the black sky. “Not bad, friend!” She flares out her wings and immediately takes to the air after Luna. Her horn again charges with energy. “If you want to fight in the air, you need merely say so!”

Luna dips and banks around the night sky, narrowly dodging the energy blasts flying at her. She charges her own horn to counter attack, but the moment she does, Nightmare Moon shoots a more powerful beam at her. Luna has no choice but to use the energy in her horn to block the attack with a beam of her own.

As the attacks clash, the air fills with a smoky remnant of the spells. Before it clears, Nightmare Moon again fires out at her through the smoke. Luna dodges out of the way for most of them, but a ray strikes her in the side, eliciting a yelp from the princess.

Diving down, Luna moves into the small valley surrounding the castle. Unfortunately, she finds Nightmare Moon right behind her. Her counterpart continues repeatedly firing bolts of magic at her as she soars through the ravine.

‘This isn’t right.’ Luna thinks. ‘How can she fire this fast? I could never fire this fast!’

Luna pulls up and spins around, firing a blast of magic right at Nightmare Moon. The blast passes right through her, just before she disappears. Hearing the hum of magic below her, Luna looks down to see Nightmare Moon fire a blast right up at her. She quickly swings to the side, her front hoof getting burned in the magic.

Lifting higher into the air, Luna clears the ravine and lands on the ground in front of the castle. As Nightmare Moon follows her up, Luna shoots a ray of magic at her, only for Nightmare Moon to effortlessly dodge to the side. She follows up with an attack of her own, but Luna easily dodges as well. Before Luna can attack again, the blast from Nightmare Moon bounces off the nearby castle wall and strikes Luna on her wing.

Hissing in pain, Luna teleports away and into the castle, right back into the throne room. She sees Dante floating in the air, looking where she was a moment ago. He looks down at her, his expression stoic.

“What is the meaning of this?!” Luna bellows at him.

“Of what?” Dante asks, slowly descending.

“These aren’t Nightmare Moon’s powers! Leaving an afterimage, magic bouncing off the walls, even the rate of her attacks. I could never do any of these, but I know someone who can!” She glares up at him as he seats himself once more.

“Hmmm. You caught on quick enough. Yes, I am amplifying her power.” He says, resting against the throne.

“How am I supposed to defeat her when she has her power plus yours?!”

“That’s not really my problem, now is it?” He asks, tilting his head up ever so slightly. “But I can see yours.”

Eyes widening, Luna teleports from her spot as a beam passes right where she was. She reappears a few feet away, closer to the throne.

“You might as well relent.” Nightmare Moon says. “With this power, I’ll defeat you soon enough.”

“Well, would you hurry it up?” Dante says, shifting to rest his head on his hand. “I thought one of you would have ended this by now. What, have you just been flying around and playing tag?”

“Of course not, sir Dante.” Nightmare Moon again gives a quick bow with a smile. “Just tiring her out.”

“Well, don’t mess around too much. When your back’s against the wall, you come up with some shrewd ideas.”

“As you wish.” Nightmare Moon lowers her horn at Luna, quickly charging it with magic and firing at Luna. With a smirk, Luna quickly teleports away, leaving the beam traveling towards Dante. He quickly launches a violet blast of magic at the incoming attack, directing them both upwards. Nightmare Moon shifts her eyes about the room, searching for Luna.

Up above, angled with the beams of magic between her and Nightmare Moon, Luna fires a beam of magic at the combined two, pushing the gestalt of magic down at Nightmare Moon. Before she has time to dodge, the beams slam into Nightmare Moon, exploding upon impact. Luna falls to the ground, barely landing upright with one working wing, and examines her handiwork.

As the smoke clears, she sees Nightmare Moon on the ground. Her black fur is scorched, revealing patches of burns over her skin. Her armor is cracked and broken all over. Her eyes are closed as she lies on the floor, moaning ever so slightly.

Luna hears clapping from behind her.

“Marvelous.” Dante says, standing in front of the throne with a smile plastered on his face. “When I said you’d come up with something shrewd, I wasn’t expecting you to come up with something right away.”

“You said it yourself.” Luna turns to face him. “When two halves work together, the power is stronger than the previous whole.”

“Huh. I guess I did. I didn’t mean that as a hint.” Dante walks down the few steps from the throne, approaching Luna. “So, how do you feel?”

Luna looks herself over. “I don’t feel any stronger.”

“Not you.” He says, gesturing to the semi-limp form on the ground.

“Ugh. Like I was just hit by the Elements…again.” Nightmare Moon groans out.

Luna jumps back before lowering her horn.

“Easy.” Dante says, raising his hands. “Fight’s done. You won.” He lowers himself to Nightmare Moon. “I’m going to need that power back now.”

“Right.” She says, shifting on the ground.

In an instant, Nightmare Moon’s body ignites in a black fire. It fans out as if blown upon by a gust of wind before wrapping around Dante. The flames cease their flapping as they connect with Dante’s back, forming into a pair of shadowy, black wings. Luna looks over his shoulder to see what’s left on the ground.

“A foal?” She asks, looking over the almost miniature Nightmare Moon. The foals coat is indeed black, but her mane and tail are a shade of violet. When the foal opens her eyes, Luna sees the familiar teal coloring, but the slits in the eyes are gone.

“What did you expect?” Luna’s miniature opponent says in a higher pitched voice as she stands.

“Think about it.” Dante turns to face Luna. “You were struck by the elements of harmony, which burn my flesh on physical contact. This side of you,” he gestures to the foal, “was completely crippled by the power, while you remained unscathed. Admittedly, I was a bit surprised when I freed her to find her in this state, but it does make sense.”

Luna steps toward the foal, looking her over. Nightmare Moon just glares back at her.

“Then…the power you gave her?” Luna glances over at Dante.

“It was only to level the playing field. In fact, she was no stronger than you. She’s just more…aggressive.”

“You mean more willing to use my power!” Nightmare Moon yells up at him. She looks to the ground, a scowl on her face. “But…a deal’s a deal.” She looks over at Luna from the side. “I guess I’m working with you again.”

“What deal?” Luna asks, looking between the two.

“Well…” Dante scratches the back of his head, turning away from the princess of the night. “You see, your little fight didn’t have much impact on who would be in charge.” He starts pacing around the throne room. “Nightmare Moon is far too weak to pose a threat…for now. It’s all about willpower. With the seal gone, she could have overtaken you in a few decades, I imagine.” He stops his pacing, turning back towards the mares from across the throne room “But if she won that fight, I would have helped her bind you.”

Luna stares at the human, blinking a few times. “You what?” She deadpans.

“Hey, can you blame me?” He shrugs. “You were being all doubtful and shit. It was actually starting to bum me out. Besides, after the whole conflict with Aselith was finished, I was probably going to undo that binding anyway.”

“You WHAT!?” Nightmare Moon bellows at him.

“Ey, I’m a friggin’ demon. What did you expect?” He smirks before turning around and heading towards the throne. “At least your mutual distrust of me will give you something to talk about. Come along, Luna. We’re leaving.”

The two alicorns look at each other, clearly annoyed.

Nightmare Moon is the first to break the silence.

“When this whole thing is over, I want him dead.” She seethes with anger.

Luna looks over at Dante before turning back to Nightmare Moon. “I might just agree to that.”

She trots over to Dante, who’s leaning against the back of the throne.

“You ready?” He asks.

“Ready?” Luna repeats.

Dante flicks his wrist at the wall behind the throne. Instantly, a wooden, midnight blue door appears. He casually walks up to it and pulls on the metal handle, opening the door.

“Yeah, to get out of your soul.” Dante steps through the doorway, entering a hallway.

Luna looks the doorway over before stepping through. As Dante closes the door, Luna gets a look at her surroundings. The hall is made of old looking stone bricks, barely lit with occasional torches. Down the hall is another door on the opposite side as the previous one. From where they were, it looked to be made in a similar manner, but with a red door. At the end of the hall stands a mirror; the same mirror that she and Dante were pulled through.

Dante starts walking towards the mirror with Luna following him.

“Hmmm.” Dante hums to himself. “This was too short to be an adventure.” He comments.

“What do you mean?” Luna asks, raising an eyebrow at him.

“Well, when I fought Razorwind it seemed to take a lot more time. Then again, I was in a fight, and I don’t have a good perception of time in a fight. Hell, it may have lasted only half as long as your fight.” Dante looks over his shoulder at Luna. “The whole experience just seems lacking, don’t you think?”

“I don’t really see how that’s the case.” Luna deadpans. “In fact, I…”

Luna stops at the red door, a few yards short of the mirror.

“Something wrong?” Dante asks, turning around.

Luna just stares at the door for a moment before gazing back to Dante.

“Can I meet him?” She asks.

“Meet who?” He returns.

“The demon.”

Dante tilts his head to the side, looking at Luna. He shrugs and walks up to the door. “Yeah, sure. Why not?”

He grabs the metal handle and pushes at the door, revealing another hallway leading away from them.

“After you.” He gestures towards the hall.

Luna enters, with Dante following right after and closing the door. She walks down the hall, Dante at her side, observing the new layout. She sees door upon door in this hallway. Some look old and worn, others locked with chains, and a few that look as if they’re just a frame that leads into the solid stone walls.

“Why are there so many doors here?” She asks, passing one with a silver frame.

“I may not look it, but I’m actually a very organized thinker.” He says. Luna gives him a look. “I know. But really, I learned and mastered spellcasting without a master, all by myself. I’d have to be organized.”

“I didn’t know you were self-taught.”

“Well, yeah. When the world is out to get you, it’s pretty hard to find a master willing to teach you.” Dante says nonchalantly.

Luna looks him over. “Was your life so terrible?”

Dante lets out a long breath. “Unbelievably.”

Luna looks to the floor, thinking what to ask next.

“Please don’t die.”

Her eyes shoot up, turning to Dante.

“What did you say?” She asks him.

“Huh?” He looks over at Luna. “I said unbelievably.”

“No,” Luna shakes her head, “after that.”

Dante shifts his eyes back and forth, confused. “I didn’t say anything after that.”

Luna opens her mouth to speak again, but thinks better of it. They continue down the hall, passing several more doors.

“Don’t leave me.” She hears Dante’s voice again.

This time, she was watching his face out of the corner of her eye. His lips didn’t move.

“Are you just toying with me?” She asks, scowling at him.

“What are you talking about?” He raises an eyebrow at her.

“…Never mind.” Luna turns her attention back to the hall.

The pair stops in front of a large, metal door adorned with fiery red chains and skulls at the corners. The metal itself is a dark iron and completely smooth, save for a handle protruding near the middle-side of it.

“Remember.” Dante says, grabbing hold of the handle. “He’ll say whatever he can to trick you.”

Luna affirms with a nod and Dante pushes open the door. Inside, the room is completely dark. The light from the hallway dimly shines into the room, showing a few feet of stone floor before being swallowed by the darkness.

The two step into the room, looking into the darkness.

“Where is he?” Luna asks, surveying the room.

In an instant, the blood red face of the balor appears in front of her in a roar, jolting the princess a few paces back.

The balor chuckles darkly, slowly being pulled back by burning chains until its back is against the wall. The chains wrap all around its body, from its neck and hands down to its feet. The wall it’s pulled against is made of metal; the same metal the door is made of.

The balor looks down at his two guests before speaking.

“A bit jumpy, aren’t we, princess?”

Luna steps forward again, sizing him up.

“Someone in your position shouldn’t be making jokes.” She says.

The balor does his best to shrug. “A momentary inconvenience. I’ll be out in due time.”

“Oh, yeah, I forgot to mention.” Dante says, joining Luna. “He’s also completely delusional.”

“Whatever you say, lord.” The balor says with a smirk.

Dante just swats the air before turning away. Luna moves a few feet closer.

“Do you have a name, or should I just keep referring to you as your species?” Luna asks.

“His name is Astaroth.” Dante interjects. “And he just loves it when people say it.”

Astaroth glowers at him. “Remind me to skin that elf bitch alive the next time I’m in control, mortal!”

Dante just snickers at him.

“Well then, Astaroth, I would like to thank you for saving us in Tartarus.” Luna says, giving a short bow.

“Same here.” Dante bows as well. “Thanks for preserving your own existence and all.”

Astaroth grins widely. “Why, of course. How can I exact my revenge on you if you’re dead, Dante?”

Luna looks up and turns to Dante.

“Dante, would you mind if I speak with Astaroth in private for a moment.”

Dante looks her over for a moment before turning to the door.

“Yeah, sure.” When he reaches the hall, he grabs the handle and holds up a hand. “Remember: tricky.” He closes the door behind him, leaving Luna alone with the beast.

“So.” Astaroth says before Luna can start. “Have you conquered your own…demons? Heh.”

Luna eyes him. “You know about that?” She asks.

“I know everything that fool does.” He says darkly.

“I see.” Luna paces around him. “Then, can I assume you also know everything he’s done?”

Astaroth holds her gaze. He bares his teeth in a wide grin.

“Ahhh. So that’s what this is all about, hmmm?”

“Iatril told me what happened years ago; about the accident. She told me how it bound their souls together. Dante, Iatril…and Garret. How, if one were to die, they couldn’t be brought back.”

Astaroth grunts. “If you’re expecting me to give you some hidden piece of information, you’re wasting your time. I’ve spent centuries among others of my kind, masters of interrogation. I know of every trick and ploy, and more than enough methods of torture. But I am a Tanar’ri; torture means nothing to me. And the only true threat to me, the ending of my life, is not possible in the mirror. The only information you’ll get is the information I choose to give you!”

“Is that right?” Luna walks up to Astaroth, looking up at him. “Then answer this.” She looks him dead in the eyes. “Where is he?”

“Around.” Astaroth answers plainly. “Somewhere.” He turns his head to the side and grins again.

“If I search around in Dante’s memories, perhaps I’ll find him.” Luna poses to the demon.

“Perhaps, but who says that’ll be the real Garret, and not just a memory.” His grin continues as he speaks.

“Fine.” Luna paces around him again. “If you won’t tell me about Garret, then tell me about Aselith. I thought there was no peace between a demon and a devil. That’s what Iatril told me.”

Astaroth turns back to Luna, still grinning. “Are you asking me or telling me?”

Ignoring him, Luna presses on. “Why not aid Dante in defeating Aselith, and then settle your difference with him.”

“Oh, yes. Why not aid the man who killed me and bound me to his soul; the man who killed demons of lesser station and added their power to his own as well; the man who will have me bound forever once this conflict is at an end. Yes, you make a very persuasive argument.”

Astaroth pulls at his changes before being pulled back against the wall.

“I tire of your foolish questions. I will take control, and I will end this whole conflict one way or another. Perhaps after I kill you and your sister, I’ll raise your corpses as puppets and run your little kingdom into ruin. Better yet, I’ll kill the guardian of Tartarus and alert my brethren to this plane. With the power I’ll wield, it will be a trifling matter.”

Luna turns from Astaroth, heading towards the door of the room, a scowl on her face.

“Don’t worry, dear princess!” He calls after her. “I’ll be sure to save you for last. You will pay the price for your arrogance towards me!”

Luna grabs the door handle with her magic and pulls it open. She quickly leaves the room and slams the door behind her.

Closing her eyes, she lowers her head to the ground.

“That was quick.” She hears Dante say to her.

She looks up at him, seeing him before the mirror.

“That didn’t go as planned.” Luna starts walking towards him.

“Yeah, that’s how it goes with demons.” Dante nods at the mirror. “Come on, let’s get out of here.”

~ _ ~ _ ~ _ ~ _ ~

Back in the tunneled out room in the mountain, Dante steps out of the mirror, followed closely by Luna.

Dante looks over at Luna, walking backwards from her.

“So, now how are you feeling?” He asks.

Luna looks herself over. “I feel…stronger.” She realizes.

Dante cracks a toothy grin. “Good.” He stretches his arm out to his sides. “Let’s test that, shall we?”

Luna sees Dante with his back nearly against the wall. “What are you talking about?”

“I want you to fire at me with all you’ve got; no holding back.” Magic starts collecting in Dante’s hands. “I want to see what kind of boost that gave you.”

Obliging him, Luna lowers her stance and charges up her horn.

“Are you sure about this?” She asks him, worry in her voice.

“Don’t worry.” He says, the energy fully formed into swirling purple spheres in his hands. “I’m not sure at all!”

In an instant, Dante slams his hands together, shooting his magic right at Luna. Luna counters with a blast of her own. When the two magics meet, Luna pushes Dante back effortlessly. In less than a second, Luna’s beam reaches Dante.

With a swift twist of his arm, Dante lets out a burst of fiery white energy into his blast, immediately colliding with Luna’s magic and exploding. Bits of white fire fly off and land on the ground, burning into the stone.

Luna backs off with her magic, trying to see Dante through the billowing smoke.

“Dante!” She calls out. “Dante, answer me!”

She hears coughing coming from the black smoke.

“Here…” He wheezes out. “I’m—cough—fine.”

He sweeps his arm in the air, clearing part of the smoke. Small burns cover the left side of his face.

“You don’t sound fine.” Luna states, taking a few steps forward. “You sound…” She trails off, looking at his left arm. Or, rather… “Your arm!” She yells.

Dante looks down at his missing limb. Nothing remains past the shoulder blade.

“Huh. That happened.” Dante looks blankly at the wall for a moment. “Okay, just told Iatril to meet me at the castle. I know she keeps a Regeneration spell prepared for this sort of thing.”

Pointing a finger at one of the white fires on the ground, it quickly diminishes until it completely disappears.

“I have to say, your good magic is a real pain in the ass.”

“My good magic?” Luna asks, watching Dante snuff another small fire.

“Yeah, your—”

“Lord Dante!” the glabrezu yells as he teleports into the room. “Are you alright?”

“Yes, I’m fine. Just missing an arm. Resume your post.” Dante says stoically.

The demon remains where he is, eyeing Dante.

“Did I stutter?” Dante raises his head at the glabrezu. He sees the demon just staring at him, glaring even. “Oh, I see. You think that, just because I’m missing an arm, you can take me now, right?” Dante takes a few steps forward. “I could be missing both of my arms and still take you on. But, if you think I’m bluffing,” Dante sweeps his arm in front of him, “come at me.”

The demon hesitates for a moment before teleporting from his spot, reappearing in front of Dante. He quickly grabs Dante’s right arm and cuts it off with his pincer, blood spurting from the opening. He then slams Dante with his other claw, throwing him back.

“Dante!” Luna calls, lowering her horn at the demon.

“Back off!” Dante yells at her, staying upright after unfurling his wings. “This is insubordination! I’ll deal with him!”

The demon charges at him, pincer back and ready to strike.

Dante opens his mouth, a mixture of purple and white energy forming in front of it. As the demon nears him, Dante lets loose the energy right at him, striking the demon in his abdomen and exiting the other side. The energy slams into the opposite wall, lighting the stone on fire.

The demon hobbles a few feet before falling forward, covering its open wound with one of its pincers while trying to keep himself off the ground with the other. Violet liquid pours out over his pincer.

Dante walks up to the hunched over demon, slamming his foot into its enormous back.

“Now you listen to me.” He says coldly. “I am stronger than you. I am better than you. You are an ant facing a dragon. If you ever cross me again, I’ll tear you apart and use your corpse as spare energy.”

He swiftly kicks the glabrezu in the head, eliciting a shout of pain from him.

“Now, get up and go guard the door!” He yells at him.

“…yes sir.” The demon says, teleporting from the room.

Dante slowly looks around the room, observing the fires. Nothing but stone seemed to be on fire. He turns to face Luna, who’s watching him.

“Hey, you think you can dispel those fires?” He asks, walking over the nearest fire, glaring at it. “It’s warlock magic, so it should be similar to yours.”

Luna shakes her head, coming out of her daze, and walks over to the fire closest to her.

“Sure.” She says. “But…your other arm now.” She lights up her horn, wrapping the white fire in front of her in the aura and quickly snuffing it.

“A minor inconvenience.” The white fire before Dante quickly vanishes, letting Dante move on to the next one. “It will regenerate on its own. It’s already started.”

Luna looks over at him. Sure enough, his right arm has already begun rebuilding itself. A piece of bone is slowly growing, reaching where his elbow will be, with muscle and skin right behind it.

“Then why ask Iatril for her spell?” Luna asks, snuffing another flame.

“I can’t regenerate damage from good magic, which you wield.” Dante observes the regeneration of the arm, bending his newly formed elbow. The regeneration has almost reached his wrist. “It’s actually a good thing your magic is still holy. It’ll affect Aselith as it affects me.”

Dante pauses for a moment, letting his right arm completely reform. When it does, he clenches his fist a few times before continuing, point at the fires to snuff them instead of glaring at them.

“Note to self: dimensionally lock this room.” He snuffs the last fire near him. “I mean, what’s wrong with me?” He asks aloud. “That should have been the first thing I did.”

“We all have off days, I suppose.” Luna says, approaching the last fire, and the largest one at that. She observes it for a moment, noting how the fire is actually burning into the stone wall. “Say, Dante. What is this power you used?”

Dante looks over at her, seeing the fire on the wall.

“It’s hellfire.” He says. “An eldritch fire that burns a lot hotter than normal fire. It can even harm devils, who are immune to fire.” Dante steps over to the table with the tomes on it, looking under the books.

Luna starts snuffing the fire on the wall, seeing the hole it’s already begun forming on the surface.

“Why haven’t you used it before?” She asks.

Dante flips over a book, feeling around the table. “It takes a toll on my body. If I’m in my demonic form, it’ll cost me energy I’d otherwise use to keep Astaroth in check.”

As Luna finishes off the fire, seeing almost a foot of stone gone, she starts walking closer to Dante. “What are you looking for anyway?” She asks.

“Are we friends?” Dante asks without looking up.

“Excuse me?” Luna asks, making sure she heard him right.

“Are we friends?” He repeats, still looking through the objects on the table. “I consider you my friend. I want to know if you consider me a friend.”

“I…well…” Luna ruminates over the question. Sighing, she continues. “Dante, you’re a vicious creature. You show no respect for authority or others. You do as you please and ignore the consequences of your actions. You desecrate the dead, deal with great evils, and don’t seem to give a second thought about the lives you take. Given the power, you would likely be worse than Discord himself. But despite all this…”

Sighing, Luna takes a few steps closer to Dante, who has stopped his searching. She closes her eyes, breathing out.

“Despite this, you still care about what happens to us. Iatril has told me as much, and I’ve seen you act in such a way. You oppose a great threat to Equestria, gave me peace of mind (in your own insane way), and saved my life. I can’t speak for Tia, but…I consider you my friend.”

“Iatril?” Dante inquires. “That’s right, you spoke with her.” He looks over at Luna from the table. “I assume she’s told you about my memory issue.”

Luna’s eyes shoot open. “I…you know?”

“I remember…for now.” Dante looks back down at the table. “I won’t remember for long, but as long as I do, as long as Astaroth can’t hear my words, I need to ask you a favor. It’s a rather large favor.”

“What is it?” Luna asks, not hesitating for even a moment.

Dante grabs something from the table and throws it right at Luna. She grabs it from the air with her magic, observing it. She sees a hilt sticking out of a metal scabbard.

“A dagger?” She asks, pulling the blade from its sheath. She sees a dark metal blade. “Is this…”

“The same dagger Aselith gave to Shade.” Dante says, walking towards Luna. “This is my request. When this is all over, when the final blow has been dealt to Aselith, use your newfound power and this blade to end me. Infuse that blade with your magic and stab me anywhere in my torso. That should be enough to kill me. If not…well, I doubt I’d be able to beat you.”

Luna looks over the blade before re-sheathing it. “Why are you asking this of me?”

Dante looks Luna dead in the eye before averting his gaze. “I’m a monster, Luna. I have been for a long time. I have a good feeling I’ll continue being a monster long after this is over. A few decades ago, I would have been fine with that. Hell, I even tried to cheat death and live forever. But now? I’m tired. I’m tired of this game of cat and mouse with Astaroth. Eventually, he will take over. I’ll fail to keep him in check and everything I care about will burn. I can’t let that happen.”

He looks back at Luna, holding her gaze. “Has she told you what happened to Garret?”

Luna nods. “She told me he died. She told me that, because of the accident, his soul merged with yours and Iatril’s when he died, and that you took his soul into your body to save Iatril from the suffering you’ve been facing.”

Dante looks away again. “When I die, my soul and his will go to Iatril. She has a strong will, but no stronger than mine. She will lose her mind for quite some time with our souls in her.” A tear slowly forms in Dante’s reddening eyes, but he quickly wipes it away. “She’s my only other friend. She deserves a good life, a life without killing and suffering, a life she’s never had. When I’m gone…please help her through it. Her life will be much better without me. A long life with family and friends, a life anyone would love to have. That is my last request: help her.”

Luna looks into his eyes. She sees the pain, the sincerity. “Of course, Dante.” She says, lowering her head.

Without looking up, she feels Dante wrap an arm around her neck, closing the gap between them. She feels him shake next to her.

“Thank you.” He mutters, holding back a sob. “Thank you so much.”

Luna brings up a hoof, rubbing his back.

They hold each other for a few moments longer before Dante breaks the hold. He takes a few steps to the door, not facing Luna.

“Keep that dagger out of sight. I can’t know you have it.” He says, standing before the door.

Luna nods, moving the dagger to her side and hiding it under her wing.

Dante stands there for a few seconds, looking at the door. Eventually, he wipes the back of his hand against his eyes and looks it over.

“Huh. Damn. Fighting that demon must have made me work up a sweat.” He looks back at Luna with a grin. His eyes are still red, but completely calm. “Come on. Let’s get back to the castle. I’ll need my other arm if I’m going to start working. I think some golems are in order.”

He goes up to the door and pushes it open.

Luna slowly walks up to the door, a frown on her face.

“Right behind you.”

END CHAPTER

Author's Note

Hello one and all! Wow, it feels like it's been a long time, but it's only been a month! Well, I guess that is a long time for some. Long chapter though.

So yeah, Luna's stronger and Dante needs her help. I guess Dante's not so bad after all. Well, he's still an arrogant asshole. That hasn't changed at all. I mean, who taunts a friggin' demon? Really! But, you know, a few good guy points.

Secret's out on Dante and Iatril. Soul sharing. It's like a timeshare! :rainbowkiss: (Sorry, my seriousness/comedy switch is broken.)

I'm really looking forward to a few chapters from now. Without giving any real spoilers, you'll learn a lot about Dante's and Iatril's past. That'll be nice to write finally.

See you in a month! (hopefully less)

Ch. 24 - Hark! The Battle Begins!

Luna and Dante had walked up to the courtyard together to meet Iatril. When she saw his missing arm, Iatril cast her spell like it was just another day, even after Dante said how he’d lost it. Before they went about their business, Luna asked Dante something that had been on her mind since before their little meeting: the village Dante slaughtered. Iatril had lingered to hear the tale.

“There are two main types of evil.” Dante had said. “The first is in the name of getting something you want from others, be it land, power, wealth, or any number of alternatives. This is the evil you committed before, Luna.”

Luna had rolled her eyes at him, but she’d let him continue.

“The second is the evil committed for no material gain. This is the worse form of evil because no matter how little you get from the first, at least it wasn’t for nothing. And me? I slaughtered that entire village, several hundred humans, just to see if I could without feeling bad. That is true evil.”

Iatril had gone into the castle for the night immediately after, not having said another word.

Dante went back underground to continue working.

Luna went back to her duties for the night.

~ _ ~ _ ~ _ ~ _ ~

Time seemed to pass quickly for some, stretching on for others.

Luna told Celestia what happened in Dante’s study that night, excluding the favor he asked of her. To say Celestia was displeased was a gross understatement. Luna had kept her from doing anything rash, but the result of that was putting her under scrutiny for defending Dante’s actions. Whenever they passed each other, Celestia seemed wary of Luna, as if she might snap at any moment. Celestia eventually stopped being wary of her…a couple months after.

Dante didn’t come to the surface much. He spent most of his time forging golems of stone and iron. Luna had looked in on him working from time to time, checking his progress. She’d considered asking where he was getting the iron from, but that was answered before she had the chance to ask; she once saw Dante turn an armored-looking stone statue of a bulky human into iron.

The times Dante did come up from his study were usually in times of battle. Several times over the months, there were attacks in cities around Equestria. Luna wasn’t sure how he did it, but Dante had set up something to warn him when griffons or changelings attacked. The moment he heard, he called his demons and went to the endangered city. They acted as a reaction force whenever fighting occurred.

All in all, Dante and Celestia didn’t have reason to butt heads. That is, until a guard came to Luna early this morning, reporting screaming coming from Dante’s chambers. Wanting to keep fighting to a minimum, Luna decided to go down alone.

~ _ ~ _ ~ _ ~ _ ~

Luna walks down the stone tunnel. Reaching the bottom, she sees the Glabrezu and Nalfeshnee standing guard. The Nalfeshnee is in front of the door to Dante’s study, but the Glabrezu is in front of another door to the side that wasn’t there last time Luna came down.

“What’s going on down here?” Luna demands, stepping up to the dog-faced demon.

The Glabrezu tilts its head down to face Luna. “Lord Dante is in the process of collecting intelligence about Aselith’s location.” He says plainly.

“Then why is screaming heard down here?”

“Screaming?” The demon asks, looking over at the Nalfeshnee before turning back to Luna. “I’ve heard no screaming.”

As if on cue, a loud screech sounds from behind the Glabrezu’s door.

Luna looks past the demon to the door, before glaring back up at him. “Then what was that?”

“I do believe that was a screech.” The demon says, his face curling into a smirk. “Now, as what happens down here is Lord Dante’s business and no one else’s, you should move along.”

“Demon.” She says coolly. “I am going into that room.” She continues walking forward until she’s nearly pushing against the Glabrezu, forcing him to take a shaky step back into the door. “Is that understood?”

The Glabrezu slides to the side, grabbing at the door’s handle. “Y-Yes ma’am.” He mutters. “Sorry ma’am.”

As the door is pulled open, Luna steps in, the door closing behind her. In the back of the dimly lit and sparse room, Luna sees Dante facing her direction with the last demon, the Marilith, at his side. More accurately, they’re facing a rectangular, metal panel. It’s held up by four metal legs, one at each corner. It’s angled down from Luna, with what appears to be a small grate underneath the opposite end of it.

“It can stop whenever you want it to.” Dante says darkly. “Just give me what I want to know.”

“Please…” A raspy voice murmurs. “Have…mercy…”

Dante clicks his tongue before turning to face the demon. “What do you think?”

“He’s quite resilient.” She hisses, turning away from Dante. She slithers over to the table next to the panel and picks up a pair of swords. “Perhaps removing more of his wing will help.”

“Perhaps, but letting him bleed out will get us nothing.”

“We have more.”

“We have two more. I’ve given up on the changelings; their hive mind is too strong to break. Besides, my healing wand is almost out of charges. No, I’ll just have to conserve our dwindling supplies.”

With that, Dante raises his hands to the panel. With loud crackling and a brilliant flash, lighting streaks from his fingertips and over the panel. Luna hears screeching from the other side of it as the panel rocks in place.

Realizing what’s going on, Luna rushes forward.

“Dante!” Luna shouts over the lighting.

Dante glances up at Luna before turning back.

“Hey. I’m a little busy at the moment.”

Luna slides next to him, seeing what she feared was happening: a griffon being electrocuted on a torturing rack.

“Dante, stop this!” She yells at him, wrapping the rack in her magic and pulling it away from him.

Dante ceases his lighting and turns to Luna, a scowl on his face.

“*sigh* What’s the problem now?”

“You know damn well what the problem is!” She bellows as she stands before Dante. “How dare you torture a griffon in our castle!”

Dante rolls his eyes. “First, this isn’t your castle. It’s about a thousand feet away from your castle. Second, I’m torturing him because he has information I want. Is that not obvious?”

“This is not permissible, Dante!” Luna hovers the rack behind her, increasing the distance from Dante. “You can’t do this!”

“That is naïve and you know it.” Dante says, crossing his arms. “Those griffons targeted civilians, non-military ponies. It wasn’t for strategic gain or supplies; it was murder.”

“T-That doesn’t make it right!”

“Is that doubt I hear in your voice, Luna? This is war, and we aren’t winning.”

“I—”

“Ninety-seven days, Luna. Ninety-seven days. In all that time, we haven’t gotten any additional information on Aselith. He could be in the Badlands to the south, or he could be in the Griffon Kingdom over the ocean to the east. Hell, he could be under the gods damned mountain next to Canterlot! I need to know where that…bastard…” Dante lowers his voice, holding his hand to his head.

“Dante?” Luna steps closer to him, setting the rack on the ground.

“Damn.” He looks over at the demon and gives a nod. The Marilith nods in turn and picks up its other swords. “We’ll have to continue this later. There’s an attack in Manehatten.”

“What?” Luna asks. “Is it bad?”

“Not sure. Nothing me and my underlings can’t…huh?” Dante twitches his head, hastening his pace. “What the hell? Filly Delphia is under attack as well. I’ll…fuck! That’s two more!” He bolts through the doorway, the Marilith slithering right after him.

Luna follows after him and the demon.

“You two, at the map!” Dante calls to the standing demons. They walk behind him as he reaches the wall opposite of the torturing room, facing a large map of Equestria. “Okay, let’s see.” Dante looks over the map. “Marilith to Manehatten. Nalfeshnee to Filly Delphia. Glabrezu to Baltimare. I’ll go down to Ponyville. Go!”

The three demons give a swift bow before disappearing from sight. Dante pulls out his fiery blade.

“Dante, wait!” Luna yells. “Did you say Ponyville?”

“Yeah.” Dante holds his blade to his side. “Don’t tell Twilight and her friends just yet. Also, prepare for an invasion. Aselith’s just trying to get me away from the capital for a while, and I can’t help but do just that. I think your softness is starting to infect me.” He looks over at Luna. “He’ll probably be coming for you and your sister.”

The fire of his blade quickly grows and consumes him, launching up into the ceiling as his large demonic form appears through the flames.

“Don’t let yourself be killed. I’d rather not have to worry about an army of undead under an endless night.”

“Humph. I should say that to you. We can’t have our strongest warrior dying.” Luna says, turning back to the previous room. “Be careful.”

“You too.” He growls before disappearing.

Luna re-enters the room. She looks around and spots the torturing rack.

“Despite your actions, no one deserves this.” She says to the limp body of the griffon. “I’ll send a guard to come get you once the fight is over.”

Luna rushes towards the door, teleporting to the throne room the moment she’s out.

“Sister!” She calls out. “We have to prepare for an attack!”

“What’s going on?” Celestia asks, standing from the throne.

“Four cities are under attack right now! Dante believes they’ll be coming for us! I’ll alert the city, you inform the guards!”

Before Celestia can respond, Luna teleports above the skies of Canterlot.

Drawing in a large breath, Luna lets loose the Royal Canterlot voice.

“Citizens of Canterlot! Take heed! The enemy approaches our city! Seek shelter immediately!”

She flies around the sky to every part of the city, making sure the message was heard loud and clear.

Finishing her flight, she arrives at the courtyard as the last of the guards leave the castle gates. She glides down to Shining Armor and Iatril, who’re positioned atop the gatehouse.

“Captain Armor!” She hails the captain, landing on the stone wall. “Report!”

“Your Highness, all non-royal guards have been sent in squads throughout the city. One adept per squad, each bearing a scroll scribed by Dante. Ghost-strike squad is being kept in reserve in the castle.” He finishes his report with a salute.

“Good.” Luna looks over at Iatril, only to see her chanting with her hands interlocked. “What is Iatril casting?”

“I’m not sure, Princess.” Shining Armor looks Iatril over. “She started her chant the moment she got up here and hasn’t explained—”

In an instant, Iatril juts her hands up and forward, pointing over the castle walls. A few yards up, a large portal opens in the air. Five large air elementals fly through the portal, one after another, and hover in the air in front of Iatril.

Iatril smirks to Luna. “Reinforcements.”

“Very good.” Luna states, observing the cloud like bodies of the elementals. “But won’t they only last a few minutes?”

“A normal summoning does, yes. However, divine casters know a spell that summons multiple elementals with a much longer duration. They will serve for a few hours, much longer than this battle, I assume.”

“I see.” Luna turns back to Shining Armor. “Has anypony spotted the enemy?”

“No, Your Highness.” Shining Armor looks to the horizon. “I don’t want to sound relaxed about this, but we should see them long before they arrive. Our sentries on the mountain top would spot them before we do.”

“How long has it been since my sister informed you of the incoming attack?”

“About fourteen minutes, Your Highness.”

“Iatril, what do you…Iatril?” Luna eyes the elf, following her gaze up into the sky. She sees nothing, not even a single cloud overhead. “What is it?”

Iatril shifts her gaze to the elemental on the far right. She makes a few whistling noises at the elemental. Acknowledging her command, the elemental starts ascending into the sky.

“Get ready, Your Highness.” Iatril lowers her stance, reading magic in her hands. “I believe the enemy is above us.”

The air elemental stops its ascent and begins to warp its body into a whirlwind. Appearing in the skies, several dozen changelings charge their horns and blast the elemental before it can blow them away. The elemental gives a small pop before disappearing and returning to its home plane.

Iatril casts her spell, waving a hand at the changelings. A large, snaking path of fire consumes the changelings and incinerates them. One changeling, larger than the rest, dives down at Luna, Iatril, and Shining Armor.

As it quickly nears the gatehouse, its form is more easily seen. The hooves are jagged spikes, which extend from an elongated body. The eyes of the changeling are smaller and tinted red, its head is narrower, and its body holds fewer holes.

Just as the long changeling thrusts its spiked leg forward towards Iatril, she guides the spike down and into the stone floor, trapping the leg. Swiftly, Iatril swings her leg into the changeling’s, severing it from its body. The changeling hisses in pain but is cut short when Iatril plunges her hand into its chest, silencing it.

As the changeling corpse falls, the three look across the sky. Dozens of groups of changelings and griffons appear, each with an elongated changeling near the center. The groups begin moving across the sky, some landing, and engaging any ponies they see in the air or on the ground.

Iatril makes a sharp whistle at the remaining elementals, sending them off in separate directions to the invaders.

“I’ll keep to the plan and drive them to the streets.” Iatril says, taking a running start and jumping from the gatehouse roof. Her form instantly shifts to that of a huge gold dragon. With a mighty flap of her wings, she soars through the air at one of the larger groups.

“To the streets then.” Luna reopens her wings.

“Princess Luna!” Shining Armor calls to her. “Princess Celestia said they may be targeting you both. Should you be going right to the enemy?”

“It is not as if I could wait for them to kill our citizens.”

“But Your Highness…”

“What were my sister’s thoughts on this?” Luna looks back at him.

Shining Armor sighs. “She’s already in the city, Princess.”

“Then I see no reason why I shouldn’t be.” With a flap, Luna takes off towards the nearest group.

~ _ ~ _ ~ _ ~ _ ~

With a quick slash, an elongated changeling is cut in half and falls from the sky. Its corpse burns as it falls, leaving Dante to hover in the air and look for another target.

‘Typical. They’re just enough of them to make fighting normally not an option, but too few to pose any threat against me like this.’

With a flex of his arm, a whip made of solid fire sprouts from his free hand. He swings the whip behind him, wrapping up a changeling. With a mighty pull, the changeling is thrown down, slamming into the ground.

‘This is going too quickly. If Aselith really wanted to distract me, he would have sent a larger army. What’s really going on here?’

As if answering his question, a trio of griffons flies towards him, blades in claw.

They break away from each other, surrounding Dante.

“Before we get started,” Dante says, “I need to know what Aselith’s plans are. If you tell me, I’ll let you live. Any takers?”

The griffon behind him lunges forward, piercing Dante in the back with her blade.

Dante sighs and whips his sword arm around, cutting into the griffon’s neck and loping off her head effortlessly.

To his side, the second griffon flies up and brings down his blade on Dante, who grabs it in his hand after releasing his whip. He thrusts his sword into the griffon’s chest and pulls it out quickly, letting the griffon fall to the ground.

After yanking out the sword in his back, Dante turns to the last griffon. She hovers in the air, staring at him, sword shaking.

“You really want to die?” Dante asks. “You’re ill-equipped to fight me. Despite that, you’d still rather attack me than surrender?”

Shaking, the griffon hovers forward, bringing up her sword. Her eyes are unblinking, never straying from Dante’s glowing eyes.

“Or maybe…maybe a worse fate waits for you back home. Perhaps…your family.”

With that, the griffon lunges at Dante, making a large cut across his chest only for it to heal instantly.

“Well, that’s it, isn’t it? Someone changed their mind about Aselith or you’re just worthless to him. Either way…”

The griffon swings at Dante again, only for him to grab her claw and throw her towards the ground. Just as she’s about to hit the ground, she flaps her wings hard and manages to land without breaking anything. She turns to look for Dante, only for him to teleport right in front of her.

“Stay down!” He mentally shouts and slams his arm into her, throwing her into a nearby tree with a snap. She falls to the ground with one of her wings twisted at a horrible angle.

‘…I may have overdone it a little.’

He walks over to her limp form, reverting back to his human form.

“Either way, life’s about to become hell for you.” He says aloud, kneeling next to her.

‘If he’s got spies around, they ought to buy that line.’

He teleports them both back to Canterlot castle.

~ _ ~ _ ~ _ ~ _ ~

A storm rages throughout Canterlot. Strong winds blow in all directions in the sky, making flight nigh impossible. Rain pours from the black clouds, blotting out the sun and soaking all. In a clearing in the market district, a huge gold dragon sits on its haunches with its arms extended to the sky. With a flick of the wrist, the wind changes to an updraft, pulling changelings and griffons alike into the air. They circle around the dragon high in the air. With a large intake of air, the dragon spews flames from its mouth at her airborne targets. The dragon gestures with her claws again and the wind returns to its chaotic blowing.

Looking around, the dragon sees a group of changelings running down a street. Her form shrinks and changes to Iatril as she runs after them.

Rounding a corner, Iatril sees most of the group splayed around the ground, with the remaining large changeling facing off against Luna. With a beam of magic, Luna blasts the changeling into a stone wall, leaving the changeling limp.

“How are you holding up, Princess?” Iatril asks as she walks over to her.

“I’ve been worse.” She replies, whipping her hair away from her face. “I could do without the storm.”

“My apologies, but I needed a catalyst for my lighting spells. And this makes the wind much easier to…” She peters off when she notes the lilac unicorn behind the princess. “Twilight?!”

Twilight looks over at the elf with a determined look in her eyes. “Hey, Iatril.”

“W-What are you doing out here?!”

“I’m helping defend Canterlot, of course.”

“But, the elements…”

“The Elements of Harmony are safe in the castle.” She says calmly. “But I can’t just do nothing while we’re being attacked!”

“I…Princess, are you allowing this?!” Iatril demands.

“At ease, Iatril.” Luna waves a hoof at her. “She’s held her own against the enemy, especially given their tactics.”

“I…” Iatril starts, only to take her words into thought. “…You’re right. All they’ve done is attack on sight without much coordination; especially the changelings.”

“Exactly.” Luna agrees.

“But…to what end?”

“It’s a trick.” A voice sounds behind them.

The group turns to see a navy blue unicorn with a deep cut over a closed eye. Looking at his hide, they see a full moon superimposed over a white star.

“It can’t be.” Luna murmurs.

“Crescent Moon?” Twilight calls out, taking a few steps towards him.

“Hello, Twilight Sparkle.” He says, giving a soft smile. “I’m glad to see you’re doing well.”

“But…they said you were brainwashed.” Twilight says, barely heard over the rain.

“I was, but Aselith got careless and I escaped.”

“What’s this about a trick?” Luna demands.

“Ah, yes, Princess.” He says with a bow. “I overheard his stratagem during my escape. You see, he doesn’t seem to care about the griffons anymore, nor the changelings. That’s why, after the forces here have finished fighting, and all your forces are exhausted, he’s going to animate the dead bodies to fight again.”

“Animate them?” Twilight asks. “As what? Zombies?”

“I believe the word used was ‘wights’. He seemed quite confident in their ability.”

“This is bad.” Luna says. “Dante said wights drain the life out of their victims with but a touch.”

Twilight turns back Luna. “Then we need to warn every—”

“Twilight, get away from him!” Iatril yells at the top of her lungs.

Just as Twilight is about to speak, a beam of energy pierces her side and exits through her chest. She barely manages to face Crescent Moon to see his lowered horn give off a feint glow before falling to the ground.

Luna’s eyes widen as she lowers her horn and fires a blast of her own at Crescent Moon. He quickly jumps to the side as the beam crashes into the ground behind him, blasting away a small portion of the road.

Iatril bounds over to Twilight, kneeling next to her and casting a spell. When she places her hand over Twilight’s wound, nothing happens.

“W-What’s going on?” Iatril stutters. “My magic…”

“Come, come, Iatril.” Crescent Moon says darkly. “Haven’t you noticed? Surely with your elven senses you would have noticed by now.”

Iatril glanced up at him before realizes it: The wind had stopped, but the rain hadn’t. She looks down at her palms to see rain collecting in them, only to find a purple liquid.

“It can’t be.” She looks back over to Crescent Moon. “Violet Rain.” She mutters.

“Correct you are, elf!” Crescent Moon yells. “And you know exactly what that means: complete severance from divine magic.” He opens his slashed eye to reveal a black gemstone in place of an eyeball, a purple light in place of a pupil. Lowering his head, he puts a frown on his face before saying, “Oh, I’m afraid young Twilight is going to die.” He grins wickedly.

Iatril rushes forward, fists clenched.

“Iatril, wait!” Luna cries out.

From behind Crescent Moon, a pair of energy beams shoots forth. Iatril barely has time to put up her arms before they strike her, knocking her back. As she lands and looks up, she sees a pair of unicorns come on either side of Crescent Moon, both of them having their eyes replaced with the same black gemstones. From behind Luna, four more approach.

“These ponies…they’re dead, aren’t they?” Iatril asks Crescent Moon. “So are you. This is…necroikos…”

“Correct again, elf!” Crescent Moon laughs heartily.

“When?” Iatril mutters. “When did you learn to cast that spell!?”

“What is this?” Luna looks between the two groups. “They’re…the archmages!”

“What?!” Iatril demands. “That’s impossible! Celestia had them buried!” She glares at the corpse that is Crescent Moon. “When did you come to Canterlot for them?!”

“When?” Crescent Moon taps his hoof to his chin. “When? Ah! I remember now. I took them when I killed them. Perhaps what were buried were very similar dolls. Maybe it was just…a trick of the mind.” He grins at that statement.

“No, that can’t be right.” Iatril stammers. “You can’t cast illusions! I know that!”

“Then let me ask you something, elf: who do you think taught those changelings that mass invisibility spell?”

“Enough!” Luna stamps her hoof into the ground. “Living or undead, you will pay for what you did to Twilight!” Lighting her horn, she let out a burst of magic at Crescent Moon. With a swift motion, he brings up a barrier, shielding himself and the two others with him from her attack.

“Why bother, Princess? Without the elements…” He began to say, before noticing a crack in his barrier. He jumps out of the way as the blast breaks through, incinerating the other two unicorns and hitting him. He rolls on the ground before stopping himself, the right part of his body mostly melted. “Gsh! What power! How did you obtain this power!?” He demands as the remaining four unicorns surround Luna and Iatril.

“Are you afraid?” Luna asks, looking at the unicorn before her.

“Of course not!” The unicorn says with a grin.

Luna makes a perplexed face before the unicorn to her right speaks up.

“I was merely surprised at your strength!”

The unicorn behind her spoke next. “But no matter how much power you’ve obtained…”

The unicorn to her left was last to speak. “…you’ll never be a match for me.”

The unicorns on either side of Luna fire a beam of magic at her, only for her to fly into the air. The beams begin to follow her into the sky. Iatril lunges at one of the casting unicorns. Out of the corner of her eye, she sees one of the other unicorns fire a bolt of magic at her. She manages to block it with her arm, but the last unicorn attacks her from behind. The two beams following Luna quickly dive down and strike Iatril, smashing her into the ground.

“Iatril!” Luna calls out.

“One down, one to go.” Crescent Moon remarks from his position on the ground.

The four standing unicorns start firing beams into the sky at Luna. She nimbly dodges each beam, attempting to return fire, but each time she does another beam comes at her. She soars around a building, hiding from their sight. Keeping low, she opts to attack from ground level. As she rounds the building, she sees the unicorns looking around for her. One of them manages to spot her. She quickly fires a beam at the closest unaware unicorn. Just as it’s about to strike, the unicorn dodges to the side and returns fire. Luna banks to avoid the shot, only for the other three to fire at her. Two of them miss while the third strikes her in the side.

‘How did she dodge me?’ Luna ponders as she gains altitude again. She’s interrupted as more shots are fired at her. She manages to dodge the bulk of them, a few graze her wings as she spins to avoid them. While she was dodging the blasts from behind, a large shot from in front knocks her from the sky, leaving her open to a barrage of energy waves.

Luna spirals from the air, smashing into the ground as the violent rain begins to end. She tries to rise, but her body won’t respond. Looking up, she sees the four unicorns approach her.

As they lower their horns to her, one of them speaks up. “One alicorn down.”

They charge their horns for their attack. Luna tries to move again, but to no avail. She closes her eyes and waits for the attack.

And waits.

And waits…

No attack comes. Opening her eyes, she sees the four unicorns standing there, their black-stone eyes wide and staring straight forward. Instantly, a large red leg obstructs her vision as she hears several bodies collapse. She looks up to see a muscular red back and a flaming sword in the right hand.

“Dante?” Luna asks.

He turns and looks down at her, a smirk on his face.

“Strange weather we’ve been having.” He says, walking forward.

She sees him walk over to the collapsed body of Crescent Moon. He picks up the half corpse, holding what remained of him by the throat.

“You look familiar. I could have sworn you kept my eye in a jar.” He cracks a grin at him.

“Shouldn’t you be in Ponyville?” Crescent Moon mutters.

“I was.” He throws Crescent Moon up into the air and lets loose a wave of energy from his extended hand, blasting the corpse and splattering him around Dante. “But I didn’t have a clever quip to finish that with.”

He walks back over to Luna, looking down at her. “Luna, why are you three on the ground? More importantly, why is Twilight here!?”

“She came out to help us.” Luna says, shifting on the ground. “But Crescent Moon…”

“Right, right.” He says, reverting to his own form and sheathing his sword. He casts a spell and places his hand on Luna, healing her wounds. “Let’s see how bad it is.”

Luna rises, stretching out her legs. “Thanks, Dante. Crescent Moon said…” She pauses midsentence and stares at him. “How…did you just heal me?”

“With magic, of course.” He says, walking over to Twilight.

“But…you said you couldn’t use healing magic.”

“Yeah, strangest thing. Ever since our little adventure in your soul, I felt a connection to my deity again.” He lowers himself to examine Twilight.

“But Crescent Moon…he said all divine magic was severed.” Luna walks up next to him to look over Twilight. The hole in her chest was large, her eyes unmoving.

“Yeah, about that. My demonic energy must have kept the corrupting power of the rain at bay. Go figure.” He stands up and turns to Luna. “Whelp, she’s dead.”

“W-What?” Luna stammers.

“Yep. Pretty dead. About as dead as you can get. Iatril’s not, so…” He begins walking over to his companion.

“But…you can bring her back, right?” Luna asks, following after him. “You brought back Captain Armor.”

“Yes, and no.” He says with a pause. He leans over Iatril and casts his spell, healing her. She jumps up with a start and sees both of them. “See, when you raise someone from the dead, the spirit needs to be willing to return.”

“I don’t understand.” Luna says. “Why wouldn’t Twilight want to return?”

“Well, she probably does. The problem is, when the spell is cast, the recipient can feel the energy of the caster. If I were to attempt it, she would feel a dark and evil presence come to her. Considering she probably wouldn’t understand her situation, she probably won’t come back.”

Iatril looks over at Twilight, seeing her still body. “What about my raising spell?” She asks. “In combination with one of your spells…”

“That’s something of a half-assed solution, Iatril.” Dante retorts. “If my magic is removed, she’ll revert to whatever creature she gets brought back as.”

“Wait!” Luna interrupts. “Tia mentioned something about you making a clone of your body for when you die. Could that work?”

“That’s what I’m thinking.” Dante says. “Problem is, it’ll take months to grow a body, and we don’t have that much time. Hell, I started a couple clones of Iatril and me a couple weeks after we got here, and they’re still not ready. But…I suppose that’s the best solution.”

Ghastly wails sound throughout the street. Pale white changelings and griffons soar across the ground towards them.

“Huh.” Dante says, gesturing to the horde approaching them. “They look weird white.”

“We need to take care of them.” Luna says, lower her horn.

“You stay back, Luna.” Dante says, stepping forward and unsheathing his sword. “Every touch will siphon a portion of life from you. I’m immune, and their claws won’t hurt me. Go find somewhere else to fight. Iatril, take Twilight back to the castle.” He removes an amulet from his neck, holding it in his hand.

“Of course, Dante.” Iatril says, walking over to Twilight and picking her up.

“I’m not leaving.” Luna states. “I’ve come here to fight and that’s what I’m going to do.”

“Fine then.” Dante takes a few steps towards the approaching horde. “Just let me take the first few waves.” He holds the amulet in front of him. “I’ve wanted a chance to do this for a while now.”

Iatril takes off in the opposite direction, leaving Luna and Dante to fight.

With a large grin on his face, Dante faces the horde as they descend upon him. He holds his sword across his shoulder and grips the amulet, the twisted symbol facing the hordes.

“By the will of the Bringer of Entropy, I command you! TURN!”

END CHAPTER

Author's Note

I'M ALIVE! HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!

*Ahem*

Well, I've kept you waiting for a long time. A looooong time...........wow, I'm a dick. Over 3 months. I...really have no excuse. Well, maybe. I'm lazy. Does that count? I think that counts.

Anyway, yeah. Shit's goin' down. Lots of death. Many destruction. Such undead. Wow.........I don't know where that came from. Just typing whatever comes to mind. Like that. And that. And that......and that.

ANYWAY, Twilight died. So, that happened. But, just like in Dragonball Z, Naruto, The Terminator, and a weed (to name a few), she'll be back. No real surprise there. But what's this? Necroikos? What spell is that? I can't seem to find it in any of the spell lists! What lies are upon us!?! Tune in next time (just like dragonball z) to find out!

Also, I'm going to try getting chapters out more regularly. I won't say -how- regularly, as I don't want to set any hopes or expectations. (*cough* gonna try for every 2 weeks again *cough*).

See you then!

Ch. 25 - Get Ready

“What a wash.” Dante says, flying over some of the lower buildings with Luna beside him.

“What do you mean?” She asks.

“I’m talking about this battle. All these troops, all these resources, wasted for no gain.”

“There was a gain! You saw Twilight!” She flies faster, getting in front of Dante to face him.

“That’s just temporary. Now, if you or Celestia were killed…” Dante pauses, looking up for a moment, “Shit, where is she?”

“She’s not dead, if that’s what you mean.” Luna resumes her flight next to him. “I can feel her.”

“Ah, good then.”

The pair flies down to a group of guards, who’ve just finished off an undead griffon.

“Hail, guardsman!” Dante says with a wave as they land. “How goes the fight?”

The guard gives the quickest of bows to Luna before responding.

“The fight goes well, surprisingly. After these monsters started attacking, the living griffons fled. The changelings continued fighting, but their numbers were already dwindling. Our group has only one injured guard, no deaths.”

“Really?” Dante asks, looking over the troops. “Wow. I must admit, I thought more of you would have died and…did you say the griffons were retreating?”

After briefly glaring at Dante, the guard continues. “Yes, they started to rout almost immediately after the dead began coming back to life.”

“Hmmm. Odd. I’ll have to ask my prisoner about this.” Dante turns in place, starting towards the castle.

“What—Dante!” Luna yells, teleporting in front of him. “You aren’t doing that again!”

“Relax; I’m not going to torture her. She already resigned herself to death anyway when she attacked me. I could see it in her eyes.” Dante walks around Luna, continuing on. “I’m just going to have a few words with her and hopefully figure out what the hell is going on here.”

A roar from behind grabs his attention. Turning around, Dante sees a guard be flung at a building, slamming into it and falling to the ground. He looks at the group and sees a second guard be slammed into the ground as a large white wolf bites into the guard’s neck.

“Flurry?” Dante takes a few steps closer to the wolf before stopping in place. “Oh, Flurry. Why?”

Flurry looks at him with hunger and lunges forward. His claws come at Dante, who grabs his paws. Dante is pushed back by the momentum and falls on his back. Flurry goes for his throat but Dante teleports away from him, ending up next to Luna again.

“What’s going on?” Luna ask, her stance lowered and her horn alight with magic.

“Flurry…is dead.” Dante says slowly. “I could feel the negative energy in his paws.”

Flurry lunges at Dante again, but this time a stone hand erupts from the road and grabs Flurry. Dante takes a few steps toward the wolf and looks him over. As he does so, Flurry snarls and snaps at him, trying to bite into him.

“Why? Why couldn’t you just stay in the castle?” Dante stops next to Flurry’s head. He brings up his hand, charging it with magic.

“What’s the problem?” Luna asks, taking a few steps towards Dante. “Can’t you just bring him back like you will with Twilight?”

“He won’t come back.” Dante says, bringing his hand closer to Flurry. “He has a strong opinion about life and death. He’ll refuse the offer.” Dante takes in a breath and lets it out slowly.

With a flick of his wrist, a jet of fire springs forth from Dante’s outstretched hand and pours over Flurry. His fur melts to his flesh as it burns. Dante lowers his hand as Flurry continues to burn, his thrashing beginning to slow until he finally stops. Dante dispels the stone hand, releasing Flurry’s corpse.

“Iatril will be devastated.” Dante says, walking over to the burning corpse and snuffing the flames with his magic.

“I’m sorry for your loss.” Luna says, lowering her head.

“Not my loss.” Dante grabs Flurry, flinging him over his shoulder with a grunt. “He never liked me. Anyway, It looks like the bulk of the fighting is done. We might as well head back to the castle.”

~ _ ~ _ ~ _ ~ _ ~

Iatril sat on the floor in the throne room of Castle Canterlot. A pair of guards stood at the doorway to the room. In the center, Twilight’s body lay limp with four of her friends around her. The only one of the group not there was Rainbow Dash, who had disappeared deeper into the castle after seeing Twilight. Despite her best attempts, Iatril couldn’t lift their spirits.

The guards saluted as Luna walked through the doorway.

“Princess.” Iatril says as she stands. Twilight’s friends look up as well. “Is the fighting done?”

“Yes. The undead have been stopped and the living have retreated.” Luna says, averting her eyes.

“What’s wrong then?” Iatril asks. “If you’re worried about Twilight, Dante will…” She trails off as she sees Dante walk through the doorway with Flurry over his shoulder.

Dante just looks at her as he continues walking, not stopping until he’s near the center of the room. He sets Flurry’s corpse on the ground before taking a few steps back. Iatril takes a step towards Flurry; then another. With a burst of speed, she rushes to his body and kneels next to it, grabbing hold of him. She runs her hand over his burnt flesh, holding his head in her arm.

“W-When did this happen?” Iatril asks softly.

“He attacked some guards and me a few minutes ago. He was a wight when he attacked, so he must have been killed earlier in the fight.” Dante walks over to Twilight, looking over her corpse.

Iatril continues holding Flurry’s head in her arms. Fluttershy walked over to Iatril and put a hoof over her back.

“What happens now?” Rarity asks aloud.

“Now?” Dante cracks his fingers, the sound bouncing around the large room. “I begin the resurrection process for Twilight, we burn Flurry’s corpse, and we make plans to murder the son-of-a-bitch responsible for this.” Dante gives a thumbs up to the group. “It’s as easy as that.”

Hoofsteps are heard in the room as a down trot Rainbow Dash walks in with Shade Strider right next to her.

“Shade?” Dante calls out. “What perfect timing! Do you—”

“YOU!” Rainbow yells, pointing a hoof at Dante. She leaps into the air and slams into Dante, pushing him into a wall. “This is all your fault!”

Dante adjusts himself with Rainbow’s hooves pushing into his chest. “What a weird coincidence. I was just talking about—”

“SHUT UP!” Rainbow slams a hoof into Dante’s face, drawing blood.

“Rainbow, stop!” Applejack yells to her friend.

“You seem to be upset about something.” Dante slightly slurs out. His voice corrects itself as he continues. “Whatever is the matter?”

“YOU’RE the matter!” She bellows. “If you didn’t come here with that monster, Twilight…”

“What~?” Dante draws out the question. “Is that all?”

He’s met with another punch in his face, cracking his nose.

“Rainbow, darling, please!” Rarity tries calling to her friend.

“You must not have a good memory.” Dante says with a smile and blood running from his mouth.

“ENOUGH!” Luna calls out with her Canterlot voice just as Rainbow is about to strike again. “Stop instigating, Dante, and tell her.”

Dante teleports from his spot, reappearing next to Luna.

“You’re no fun.” Dante rolls his eyes at Luna. “Anyway, I’ll begin the process of bringing Twilight back to life.” He says, looking at Rainbow.

He teleports again, only to reappear about half a minute later, carrying a small sack in his hand. He walks to the side of the room and draws his needle from his belt. He swishes the needle in the air, hovering up and drawing a large vertical circle in the air as he does so. Once he finishes, he sets his hand on the circle and pushes lightly. It moves slowly with a large glass cylinder appearing from the circle. Teal liquid fills the cylinder with a few bubbles floating around in it. The bottom of the cylinder is made of iron and the top has an iron lid over it. Once the cylinder is completely out of the circle, he closes the portal and puts away the needle.

Dante casually walks past Twilight’s friends to her body. He kneels over her and pulls out a dagger.

“Now, I’ll take a small bit of flesh from Twilight.” He says as he does so, taking the flesh from one of her hooves. He juggles with the bag and the flesh as he sheathes the dagger, walking back over to the tank of liquid. With the flick of his wrist, the lid is lifted up slightly and moved over, exposing a small opening in the tank.

“And now, I will begin the lengthy and arduous procedure.” He says with his arms extended to each side of him, holding the bit of flesh in one hand and the bag in the other. He holds his pose for a moment, facing the group, before bringing his hands together. He opens the sack, pours a bit of the powder onto the flesh, casts a quick spell, and lobs the bit of flesh into the tank. He levitates the lid back into position and then claps his hands.

“Phew!” He says, wiping imaginary sweat from his brow. “That was some hard work right there.”

“That IT!?” Rainbow yells at him.

“Yep.” Dante glides away from the cylinder, nearing the group. “In two to eight months, we’ll have a shiny new Twilight Sparkle.”

“She will be the same Twilight Sparkle as before, correct?” Luna asks, gesturing to Twilight’s corpse.

“Of course! Now, if need be, I can move the container somewhere else, but not in my pocket dimension. It won’t grow there and, on the off chance I should die, all the contents of the pocket dimension will come spilling out all at once. The cylinder may break if that happens.” Dante shimmies towards the grey pegasus in the doorway. “Now, my stealthy friend, have you obtained any information?”

“You know it.” Shade states proudly. “I’ve found out that—”

“Master!” A voice sounds throughout the room. The Marilith appears in the doorway, quickly slithering past shade and Dante. “I am pursued!”

No sooner does she enter the room, a large, blue, spider-like monster appears just outside of the room, barely three feet from Dante. It brings up its front two legs to strike him. In an instant, two narrow beams of white fire shoot through the spider’s head and crash into the nearby wall, burning the stone. The spider sways in place before falling over. A small bit of steam rises from Dante’s eyes.

Luna looks over at Dante, noting the steam. “Have you always been able to shoot energy from your eyes?”

Dante spins in place to face the princess. “Of course I have. I just never had the need to use energy that quickly until now.” He looks over at the Marilith. “And as for you. Being chased down by a bebilith? I’m quite disappointed in—”

Mid-sentence, three more spiders appear behind him, swiftly piercing his back as they pile onto him and eliciting a loud cry from him. Shade had jumped clear of the conflict, remaining aloft in the air above. One of the spiders looks at the group of ponies before it and charges towards them. Before it can even get close, Luna grabs it in her magic and slams it into a nearby wall, stunning it. A second demon removes itself from Dante and charges as well. This time, it’s thrown across the room by a punch from Iatril.

The last spider is striking at Dante, who is doing his best to keep the beast from tearing open his throat. Regaining his focus, he teleports away from it and hovers in the center of the room. Weaving magic into his hands, he casts a spell. The three living spiders disappear from the room.

Dante lowers himself to the ground, casting another spell to heal his wounds.

“What in Tartarus was that!?” Luna calls out, looking over everyone to make sure they weren’t injured.

“Those were bebiliths, demons that eat demons.” Dante rubs his shoulder where a clawed leg had cut into him. He looks over at the Marilith, who’s hunched over due to her wounds. “Did they teleport in here?”

“Yes, my lord.” She replies ghastly. “I tried distancing myself when I started becoming overwhelmed, but they followed right after me.”

“Strange. They shouldn’t be able to do that.” Dante says, walking over to the remaining bebilith corpse. He pulls a black gemstone from his pocket and casts a spell over the demon, absorbing its body into the gem. He replaces the gemstone in his pocket. “Man, that little fight made me all giddy!” He chirps, shaking his hands in front of him. “Anyway, Shade? Your report?” He looks up at the floating pegasus.

Shade looks down, speechless. “Uh…right.” He lowers himself to the ground, looking up at Dante. “I’ve found where Aselith is hiding.”

Dante swiftly grabs Shade, swinging him in the air. “You did?! That’s amazing! That’s the best news I’ve had in weeks! We can kill him before dinner!”

“Where is he?” Iatril demands.

“What’s it matter to you?” Dante asks, jovially. “You’re not going to fight him.”

Iatril glares at Dante, curling her hands into fists. “What?”

“You’re not.” Dante holds shade at his side, a dumb look on the confused pegasus’ face. “You’d just be in the way.”

“You think you can stop me from fighting him?!” She gets closer to Dante, bringing up her fists.

“Two words: no magic. You can’t even fly.” Dante says, slowly flying up in the air.

Iatril simply grunts and slams her palms together. She quickly pulls them apart to reveal her staff. Grabbing it from the air, she points it at Dante.

“I have this!” She yells up at him.

“Ah, yes. You have a staff that can be disjoined with a single spell, or knocked away from your grasp.” Dante lowers to the ground again. He sets Shade on the ground before continuing. “Besides that, you aren’t thinking clearly; Flurry just died; you’re grieving. You think I’d let you go gallivanting with me to kill Aselith?”

“I don’t care what you’ll let me do! I’m going!” Iatril holds the staff right at Dante’s face.

Sighing, Dante holds his head in his hand. “Alright, alright. Give me your amulet. I’ll work something out with your nulled magic.”

With a small smirk, Iatril removes her jade amulet and tosses it at Dante.

“Aren’t you being a bit rash with this, Dante?” Luna asks. “Should we plan this attack out more?”

“There’s not enough time.” Dante pockets the amulet. “More sooner than later, Aselith will change locations, especially if he suspects his location is known. But we aren’t leaving right away. I need to make a few preparations, plus question the griffon I caught; loose ends and all that.”

“Hey, that’s right!” Rainbow exclaims, flying over to Dante. “Why is Gilda here?”

“Who?” Dante looks up at the floating pegasus.

“Gilda. The griffon that’s being held by the guards upstairs. Why’s she here?”

“You know here? Excellent! You can join me in questioning her.”

“Excuse me, lord.” The Marilith says, slowly slithering forward. “I don’t wish to interrupt you, but my wounds are quite severe. I fear I may succumb to them without healing.”

“Right, right.” He says, walking over to the demon. “That would make it rather difficult for you to fight.”

He places his hand on the Marilith’s shoulder. The demon looks at his hand and back to his face. As she goes to speak, Dante pulls out his sword and stabs her through the chest.

“Gah!” She cries out, slowing moving one of her arms up to grab hold of the sword. “You …bas…tard…” Violet blood trickles from her mouth and wound.

“Sorry, but I have no further use for you. Loose ends and all that.” Dante says with a smile.

As the Marilith brings up a sword to strike him, Dante charges his own with eldritch magic, bursting the demon’s chest open. With a soft hiss, the demon falls over, dead. Dante sweeps back his cloak and pulls a scroll case from the back of his belt. Sheathing his sword, he opens the case and unfurls the scroll, casting a spell over the Marilith. Its body is absorbed into the scroll, which quickly crumples up and solidifies into a black gemstone. Dante pockets this as well.

“And now, we mourn the loss of this quasi-fine demon.” Dante lowers his head for a couple seconds before perking right back up. “Well, the moment has passed. On to the griffon!”

END CHAPTER

Author's Note

Oh, sure. Get mauled by three demon-eating spider demons and treat it as just another day at the office. Yep.

As you can see, I was a bit silly with the links today. As I was writing it, I thought "Gee, I think it would be funny if he made a noise like that" and here we are. Hell, I ended the chapter there just so I could throw in another one. (Also to try and get this out sooner. Still trying to make that 2 weeks thing work.) At the end of the day, if I get a cheap laugh out of you, I think it was worth it. :ajsmug:

Someone call PETA, we're down a wolf! Some may think Dante was too flippant about Flurry's death. To you I say 2 things: 1) All will be explained in time, and 2) Dante is f***ing crazy. (See above comment about mauling.)

Also, it appears I'm a liar. I told you you'd find out about Necroikos this time around and it wasn't even mentioned. Poor planning on my part? Perhaps. Am I making everything up as I go? Perhaps. Although, technically, I said "tune in next time (just like dragonball z) to find out!" As anyone who watched Dragonball Z can tell you, fights last forever and a planet takes 10 episodes to blow up in 5 minutes. So, really, I'm only only a half-liar. I also said "What lies are upon us!?!" And there was the lie. It's all part of my theory of Quantum Lies. :trollestia:

Anyway, I've digressed enough. Hopefully next chapter out in a week.

Ch. 26 - Aselith

Preparations went smoothly and well into the afternoon. Rainbow Dash went with Dante to question Gilda. Apparently, the high king of the griffons was the one to strike a deal with Aselith. He wanted to keep the ruling nobles in check and under his control, and a few legions of changelings, combined with the display Aselith gave them, was more than enough to convince the nobles to cooperate.

The deal, obviously, didn’t last. The king was becoming more reclusive, refusing to attend court or accept council from the nobles. Eventually, it was discovered that the king was being controlled by Aselith. A number of the nobles were being controlled as well. Aselith forced every able-bodied griffon into fighting; if they refused, he would kill the griffons that couldn’t fight. As it turns out, Gilda’s mother has been bedridden as of late, hence her involvement in the fighting.

Despite this, a dollop of good news was to be had. Griffons show the utmost honor and respect for the dead, according to Gilda. Seeing their fallen comrades turned into life-draining mockeries of their formers selves made them reconsider their position in the conflict. Gilda suspects they’ll turn their attention to freeing their home.

If that wasn’t enough, Celestia returned with more good tidings. One of the changelings she encountered acted quite erratic. It kept slamming into a wall, barely keeping its focus on Celestia. It also kept repeating “Please save the Queen!” Unfortunately, it cracked open its head on the wall before Celestia could stop it.

After Dante made his own preparations, he was ready to go after Aselith.

~ _ ~ _ ~ _ ~ _ ~

“Then twenty miles due east from there, you’ll come to a large plateau. There will be a cave entrance on the north-west side of it.” Shade says, pointing to the marked location on the large map spread over the table.

“You’re sure this is his hideout?” Dante asks, sipping from a mug.

“Positive. I didn’t go in, but I could smell the stench of death emanating from it, just like the zombies I’ve seen.”

“Excellent.” Dante places his hand over his crystal ball sitting on the table. Concentrating for a moment, an image of the cave appears in the crystal. “Got it.” Dante looks over at Celestia and Luna, who are observing the crystal. “You two know the plan.”

“Of course.” Luna states. “We will remain behind, in case Aselith is just waiting for you to leave. I have the Sending scroll you gave me to warn you.” She places her hoof over the scroll sitting on the table.

“I still don’t like the idea of waiting around for you to finish this.” Celestia says, eyeing Dante. “You act as if we’re powerless to defend ourselves.”

“I simply don’t want you both to come with me to fight Aselith. Your world would be in a lot of trouble if the sun and moon no longer moved through the sky.”

Celestia lets out a grunt. “Then your plan is flawed. With my sister and me in the same place, a defeat would mean just that.”

“Don’t worry about it.” Dante says, waving her off. “This is only part of the plan. It’s highly subjective to change. Also…” Dante trails off, noticing a low thumping noise. It repeats slowly before being followed by several other thumps. They begin to get louder as the seconds pass. “Ah, and the next part of the plan arrives.”

The doors to the room open as Iatril steps through with a large iron golem behind her with two stone golems trailing behind it. They lumber behind Iatril as she walks up to the table, looking at Dante.

“Your toys are here.” She says, gesturing to the golems.

“What are these?” Celestia asks walking towards the iron one.

“Golems.” Dante spreads his wings and hovers up towards the iron golem’s head. “They are incredibly strong and nearly immune to magic. This one,” he pats the iron golem on the head, “normally takes five months to make, but I’ve learned a few tricks about forging magic objects. Against someone like Aselith, however, they’ll only buy you a minute or so.”

“Why didn’t you bring them up to the battle before?” Celestia asks.

“Without me to guide them, they could have hurt more than helped us.”

“If you’re quite done, Dante, I believe you have something for me.” Iatril says forcefully, extending her hand.

Dante hesitates for a moment before lowering himself to the ground. He reaches under his cloak, pulling out Iatril’s amulet and holding it between his fingers.

“Are you certain?” Dante asks, keeping the amulet close to him.

Iatril snatches the amulet from Dante, clutching it in her fist. “Of course I am!” She puts it around her neck, glowering at Dante. “How can you even ask that?!”

“He just died, Iatril. You aren’t thinking straight.”

“I’m thinking just fine! Flurry wa—” Iatril stops mid-word, her body shaking in place. In an instant, her form turns to light as she twists and stretches, rushing forward at Dante’s hip, disappearing. Her amulet drops to the ground as Dante stands there, a disappointed look on his face.

“What just happened?” Luna asks.

“She’s fine.” Dante says, reaching for his pocket. He pulls out a diamond the size of an apple and shows it to Luna. “She’s in here.”

Luna walks over to Dante, observing the gem in his hand.

“What was the purpose of that?” She asks.

Dante chuckles softly. “That, dear Luna, is so Iatril doesn’t get herself killed.” He slides back over to the table, setting the gem down. “Forging a magic item to make one immune to the effects of corrupt magic like violet rain would take months of research with several more months to create it, plus tens of thousands of gold pieces worth in obscure alchemical ingredients.” He walks back over to the amulet and picks it up, dangling it from his fingertips. “This binding spell, on the other hand, took a minute to etch her name and a code word onto her amulet, one pricy gemstone I got from Razorwind, and a few seconds of casting. I think the choice was clear.”

“But…what about Iatril?” She asks, gesturing to the gemstone. “Is she…how does she get out?”

“Smash it. Or, you can dispel the magic. Either way, Luna, you’re coming with me.” Dante says, tossing the amulet on the table and walking past the princesses.

“Wait, what?” Luna asks.

“Yeah, I need someone to watch my back and help in the fight. Give that scroll to Celestia and we’ll be off.” Before Luna can speak, Dante turns to his golems. “You three! Protect Celestia!” He gestures to her.

Immediately, the three golems walk forward, surrounding Celestia.

“This still doesn’t seem like a good idea.” Celestia states. “Would Aselith really leave in less than a day?”

“He might. Besides, a person like Iatril doesn’t fight well with hate in the front of her mind. By the time she is ready, Aselith would have changed locations.” He looks over at Luna, tilting his head towards her. “Ready?”

Luna rubs her eyes with her hoof, sighing. “Do you ever inform others of your plans beforehand?”

“I find that the less time I give people to think about things, the more they’ll agree with me. Works wonders in giving ultimatums.”

“Fine.” Luna turns to Celestia. “We’ll be back soon.”

“Take care, sister.” Celestia says as the pair teleport away.

~ _ ~ _ ~ _ ~ _ ~

Appearing outside the cave, Dante and Luna gaze inside.

Luna lets out a quick breath. “Let’s do this.”

“Just a moment.” Dante says, reaching into his cloak. He pulls out a white-gold necklace and presents it to Luna.

“What’s this for?” She asks.

“It’ll protect you from life siphoning magic.” He says, putting it around her neck. “I’m sorry I didn’t give it to you sooner, but I got sidetracked by my prisoners and…” Dante’s eyes shift slightly. “Anyway, this will protect you.”

A soft smile appears on Luna’s face. “Thank you.”

“I’m not done yet.” He says, pulling out his needle. “I need a few things too.”

He holds the needle in front of him, casting a spell over it. In an instant, a loud tearing noise sounds around them as a hole appears in front of Dante. He reaches in and pulls out a pair of metal rods, sliding them into his belt as he does so. He then pulls a sheathed longsword out and closes the portal, placing the needle back in his belt.

“I just needed to grab a few powerful items from storage.” Dante says, wrapping the scabbard in his belt. “I created a second dimensional area that can only be accessed with a spell and let me tell you, it’s not a low-level spell. This is because the strongest thing I can store in my other dimensional area is the crystal ball and the second area is harder to access. However, I don’t know why I’m telling you this. You haven’t listened to a word I said.” Dante looks over at Luna to see her eyes transfixed on his second blade.

“What…is that?” Luna hoarsely whispers.

“The single most powerful blade from my world; it is also the most evil weapon. It belonged to a vampire over a millennium ago, created by a lich that would become a god. The essence of the vampire lingers in this blade, granting its wielder extraordinary physical strength. It eventually found its way to a werewolf under Aselith and then unto me.” Dante plays with the hilt, moving it from side to side. “I don’t like using it, as I’m forced to compete with its mental influences on top of Astaroth’s.”

Luna stands there, staring at him. It’s quiet for a bit before Dante speaks again.

“I know this isn’t something you’re too keen about, but—”

“Alright.”

Dante looks over at Luna. “What?”

“It’s just a sword.” She says plainly. “Why should I object to this? If it grants you even greater power, then defeating Aselith will be less of a problem.”

“Really?” Dante crosses his arms.

“Really. However, once this conflict is at an end, I expect never to see that blade again.”

Hesitating for a moment, Dante gives a toothy grin. “Yes ma’am.”

The pair walks toward the cave entrance. Dante stops them just before the opening. He opens the mouth on his palm and points it towards the opening.

“Magical alarm.” Dante says, lowering his hand once more. “It’s safe now.”

The pair move into the cave. Luna lights her horn, lighting the walls of the cave. They travel down the sloped, mostly straight path. The have just enough room to walk side by side with a few inches distance from each other and the walls.

“You feel that?” Dante asks, breaking the silence.

“Mm. It’s the same as when we first fought.” Luna responds.

“Yeah. He must have spent some time dimensionally locking this cave.”

“Can you remove it?” Luna asks.

Dante shakes his head. “The area of the spell is small. He must have cast this spell dozens, if not hundreds of times. Even if it’s one big spell, I need to be where it originated.”

“Right.” The pair turn a corner and continue on. “I suppose that just means we must be extra cautious.”

After walking around a more and more windy passage, they come to an opening. The room before them looks to be man-made. Lit by unseen light sources, three separate hallways, one on each of the room’s three other walls, lie before them. The ceiling reaches only a couple feet above Dante’s head.

Luna and Dante look at each other for a moment. Smirking, Dante turns around and lets loose an blast of lightning, arcing between the incorporeal forms appearing behind them. Luna lets out blasts of magic at the forms phasing through the floor and ceiling in front of them. One specter reaches up underneath Luna with its ghostly talon. Luna sidesteps, blasting the spectral griffon with her magic.

As the specters dwindle to zero, the pair walk into the room.

“So, which way?” Luna asks, changing her view between the three tunnels.

“This way.” Dante points to the hall to the left.

“What makes you say that way?”

“I don’t know.” He says, slowly walking up to the hall. “I feel…something. It’s not Aselith, but…it feels…familiar.”

Luna stands behind him, looking down the dark path, lit only by the light of Luna’s horn. “A trap?”

“Hmmm. Perhaps.” Dante runs his fingers over the hilts of his blades, shifting them slightly in their scabbards. “A precaution, should I find his lair. Even so, we’re more than a match for any trap, especially one he’s announcing.”

Dante begins down the hall with Luna beside him. Their steps echo down the solid stone corridor. They round a corner, climbing up a slight slope before leveling out.

A short distance later, they see another turn with a faint light emanating around the corner. As they come around the bend, they enter an open area. A few tables decorate the sides of the room, with a few tomes and pieces of alchemical equipment on each. On the opposite wall, another opening shows a well-lit passage. A cage made of translucent energy sits in the center of the room. A creature with mismatched limbs stands at the front of the cage, looking at the pair with yellow eyes.

“Ah, the other human. I was wondering when you would show up.” He says, looking between the pair. “And Princess Luna. It’s been too long.” He grins, a snaggletooth protruding from his mouth.

“Discord…” Luna breathes out, approaching the cage. “This is…unexpected.”

“Quite so.” Discord agrees, running his paw against the small holes of his cage. “Imagine my surprise to see a human after so many years. Imagine my greater surprise when that same human took advantage of my weakened state and drained me of my powers.”

“He…did what?” Dante asks, approaching the cage.

“Indeed.” Discord nods. “And the greatest surprise of all was realizing the clarity it gave me.”

“What are you talking about?” Luna asks.

“I mean, dear princess, that I now see what has transpired since my ascension to power. I remember the first binding of an outsider that started me on my dark path; I remember my battle with the elder gods, and my subsequent banishment; I remember wandering the void, the astral plane, for a century before finding Equestria.” Discord diverts his gaze from Luna. “And I remember the pain I caused so many while in my depraved state.”

“Feel guilty another time.” Dante slams his fist against the cage, small ripples moving around the bars. “Aselith has your power?”

“Yes, and no.” Discord looks down at Dante. “He kept me imprisoned until about a month ago. The moment I was released from stone, he robbed me of all my eldritch magic. I’ve been imprisoned in this barrier since.”

“What further use could you be to him?” Dante demands.

“He didn’t absorb all of my energy at once; he stored most of it away. Bit by bit, he’s been adding the stored energy to himself and asking me questions about my powers.”

“Tsk.” Dante strides over to a nearby table. “You could have not told him a damn thing!”

Discord shakes his head. “I tried. He is…persuasive. Electrocution, combined with mental assaults, isn’t something that can be resisted for long.”

Dante spins around. “What, a few days too much for you?!”

“Sigh. A constant, increasingly severe pain isn’t something that can be simply ignored.”

“Don’t you talk to me about pain! I…” Dante looks behind Discord, sighting a form on the floor.

Discord looks over his shoulder before hunching over the form, placing a talon over it. “Starvation is not a method of torture that can work on me. However, it does affect her.”

Dante walks around to the other side of the cage. “Chrysalis.”

“She has been here longer than I, and Aselith has been none too kind to her. I’ve kept her breathing as best I can while free, but I simply don’t know what she needs.”

“Tsk.” Dante continues his walk around the cage back to Luna. “Someone like you wouldn’t be able to figure it out.”

Discord raises his eyebrow, watching Dante. “How so?”

“She’s a love vampire.”

“I see.” Discord stands, coming to the bars of his prison. “And you believe I know nothing of love, boy?”

“Dante.” Luna interjects. “Now is not the time for—”

“You’re damn right I do!” Dante steps back from the cage, pointing at the cage and charging his hand with magic. “It’s because of you and your selfish desire for power that I’ve been hunted all my life! You were a sorcerer, a being with more power than most mortals, and yet that wasn’t enough for you! You stole the power from demons, devils, angels, fey, and any number of other beings. If that weren’t enough, you cursed your lieutenants with your power as well!” Dante’s hand begins glowing with a bright, white flame. “Give me one good reason I shouldn’t obliterate you where you stand!”

Discord looks at Dante, his eyes heavy. He opens his mouth to speak before slowly closing it, turning his face from him.

A soft grinding sounds from Dante’s clenched teeth. “Have you nothing to say?”

The air thick with tension, Discord speaks. “You are misinformed.”

“What?” Dante asks, the magic in his hand pulsing.

“I am not a sorcerer.” He says, looking back at Dante. “I am a dragon. A red dragon, as referred to by humans. I was also the last of my brood.”

Dante lowers his hand, dissipating the magic.

“My siblings, my parents, their siblings, their parents, all killed by adventurers. As such, I took it upon myself to ensure the continuation of my family by any means. At first, I merely consorted with devils. My mate made the bold suggestion of siphoning their powers instead. I did so, and the results were well beyond anything I could have hoped for. When adventurers did come, I slaughtered them. Mercilessly.

“However, I began to fall into the same trap other dragons tend to: greed. I kept siphoning the powers of devils, even expanding my reach to demons and angels as well. But I got too greedy. I absorbed the essence of a fey creature, and my mind shattered. By the time I regained any semblance of conciseness, I was already face to face with the elder gods. I was banished shortly after.”

Dante clenches his fist. “And, what, you imbued humans with your powers to spite them? Spite the gods?”

A soft smile spreads on Discord’s face. “No, son. I imbued my children with my powers to protect them from the retribution that was soon to come.”

Dante’s eyes widen. “You…but…”

“My mate was a human.” Discord beams. “Surely you aren’t surprised by this.”

Dante stands there numbly. He clenches his fist again before bringing his hand up, pointing at Discord. With a quick incantation, he fires a green beam from his finger. The beam strikes the magical barrier, quickly dissolving it. Discord’s surprised look is quickly replaced with a content smile.

“I can’t deal with this right now.” Dante says, walking past Discord. He points at Chrysalis on the ground. “Pick that up and don’t fall behind.”

“Of course.” Discord says with a shrug, lifting Chrysalis over his slim shoulder.

Luna steps next to Discord, watching Dante walk off. “I’m…at a loss.”

Discord smiles warmly at him. “Humans always fascinated me so.” He starts walking after him.

~ _ ~ _ ~ _ ~ _ ~

The group reaches the end of a long hallway, their path blocked by a sturdy wooden door.

“This is it.” Dante says, placing a hand around the scabbard of his fiery blade.

“I’ll stay back and watch over our vampiric friend here.” Discord says, adjusting Chrysalis over his shoulder.

“Do you have any plan, Dante?” Luna asks.

Dante closes his eyes in concentration, scratching his goatee with his free hand. “Yeah. I’ll attack him straight on and note his reaction. If I think we can take him, will go at him together. Otherwise, we’ll cut and run.”

“Hm. That’s about as much as I was expecting.” She says with a smirk.

Dante charges his hand with magic and blasts the door, knocking it off its hinges and slamming it onto the ground in the next room. A nearly empty space is set before them. The carved halls from before end at the door. The room looks to be a simple cave with no work done in it. A few stalactites line the ceiling of the tall area. At the other end of the room, Aselith sits on a throne made from what looks to be the corpses of changelings. With one leg crossed over the other and a sheathed sword at his hip, Aselith looks across the room with glowing eyes, one iris gold and the other blood red.

“Aselith!” Dante shouts throughout the room and he strides in. “I’m here to violently murder you!”

“Well, now, that’s hardly a proper greeting.” Aselith stands from his throne, opening his arms towards Dante. “It’s been months since we met and I get that?” He looks beyond Dante and sees Luna enter with Discord bringing up the rear. “You’ve brought guests? Excellent! Although, two of them seem to be residents anyway.”

Dante launches forward, fiery blade in hand. His form changes almost instantly as he brings his blade down on Aselith. It’s stopped inches above his head, a glimmering green blade blocking its path.

“You blocked it.” Dante states, glaring down at Aselith.

“Surprised?” Aselith gestures with his free hand towards Discord. “The power I’ve gained from our mutual benefactor is amazing.”

“Blocking means you’re afraid.” Dante’s blade begins burning with a hot, white fire. “You’re afraid of my blade!”

With a mighty heave, Dante pushes his blade down at Aselith. Kicking off Dante’s leg, Aselith lurches at his throne, bouncing off the changeling corpses and hovering overhead.

“You used to be so much more talkative, Dante.” Aselith glides backwards from Dante. “Whatever happened to that?”

Seeing a glimmer from the corner of his eye, Aselith brings his sword up and cuts through large beam of azure energy, both halves smashing into the wall behind him and bringing down part of the ceiling. Luna hovers in the air at the opposite end of the beam, her horn alight.

“If I recall, you weren’t this powerful before.” Aselith says, scratching his chin. “Have you taken to binding demons too?”

A red fist grabs Aselith’s leg, pulling him from the air and throwing him at the wall. Slumped against the wall, Aselith sees Dante with his hand alight with a white flame. As Dante unleashes a torrent of fire at Aselith, he brings up his free hand against the fire. When the torrent crashes into him, the flames swirl and begin diminishing. Dante ceases unleashing fire, lowering his hand. As the last of the flames disappear, Aselith is left sitting on the ground, an open mouth visible on his palm.

“You didn’t think you were the only one to learn this little trick, did you?” Aselith stands, sheathing his sword. “I may not have liked using my warlock abilities, but I’m not above using them. I can see why you enjoy them so much. The power is…intoxicating.”

Dante glares at him, his muscles tightening at the anticipation. He wraps his hand around his second blade, pulling it from its sheath. As he holds it before himself, the pitch-black blade grows to fit in his hand. As it finishes growing, his muscles begin to bulge and grow, his chest heaves from ragged breaths. His bright yellow eyes begin swirling with darkness until only two small, yellow pinpricks remain. The blade itself begins emanating a black fire around it.

“By the gods.” Aselith says, staring at the blade. “I always wondered what became of that blade. By the way, Dante, with the whites of your eyes black, you remind me of that lich, Prusheen. Well, I suppose in your case it’s the yellows of your eyes, but—”

“Shut up and die already!” Dante launches forward, bringing his black blade up.

As he brings down his sword, Aselith dives to the side and lashes out with several blasts of eldritch magic, striking Dante and tearing into his flesh. Pushing on, Dante continues slashing at Aselith, only for him to dodge and sway from every swipe. Dante took a swing with his demonic blade next, only for Aselith to soar above and behind Dante and blast him from behind.

With both blades swinging at Aselith, Dante began blasting at him from his mouth in between swipes. Every time, his magic was blocked, dodged, or absorbed. In one swift motion, Dante brought both of his blades forward, only for Aselith to duck under them and slide under Dante, positioning himself behind him.

Just as Aselith was about to blast Dante from behind again, a small azure beam pierced Aselith from behind, leaving a fist sized hole in his chest. Aselith looks behind him, only to see Luna smirking at him. Clutching the hole in his chest, Aselith took a knee, coughing up blood.

Dante stood tall in front of him, his black blade shimmering with energy. He brought his blade over his head, shifting his legs to prepare for the cut.

“DIE!” He cries out, bringing down his blade. As it nears Aselith, he brings up his hand to defend himself. The black fire from the blade bursts around him, covering Aselith with darkness as the blade sounds throughout the room with an explosive echo.

The darkness, however, quickly clears from Aselith. He kneels there with a smirk on his face and an eyebrow raised as Dante’s black blade rests delicately in Aselith’s hand.

“Really now, enough nonsense.” Aselith says nonchalantly. He slowly brings his other hand up at a surprised Dante and thrusts it forward, sending Dante back with a blast of eldritch energy and slamming him into the wall. Dante falls forward, his fiery blade clattering next to him.

Aselith stands, the black blade still in hand as he inspects it.

“The Sword of Kas.” He says, holding it by its grip. “An immensely powerful blade crafted by the lich Vecna in days long past.” The black fire from the blade dissipates in the air. “Forcing your own demonic influence into the blade was a smart move, but your whole plan was foolish. Did you honestly believe you could defeat me with this trinket?”

He turns to face Luna, who’s standing there, speechless.

“What did Dante say?” He asks. “Did he fill your head with nonsense? Tell you your magic could harm me? How naïve.”

Almost instantly, the hole in Aselith’s chest fills itself in.

“Right now, there are only two things in this world that can harm me. I’ve already taken care of one and I’m about to take care of the other. First things first, though.” He points the blade at Luna. “I will eliminate the distractions.”

From behind Luna, a thin, blue ray strikes the blade, freezing it and his hand.

Luna turns around to see Discord standing with a talon pointed at Aselith.

“Don’t presume too much, child!” Discord says, bringing both arms in front of himself. “You still face your draconic ancestor and an immortal princess.” He steps up to Luna, standing at her side. He flashes her a quick smile before refocussing on Aselith. Luna follows suit, lower her stance and lighting her horn.

Aselith stares at them, cackling. “Peons are so amusing! You cannot hope to defeat me! Look!” With a swing of his sword, the ice shatters, freeing his hand. “Your high level spell has left me undamaged! What could you possible hope to do?”

“Fight!” Discord calls out.

As if on cue, Luna fires a large blast of energy at Aselith. Dodging to the side, he charges at the pair. With a quick spell, a hand the size of Discord materializes between them and pushes Aselith back.

With a mighty swing, the hand is cut in half and Aselith rushes forward again. Luna fires at him again, only for him to thrust his hand forward and absorb the magic through his palm. When the energy subsides, his hand is left with naught but a slight burn.

As he prepares to charge again, Discord finishes a spell, conjuring two huge earth elementals next to Aselith. They quickly grab onto him, allowing Discord to cast another spell. Just as Aselith breaks free of their hold, a greed ray shoots out from Discord’s talon and strikes him. Aselith shudders slightly before unleashing a torrent of hellfire around him, obliterating the elementals.

Luna takes to the air, rounding Aselith and blasting him with magic as she circles him. Each blast hits its mark, only for the damage to immediately repair itself on Aselith’s body. He rapidly fires blasts from his hand at Luna, seldom striking her, but the debris from the ceiling struck true. Luna slammed into the ground, attempting to stand immediately after.

Before Aselith can move, another fist materializes and grabs hold of his whole body. Before he can react, he sees Discord cast spells rapidly. In an instant, three red beads of magic surround his head. They explode simultaneously, engulfing him and the hand in fire.

With a swipe of his blade, the fire clears from Aselith, leaving him unscathed. He points the end of it at Discord, shooting a beam of white fire at Discord. Ducking, the fire narrowly misses his heart, instead piercing his shoulder. He slams into the wall, sliding onto the ground. With a smirk, Discord twists his claw and another hand grabs Aselith’s legs from behind.

“Now, Luna!” Discord screams.

With enormous power, Luna unleashes a torrent of Azure energy directly at Aselith. The torrent washes over his torso, concealing him from sight.

As the energy dies down, nothing remains above his gut. His sword clangs on the floor, still clutched by a disembodied hand. Discord releases the hand, letting Aselith’s body fall backward.

Panting, Luna slowly walks over to Discord.

“You did it.” Discord says, grasping his shoulder.

“We did it.” Luna says, a small smile forming on her face. It slowly recedes as she notices his wound.

Smirking, Discord casts a spell, closing the wound. Before Luna can speak, he casts the spell again, placing his claw on Luna’s back and healing her.

“I didn’t realize you could heal.” She says, regaining her smile.

“Though I was greedy, I wasn’t arrogant.” Discord stands, moving around his shoulder. “I should go and heal…” He trails off, freezing in place.

Luna follows his gaze and does the same.

Aselith’s legs move around, pushing themselves off the ground and standing up. A spine bursts from its abdomen, quickly growing ribs, arms, and a head. They’re quickly filled with organs and muscles before skin wraps around them.

Aselith stands before them, cracking his neck. He rips the remnants of his shirt off and throws it to the ground. Slowly, he walks over to his sword, picking it up and tossing the hand aside.

“Now,” He says, grinning, “what’s next?”

Luna and Discord stand there, mouths agape.

“Well?” Aselith asks, pacing around. “Surely you must have something else?”

Neither one says anything.

“Pity, but not unexpected.” He says, sticking his sword into the ground. “This is goodbye.”

He holds up his hands to them. A small green light forms between his hands and rapidly grows into a sphere. The energy whirls around in the sphere, crackling in the air.

Just as Aselith launches the energy ball, Dante lurches in front of the pair with the same sphere in hand. He throws it at Aselith, the two spheres colliding and exploding on impact. The room fills with ricocheting energy, fire spreading around the ceiling, acid smearing across the floors, lighting striking against the walls, all accompanied by a echoing boom.

With a swipe of his hand, Aselith clears the dust from in front of him, clearing the path between himself and his opponents.

“Dante, my friend!” He calls out, clapping his hands together. “I was wondering when you’d get up! You really should have been helping them out, you know.”

“I had to think.” Dante says, curling his hands into fists. “See, I heard what you said and I wondered: what could harm you? The only thing taken care of I could think of was Twilight and, therefore, the Elements of Harmony. So, if that power scared you, why didn’t Luna?”

Aselith smirked at him. “I suppose you’re about to tell me some great revelation.”

“She is powerful, no doubt about it. However, she is not an epic. But I am.”

“Oh please.” Aselith rolls his eyes. “I am an epic. You are not. You forget, you cannot access your full power. Only Astaroth can. Perhaps you plan on giving him control to kill me?”

“I can control him.”

“Yes, I remember the last time you controlled him. I distinctly remember you losing said control and me nearly being killed by him. Didn’t I also convince him to join me? I seem to recall him going after Iatril to make his control permanent.”

“I remember that too. I remember transforming into a horrible gestalt of demons after you sunk a magic dagger into my…our backside. I remember you saving Iatril.”

Aselith stood there, glaring at Dante. “What did you say?” He muttered.

Dante just stood there, grinning. He turns to look down at Luna. “Do you remember what I told you?” He asks. “What I asked you to do?”

Luna looks up at, her mouth moving to make words. “I…”

Dante nods his head slowly. “It’s time.”

Dante stands tall. His body convulses, muscles spasm and shift around. In a fiery explosion, his legs seem to stretch out between Luna and Discord, combining into a long tail. His torso lengthens, two new arms springing out from both sides. One set ended in pincers while the other ended in meaty fists. A pair of black, feathery wings sprouts from his back. His whole body lights up in a brilliant orange flame.

He stands there, glowering at Aselith.

With a horrid scream, Dante lunges forward. With no time to react, Aselith’s shoulders are pierced by the pincers, pinning him to the wall. In Dante’s remaining four hands, four identical balls of whirling green energy form.

“You bastard!” Aselith cries out, white fire lighting his hands.

Luna pulls the dagger from under her wing with her magic. She fill it with power as she charges at Dante.

Dante brings the four spheres to Aselith’s chest. Luna lunges the dagger into Dante’s back. The whole room fills with blinding light.

And then, everything goes dark.

END CHAPTER

Author's Note

There is darkness...

and peace...

for a moment.

Then they are replaced by a pulling, a pain to strong to resist, and then...

by emptiness.

"AAAaaiiigghh!" The Main Man cries out from his stone crypt. "I live again!"
(Above quoted from Battle for Wesnoth, Descent Into Darkness)

That's right, I'm back! This is it! Second to last chapter. You know this because this and the next chapter are up at the same time, and the story is changed to 'Completed'. It's been a long and arduous trip, but it's almost over.

Now, I'm gonna need you all to do me a solid and lower your expectations for the next chapter. I'll talk more about it in the next Author's Notes, but, for now, please lower your expectations by about 39%. Suffice to say this isn't how I originally planned on ending the story. :ajsleepy:

Ch. 27 - Goodbye

“Luna?” A voice calls out.

Luna opens her eyes, surveying her surroundings. She was no longer in a cave. It looked to be a small cottage.

Looking around, she saw a fire roaring in the fire pit. A small pot sat over it with something brewing inside. Across from the fire was a cushioned chair facing away from her.

Sitting up from a wooden bed, she held her hand to her head, feeling a slight pain…

She quickly brought her hand in front of her face, looking it over. Her pale skin shone in the light of the fire.

“Don’t be too startled over there.” The voice speaks again. “It’s not worth worrying about.”

Luna looks over at the chair again, noticing the back of a black hood near the top. She swings her legs over the side of the bed, standing up. Her flowing azure robes trail against the ground, barely revealing her similarly colored boots. A dark blue cloak flows behind her as she walks around the room. Her movement feels strange, and yet natural. She comes in front of the chair, seeing the figure sitting there.

“Who are you?” She asks, looking around. “Where am I?”

The figure sits there, chuckling. “Is that really the question you should be asking? I thought we went over this already.”

Luna stood there, confusion on her face. Her eyes suddenly widened. “Why…” She murmurs.

The figure looks up, revealing a worn, old face. A scar streaks across his forehead. His left blue eye is faded, showing a sign of blindness. Around his neck is the same twisted looking talisman Dante wore.

The old man stands up, looking Luna over.

“It’s been a long time since a beautiful young woman came to visit me.” He says with a smirk.

“Who are you?” She asks him again. “No games this time.”

The old man rolls his eyes. “Yes, I suppose there isn’t time for that. My name is Isaac. I was the Priest of Chaos before Dante. Well, actually my daughter was the priestess before Dante and I was before her, but I digress.”

“Then…how are you here?” She asks. “Am I…”

“Dead?” Isaac laughs. “Oh, no, far from it. Just a bit roughed up from the fight. You’ll be coming to any moment now. I just…exerted myself to speak with you this last time.” Isaac lifts up the talisman from his chest. “Dante isn’t the first person to bind a soul to something. More to the point, I wanted to thank you for all you’ve done for my family.”

“Your…family?” Luna asks.

“Yes. You saved my nephew from himself and for that, I am grateful to you.” He says, bowing before Luna.

She stands there for a moment before turning her head. “I hardly saved him.” She clenches her fist. “I killed him.”

Isaac looks up, a smile on his face. “We’ll see.”

“Luna!”

~ _ ~ _ ~ _ ~ _ ~

Luna wakes with a start. She looks around frantically, seeing the carved walls of the cave. Looking over herself, she sees her body as it should be. She looks up to see Discord kneeling over her.

“Thank the gods you are okay.” He says, offering her his paw.

She gives him her hoof, standing up. “What happened?”

Discord looks down the hallway to the open area. Dust fills the air beyond the entryway. “I’m not sure. It was all I could do to grab you and the changeling queen.” He says, gesturing behind Luna toward Chrysalis.

“Then I’ll go check and see.” She says, walking forward. “Stay here with her.”

“Be careful.” Discord says as she walks off.

In the next room, the dust from broken rocks hangs in the air. Barely able to see past her face, Luna uses her magic to blow the dust back. As the air begins to clear, she sees a silhouette standing away from her.

“Dante?” She calls out.

The silhouette moves around, looking at her.

“Dante!” She calls again, rushing forward. As she nears him, her movement slows down, her excitement dropping.

Standing before her was an old-looking man. His long white hair barely reaching his shoulders, his goatee barely grown into a beard, his gold and red eyes looking at her.

“Aselith…” She says slowly, standing still.

He gives a small smile before looking down to his side. There lay another body, slumped over itself. Luna could see long white hair on him as well, but his beard was long as well. His dark brown eyes looked at her almost lifelessly.

“No.” Aselith says, shaking his head. “That was but my pseudonym. More accurately, it was the name of the archfiend I had in my possession.” He gave a small bow. “My name is Derik.”

Luna took a few steps back, lowering her horn.

“No need for that, Princess.” He says. “I’m finished.” He pushes into his chest, his skin sinking in slightly. “My bones and skin have regenerated, but it matters little. Dante thoroughly destroyed my heart with epic magic. The devils I’ve absorbed are frantically spending all their energy just to sustain our existence. I’ll be dead soon no matter what.”

Luna continues glaring at him, shifting her eyes ever so slightly to Dante. “What about him?” She asks.

Derik leans over Dante. “His last breath draws near.” He looks back over at Luna. “I must thank you. You saved us both from ourselves.” He sat on the ground next to Dante.

“That’s it?” She asks, shifting her stance.

“That’s it.” He confirms. “Although, you will be receiving a large amount of books and equipment soon. Dante’s storage spells will end with his life, so you may do what you will with them.” He lies on the ground, crossing his arms. “A few other things may require your attention, but I’m sure our ancestor can help you with them.” His arms begin to wrinkle, his face drooping ever so slightly.

Luna walks over to him, looking down at him. “Just who are you?” She asks.

Derik closes his eyes and smiles. “Ask Iatril. She has…the…answer.” He breathes out slowly, his chest stopping at the last word.

Derik lies there, completely still. Luna looks at Dante and sees his chest cease moving as well. In an instant, several dozen bookcases line the walls of the cave. Several rods and dozens of scrolls land on the ground around her. A crystal ball and a lens appear next to Dante’s and Derik’s head.

Luna looks around the room for a moment before walking towards the exit.

~ _ ~ _ ~ _ ~ _ ~

The group teleported to the courtyard of Castle Canterlot. Discord immediately carried Chrysalis to the infirmary with a pair of guards Luna rounded up. Luna left Dante and Derik in the courtyard and went to the throne room to speak with Iatril, or attempt to. According to Dante, she would likely not be coherent. When she arrived, however, Iatril was face down on the floor, a staff, a dagger and a journal by her side.

Celestia told her the diamond shattered on its own, sending Iatril out. When she checked Iatril, Celestia found her to be dead.

Luna picked up the journal with her magic, reading through the pages.

~ _ ~ _ ~ _ ~ _ ~

Day 1 of Binding,

I have decided to attempt what the first warlock did 1,500 years ago. I have painstakingly analyzed how the essence of outsiders flow and am confident I will prevail where he failed. Thus, I will only bind 1 group of outsiders to me. The ones I am attempting to bind do not share the exact disposition as myself, but they are in much greater quantity and potency. As a safety precaution, I will not name the group, as that knowledge may be used against me if this journal is stolen. They will have to work. They must.

Day 3,

I have yet to notice any undesirable effects of the binding, though I have only 1 soul bound. Likewise, no significant power has arisen. I have found, however, that I am able to store 1 additional cantrip within my mind. I will attempt another binding and record the results when noticed.

Day 6,

Again, no undesirable effects noticed. I can now cast an additional 1st level spell, instead of the cantrip. This is intriguing, yet frustrating. I know better than to be impatient, as that leads to accidents, but I must push forward. The war continues and losses are becoming unacceptable.

Day 10,

I have begun hearing voices, though only while at rest. This is either due to the number of outsider presently absorbed by me, numbering 4, or due to binding 2 at once. My warlock abilities have increased in power. This is expected, given the nature of eldritch magic to begin with. However, this is still not enough. My love came back to the city today, narrowly escaping death. Against my judgment, she is preparing to move out again. I must push on and absorb a more powerful outsider. One of the strongest of this group.

Day 17,

This power is overwhelming. I can amplify my spells without preparing them as such. The ones I have prepared in such a way can be enhanced further. The voices are becoming stronger, and more joined together. They began as chattering, clamoring for their various wills to be done, but with the addition of a stronger soul, they are unified. Perhaps the strongest has dominated the weaker ones. I should be cautious.

Day 21,

I have added 2 more to myself. My power swells, allowing me to continue working through the night without rest. I still need to rest to regain spells, of course, but that may very well change. Additionally, when using my eye invocations, my eye color changes to gold instead of green now. Combined with no need for sleep, I’m beginning to suspect I am becoming an outsider myself. Strange, as natural outsiders still require sleep and sustenance, but this furthers my understanding of my heritage. The voices, however, seem to have stopped for the time being. Perhaps due to my not sleeping? Ominous.

Day 29,

The voices are growing worse. I’m hearing them right now, even though I’m awake. They encourage me to feast upon their brethren, to add more of them to myself and gain more power. There are still only 7 inside me, as far as I can tell, and I’m going to keep it that way. I can’t imagine the mental fortitude required to hold more of them at bay. I have begun using the life forces of outsiders as a source of energy to help keep these voices at bay, but I know this isn’t a permanent solution; the energy will run out and I’ll have to ensnare more outsiders again. Thankfully, using outsiders as energy like this doesn’t fuse them to my soul, so I’m not experiencing more feedback because of it. I still have not told my lover about my experimenting. She has been growing more suspicious, but I feel that telling her will only cause her to worry. Hopefully, I’ll discover a permanent way to subdue these outsiders soon.’

Day 40,

The voices are stronger. Yesterday, I added 3 more to myself. I don’t know why, but I felt compelled to do it. These monsters are beginning to influence my actions. I have to find a way to subdue them. I need more life force to keep them in check. I need more.

Day 55,

Day 72,

I may have found a way to keep them in check. I’ve enchanted a sword to act as a conduit between my soul and theirs. I haven’t heard the voices since implementing it. I will bind another and monitor the results. If all goes well, I will bind more.

Day 91,

I was wrong. So very wrong. They tricked me. They held their tongues and let me absorb 6 more before taking control. I was so arrogant with my so called discovery I neglected to absorb more life force, thinking I wouldn’t need it. I have remedied the situation and hopefully all will go well. I can’t turn back now. It’s far too late for that. I must push forward. I must end this war. I will not fail.

Day 103,

How could I have done this? My home is in shambles. The City of Magic is in flames. Everyone here is dead. And worst of all—I—I killed her. My love. How could I? I saw myself move, pull her into the sun and cut off her hand. The ring I gave her, the ring to protect her from the sun—and, I watched her. I watched her burn in the sun. They made me watch her burn.

I know now that I am beyond saving. Already I can feel their pull on me, bringing me closer to the darkness. Please, to anyone that finds this, please just watch over me. Find a moment, any moment, where I appear vulnerable and kill me. Bless a sliver weapon and slay me, I beg of you. End my suffering and my killing, please! And then maybe Dante, my brother, maybe you can forgive me for Garret.

On the last pages of the journal, the handwriting changes.

Dante,

If you are alive, then I’ve failed you. I’ve been your friend for decades now, and I’ve seen you do questionable, if not simply evil, things. However, I’ve also seen you become more good. I’ve seen you smile at the beauty of the world and help to keep that world safe. I was with you when you met your brother, when you two formed your council, when you grasped for immortality, and when your worst fears were realized. And I was with you when you bound those demons to your soul. I saw the devastation you cast upon the army that sought your death, the army from Derik. On that day, I saw your resolve to save your brother.

I am saddened, then, to inform you your victory now has come at a price. Before the binding, when Hector pulled you from the fight with Derik, your brother cursed me. When Derik dies, I die. Simple conditions for a powerful curse. He told me his regret in doing so, how he had no choice. I understood exactly what that monster inside him intended. If he couldn’t have Derik, then you couldn’t have me or your sanity. They both knew you wouldn’t save Derik over me. What Aselith didn’t understand, however, was my own resolve in the matter. Garret was just as important to me as he was to you. He would go out of his way to help someone else. Therefore, I chose to do the same. That is why I am dead. I could not let this curse cloud your judgment. Aselith must be stopped. Derik will be saved. Sometimes we have to look beyond what we want and do what’s best.

My only regret is if I can’t save you from this fate.

Whoever reads this journal, please save my friend. Bless a cold iron blade and strike him down. And please, tell him I’m sorry.

Iatril Dryeareplith (Dancer of the Day, Champion of the Forest)

~ _ ~ _ ~ _ ~ _ ~

The days since the battle passed slowly. Discord had gone back to the cave to retrieve Dante’s and Derik’s spellbooks. He was looking for a way to return himself to his world. Luna told him of Dante’s discovery concerning Tartarus and what he called the Abyss. Discord seemed to appreciate it. Celestia wasn’t too happy to hear Discord would be simply leaving, but Luna convinced her otherwise. All Discord wanted now was to see what became of his descendants, and perhaps help those he could.

Chrysalis must have woken up at some point. She was nowhere to be seen after the first day. Everything considered, though, she wasn’t likely to cause much trouble.

Fluttershy wasn’t seen for the first couple days, needing to be alone after losing Iatril. They had apparently talked about living together after the conflict. Luna didn’t believe Iatril meant to cause any harm. Perhaps she was chasing after a life she couldn’t have.

What was most astounding was the red dragon that appeared in Celestia’s chambers. Apparently, Raven—or Krios, as was his name—was cursed by Aselith as well. Dante had looked after him while he was a dragon and somehow found him when he was cursed, but Krios didn’t think Dante was even aware of this fact. As it was, Krios could barely recall what transpired here.

Not even a week after the battle, Discord found what he needed to return home.

~ _ ~ _ ~ _ ~ _ ~

“So, this is really it.” Luna states, rather than asks.

Discord nods, standing over Dante’s spellbook. In the back of Dante’s chambers, a diagram covers part of the wall, standing in a circle large enough for Krios to pass through.

“It seems so strange being able to go home.” Discord says, facing Luna.

“Will you be alright there?” She asks. “I’m not sure how the people, or the gods for that matter, would react.”

“Don’t worry.” He says, lifting up Dante’s holy symbol from around his neck. “He says all will be well.”

Luna chuckles softly. “This just seems so weird. I imagined this goodbye going to Iatril and Dante. It almost feels like…well, something out of a bad book.”

“Life can give you all sorts of twists and turns. Believe me, I’ve made plenty of both.” Discord places his paw on the diagram.

“I can’t say I’m sad to see you leave, all things considered.” Luna smiles, turning to the side. “I’m sure Tia is more than happy.”

“As she should be.” Discord smirks. “I am a monster, after all.” He looks up at Krios. “Ready, hatchling?”

Krios rolls his eyes, lifting Iatril, Dante, and Derik in his front claws. “As I’m going to be.”

Discord faces Luna again. “I suppose this is the part where I offer some sort of advice or cryptic saying, but I don’t think you’ll need it. Instead, do you have any advice for me?”

Luna shakes her head.

“Well then.” He says with a grin, opening the portal.

Krios steps through first, with Discord right after him.

As the portal closes behind him, Discord calls out “Until we meet again!”

Luna is left alone in the room, shaking her head, and walking to the exit.

“Doubtful.”

END STORY

Author's Note

Did y'all lower your expectations? I hope so. Now, like I mentioned, this isn't how I planned on ending the story. What I planned on doing was:

~They fight, 'defeating' Aselith.
~Return to Canterlot, schmooze, good times.
~Oops, Aselith is alive, specters attack Dante underground, Iatril gets hands chopped off, turned into wight.
~Luna gets horn cut off from Aselith, shown green blade from Dante's dreams.
~Dante kicks Aselith's ass, sends him packing, insane, dances with Iatril's wight-corpse.
~Mourning, sadness, Luna reads revealing journal.
~Discord comes up with idea, send Luna into Dante's soul through magic mirror.
~Luna meets Garret and Isaac, goes through Dante's memories, MANY CHAPTERS.
~Luna sees Dante, sent on errand to collect Macguffin sword parts to control Astaroth, oops it's a trick, Dante is Astaroth.
~Luna, Isaac, Iatril vs Astaroth/Dante, hope almost lost, Garret appears, smashes sword, separating Dante from Astaroth.
~Isaac binds demons, preparing them for final fight.
~Dante cured, fixes Luna's horn in exchange for divine magic, frees Krios from curse, prepares.
~Heartwarming talk between Luna and Dante, knocks out Luna, faces Aselith/Derik alone.
~Final boss speech, Dante unleashes demons against Aselith, they are easily beaten.
~Bragging and such, Dante reveals elements of harmony in chest with soul bound angel, epic transformation, final attack.
~Luna shows up, sees Aselith standing there, etc.
~Bring back bodies, gods from Dante's world show up, some sort of speech, leave with Discord and Krios, Isaac may pass on.
~Epilogue: lol-jk, Dante, Derik, Iatril, Garret reborn in Equestria 200 years later, live happy lives.

Blam! Now, if some of you weren't happy with how it ended, you know the alternative. And really, it took 4 months to put these 2 chapters out. I was never gonna finish it at that rate. Besides, the 'true' ending isn't so tragic. Sure, they all died, but they get reincarnated. I needed to keep to the story tags just a little bit! And yeah, I'm the author, I can do what I want, but I wasn't going to put you all through that.

Quite honestly, story writing is much more intensive than I thought it would be. Normally, for D&D, I just make shit up as I go and it all works out. Thing is, that's just how my friends and I like to roll. I'm not nearly creative enough to write stories like this.

Anyway, I've yammered on long enough. Though it was getting a little shoddy near the end, I hope you all enjoyed it. Any last minute criticism? If I ever write Dante's backstory (which I probably won't, let's be honest) I can post a link for those interested. Until then, I bid you adieu and goodbye.

Ch. 1 - Welcome to Equestria

The long, wide hallway is very well lit. Not a corner of the room is cloaked in shadow, as is expected of a master of the arcane arts. Light seems to appear from no discernible location, as if the air itself is the source of light. An elegantly crafted carpet adorns the stone flooring from one end of the hall to the other, stretching over one-hundred feet, leaving less than a foot of stone shown on any side of it. The walls spanning the long distance are inscribed with various characters and runes, spanning every language known, some known to only a few. The words these markings form can be felt in the minds in those who are unafraid of what they mean. The fear, the anger, the unrestrained pain in the words would leave any fearless fool in a catatonic state until the end of their days should they be too weak in heart to resist them.

At the end of the long hallway before grand, wooden doors, the remains of a slaughter adorn the walls and floor alike. Blood cakes the walls, filling in the carvings of the characters, adding to their already indescribable haunting feel. Bodies of decrepit, human shaped creatures, mangled and torn apart by brute force and magic, decorate the sides of the hall. The bodies themselves leak a black-red blood onto the carpet, staining it with a foul stench of death. A half dozen of these bodies are piled together, linking their arms and legs together in an unorganized jumble. Their clawed hands lay motionless, some with broken fingers, others burned away with archaic magic. The teeth of these creatures drip with a thick drool, contaminated with a deadly disease the common man fears with due reason. One would not wish to begin decaying, pass to the next life, and leave behind a vicious monstrosity to do the same to their friends and family. Such a fear is irrelevant to the two people standing before the massive door.

“Are you ready?” asked one of the people. It is a human male, a few inches short of six feet, with fair skin and dark brown, wavy hair barely stretching past his shoulders. His face is stern and showing a lightly trimmed goatee. His clothes resemble that of a wondering mage: a dark blue tunic, black pants and boots, and a blood red cloak. At his side is a long sword in its sheath, burning with powerful, dark magic. On each of his middle and ring fingers rests a single ring, on his forearms are bracers, around his neck an amulet, and across his brow a metal band, all radiating varying degrees of magic. Around his neck also lay two separate amulets, one encrusted with a finely crafted jade jewel and another twisted looking symbol showing his religious piety. Upon his shoulder sits raven, watching the doors with great anticipation.

“You need not ask me that.” replied the second person. This one is a female elf, standing just less than five feet. Her skin is slightly fairer than the mage’s, and her hair is golden and silk-like, pulled back into a ponytail with several bands a few inches apart each, laying halfway down her back. Her cloths resemble that of a martial artist: her torso covered with a white shirt, pulled tight to her body with leaf green bands to move swiftly through the air, her legs mostly covered with brown pants, resembling the bark of a great oak tree, pulled tightly with the same type of bands. Her feet and arms are bare, showing muscles earned through years of discipline and training. Despite her elegant frame, she looks as if she wrestles with creatures at least three times her size on a regular basis. Though not as equipped with magical baubles as her companion, she still carries a few magical objects. She has one ring on each of her ring fingers, a similar jade amulet around her neck, and a great wooden staff, adorned with holly and mistletoe up and down its length. The staff is masterfully carved from a great oak, containing a heavy magic, second only to her companion’s sword.

“Just wanted to be sure. After all, this is it. This will be a day long remembered. Our vengeance will be fulfilled, and we’re actually being paid for it.”

“Speaking of our benefactors, what is the word from the general of the army?”

“I wouldn’t know. I haven’t contacted him since we came in this dungeon.”

Sitting next to the elf, a large wolf as white as snow and as tall as the human gives a small growl-whine and looks over at the elf, who stares at the human for a moment, thinking of how to respond. “Dante! You were supposed to keep in contact with him! What if his troops get overrun and the ghouls come down here for us?”

Dante looks over at the elf with a raised eyebrow. “Ghouls? You are concerned about ghouls?”

“Ghouls, ghasts, wraiths, anything!”

“Iatril, we can handle any of those things. Besides, whatever would be left over after fighting with the good general wouldn’t be enough to kill us.”

“Dante!”

“Iatril! See? I can yell your name too.” Dante says, smiling at his companion the whole while.

“You can’t say that! We are supposed to be working with them. What will you tell the king if the general dies?”

“Something along the lines of ‘You should have promoted a better warrior and tactician to general than that dumbass.’ Really now, what does it matter? He can’t do anything to me, and I mean anything. With the exception of the bastard we’re here to kill, I’m the strongest mage in all the land. Besides, even if he could do something, I have two dozen clones sitting in containers spread across several countries, waiting to be put to use.”

“Dante,” she says with sympathy in her voice, “the general is not a paladin. The king has no agenda against warlocks. You shouldn’t hate them. They are actually willing to help you.”

“They’re humans. They’re helping themselves and you know it. Look, we’ll discuss this later. If it makes you feel better, I’ll check in with the general.”

A small smile is shown across Iatril’s lips. “Thanks.”

Dante turns away and puts his hand to his forehead and concentrates. He holds the pose for half a minute before turning back to Iatril. “Yeah, he’s dead. Apparently, there are about three dozen undead dragons mounted with bodaks. Their gaze killed about one-fourth of the army, including the general. He was dead not five minutes after we entered this fortress.”

“But it’s high noon! Sunlight kills bodaks, doesn’t it?”

“Only if they stay out too long in it, which they did. It was a suicide attack, and a good one at that.”

The snow-white wolf whines again and presses against Iatril. There was silence in the air for a long minute before Iatril broke it. “I actually liked him.”

Dante set his hand on her shoulder. “I know. Human or not, he was brave, a quality I have not seen in many for a long time. We can make for him a proper burial when we return.” It was quiet again for a moment before Dante spoke again. “Let’s go.”

~ _ ~ _ ~ _ ~ _ ~

The chamber beyond the doors is dimly lit at best. Such a thing is not a trouble for either Dante or Iatril. Iatril’s natural ability to see in low lighting and Dante’s supernatural ability to see in total darkness is advantageous in such a setting. However, the one they seek has the same power as Dante. Indeed, he has quite a few powers that are the same or similar to Dante’s. Such can be the case with some powerful warlocks.

The room itself is circular. Bookcases line the opposing side of the room, reaching up to the ceiling thirty feet high. On the side with the door the two companions and wolf entered, there are bookshelves built into the wall, leading to a set of stairs on either side of the door, stretching into a semicircle and sloping down to match where the steps of the stairs are. The ground is made of stone bricks, only slightly smoothed from use. The stairs are wooden, made from finely crafted mahogany, and covered with the same type of carpeting as the previous hall, letting only a few inches of wood being shone on either side.

The three cautiously walk in, moving closer to the opposing bookcase. Once they walk past the center, they are greeted by a friendly voice, disguised to hide its malicious intent.

“Greetings friends.”

They turn around in sync to see their target standing on the landing above them. With a smile on his face, this man shows no visible malice towards the two. To one who can get a sense of feeling from others would say otherwise. This man has a short crop of dark brown hair atop his head. His face is slim and lightly tanned with only the slightest hint of a beard. His clothes give off the same malicious feeling that was hidden in his voice. His top is covered in a robe, black as the darkest night. His pants the same color, blending almost completely with his upper half, as well as with his pitch black boots.

“Aselith.” Dante says with nothing but contempt in his voice. “You would just stand there and smile at me, instead of making a first attack.”

“Ah, but that implies I need to attack you by surprise.”

“There are two of us, Aselith. You are a fool, and you will die as such!” Dante leaps in the air, taking flight and drawing his sword, heading straight towards Aselith. The raven on his shoulder flies off and hovers above the wolf. His sword is shaped like a bolt of lightning and appears to be burning with a fire within. Dante swings his sword at Aselith, only to have it blocked by a nigh invisible wall.

“You think I would face you alone? Perhaps. However, why fight alone when you can force someone to fight for you?” From behind Aselith comes a hooded figure, hiding his face, showing only a black beard from under his hood. He is dressed from head to foot under a black robe.

“Coward!” Dante yells and flies back towards the towering bookcases. “Come and fight me like a man!”

“Um…no.”

The wall disappears as Aselith lets loose a barrage of four flaming spheres at Dante. The spheres impact on him, exploding in a fiery blaze. Dante is thrown back into the bookcase and falls to the ground. At the same time, Iatril jumps up at least twenty feet into the air and diving right towards Aselith.

Aselith jumps back at the last second, letting Iatril slam her fist into the floor, greatly cracking the solid stone, leaving her hand unharmed. She quickly makes a gesture with her hand and shouts at her two enemies.

“BURN!”

A torrent of fire slams down from the ceiling onto Aselith and the hooded figure, both of which seem relatively uninjured. She then rushes the hooded wizard and unleashes a furious assault of punches and swift kicks. The wizard takes a few hits before flying up into the air, leaving her on the ground with her other foe. Aselith fires a ray of freezing cold at Iatril, hitting her directly in the back.

“Gah!” she cries out before turning her attention to her attacker.

“Where’s your mate now?” Aselith taunts. He begins casting another spell, but gets interrupted when a pair of stone hands comes from the floor and grabs him. A very large earth elemental comes from the floor and pins Aselith against its body. A ray of black crackling energy strikes the hooded wizard in the air, causing him to cry out in pain.

“Over here.” Dante floats over the balcony onto the floor. “Really now, don’t take over the mind of a wizard and have him fight for you without protecting him from life siphoning magic. A wizard who can’t cast spells is worthless. Actually,” Dante points his hand at the bound Aselith, “a dead wizard is even more worthless.” A green ray shoots from his fingers at Aselith. The ray shoots right through him and strikes the elemental instead, breaking it into a fine dust before phasing out existence completely.

“Wow. That looked painful.” A deep voice from behind Dante says, right before he is slammed into the ground by a huge black dragon. The sound of ribs cracking is heard throughout the room, followed by howling screams of pain. “Wow. That sounded painful. You alright?”

Dante lets out another scream, but this one full of magic, blasting the dragon with waves of sound, causing him to reel back in pain, covering his ears. Dante quickly stands, manipulates the magic in his jade amulet and begins shifting his form. In seconds, he takes on the form of a white dragon a little smaller in size than Aselith.

“Have at thee!” Dante tackles the dragon-shaped Aselith over the edge of the balcony.

The hooded wizard quickly flies over the wrestling dragons and begins trying to dismantle Dante’s spell when he is again interrupted by a blast of fire and falls to the ground. He is then pounced on by the great wolf and is held in place on the ground with the wolf’s jaw around his neck. Iatril walks over to the restrained wizard.

“Now then, let’s try and remove that enchantment from your mind there.”

While the dragon-form wizards fight, Iatril tries twice to remove the binding magic on the hooded wizard’s mind, failing both times. She then spent almost a minute trying to break the spell with words and not magic.

“Iatril!” The deep voice of the white dragon yells. “If you’re about done playing with your new friend, I could use a little help here!”

“I’m coming! Stay with the wizard, Flurry. I’ll be back soon.” Iatril stands up and mirrors Dante’s motions, taking the form of large silver dragon and attacking the black dragon.

The three shifted spellcasters wrestle for almost five minutes, clawing, biting, and letting loose their vicious draconic breath powers. At last, the form of the black dragon begins reverting to his human form as he is thrown up to the balcony. He lands with a thud, moving slowly as the other two dragons fly up and land on the balcony, changing to their own forms as well.

“Now then, time to end this.” Dante says, standing right above Aselith. “I do believe we have eradicated all of your clones, but just in case, I’m going to siphon the life out of you. If, then, I can trap your soul in a gem, I’ll know we found all the clones. If not, you won’t have the energy to enter a new one.”

Aselith coughs up some blood onto the floor as he laughs.

“Oh? Something I say seem funny to you?”

“You really think I wouldn’t notice you destroying my clones?”

“No. I think you would notice. Hence the life siphoning magic I’m about to use on you.”

“You think I wouldn’t be prepared?”

“No. You were prepared. We were just more prepared. Any more inane questions before your death?”

Aselith gives a soft chuckle and twists his body to face the pair of magic users. “Have you looked below you?”

Both Dante and Iatril turn their attention to the ground, not seeing anything out of the ordinary. The stone is bare and unbroken, with the exception of where Iatril landed. Iatril is the first to respond.

“There is nothing here. Your deceptions won’t save you this time.”

“Oh, no deception. I just thought you two would have been able to see it by now.”

With that, Dante turns on his magical senses, searching the ground for anything strange. Between himself and Aselith, he finds some magical symbol hanging in the air barely off the ground. After a moment to analyze it, he realizes what it is.

“Shit! Get back!”

Before they can move, Aselith shoots three fiery rays at Flurry, freeing the hooded wizard from his grip. The wizard quickly casts a spell, activating the rune. The rune glows brightly, enveloping the whole room in a bright white light. The air itself seems to bend and break around the rune. As quickly as it came, all the light in the room is taken away, leaving an empty void. A moment later, light was returned. The light wasn’t from torches or magically created, but it did seem to be all around. What’s more, they were no longer in the stone complex. On the ground was grass with various flowers and fungi. All around were trees stretching high into the air, attempting to block out the light of the sun. The trees themselves looked pained and sickly, as if they wanted to cry out.

They were teleported to a forest.

“Well, good job. You’ve changed the location of your death. I’m sure dying in a forest is much nicer than dying in a stone building. Now, if you’re about done prolonging the inevitable, I’d like to-”

Before he can finish his taunt, Dante gets slammed in the back by something. He falls to the ground, quickly floating up and turning to face his attacker. To say he was surprised would be an understatement. Before him stood a wolf. Not just any wolf, but a wolf that seemed to be made of wood. Around the whole group were a pack of these wolves, glaring at them with glowing, yellow eyes. At least two dozen wolves were coming into their clearing.

Aselith stands and faces Dante with the same smile he had when they came to face him. “Welcome to Equestria.”

END CHAPTER

Author's Note

So, this is my first fan-fiction of any kind. Real excited about it. Please be gentle with criticism. And by "gentle" I mean "ruthlessly explain what it is about the story that is lacking or is grammatically horrible, etc." Like I said, this is my first fan-fiction, so criticism is completely welcome. I'm also setting out the next chapter right away, just so the setting can be where it's supposed to be: in Equestria!

Ch. 5 - Making Friends in all the Right Places

The skies above Canterlot were something to behold. All around were the loyal guards of this kingdom, valiantly searching for the creature who, not even an hour ago, burst into the castle and chased the guards around. For the third time now, a two-pony squad of pegasi went right over the pastry shop and, unknown to them, their target.

‘Wow. This is kind of pathetic. What’s the point of sending out these pegasi if they can’t even see or sense me? It kind of reminds me of that time when that archmage was looking to kill me but couldn’t find me, even though I was right in front of him. Actually, this is different. It wasn’t so much my ability to hide as it was me stabbing his eyes out the night before. Actually, that wasn’t even me. That was that assassin I paid to do it. Come to think of it, I never did see that assassin again to pay him, so I suppose that explains how that wizard knew it was me that told him to do it, and why he was still blind the next day. Magical poisons are awesome. I’d say dying on the job like that would be unprofessional, but he did technically get the job done, and I didn’t have to pay him for it. Anyway, what was I thinking about? Oh, right. These pegasi. You know, the way they just fly around searching the ground, it makes me want to start shooting them out of the sky. Then again, I really wouldn’t be able to get help from these ponies if I did that. What would Iatril do in this situation? Come to think of it, what is she even up to right now?’

With a thought, Dante rose into the air and flew towards the mountain, lazily avoiding the searching pegasi. Once he reached the face of the mountain, he noticed an indent behind one of the waterfalls. He floated over to the waterfall and, sure enough, a cave stood before him. The cave seemed large enough to let even a larger creature, such as a troll, walk through with ease. Given its closeness to the waterfall, the cave walls and floors were relatively dry. A few stalagmites decorated the floor of the cave with few stalactites on the ceiling.

He entered the cave, removed his invisibility, and took out his needle. As he was about to open the portal, a movement in the corner of his eye caught his attention. He turned to face a dark gray pony clad in a similarly colored cloak. His eyes were magenta, and across his left eye was a vertical scar. Just poking out of his hood was a patch of his dark blue mane. The pony stood there, mouth agape.

“Uh…hi there.” Dante said to the pony.

“Good, uh, good afternoon.” The pony replied.

“So…this is your cave?”

“Just, um, passing through.” He said, a little nervously.

“Same here. Same here.” The tension in the air could be cut with a knife.

“So, are you what was causing the commotion in Canterlot?”

“I may have contributed more than initially intended, yes. You noticed that up here?”

“Well, I was keeping an eye out if any guards came looking around here. I didn’t think all those guards out there were looking for me, though.”

“Oh, I know who you are! You’re Shade Strider! I saw your wanted poster in the castle.”

Shade Strider takes a few steps back. “You aren’t here to turn me in, are you?”

“Nah. There’s no way they’d listen to me anyway. I just ran the guards around in the castle, hence the search patrols.”

“Huh. Fair enough.” Shade says, seeming more at ease. “So, if you don’t mind me asking, why did you chase the guards in the castle?”

“That…is a very good question. I was planning on asking the rulers for help concerning…a certain matter, and then I got this idea to mess with these ponies, and, well, here I am.”

“That’s pretty crazy.”

“I get that a lot. Now, I have a few questions for you. Aren’t you the least bit scared of me, of what I can do? I have this sneaky feeling there aren’t any of my kind native to this place, yet you don’t seem fearful at all.”

Shade Strider gives a small smirk. “I’ve travelled all around Equestria and beyond for years, taking jobs from various creatures. I once took a job from a dragon to steal from another dragon, and let me tell you, you are no dragon.”

Dante quickly shifts his form once more into the abomination he was before in the castle, swishing around his now liquid-like body in the air and screeching from his many mouths. Shade took a step back, but kept his composure.

“That’s a nice trick, but you’re still no dragon.”

“I can turn into a dragon if that’ll help the situation.”

“You might break the cave if you do that.”

“Eh, point taken.” Dante shifts his form back to his own. “Ok, next question: What is a wanted criminal such as yourself doing this close to the capital of this country? Call me crazy…well, you already did, but that seems like a bad idea to me.”

“It doesn’t seem too wise to reveal my plans to a complete stranger, does it?”

“Another good point. You remind me of someone I used to know.”

“Is that a good thing?”

“Generally? No. Fortunately for you, he was one of the few people I liked. In the interest of no longer being strangers, my name is Dante. I’d give you my titles as well, but I’ve accumulated so many and some are redundant. Anyway, I digress. You might as well tell me your plans. I have no interest in stopping you, only a now growing curiosity. Plus, I may or may not kill you anyways, whether or not you tell me, so you might as well tell me so I don’t have to get the answer from your corpse.”

“Very well, I plan on stealing a magic object from the personal collection of Princess Celestia.”

“…That was quite unexpected. Usually, when I say shit like that, people will put up some sort of fight.”

“I’m a thief, not a warrior. You just easily shifted your form into some abomination and claimed to have the ability to change into a dragon. An ability I believe you have and would be willing to use, if need be. Also, I believe you wouldn’t try to stop me and I don’t believe you are going to kill me.”

“Wow. That is a very good sense of judgment you have there. I have to say I am impressed.”

“Hey, I think I heard some voices over here.” A voice called out from behind the waterfall.

“Crap, it’s the guards!” Shade says, looking towards the waterfall. “Come on, follow me. We can lose them in these caves.” He turns and starts heading deeper in.

“Hold on there, my little thief. There’s no need to run away like this. We can hide in style.” Dante opens up the pouch on his hip and pulls out a small, ivory loop, a bit of marble, and a small, silver spoon. He then makes a gesture with his hand and speaks a few intelligible words and before them appears a portal out of thin air. “Come on inside and make yourself at home. I promise this will be much more appealing than the caverns of this mountain. One thing first.” He pulls his left eye from its socket and lobs it into the air, letting its newly formed legs cling to a group of stalactites. Shock fills Shade’s face. “Don’t worry, that’s normal.”

They both enter the portal and appear in a grand mansion, just like the one Dante created the day before. The portal on their side closes and takes the shape of a grand, mahogany double-door.

“This is amazing.” Shade says, wonder in his eyes. “Was that some sort of teleportation spell that brought us here?”

“That’s one way of looking at it. More accurately, I created this place out of nothing but the magic in the air. We are in a separate, temporary dimension that will last a bit less than two days. It comes with a fully stocked kitchen fit to serve a royal feast, several living quarters varying in style, a relaxation area, and a bath.”

“You’re pulling my leg. You created all of this? With one spell?”

“Yep, yep.”

“This seems…almost god-like.”

“You flatter me.”

“What was with pulling out your own eye though?”

“I can see through it while it hides out there.”

“I’ve never heard of any unicorn doing anything like that.”

“You know much about unicorn magic?”

“Not really. I know enough to get by. How to avoid magical detection and traps, that sort of thing. Honestly, unicorn magic never really appealed to me, seeing how I’m not a unicorn.”

“Ah, yes. Pegasus, right? That’s what your wanted poster led me to believe, and I doubt you’d get very far working for dragons otherwise.”

With a swift pull with his teeth, Shade dropped his cloak to reveal a pair of dark gray wings. “Correct you are, sir. Shade Strider: thief, spy, and infiltrator, at your service.” He gave a mock bow before Dante.

“I’m glad I met you! I was worried this world was filled with nothing but peaceful ponies. That, and manticores. And timberwolves. And dragons. Well, mostly filled with peaceful ponies then. I was beginning to think I had somehow died and this was my punishment: to live peacefully until the end of time. Of course, killing a manticore should have straightened that out right away.”

“You’re just full of surprises, aren’t you Dante?” Shade says, looking around the mansion foyer.

“You’re an experienced thief who just went through a magic portal created by a creature you barely know. I’m the more surprised one here.”

“I’m just good at reading ponies. You aren’t so different to read. Besides, I might’ve been caught in that cave, and then spent the rest of my life in a dungeon. This seemed the better choice to me.”

Dante looks over the pony before him. “Yeah, you really do remind me of him.” He looks down at the floor, only to notice the summoned servants out of the corner of his eye. “But enough of that. You three.” He points to a few servants. “Bring me some ale, meat of some sort, fruit, and donuts. You three, bring my guest whatever he wishes.” Dante then turns to Shade. “Go ahead and tell them what you want. I got a good idea about what you ponies eat from what I observed yesterday, so whatever you want should be here. Meet me in the room at the end of the hall after you’ve decided. Oh, and I hope you aren’t too bothered by the whole ‘meat eating’ thing.” He says, moving to the door on the opposite side of the room.

“I’ve worked for dragons, remember?” Shade replies, turning to the servants.

Just at the end of the hall, an open room stood with various chairs and cushions. Dante takes a seat on an almost spherical cushion, sinking into it. A few moments later, three servants come into the room with the plates of food and ale, followed by Shade and his servants. The latter servants brought back some sandwiches composed of daisies, a few donuts, and a few glasses of wine.

“Heh, you strike me as someone who’d drink wine. The donuts surprise me a little, though.”

“You don’t seem the type either, what with the meat.”

“Are you kidding? This morning, before my little escapade in the castle, I ate about a dozen of these things at some shop called ‘Pony Joe’s.’ They were delicious! If these existed where I’m from, I might have been a more easygoing guy.”

“You seem pretty easygoing to me.”

“It’s all part of my plan.”

“What plan?”

“The plan I keep on pulling out of my ass. The next part of that plan is to socialize with the pony in front of me. After that is unknown. Then, after the unknown, is profit.”

“Profit?”

“Yeah, that tends to happen. What I’ve observed is when I do stupid stuff, like chasing those guards around, I tend to relax for a while afterwards. Then, I make some obscure plan to do something, which then goes completely wrong, hence the unknown, and then I end up gaining something out of the whole experience. Or, I’m just lying through my teeth for the hell of it. You be the judge.”

“Well, you’re going with your plan so far, so it’s not a complete lie.” Shade replies smugly, taking a bite of his sandwich.

“Eh. Truthfully, I like doing things without much planning involved, you know? Just jump from one activity to the next without any rhyme or reason.”

“Is that why you let me hide in this magic house with you?”

“Mansion, actually, and that probably is the reason. That and, if I didn’t, I’d be here talking to myself for hours or scrying on my associate.”

“What’s scrying?”

“Scrying is a form of divination. It’s seeing and hearing some other location, anywhere in the world; on different planes of existence, too. I was going to scry on my associate when I came into the cave, but I find chatting with you to be more enjoyable.”

“Where is your associate now?”

“Questions, questions, questions. She’s in Ponyville, disguised as a pegasus, mingling with the townsfolk. Now, in all fairness, I think I should get to ask a few questions of you.”

Shade takes a sip of his wine before continuing. “Ask away.”

“For starters, what exactly are you trying to steal from Celestia?”

“It’s some sort of magical amulet. Supposedly, it gives its wearer untold strength.”

“You mean magical power?”

“Oh, no, physical strength. I guess enough to be able to lift, say, a cottage or a small building.”

“Who wants this magic bauble?”

“Can’t give you the specifics. You know, client privacy. I can tell you it’s a ‘he’ and a griffon noble.”

“Ah, griffons. The lions of the sky. I take it griffons and ponies don’t get along well?”

“Not necessarily true, it just depends on what ponies and what griffons you’re talking about. Griffons tend to be more prideful than some ponies care for, like some unicorns. Pegasi either regard them as friendly challengers or old foes. A couple hundred years ago, there was a war between ponies and griffons. It lasted about ten years, and ended when the griffon king was overthrown by his son. If my history is correct, it started because the king wanted to expand his dominion over Equestria. Not to be racist against griffons, but some of them tend to be more…domineering.”

“Every word from your mouth is a treasure-trove of information! What do you know about changelings?”

“Less than I know about unicorn magic. They attacked Canterlot a few months ago, impersonating a few ponies with their shape shifting powers. Currently, they’re in the Badlands. I think they feed off of love or something. I also heard a rumor that the changeling queen was able to overpower Celestia.”

Dante just leans back in his cushion, laughing manically. “Oh my gods! Forget those two alicorns! I’ll just get the changelings and griffons to help me! And you!” He yells, pointing at Shade. “You should work for me too! I promise I’ll always have work for you, and you’ll never go hungry! I offer very good rates.”

“No offence, but you seem a bit more…crazy then my usual clients. Besides, I make it a point to never commit wholly to any creature I’ve never done a job for.”

“You’re doing a job for me right now, though! You’re giving me valuable information about this and the surrounding countries. My payment to you, in turn, is hiding you from the guards and providing food and shelter. That seems like a fair trade to me, Mr. 70,000-bit-bounty-pony. By the way, I have no idea if that’s even a lot. My only observation is with buying donuts.”

“You’d be able to buy a mansion as big as this one, plus most of the furnishings. Still though, I don’t know if you’re just some lunatic whose trying to get himself killed, talking about getting the griffons and the changelings to help you with…whatever it is you’re going to do. I need some sort of assurance that my life won’t be in danger just by associating with you.”

“Hmmm. That is a valid point. Tell you what: if I can get you this magic bauble you’re trying to steal from Celestia, will that be enough assurance for you?”

Shade puts his hoof to his chin, turning to the side. “Well, not really. But it’s a start. It’ll prove you’re serious about getting stuff done.”

“So,” Dante says, donning a wide grin, “how about a demonstration of my fighting prowess then?”

“If you’re talking about fighting me, that wouldn’t be much of a demonstration.”

“Oh no, I’ve got something better in mind. Something…glorious. In a few days, you will have you magic trinket and a good measure of my power. After that, you can decide whether or not you want to work for me, and I won’t hold it against you if you decide not to follow me. My methods can be a bit…unorthodox.”

“You aren’t going to go killing a bunch of ponies, are you?”

“Why does everyone keep thinking I’m going to go around killing ponies? No, I won’t. I’m not going to tell you what I’m going to do, though. I want it to be a surprise.”

“This has got to be the weirdest business I’ve done with any creature, ever. But, okay. I guess it couldn’t hurt. I get to keep the amulet even if I don’t work for you, right?”

“Absolutely. Now, just to change pace, how about we scry on my associate?” Dante pulls out his needle, swiftly draws a circle in the air, and pulls his crystal ball from its hiding place. “We’ll use this to watch her. She should be in Ponyville making friends or something.”

“She’s making friends while you terrorize the royal guards?”

“Heh, yeah, funny world. Come closer and watch with me.”

“Well, it would give me a chance to observe more of your magic.” Shade moves from his cushion over to one next to Dante.

Dante looks deep into the crystal ball before speaking. “Show me Iatril.”

~ _ ~ _ ~ _ ~ _ ~

“That party was AMAZING!” Iatril squealed. She, Flurry, and the elements stuck around in Sugarcube Corner after the party had died down, sitting around a table. The store had already been cleaned up from the party and was ready to open tomorrow for business.

“I still can’t believe you like hot sauce on your cupcakes too!” Pinkie said with glee. She coats a pink-frosted cupcake with said sauce and passes it over to Iatril, who promptly eats it.

“What can I say? I love spicy food. Flurry here can barely handle peppers. He would have drowned in a river trying to quell the spice if it wasn’t for me.”

“You would bring that up.” Flurry says with a slur, clearly tipsy from the party cider. “I wonder who it was that sugg-suggst-told me to eat it. ‘Oh, Flurry. Try dis pepper. You’ll love it!’ Stupid…stupid-pepper.” He leans his head on the table, passing out almost instantly.

“Hah!” Rainbow Dash yells, springing to the air a little wobbly. “I knew he’d pass out first! I’m the champ of…of…” She quickly falls to the ground, landing on her back, passed out as well.

“Heh, lightweights.” Applejack says, without even a hint of a slur. “ ‘M glad ta hear ya had a good time, Iatril.”

“Oh, it was wonderful! Thank you all so much for welcoming us like this.”

“Don’t mention it, Darling.” Rarity says. “It’s how we greet ponies here. Thanks to Pinkie Pie, that is.”

“I really do appreciate it though. This is the most fun I’ve had in years. I haven’t even had the chance to talk to others like I have today.”

“Well then, how about we have another party tomorrow?” Pinkie Pie says, jumping up and down. “It can be a Glad-you-had-so-much-fun-let’s-do-it-again-party!”

“That sounds like fun,” Iatril giggles, “but I think I should pace myself with these parties. I wouldn’t want to make them less special by having too many so close together.”

“Speaking of pacing, I should probably head out.” Twilight says to the group. “I have to get up early tomorrow to go to Canterlot.”

“Ooh, what’s the occasion?” Fluttershy chimes in.

“I’m going to be spending the day with my brother and Cadence and spend the night in the castle.”

“That’s right.” Iatril says. “You’re Princess Celestia’s student, aren’t you?”

“Yep. I’m hoping to visit with her too, but she can get real busy sometimes.”

“Well, if yer heading out, Ah am too. Hafta do some apple bucking tomorrow.” Applejack turns to the unconscious Rainbow Dash. “And Ah need to make sure she gets home alright.”

“Seems like a good time to call it a night.” Rarity says, standing from the table.

“What are we going to do about Flurry?” Fluttershy asks.

“Not to worry.” Iatril responds. She moves next to Flurry and, in one quick motion, lifts the larger stallion onto her back, sideways. “I can easily carry him.”

The girls said their goodbyes and went their separate ways, with Fluttershy, Iatril, and an unconscious Flurry heading towards Fluttershy’s cottage. The cool evening air was quite refreshing after several hours of partying in the bakery. It was the only thing to think about, given the sudden silence between the two pegasi. Eventually, Iatril broke that silence.

“So, Fluttershy, did you enjoy the party?”

“Oh, yes. Pinkie Pie always throws the best parties. I’m glad you got to meet everypony.”

“I’m truly grateful for that. It’s just so nice to slow down and talk to others, you know?” Silence again. Iatril looks around a bit before speaking again. “So, listen. You aren’t mad about Flurry and the manticore, are you? I don’t mean to bring it up again, but I just want to make sure you aren’t freaked out about it.”

“Well, I don’t think he needed to kill it. There’s always another way besides ending the life of another creature.”

“I know. Were I there, I would have only subdued it. Flurry can be a little overzealous at times.”

“Oh I’m sure. Like how you subdued those timberwolves, right?”

Iatril nearly trips over her own hooves from the sudden voice in her head.

“Jeez, Dante. Don’t scare me like that! And yes, I did subdue them. You would have known if you’d asked.”

“Are you okay there?” Fluttershy asks.

“Yeah, just wasn’t paying attention to where I was walking.” ‘And being harassed by a disembodied voice’

“I know bears eat fish and I understand that some animals are like that, but for something to die for no reason just isn’t right to me. I’m not mad at Flurry for defending himself; I just wish he did it differently.”

“Well, sorry Miss-animal-lover. Next time I kill a manticore, I’ll cook it up and eat it. Maybe cook it with peppers and hot sauce.”

“Must you do this now?”

“Flurry will be glad you aren’t mad at him.” Iatril says calmly, despite Dante’s voice in her head.

“Oh yes, I’m very glad. Anyway, I just wanted to check in. Glad you had fun. No pun intended.”

“Thanks. What did you find out in the city?”

“Not much. I did meet a pegasus who might work as a spy for me. He’s been giving me political ideas.”

“And what kind of ideas are these?”

“Just who I can ask for help from, like the griffons. I’ll inform you more as I find out more. That’s all. Goodnight.”

The three ponies arrive at Fluttershy’s cottage, where a little white rabbit is waiting just inside the door.

“Hello, Angel.” Fluttershy says cheerfully. Angel starts waving his paws around, pointing at Iatril and Flurry and the stomping his foot on the ground. “Oh, they’ll be staying here for a few days.”

“Speaking of which, where should I set Flurry down, Fluttershy?”

“I have a guest room just up the stairs and to the left. Can you get Flurry up there, or do you want some help. Um, if that’s okay.”

“Oh, no. I can take him up easily.” Iatril states, going up the stairs without breaking a sweat. She enters the room and sets Flurry down on the bed, covering him with a nearby blanket. “Thanks for the save at Twilight’s house. I owe you one.” She says to the knocked out Flurry.

Iatril walks back downstairs, observing Fluttershy as she coaxes the little rabbit into letting her and Flurry stay. Iatril just trots over to the couch and sits, watching the debate between the two. ‘Such a funny, little rabbit. I’ll have to talk with him tomorrow to see if I can make friends with him. This has been a real good first day here. It almost feels like I’m forgetting something.’

~ _ ~ _ ~ _ ~ _ ~

Back in the Cake’s shop, Raven was locked in his most difficult battle yet. Before him stood a creature so unimaginably strong willed, he could not believe his senses. This creature had stood there and stared into the very soul of Raven and had the arrogance to say nothing about it, like he was unworthy.

After a final, long glare from Raven, he hopped over to his adversary and pushed his head right against his opponent's. “I will return. And next time, you won’t know what’s coming!” And with that, Raven took flight, passing right through an open window.

Just as Raven left, the door to the room opened and the lights were turned on. “There you are, Gummy.” Pinkie Pie said, trotting over to her pet. “What have you been doing all this time?” The baby alligator merely blinked its right eye, then its left. “Oh, you big silly.”

END CHAPTER

Author's Note

Here you go, the next chapter. It's out a bit later than I wanted; I blame Youtube. It's got more dialogue in it than initially intended, but I don't suspect future chapters will be quite as chatty.

What could Dante be up to? Who is the griffon Shade Strider is working for? How powerful IS Gummy? Are all of these questions really important? The answers to some of these questions may be revealed on the next episode of Dragonba- I mean A Demon, a Devil, and Ponies.

Since college is starting up again, the release of new chapters may be varied. And by 'may' I mean 'will probably,' but I'll still be getting out chapters. Peace out!

Ch. 20 - Bad Idea, Bad Dreams, Bad Person

“We’ll stop here for the evening.” Luna says, landing on the hard ground of the Badlands. A few small mountains and plateaus sprinkle the barren landscape, with barely any vegetation in sight. “There’s a small cave we can camp in for the night. I’ll create a tent and—”

“Yeah, there’s that. Or…” With a few magic words from Dante, a portal springs up before them. “We could sleep in a comfy mansion.”

“…That works too.” Luna says, lowering herself to the ground for Dante.

After he climbs off, Luna stands tall and lights her horn. As the sun had already set, Luna needed to raise the moon and brighten the stars for the night. Once her charges were in place in the sky, she walked towards the portal and entered it, Dante right behind her.

“Such a grand creation.” Luna says in a neutral tone, observing the beautifully decorated room. “I would like to know how you made such a place.”

“One spell at a time.” Dante says, reaching for his side, patting around until he found a small, cylindrical container. He pulls it from his belt and presents it towards the last place he heard Luna’s voice which, incidentally, was about five feet behind her. “This is the spell that will bind a dead creature’s soul.” Looking behind her, Luna activates her horn and grabs the container, opening it. “Normally a gemstone is required to cast this spell, but I fused it with the scroll inside the container. It will appear when the soul is captured."

Luna pulls the scroll from the container and unfurls it. She looks over the words on the page before her eyes go wide. “Dante…this language…I’ve seen it before.”

“Really?” Dante asks, using Iatril’s staff to find his way towards the dining hall. “Where?”

“Star Swirl wrote several spells using this language. It’s what he called word magic.”

“Ah, yes. I believe your sister mentioned something about that before.” He calls out from the other room, sitting down at the long table and motioning to his nigh invisible servants.

Luna walks into the other room as well, the scroll still floating in her telekinetic field. “I didn’t think your magic really was word magic before, but this confirms it.” She sets the scroll down on the table, right next to Dante. “How can you use such dangerous magic so carelessly?”

“What do you mean?” He asks as one of his servants brings over a tray of fruit.

“Star Swirl only cast one spell using word magic. After he did, he had a heart attack and nearly died. He found that the energy that responded to his words was too chaotic to trust and vowed never to cast another spell in that manner.”

“Hmmm. What spell did he try to cast?”

“It was a spell to teleport him from one town to the next.”

“Oh, well, there’s the problem.” Dante says, biting into an apple. “He tried to cast a mid-level spell as a novice.”

“What do you mean?”

Dante set his partly eaten fruit on the table. “Conventional spells are identified in power by their level, a number from zero to nine, nine being the strongest. The reason for this is because of the amount of magic required to cast each spell varies significantly from level to level, even if it doesn’t seem like it at times. The Teleport spell I have prepared is a level five spell; so, the spell Star Swirl tried to cast is most likely a level five spell as well.

“Now, a wizard can’t just pick up a spellbook, read a few pages, and cast whatever spell it was without consequence. Beginner spellcasters must start with zero level spells to accustom their bodies and minds to the magic. Otherwise, they run the risk of being torn apart by the magic they’re calling on. Hell, trying to cast a spell even one level higher than what you’re ready for just once can result in death for the caster, especially wizards. Sorcerers, who are born with magic in them, can get away with this sometimes, though few are smart enough to write and read spells. Their bodies naturally know what they can cast and allow the sorcerer to cast more powerful spells when they’re ready. Wizards have to figure that out on their own.

“The only possible reason Star Swirl was able to survive was because he, like sorcerers and warlocks, was born with magic in him. He must have been a very proficient mage as well to survive casting a spell five levels higher than what he was ready for.”

“Astounding.” Luna says, looking over the spell again. “But if that’s true, then what’s the point of the scroll? I’ve never cast a spell using word magic before.”

“I know thieves and rogues who aren’t spellcasters either, yet they learn to read and cast spells from scrolls in case of emergency. Casting a spell from a scroll is hardly dangerous; most of the spell is already cast. It’s more like putting the blade of a sword into its hilt, while preparing and casting a spell is like forging a new sword. Well, maybe. I don’t know crap about blacksmithing.”

Luna smirks at his remark. “I’m having trouble deciding if you’re a savant or a fool who gets lucky.”

“I’d like to think of myself as a simple man who enjoys simple things. Like this food.” He says, taking another bite of his apple. “Food is such a simple thing: it’s planted, it’s grown, it’s eaten and the new seeds are replanted. It’s the basic necessity, besides water, living creatures need to survive. Sure, this food here was created using powerful magic, and there’s more food here than I know what to do with, but the fact remains…well, I was going somewhere with this. Anyway, the spell. Can you read it?”

Luna looks over the scroll again before responding. “Well, most of it. I’ve never tried casting such a spell before.”

“Hmmm. This may be difficult, but it can be done. I’ll help you understand the scroll as best as I can.” Dante stands from the table, facing Luna. “By tomorrow’s end, you’ll have cast one of the most powerful spells there are.”

~ _ ~ _ ~ _ ~ _ ~

After a long night of deciphering and practicing arcane words, Luna felt confident in casting Dante’s spell. They were able to get a decent night’s sleep before Luna felt the calling of the sky to be changed. After she lowered the moon and had breakfast with Dante, they set out again towards the gates of Tartarus.

Within a few hours of flight, they arrived at the massive gate, set in the side of a mountain with a giant, three-headed dog guarding the entrance.

Luna landed before the guardian, lowering herself so Dante could climb off. Unbeknownst to Dante, all three sets of Cerberus’s eyes were set on him.

“Cerberus!” Luna calls out to the guardian. “We ask permission to enter Tartarus! It is a matter of great urgency!”

Cerberus lumbers forward until he was right above Dante. He lowered his heads to sniff the warlock before growling loudly at him.

“I take it he doesn’t like me.” Dante says, leaning on Iatril’s staff.

“Not surprising.” Luna shakes her head. “Cerberus is charged with keeping evil contained, not letting it come and go as it pleases.”

“Hmmm. I have an idea. Get ready to open that gate.” Dante says, moving his weight off of the staff.

“Wait, what!?” Luna calls out. Cerberus, not waiting to see what Dante was planning, raised one of his front paws to smash Dante into the ground. Before he could, Dante let out a piercing shout at Cerberus, causing him to roar out, his three heads shaking to relieve themselves of the pain in their ears. Before Cerberus could fully recover, Dante cast his spell again. This time, Cerberus tried swiping at Dante, but he couldn’t concentrate on where he was aiming and merely swatted the air.

In the confusion, Luna quickly teleported herself in front of the gate. She called on all the magic she could and pulled on the gate with it, making the gate creak loudly. Dante had cast yet another Shout spell on Cerberus, who was already getting used to the pain. This time, when he swung at Dante, he connected and flung him back towards the gate. Dante landed with a thud, gasping for air, barely keeping a hold on the staff.

“Dante!” Luna yells out, moving towards him.

“Gate…” He tries to yell, but it only came out as a hoarse whisper. Hearing it, Luna kept on the gate, forcing it open just enough for the two of them pass through. As Cerberus came bearing down on them, she grabbed Dante in her telekinetic field and ran through the gate with him. Just as they made it through, the gate was slammed shut. Luna set Dante down on the soft earth and looked him over.

“Can you keep going?” She asked.

Dante tried lifting himself up with the staff but fell to the ground. “Hard…to breath.” He wheezed out.

Luna looked up and around them. The landscape was radically different from the barren grounds just outside. There were several pathways, all made of dark, burnt earth and surrounded by pits of fire and lava. A few of the paths led to caves while another led higher up and over a hill, where streams of lava on either side of the path came down from a large plateau above.

Off in the distance, a few winged creatures were flying in the air. Luna picked Dante up with her magic and set him on her back.

“Stay with me, Dante.” She said calmly. “How do I find an outsider? What do I look for?”

Dante steadied himself on Luna’s back. “How you…saw me…” He whispered.

“What do you mean?”

“See…my evil. See…theirs. Great…aura.”

Determined, Luna took to the air. She passed over the fire pits and flew towards the creatures she saw. When she was close enough, she lit her horn and scanned the bat-like creatures. The two she scanned noticed her and soared at her. Luna banked down and flew on, the creatures trailing behind her.

“Those two seem malevolent, but not too strong.” Luna said, flying higher to what seems to be the ceiling of Tartarus. She flew around the stalactites and down again, trying to lose her stalkers. The giant bats kept on her regardless.

“Maybe.” Dante said, a bit more breath in his speech. “But I’ll need…a lot of power. As I’m not hearing much besides flapping and growling…I doubt they’re worth anything. Where are they? Distance as well.”

“Directly behind us.” Luna turned her head to see the two bats still keeping up with her. “About thirty feet.”

With that, Dante cast his spell, shooting a pea size red sphere towards the bats and engulfing them in flame. The pair fell out of the air and down into the pool of lava below.

“Are they dead?” Dante asked.

“Yeah.” Luna said with a smirk. “You got them.”

“Worthless.”

Before Luna could react, a beam of energy shot her from below, piercing her right wing and sending the pair into a spiral. Luna could see the pit of lava below coming ever closer. Hissing in pain, she curved her wing and pulled out of the dive. She barely avoids the lava and slams onto the ground next to the pool. Dante is launched from her back and tumbles on the ground, keeping his death grip on the staff. Luna, after barreling over the burnt surface, smashes into a nearby wall. She hears a sickening crack and cries out in pain. Pulling herself up and looking at her other wing, she finds it to be bent backwards over itself, blood spilling out from her exposed bone onto the ground below her.

She looks around for her attacker, only to see a giant shadowy sphere speedily approach her. Before she can react, a dark tendril shoots out from the shadow and wraps around her, pulling her closer to it only to be thrown against the wall again. A spike on the wall pierces Luna’s side all the way through, leaving her body impaled near the floor on the wall.

Panicked, Luna shoots her magic at the ball of shadow, only for it to pass through the creature. Luna was barely able to stay conscience. The blood loss was bad, but the pain was nearly unbearable. She could feel herself slipping away.

‘Not like this.’ She thought. ‘I can’t accomplish nothing from this. I have to keep fighting. I have to get up. I can’t fail.’ Despite her will, she couldn’t force herself to get up; she couldn’t force herself to move.

The shadow hovered closer to her. A tendril slowly came out of it and neared Luna. As it was about to grab hold of her again, a burning light shone from behind the shadow, momentarily blinding Luna.

‘Tia?’

The shadow sprouted numerous tendrils and launched itself away from Luna. A second later, a second burst of light erupted from within the shadow, shattering its form. As its remnants fell to the ground, Luna could see Dante lying on his stomach with the staff pointing right where the creature was.

“Dante?” She calls out weakly.

“Luna?” He calls out in kind. A word and a moment later, Dante appears right in front of Luna, still lying on the ground with the staff in hand. A trail of blood ran down from his mouth and into his beard, staining it. “Are you alright? Can you move?”

“No.” She says, barely audible. “This was a bad idea. I knew I would never die of old age, but I never thought I would die like this. This is just—”

“Silence!” Dante yells, coughing up some blood. “I’ve died more times than I’d like to count, and each time was worse than the last.” He drags himself closer to Luna, staff still in hand. “I refuse to let my end come when I can’t look into the eyes of my killer.” He reaches the wall and grabs a jagged edge of it, pulling himself up and turning to sit against the wall.

“There’s nothing you can do.” Luna whispers. “You yourself said you don’t have any healing magic to cast. I’ll be dead soon enough.”

“Not while I’m around.” Dante twists the staff and smacks the wall with it. He taps around until he jabs Luna in the chest. Luna sees him give a large grin at her, teeth showing and stained with blood. “Now quit your bitching and get up!” With a surge of energy, Luna feels herself pulled from the wall and lands next to Dante. Her wounds quickly heal themselves and her wing realigns with her body painlessly. Her body was as good as new. “And while you’re at it, seal up that creature.”

Luna looks back at her wing and side, trying to find any trace of her wounds. “H-How…but I thought—”

“Hey, I’m happy we’re not dead too, but that corpse isn’t going to stay there forever. Plus, the spell has a time limit it can be cast on a dead body, remember?” Dante feels his side and pulls out the container. Luna grabs it with her magic. Before she turned to face the dead creature, she noticed the odd angle of Dante’s legs.

“Your legs are broken.” She says, stepping closer to the creature and opening the container, not taking her eyes off of Dante.

“The cost of doing business. Sure, it hurts like hell—hah—but that won’t matter after I get that soul in me. This doesn’t even make my top ten worst pains list.”

Luna unfurls the scroll and looks it over. She takes a quick breath before reading the last line of the text. As she does so, the remnants of the creature swirl in the air for a second before falling into the scroll, which crumples up and quickly hardens. When it’s done folding in on itself, it takes to form of a small black onyx gemstone, no bigger than a plum.

“I’ve got it!” Luna calls out, trotting back to Dante. “Okay, heal yourself and let’s get back.”

“Can’t.” Dante says, releasing the staff and letting it fall to the ground. “Those Sunbursts on the creature took up a bunch of charges. Healing you was the last of its power. Now it’s nothing more than a finely crafted stick.”

“That reminds me, how did you know where to aim? I thought you were blind.”

“I am, but for a split second I could see.” Dante grins, again showing his blood stained teeth. “I guess the demon wants to keep on living as well!”

Luna looks over his legs again, seeing blood leaking through his pants. “How serious are your injuries? I’m not very proficient at treating injuries and the trip will take more than a day.”

“Don’t worry. Remember, I still have teleport spells prepared. One will be enough to get us back. Take my hand.” Dante extends his hand to the princess. Luna stored the gemstone under her wing and set her hoof in Dante’s hand. The two of them disappear from their spot, only to reappear in at the gate. Dante sniffs the air before speaking next. “Why do I still smell sulfur?”

“We’re still in Tartarus.” Luna says, looking at the gate. “Looks like we’ll need to get out before teleporting back. Maybe I can…oh my.”

“What?”

“Start blasting the gate with everything you have!” Luna yells as she charges up her horn. “Hurry!”

Coming over the plateau were more of the bat-like creatures from before; hundreds of them. Luna and Dante began pounding at the gate, Luna with her energy beams and Dante with his Shout spells. The howls of the creatures grew louder and louder as they made their way towards the pair.

With an overly powerful Shout and a large blast of energy, the gate creaks open barely enough for Luna and Dante to squeeze through. Luna wraps Dante in her magic and lifts him in the air.

“Hang on!” She yells, running right through the opening and into the Badlands outside.

Cerberus, standing guard just on the other side, slams into the gate, closing it as the pair exits. He then turns his attention to Luna and Dante. Luna pulls Dante to her, wrapping a wing around him.

“Teleport! Quickly!” She yells. Just as Cerberus’s paw slams into the ground, the two of them disappear.

~ _ ~ _ ~ _ ~ _ ~

“You need to tell us where they are.” Iatril says, standing before Razorwind.

“I do not see why I need to tell you that.” Razorwind replies, not missing a beat. “You two have been asking me since yesterday morning. Today is no different.”

Princess Celestia slowly walked up to the dragon. “If they’re in trouble, we need to know where they are so we can help them.”

“I have lived in the Everfree forest all my life and not once have I seen anything stronger than you and your sister, except perhaps Dante. If they come across any trouble, I am sure they can handle it.”

“That doesn’t excuse—” Iatril starts, just as Luna and Dante teleport next to Razorwind. Dante was wrapped in Luna’s wing, but he falls out of her grasp and lands on his ass, facing Iatril and Celestia. He grimaced for a moment before he burst out in a laugh.

“I can’t remember the last time I was so close to dying! It was such a rush!” He yells to the heavens.

“While I don’t find nearly dying to be so amusing…I suppose this experience could have gone worse.” Luna says, wrapping Dante in her magic and lifting him into the air.

“Nonsense! I mean, if you had died…well, I’m not sure where you’d end up. But, if I had died, I’d probably end up in that hellish pit anyway. Then I’d get to fight those beasts at my best! Imagine that: Dante, king of Tartarus!”

“You went to TARTARUS!” Celestia bellows at the pair.

Luna spins around so fast she almost trips over her own legs. “Tia! What, ah, what are you doing out here?” She does her best to smile and feign innocence. Needless to say, she fails miserably.

“I was out here trying to find out where you and Dante disappeared to. It seems that question has been answered. How could you just go to Tartarus!?”

“Dante needed the soul of an outsider, so we went to Tartarus to get one. I know it was wrong, but—”

“It’s far beyond wrong, Luna!” Celestia starts walking towards her younger sister. “You can’t just kill a creature and feed its soul to some monster!”

“Hey, now.” Dante says, still floating in Luna’s magic. “I’m sure that thing was just as much of a monster as I am. I mean, it didn’t even try to talk to us.”

“Stay out of this!” Celestia yells at him.

“Lighten up. Look, get mad at me, not her. It was my idea.” Luna looks over at Dante, but he remains oblivious. “Raven read something about Tartarus in one of the books and I asked Luna to take me there.”

“I shouldn’t be surprised.” Celestia stops a few feet from the pair. “Anything to restore your power, right?”

“You say that as if me staying here would be a bad thing. Anyway, Luna has the soul of that thing. Luna?” He holds out his hand to the alicorn. She unfurls her wing and levitates the gemstone into his hand. “All I have to do is perform the ritual and a few weeks of power are mine.”

“Only a few weeks?” Luna asks. “For what we went through?”

“It’s just a guess.” Dante shrugs.

“Then that’s all it will be.” Celestia states. “You will not be performing your ritual.”

“Oh?” Dante says, raising an eyebrow.

“You have no concern for your own wellbeing and willing to put my sister in harm’s way.”

“I’m not a child, Tia!” Luna says, stomping the ground. “I know what I’m doing!”

“You just went along with Dante to Tartarus and, if I’m inferring what Dante said correctly, you nearly died! How could you be so irresponsible!?”

“He saved me, so I should have no problem helping him!”

“Even if it costs you your life!?”

“If that what it takes to save Equestria, then YES!”

It got quiet after that. Razorwind just sat there, observing it all. Iatril didn’t want to get in the way of their fighting, unless Dante was in trouble. Dante, however…

“Well, I’m glad you two got that out in the open.” Dante says, playing with the gemstone in his hand. “I’ll just go about my business and absorb this soul now.”

“No, you won’t.” Celestia glares at Dante. “I won’t allow it.”

Dante just rolls his eyes. “See, it’s things like that that I really love and hate about champions of good. You’re decisive and quick to act, even if you’re wrong. Saying things like that make you seem weak as well.”

“Dante,” Luna interrupts, “not fifteen minutes ago, you told me you wouldn’t let me die.”

“Yes, but I had the power to back that up.”

“And I don’t?” Celestia asks, standing tall.

“To stop the ritual, certainly. But don’t get too focused on that. After all, it only takes one asshole doing something really simple and obnoxious to get around the problem.”

Before anyone could react, Dante popped the gemstone in his mouth and swallowed it. The instant he did, a fiery aura came around him. Celestia quickly teleported away with Luna right after, letting go of her telekinetic grip on Dante. He continued hovering in the air, energy releasing from his body straight up into the sky. Shadows seemed to leak from within Dante as he began growling from the energy release. The shadows caught fire and swirled around Dante in the air.

The flames quickly subsided and Dante hung in the air, his shadowy wings out of his back once again. He looked over at Iatril, his eyes brown.

“And that takes care of that.” He says, floating towards Iatril.

“But…your ritual.” Celestia says, staring at him.

“You made it clear you didn’t approve, so I improvised. Instead of a few weeks, I now have a few days, and I’m still not back at full power or my desired age. That’s not really a problem, since I can see to prepare my spells. Those hell beasts won’t know what hit them. Razorwind?”

“Yes, sir?” The dragon lowers his head to the human.

“I’ll need some gemstones; black onyx to be exact; about a dozen. Actually, I’ll just hole myself up in your cave for a while. I need to regain my spells. Will that be fine with you?”

Razorwind scratches his head before speaking again. “As long as you do not venture out of the cave, I see no reason for reprisal. Still, I should return as well, just to be safe.”

“Excellent! Iatril?” He turns to his companion. “I’ll return tomorrow morning. Standard procedure.”

Iatril’s eyes lit up at that. “Then we’re staying?”

Dante just shrugged before disappearing, teleporting away.

Iatril looks over at Celestia. “This is a good thing.” She says, seeing the worry on Celestia’s face. “Think of it as redirecting evil forces for good.”

“Is that how you justify it?” She says to Iatril, glowering at her.

Iatril looks away. “It helps.”

“We all die eventually.” Razorwind says, spreading his wings. “Some sooner than others. Let Dante absorb the Tartarean beasts without hassle. It will help end all the bloodshed more quickly.” With that, he lurched forward and took to the air, heading towards Ponyville and the Everfree Forest.

“He’s right.” Iatril says to the solar princess. “Things will work out fine.”

“That remains to be seen.” Celestia says, spreading her wings and taking flight, flying right up to the hole to the throne room.

Iatril walks up to Luna, watching Celestia fly away. “She seems more mad than she should be.”

“It’s this whole situation.” Luna says. “The Changelings working with the Griffons, the death of our citizens, Dante, it’s all piling up. Imagine if you ruled for 1,000 years of relative peace and all of a sudden such a catastrophe occurs. I don’t know how she remains as calm as she is.”

“I hope she makes peace with Dante soon. He’s a brute, but he’s good at what he does.”

“So I’ve seen.” Luna says with a smile. “I think I shall retire for now. I need to prepare for night court and keep watch over the night.”

~ _ ~ _ ~ _ ~ _ ~

The village in view seemed peaceful and serene. There were a few guards posted outside what appeared to be the main street, as well as one in a lookout post just to the side. The sun was shining with only a few clouds in the sky and it air was calm and warm. Luna’s vision approached the village slowly.

‘Such a beautiful place.’ She thought as she observed the village coming into a clearer view. ‘This must be a memory of Dante’s. It seems Tartarus had other effects on us than simply the heat.’

As she got closer to the main street, the pair of guards outside unsheathed their swords. They held themselves in a defensive stance, holding their shields in front of themselves.

‘What’s going on?’ As if on cue, a man passed through her vision, walking up to the guards with a green sword in his hand. His dark brown hair hung below his shoulders and there was a certain uneasiness about him. ‘Dante?’

One of the guards swung his sword at the man, who merely sidestepped and thrust his green sword into the guard’s chest. The other tried the same as the first, but the man was able to parry the swing and cut into the guard’s neck. A scream sounded in the village as citizens fled from the man. More guards appeared and Luna flew in front of the man, discerning who he was.

‘It is Dante. What’s going on?’

As the guards approached, Dante let out a blast of magic, striking the closest guard and then arcing into the other three. They all fell to the ground, their chests melted by what seemed to be acid. Dante picked up one of the spears a guard was holding and lit it aflame with his magic. He hurled it onto the straw thatched roof of a nearby house and stood in front of the door. A moment later, a woman ran out of the house with a man right after. Dante charged his sword with the same fire as before and slashed them both in the chest. They fell to the ground, instantly killed.

‘No. No! He can’t be this bad!’

A bolt struck Dante from behind, imbedding in his right shoulder. He spun around, glaring at the shooter in the watchtower, and hurling a shot of black energy at him. The shooter convulsed for a second as wounds just opened all over his body before falling to the ground. Dante picked up another spear and walked over to another house. This time, he slammed open the door and looked around. Luna floated over to him to see what he saw: a group of five children huddled together in the corner.

“No, Dante, please don’t!” Luna shouted.

For a second she thought he might have heard her. Dante just grunted and exited the house, closing the door behind him.

‘Thank goodness.’

A moment later, a spear was thrust through the door and into the ground, melting a bit of both with acid. Luna quickly went through the wall and saw Dante move away from the door before turning around. He held up his free hand and shot a stream of fire all over the roof and wall of the house.

“NO!” Luna cried out as she saw through a small opening in the wooden wall. The children seemed to be frantically looking around, the oldest looking one running up to the door to escape, but the spear held it in place. The children quickly got back together in a huddle, waiting for the fire to get them. Dante continued on through the village.

No matter who came up to him, Dante either cut down or blasted every opponent. Male, female, adult, child, it didn’t matter who Dante crossed. He treated each and every human as an adversary and struck them all down. All the while, Luna watched on in horror. The blood, the senseless violence, the screams echoing in her mind. She couldn’t fathom how Dante could carry out these atrocities. One by one, the villagers fell and Luna’s heart sank.

After what felt like an eternity, the killing stopped. There was no one left alive in the village. Dante stood in the center of the village, looking at all he had done. Luna looked at him, hoping against all odds that he would show remorse or sadness, anything to show that he made a mistake.

“Ha.” She heard him whisper.

“Haha.” He said again, louder.

“Hahahahahahaha!” He laughed, staring up at the clear sky and thrusting his sword into the air. He laughed and laughed, a smile plastered on his face the whole time. No remorse. No regret. Only joy.

END CHAPTER

Author's Note

Hello, hello, hello! It's been a while. Almost....2 months. Wow. I'm terrible. Anyways, here's the next chapter. I had fun with this one, especially near the end. It may just be because it's been so long since I made a chapter, but I have the feeling some people may have started looking at Dante in a nicer light. So, just in case, I threw in a memory of his of him killing a whole village. Nothing too extreme, just some perspective :trollestia: .

Oh, and don't rack your brains trying to figure out the monsters they came across. I just sorta made them up. Honestly, I wasn't sure how I'd handle the Tartarus scene. It feels a little rushed, but that's for you all to decide, I suppose. And a shout out to all DMs who have cocky players who think they can handle anything and then you through some crazy ass monster at them to keep them in their place. Good on ya! :trollestia:

Also, I think Ima cancel the 'spell guessing' thing. It feels a little late to have them start yelling the spell name when they cast it (though that would add a bit of comedy to it, I think; maybe I'll try that out). So whatev's.

Next chapter whenever, hopefully before November. No promises.