The last of the creatures fell before him. He nudged one of the more recently fallen. Satisfied at getting no reaction, he slid his large sword back into its sheathe. Casually, he walked back to the short staff that held his hat up. Placing the staff back next to his sword and his hat snuggly on his head, he turned around only to be rear back before getting his nose poked by a spear.
About a dozen white stallions covered in golden armor were glaring at him. Looking them over, there were some who appeared normal, while a few others had wings and at least two or three had horns sticking out from their heads.
Again, seen weirder.
One of their horns began to glow. Before he could react, his arms became tethered to the ground by a blue light. It pulled and pulled until he fell to his knees. He tugged at them, but his arms would not move.
He knew that if he released Carnage, he could probably break free and be on his merry way once again. But these were the first things he’d seen all day that weren’t already dead or trying to kill him. He wanted answers, and this was his only way of getting some.
“You are coming with us. The Princess has sensed your presence and demands audience.” One of the horses with wings said.
He smiled smugly at the horse. “Sounds like a charming lady. All she had to do was ask.”
The horse turned away from him to speak with another Pegasus. This revealed the image of a golden shield on his flank. “Send word to her Highness. One of the creatures she spoke of has been captured and we are bringing it back to the castle.”
The other Pegasus nodded and shot off into the air. The Pegasus with the golden shield on its flank nodded towards one of the unicorns. Its horn began to glow and the man felt weight being lifted off him. He looked over to see his sword and staff enveloped in a blue aura as they drifted toward the group in front of him. His hat also became surrounded in the glow and floated off. “Hey!” he shouted.
They ignored him. “Iron Clad, Shining Sword, Undying Strength. You will stay here and help out anyone in need of assistance. Iron Clad, if anything is to go wrong, you are to return immediately and at all costs.” The three ponies nodded before trotting away. The one giving the orders turned back to the man. “Alright soldiers. We’ve got a long journey ahead of us, let’s get moving.”
-------------
Judging by the position of the sun, the man guessed it was probably slightly after noon before their destination came into view. A large castle connected to the side of a mountain was approaching. He was still tethered down, however this time it was to the chariot that he was being escorted on. The unicorn that was using its magic to hold him down sat beside him, watching him intently.
“So…” he said.
The unicorn gave no response.
A slight flicker in his facial expression showed his frustration. “Seen anyone else like me ‘round here?”
Again, no response. He gave up trying to make small talk and just watched the scenery pass by. It certainly was beautiful when everything wasn’t up in flames. In the distance he could see another village near the edge of a large forest.
He noticed the chariot beginning to descend and his attention returned to the matter at hand. They landed in a garden full of beautiful hedge-work and statues. A flattened piece of grass revealed that one statue had been recently removed. His gaze then turned to the magic bindings that held him in place. They disconnected from the chariot and reconnected between his forearms. They pulled together until his hands were close enough to touch. The Pegasus with the shield mark pushed him forward, “Move, the Princess doesn’t like to be kept waiting!”
“So impatient…” he muttered, just loud enough for the pony to hear. He responded with a harder shove to the back. The man grumbled and rose to his feet, which were asleep by now. Stumbling as he stepped off, he followed the guards through a gateway into the castle and a series of hallways. The interior design was beautiful and flawless. Along many of the walls were stained glass windows, each telling a story with their characters and colors.
They came to a halt before a set of solid gold doors. On one door was an engraving of a sun while its twin had an engraving of a moon. Two guards stood at its sides. The guard officer gave each a nod, and they responded with their own. They then opened the doors to reveal a grand hall. On the opposite side stood a throne in which sat a large white horse. This one was different from the ones around him, for it had both a set of wings and a unicorn horn.
Don’t forget its crazy looking hair. Carnage muttered.
He was right. Its mane was long and a beautiful rainbow of colors. It waved magically from an invisible wind. Next to it sat a pony that seemed to be its inverse. Its coat was a cool, night blue and had a mane like the night sky. Little twinkles resembling stars glittered all around it as it flowed. The larger one had an image of a sun printed on its flank, while the smaller one had that of a moon.
The guards led him to the base of the stairs that led up to the throne itself. The two in front of him bowed down. The man simply looked at the large white pony, an unimpressed expression. “So, you must be this Princess that these pleasant fellows have been telling me all about.”
The guard behind him bucked him, knocking him to his knees. “Speak only when spoken to!”
The Princess held her head high as she looked down at them. “That will not be necessary, corporal.”
He bowed, “Yes, your Highness.”
“Thanks.” The man said. “Also, could you tell that guy over there to give me my hat back? I tried asking nicely, but they said no.”
She looked over to the unicorn that held all his gear in its magic and gave a small nod. He returned the gesture and placed the hat back on the man’s head. He twisted it gently until it was in a comfortable position and smiled before sitting on the ground and crossing his legs. “So, what’s up?”
The smaller of the two Princesses made a glance towards the other and raised her eyebrow. It shared the expression before making a quiet sigh and returning its rather piercing eyes to him. “My name is Princess Celestia.” She raised a hoof in the direction of the darker pony, “and this is my younger sister, Princess Luna. Together we rule over this land of Equestria.”
“Equestria? Now its starting to make sense…” he intertwined his fingers and used them to hold his head up.
The younger sister raised an eyebrow in curiosity, “Thee has been to our land before?”
He lifted his head up, “Hm? Oh, no. I was just thinking that a name like that certainly explains all the horses.”
Luna sighed and brought her hoof to her face, rubbing it in frustration.
“May we ask your name?” Celestia said before her sister could get a migraine.
Smiling at the sign of friendliness, albeit forced, he replied, “People call me Pesti—“ he stopped himself short. “…Dante. My name is Dante.”
She nodded in appreciation. “Greetings Dante.” She wore a small smile, but it quickly faded. “Now, for my next question: Why are you here?”
Although her smile wavered, his did not. “Getting straight to the point? I like that in a woman.” He chuckled, but he was the only one. “Well, I think I’d like to have an answer to that question just as much as you.” He glanced over at Luna, “And judging by the way your sister is eyeballing me, I’d say that my kind dropping into your world is something that isn’t a regular occurrence.”
The two Princesses looked at each other then turned back to him. “You’d be surprised.” They said in unison.
Although curious, he decided to ignore that remark. “My turn. Those things that attacked me when I first got here. Those weird, creepy lookin’ bug things… hold on a sec.” Casually, he pulled on the magical chain that held his hands together and broke it with ease. He then proceeded to reach behind his back and scratch, “Ah… that’s been bugging me all day.”
The unicorn that had been casting the spell looked shocked to see that his magic was so easily broken. The sisters shared another uneasy glance. “First of all, stop doing that.” He said, harsher than he meant to. “And as I was saying, what were those creatures that attacked me?
“Those creatures you speak of are what are known as Changelings. They have the ability to change their appearance and live off of the love of us ponies.”
“Didn’t look like love was the only thing they feasted on to me.”
Celestia nodded grimly, “Yes, that certainly seemed correct. The Changelings have never been this violent in over a thousand years. The last time that they acted this way was when Queen Madora was commanding their hive. But she has been relatively quiet since my sister and I banished her to the northern mountains.”
Dante nodded, “Sounds to me like she don’t wanna be quiet anymore.”
“It would seem so.”
"It is now our turn." Luna said. "What exactly are thee? We have certainly never seen your kind in our land before."
"I come from a race called humans. Think of us as a bunch of hairless monkeys."
"Hairless monkeys?" she said, puzzled by the thought. "Hmm. We would certainly like to examine more of these 'humans', as you call them."
"Trust me, they aren't that great all around." Dante said quite nonchalantly. "Next question: What are you?" he pointed towards the two of them, "Where I come from, colors are certainly much less vibrant... and horses don't talk."
Celestia spoke this time. "We are ponies. We come in a variety of sizes and colors. There are three types of ponies: the Pegasi, who use their wings to alter the weather; the Unicorns, who have the ability to use magic to accomplish feats that prove difficult to do due to our hooves; and the simple earth ponies, who use their above-average strength and stamina to grow crops for the land. My sister and I fall under a fourth type, the Alicorns. We have the traits of all three types and have become known as a symbol of royalty. Together, my sister and I use our power to raise and lower the sun and moon each and every day."
What did she just say?
Dante inwardly shushed Carnage, although he was thinking the same thing. "You said you control the sun and moon? Well, that's certainly interesting."
"Dost thou not have 'humans' who do the same in your land?" Luna said.
"Certainly not. In my world, the sun remains stationary while the planet rotates around it on an axis. We have the same effect here, but it is only an illusion to the eye to say the sun actually moves. As for the moon, it does the same thing except it revolves around the planet itself. It's certainly an interesting power that you both have... in my world, you'd most likely be seen as gods."
"While we were seen as such when we first came to Equestria, we made sure to put such praise to an end." Celestia said with a wave of her hoof. "Although we appear ageless compared to our subjects, we are by no means immortal."
This thing is naive. How does it know we won't use the information and usurp her?
"Because we won't." Dante said near inaudibly. He lowered his head to think. The two Princesses sat in silence, waiting to hear what was on his mind. Without a word, he stood and walked over to one of the stained glass windows. It was a beautifully done image of six ponies surrounding six orbs. After a moment, he said, “Where I come from, just about everything happens for a reason.” He turned back to the Princesses, “And I’m willing to bet money that me winding up stranded here is for a good reason too.”
Celestia nodded, “Long ago, after we had defeated Madora, a blind seer came to the castle. She prophesized of her return, and spoke of how three stars would ultimately halt her advance. I believe that you and the others of your kind that landed here have come to fulfill that prophecy.”
Dante crossed his arms. “So my brothers really are here as well…” he started, but closed his eyes and fell back into thought. “Wait,” he said, opening his eyes again, “she spoke of three stars stopping this Madora? But there are four of us.”
“Before disappearing, she also spoke of one of the stars falling away from the others, joining Madora in her conquest.”
“That’s impossible, my brothers would never betray each other! Let alone join in an onslaught.”
Luna turned to her sister, “Could the seer have been wrong, dear sister? He seems rather certain that his kind would not betray one another.”
“I’m not sure. Whatever may happen, though, we must push through.” She turned her eyes back to Dante. “As for you, I have received word of your skill in battle. One of my guards told me of your battle against the Changelings, and how without your assistance, the village may have been lost—“
“Please,” Dante said, pulling the front of his hat down a little to hide his face, “You’re going to make me blush.”
“—As such, I wish to make a bargain with you. We will give you a place to eat and rest your head, as well as help you find your comrades. In return, we ask that you assist us in this desperate time.”
Dante held his hand to his chin, pretending to look like he was thinking it over. In reality, he was speaking to Carnage.
How do we know they will not simply destroy us once we have fulfilled their request?
“I have a feeling we can trust them. For now, at least.” Dante muttered, loud enough for only him to hear. “Do you remember that village we landed in? All the dead horses? At least a third of them were in the same armor as these guys. I don’t think they’d be so quick to stab us in the back.”
Carnage remained silent. Dante lifted his head back to the embodiments of the sun and moon, “Deal.”
Celestia smiled. Luna spoke next, “Of course, there is one other thing that needs to be attended to.” Celestia closed her eyes and her horn began to glow with a golden aura. Before Dante could speak up, he found himself surrounded in a thick mist. After a few moments, the mist disappeared to reveal a brown Alicorn with a black mane and a wide-brimmed hat exactly where Dante stood before.
He stood for a moment, a dumb look on his face as he looked down at his body. “Why am I a horse?”
“We think it rather suits thee.” Luna teased.
“I apologize, but we will also require you to remain in that form for a time. With the Changelings growing ever closer, a being like yourself being spotted all around Canterlot may make some ponies panic over nothing. It is just a simple illusion, of course. It is strange though… That spell was meant to turn you into a simple earth pony. Yet you are in the form of an Alicorn.”
“Curious…” Luna muttered.
Dante turned his head to look at his wings and tried to get a glimpse of his horn. “Well, I guess it makes sense.” He said with a smile, “After all, I could already fly. And, in a way, I had access to magic too.”
Celestia looked at him with a face on confusion. Dante chuckled slightly. “Remind me to tell you more about where I’m from later on.”
Celestia opened her mouth to respond, but was stopped short by the golden doors at the end of the hall bursting open. A stallion, another guard by the way he was dressed, came galloping in. “Your Highness! The city gates have been breached!”