War glared down at Dante, who wore a silly smile on his face. Luna had been gracious enough to have changed them both into their pony forms, obviously before War could give any consent. Much like he was as a human, War was still very large, though not quite as big as Celestia. He had a black coat and his mane remained long and silver. His body armor and sword had transformed as well to fit his new body. He, like Dante, resembled an Alicorn. However his wings were missing, replaced by awkward growths.
The group of Alicorns returned to the throne room. Celestia had ordered the captain of the royal guard, captain Shining Armor, to tend to the citizens, the wounded, and the shops that had been torn apart. After some quick explanations of what was going on and of the war between the ponies and the Changelings, War agreed to provide assistance.
Celestia was content with his answer, "I must say, I am rather surprised that beings as... interesting as yourselves are willing to help us. Is there perhaps something you seek in return?"
War gave no answer, but Dante gave a smile with his words, "Our old lives were all about this stuff, in case you haven't been able to notice. We don't need any reward. All we ask of you is allow us to do what is just... and assist us in our return home, should it come to that."
Celestia nodded and opened her mouth to speak, but before she could she was interrupted, “Ah, so this is the one who was causing such a ruckus!”
A long, serpent-like being phased into reality on top of War. It was very unlike anything either of them had seen. It was a large bundle of mismatched pieces of different creatures put together into one.
Celestia spoke up, “Discord, you have come to meet our new guests.”
“How could I not? I could hear this one causing havoc all the way from my room.” Discord bent himself backwards to be face to face with War without leaving his spot on his back. “Mostly I just came to see if he was here to do any more interior decorating.”
Discord glided around War, looking him over with a magnifying glass that he pulled from the ether. “You really got beat by this chump Celly? Why, he doesn’t look much scarier than Luna does after waking up on the wrong side of the—“
Before Discord could continue, War had grabbed him out of the air and now had him pinned under his hoof. Discord squirmed and flailed comically in effort to get free, but War held his hoof in place on Discord’s neck.
Dante simply watched as the aspect of chaos flailed about. Trying to repress a giggle, he turned to the Princesses, “Are you sure you want us staying up here? A certain someone might end up with more than just a few bruises.”
“Hmm, we may consider it. We are thinking we may enjoy having him around.” Luna said with a smile as she watched the show.
“I believe he’s learned his lesson, War” Celestia said. War complied and released Discord without a word. Discord slithered away and hid behind the sun goddess. He glared at War and stuck his tongue out at him. War did nothing in retaliation, staying perfectly calm.
“Anyways,” Dante continued, “my question still stands. I don’t believe we would be of much use to the war if we remained here. We should be closer to the front of the assault.”
Celestia nodded. “A brave notion. Indeed. I was about to suggest such before Discord came to introduce himself.”
Discord turned away from the group, pouting. “The farther away that one is from me, the better. I hate those who lack a good sense of humor.”
Again, War said nothing. He simply stood still, as if there were no one else in the room.
“Less than a day’s travel from here, to the north west, is a village known as Ponyville. Because of the Changeling’s ceaseless advance from the North, It is the last major town between the central hive and Canterlot. If it falls, Canterlot will likely be overwhelmed. “
Dante nodded, “Sounds like a plan. You okay with that War?”
War gave a slight nod in response.
“When can we leave?” the brown Alicorn continued.
“Within the hour.” Celestia responded. “I will have a chariot prepared and word sent to my student who resides in the town. She will watch over you during your stay.”
“Thank you kindly.” Dante turned and began walking towards the door. War gave a quiet nod to the Princesses before following his friend.
“Please wait just a moment, there are a few other things I must tend to.” Celestia said before the two ponies could leave. “Firstly, I ask that you hide your presence as an Alicorn. As I have said, Alicorns are considered royalty amongst the ponies, and I fear that showing your horn may cause unwanted attention." Dante looked up at his horn before pulling his hat down to cover his horn. "Secondly, the spell I placed on the two of you is an altered version of the one I gave to Dante originally. This one not only transforms the two of you, but also any else who reside in this world who are connected to you. If it works as it should, the other two you seek to find shall also be in pony form. This should halt any possibility of panic and allow them more ease when getting answers. Are there any particular traits my sister and I should be on the lookout for?”
“One of them will have white hair and probably have a lot of knives on hand. Odds are, he’ll be staying away from crowds and keeping more to the shadows. The other will be wearing a blindfold. Trust me, you’ll know it’s him the second you see him.”
With that, Dante and War made their way out of the throne room and were escorted by another of Celestia’s personal guard as they made their way to the chariots.
Luna turned to her sister, “Sister, art thou sure they can be trusted out on their own like that? Pray tell what may happen if that War character loses control again?”
“I have confidence in Twilight Sparkle’s ability to keep the situation under control. If worst comes to worst, she will gather the Elements of Harmony together and put a stop to any kind of danger that may arise around those two. As well, I could sense their power before they were transformed. Their power is remarkable, but they are quite limited in their current forms.”
“You aren’t one to make a gamble like that Celestia,” Discord chimed in, tossing a pair of dice around in his paw, “especially when it comes to your precious student.”
“These are desperate times, Discord. The Elements of Harmony will not be able to stop the oncoming horde all on their own. The Changelings are simply too powerful. Now if you will excuse me, I have a letter to write.
-------------
The golden gates closed shut behind the two ponies as they left the hall. As they did, a guard approached them. He removed his helmet to reveal a unicorn horn and a blue mane. On his chest was a polished badge. “My name is Shining Armor, and I am the captain of the Royal Guard. I don't believe we had the full pleasure of meeting earlier." His eyes shifted towards War, who looked down at him in quiet contempt. She shifted nervously, "The Princess has requested that I escort you to Ponyville.”
Dante tipped his hat in greeting while War remained silent. Shining Armor looked the two of them over once more before turning and gesturing to follow. After a moment, Dante spoke up, “So, I’ve been wondering… Do all the guards here have to have names dealing with the military?”
Shining Armor stopped and put his hoof to his chin as he thought about Dante’s question. “You know, I’ve never thought about that until now. Pretty weird coincidence, huh?” he said with a light chuckle, “But no, having a military name isn’t a requirement to join the guard.”
It did not take long for the trio to reach the courtyard where a chariot was already being prepared. “This is as far as I go.” Shining Armor said.
“You’re not coming with us?”
“No, I have duties to attend to here with the protection of Canterlot. When you arrive, seek out my sister, Twilight Sparkle. She’s the librarian at Ponyville. She’ll help you get adjusted.”
The two nodded and boarded the chariot, which soon took off towards the village that Dante had seen the last time he was on a chariot. When they were out of range from the captain, Dante began laughing to himself. "The hell kinda name is 'twilight sparkle'?"
-------------
Twilight Sparkle paced around anxiously in the small field just outside Ponyville.
“Calm down Twilight, it’s not like we haven’t received a few extra guards lately.” Rainbow Dash said, her arms behind her head as she relaxed on a cloud not too high above the field.
“These aren’t just any old guards Rainbow, Celestia sent me a letter herself about these guys! She said to keep special eye on them, as they were potentially dangerous!”
“Now ah’m not one to go against bein’ all cautious and such, but ah think you’re frettin’ just a little too much over this sugarcube. Ah doubt two new stallions could be too much trouble ‘round here.”
As Applejack finished her sentence, Spike pointed towards the sky from Twilight's back. “Look! Here they come!”
The six ponies looked up in the direction he was pointing and saw the golden chariot descend from the sky. As it came to a halt along the grassy plain, the two Pegasi that were leading it straightened themselves up out of habit to look more professional. The girls watched as a brown Pegasus stepped down from the chariot and casually made his way towards them. They could only see about half his face as his wide-brimmed hat partially obstructed view. They watched even more intently as a very large unicorn with a black coat stepped down behind him. A few of the girls locked eyes with this large stranger and tried hard to resist shaking because of his intimidating stare.
The two new ponies stopped in front of the small welcome party and waited. All of them seemed to be staring at War, who was simply staring back. Dante looked back and forth between them before smiling, “Sup?”
The sudden noise broke the six mares out of their trance. Twilight shook her head a little before clearing her throat, “My name is Twilight Sparkle. The Princess sent a letter mentioning your arrival.”
Dante held out his hoof, which Twilight happily shook. “Pleasure’s all mine. My name is Dante, and this is my brother, War. I’m sure the Princess put in a good word for us?”
“Well she did say you two were certainly one of a kind.”
Dante chuckled lightly, “She is just such a sweetheart. If she wasn’t twice my size, I’d ask her to get a drink with me.”
The ones in the group who didn’t pick up on his sarcasm gave him a weird look. He rolled his eyes playfully and turned to War, “Don’t be shy War, say hello.”
War gave the girls a light nod, in which Twilight responded in the same. He showed no indifference.
“So, may you be so kind as to give us your names?” Dante said.
“Oh, right, silly me!” Twilight turned to the behind her and began pointing them out individually. “These are my friends: Rarity, Pinkie Pie, Fluttershy, Applejack, and up there on the cloud is Rainbow Dash. Also, this is my number one assistant Spike.” Each of the girls, and one dragon, gave a smile or a wave as they were named. Pinkie Pie flailed about when she was called.
Dante tilted his hat slightly in greeting. Rainbow Dash began hovering around the two ponies, taking particular interest in War. Dante halted her circling with a look of worry in his eyes, “I wouldn’t do that if I were you. Anyways, could you show us around?”
And so they did. War and Dante were given a full tour of Ponyville. It took slightly longer than it should have because of War’s slow movement. Each pony left the group whenever they came near their homes, as the sun was already going down.
“Since this was on such short notice, you’ll have to spend the first few nights in my library with me and Spike. Is that okay?”
“No problem at all.” Dante said. He turned to War, “You know your way around?” War nodded. “Alright, you know where to find me if you need me.”
With that, War turned and began walking off in no particular direction.
“Where’s he going?” Spike said.
“Don’t worry about him, War just likes to take a walk before bedtime.”