Fallen Stars

by Zachurra

Chapter 22 - Going Home

“And this window depicts Discord’s defeat by Princess Celestia and Princess Luna over one thousand years ago!”

War looked up at the masterfully crafted stained glass window before him. Beautiful colors and shades depicted the two regents rising above the chaotic king and bringing harmony to the earth ponies, Pegasi, and Unicorns. He recalled seeing the once so terrifying lord of chaos during his first visit to the castle; though in the window he appeared to be a single color rather than his many. He almost appeared to be depicted as some kind of statue.

“Together, they used the Elements of Harmony against Discord to turn him to stone and free all of Equestria from his reign of terror. He remained in the castle gardens until the fateful day when his prison was broken and he once again turned our world completely upside down – thankfully, I don’t mean that literally – but we were able to defeat him just as the Princesses had. It wasn’t until about a few months ago that Princess Celestia came to us with the idea of reforming him.”

“He’s not so bad once you get to know him.”

War looked down to the little yellow Pegasus that stood by his side, leaning against his leg with a smile on her face. She hadn’t left his side from the moment they were reunited and he certainly did not mind her presence in the slightest. His eyes turned to Twilight, who had paused in her storytelling to give the odd couple a small smile of her own.

“He tried to shatter your world twice… Yet you still offered him freedom… You are more merciful than I…”

She began to laugh nervously and her eyes didn’t meet his after his comment. “Yeah, we all totally had faith in him… Heh, heh…”

He merely raised an eyebrow to the Unicorn’s odd behavior but chose to ignore it.

“A-Anyways,” She muttered, quickly turning and leading the group of six mares and one Demon to the next piece of art. “This window tells the story of the six of us becoming-“

At that moment the doors that lead into the grand hall of windows opened wide. The small group turned to see none other than Princess Celestia herself enter, closely accompanied by Dante.

“Good evening my little ponies,” She said with a warm smile. When the mares began to bow in her presence, she instead shook her head and returned the gesture. “Please, if anypony is deserving of such praise, it is the eight of you. Without you, Ponyville may have been lost as well as many more lives.”

Fluttershy left the comfort of her love and slowly approached the diarch, frowning and eyes watering. “W-when the shield fell, nopony got hurt… right? Please tell me nopony was injured…”

Celestia’s smile faded as her posture returned and she could tell from the looks of the others that they were equally as curious as to the fate of their families and friends. She bit her lip, conflicted and desperately wishing to put their hearts at ease by telling them that everything was alright, but she knew they would find out one way or another and her lie, even if born in an effort to ease their pain, would only result in more of the such.

She closed her eyes and hung her head. “I’m afraid that even in the presence of all of you, casualties were… unavoidable.”

Fluttershy’s heart broke right before her eyes. The mare dropped to the ground and covered her head in an effort to hide her sobbing, though it proved fruitless. In less than a heartbeat, her friends were at her side. They held her tightly, as well as each other. It was Applejack who was the first to pull herself away from the bunch and speak up again.

“H-How many?”

“Five have been counted.” The princess replied sullenly. “The flower mares Daisy and Lily, a stallion by the name of Clover and his son, Lucky, as well as one of the members of the miltia, Lightning Strike.”

A few of the mares felt a small sense of relief upon discovering it was nopony they knew directly but immediately felt a wash of shame afterwards, quietly berating themselves for feeling relieved that one pony died and not another.

“It could have been much worse.” Dante finally spoke up. “If you had not raised that shield in the first place, the Changelings could have bypassed our forces from the very start. We may have beaten them still, but there likely would not have been a town left to defend.”

A few of them nodded and tried to regain their composure, wiping away their tears. Dante got down onto one knee to be on their level, “Listen, if my days as a Horseman have taught me anything, it’s that sometimes you can’t save everyone… But what matters is that you fought, bled, and screamed to save who you could. You may not feel like it right now, but you are all heroes and who knows how many ponies are still able to walk and talk and enjoy life because of you.”

Dante noticeably relaxed when he saw a small smile come to a few of their faces and not a single one of them was crying still. His body then tensed again as they took advantage of his smaller figure and suddenly wrapped him up in their group hug. Even he couldn’t help but smile a bit as he felt their warmth and their hearts.

His eyes turned to War, who had yet to move from his initial position, and held out his arms. “Come on big guy, you’re a hero too.”

War gave no response but the girls and even Celestia couldn’t help but giggle. The feeling of their spirits rising again was comforting but more so was the fact that Dante’s mood was beginning to finally lighten again. Ever since the battle he had barely spoken more than a sentence to any of them, let alone make any silly or sarcastic comment. It was a little jarring to some to see him appear so furious and seething, but now it finally appeared that the old him was returning.

But a thought came to Twilight’s mind that caused her smile to turn to a frown. To see him change from the silly, childlike pony to this fuming “man” made her curious as to which one was the true Dante. Is he simply the kind to enrage more easily than she had thought, or was he hiding behind a façade the entire time? And if that was the case, then why lie?

The Unicorn’s train of thought was interrupted as another pair approached them. Princess Luna and Vice walked side by side, the former smiling at the pile of ponies and the ladder keeping his hands in his pockets and raising an eyebrow gently as he looked down at the Demon in the middle of them all.

Dante stood up on his feet and stood on the tips of his toes to look down the hall past the two newcomers. “I hope I didn’t miss the beheading…”

Princess Luna frowned at his dark joke, “No such act shall be necessary. The fate of Queen Chrysalis and her Changelings will be decided tomorrow after we have all had a moment to rest and think clearly again.”

“A lot has happened in the past twenty four hours.” Vice said as he adjusting his scarf, “I will be returning here tomorrow for her sentencing.”

“There is no need for you to have to travel such distances,” Celestia said, offering the Demon a warm smile, “Our castle has more than enough room to accommodate you.”

“I appreciate your offer, your highness, but that won’t be necessary. Ponyville is in shambles, partly in thanks to my own actions. I would rather aid in the reconstruction whenever I can, as much as I can.”

“I agree,” Dante said, “A war is not truly over until the minds of the people – or ponies – are put at ease.”

The two rulers smiled together at their words. “Such noble souls for ones who call themselves Demons. If that is what you wish, then we insist you use our personal chariot.”

Suddenly Pinkie threw up her hooves in cheer, “Weesa goin’ home!”

The girls all laughed together and even got a short chuckle out of two of the Demons before making their way out of the room towards the castle courtyard. The three Horsemen lagged behind a few paces and took to the rear of the cluster. Vice’s eyes found soon found their way to War’s large frame. Being in a rush, War never took the opportunity to retrieve the upper half of his armor and, as such, the scar that marked where Horrus’s sword had pierced was in plain view.

“What of our other prisoner?” He muttered only just loud enough for the other two to hear.

“Knocked out harder than a kid who finally discovered the wonders of alcohol.” Dante replied, his eyes remaining forward. “The stress on his soul was so great that I’m honestly surprised he’s still alive. It should be weeks before he wakes up and months before he’ll walk again.”

Vice’s fingers curled into a fist as he glared at the wound. “We should have killed him when we had the chance.”

“I agree.” Dante said casually with a small shrug.

Vice looked up towards War’s face and nearly stumbled at the giant’s piercing gaze aimed at him. “Don’t look at me like that,” he said, quickly recovering. “He may have saved your life but that doesn’t excuse everything else he did. He tried to kill the ponies and screwed with my head. Forgive him all you want, but I haven’t.”

Vice stormed forward, bringing an end to the one-sided discussion. A quiet sigh left War’s lips, loud enough only for his own ears. Despite being nearly nine centuries old, he was still young by Demonic standards and had yet to truly harden his heart. Perhaps that was a blessing in disguise, War thought, as he simply wouldn’t be who he is if he didn’t respond with his beliefs.

“Dear sister, aren’t you forgetting something?” Luna said, smiling to her sibling and causing the ears of the ponies behind them to perk up in interest.

“Ah, it would seem I did.” Celestia replied, a similar smile across her lips. She stopped to turn and gave a short bow to the group, “If you will excuse me, I’m afraid there is something that requires my immediate attention. I promise I shall return in time to see you all off.” The princess quickly spun around and began making her way down a separate hallway and soon disappeared around a corner.

“My, my, what could be so important as to send princess Celestia in such a hurry?” Rarity questioned, looking to Luna for an answer.

“Probably some awesome medals for our valiant efforts,” Rainbow Dash said, her head high and chest puffed out.

“In due time, my friends.” Luna replied before any of the mare’s friends could remind her of humility. They deserved a moment to be proud. “For now, let us continue on. The courtyard is just outside that gate.”

The group of ten continued forward and the guards stood at attention as they approached. Together they opened the doors to reveal the beauty that was Canterlot Castle’s gardens, home of more flora and fauna than one could think to count in a day’s time.

“I could get used to people opening doors for me,” Dante thought aloud as he passed the guards, giving a quick tip of his hat to them. Their posture remained statuesque, but the Demon could feel their eyes against his back before they closed the doors. Sure, he was an important figure back in the world of Hellion, but he had certainly never had grown men – stallions? – gaping at him behind his back. He wasn’t sure if he was bothered by it yet.

The soft carpet of the castle turned to cobblestone and strong trees stood evenly spaced apart on either side of the path. Only beyond the initial trees did they appear to grow more wildly. To their left they could just make out what looked to be a beautifully crafted marble fountain while to their right they caught sight of a few critters feeding on the berries of a bush.

Luna stopped before closing her eyes and taking a deep breath of the fresh garden air. “No matter how many times I return to this garden, nature still manages to wind me with its majesty.”

The girls nodded in full agreement. Some were even temped to go out and explore the gardens to their fullest and see what lied beyond just what they could see, but their attention was brought back to the here and now when Vice continued forward. Hands still in his pockets, he didn’t give the colorful flowers or curious animals a second glance.

Princess Luna watched him as he continued on, recalling the last time he found himself surrounded by nature in Canterlot. It was not long after that night that more than a few complaints reached her ears that a park had been vandalized. Some took the destruction of a few trees very seriously and sought the princess’s council on the matter, but she, knowing the truth, brought the issue to a close. She promised to look into the matter personally and, for the first time since her return, decided to take the approach that any good politician would: do absolutely nothing about it. After all, the last thing a hero of Equestria needed was to be branded some kind of terrorist against nature.

As the group continued on, the sight of the royal carriage came into view. Made of gold and manned by only the most trusted of Pegasi the Royal Guard had to offer, it was the crown jewel of Equestrian transportation. As they approached, a bright flash appeared nearby and soon gave away to reveal Princess Celestia with a small black box in her magical grip.

“Stop to do a little sight-seeing?” The Alicorn smiled, not expecting to beat them to the carriage.

“You know I cannot resist, dear sister. If I am to regret anything in this life, it is that we did not think to have such a spectacular testament of nature’s capabilities in our old home.”

The older sister nodded in agreement before turned to the others. “While I had intended to reward all of you before your efforts to protect our land during the coming celebration of the war’s end, I cannot help but feel proud of you all for going above and beyond.” Her attention turned to the three Demons and the black box levitated forward, opening to reveal three necklaces with adorned with different gems. The one that bore a ruby levitated into Dante’s hands, the one that bore an emerald fell into Vice’s hands, and the last that bore a sapphire was placed in War’s open palm.

“With these gifts, I hereby name you all official citizens of Equestria and all rights that come with that title.”

“While I’m really flattered,” Dante began, his eyes moving from the ruby in his hand to the princess herself, “And I’m sure the others are too – hell, I’ve never seen anything bring out War’s eyes so well – I really don’t think such a gift is necessary-“

A sudden flash grabbed everyone’s attention as the group turned to see a pony standing where Vice was just a moment ago. Instead of the Demon, there was now a Grey Pegasus with a short, spikey white mane and around his neck was the stained scarf he was never without as well as the emerald necklace. He seemed just as surprised as the rest of them, looking his new body up and down in confusion.

A quiet chuckle came from Luna as Celestia smiled, “The gems are more than just mere jewelry, Dante. They are imbued with my own magic, allowing you to return to your Equine forms whenever you please.”

Each of the Demons took a closer look at their new accessories, only then noticing the faint markings that covered most of the jewel’s surface. Celestia soon continued, “Considering my magic transformed you into Alicorns before, I assumed you would all prefer to draw less attention to yourselves. As such, those jewels will instead give you the forms of three normal ponies.”

“And here I hoped of being a prince.” Vice said as he watched the other two transform before his eyes. War returned to being the unusually tall black Unicorn with the long white mane, this time with no stubs where his wings should have been. Dante now stood as a brown earth pony, his hat and sword changing size to accommodate.

The two princesses smiled and stepped aside, allowing them to take the carriage. “We shall hold you no longer.”

All nine ponies climbed onto the carriage. It was a bit of a tight fit, but none of them felt like they might fall out. As they took to the sky, the mares turned and waved their goodbyes to the princesses, who returned the gesture. Dante and Vice sat near the edge looking out over the landscape.

Equestria was a land of color and love. You could travel in any direction and find someone – or somepony – to meet and never say the journey wasn’t worth it. Yes, there were dragons and monsters and things that would love nothing more than to see them dead, but honestly… Dante didn’t care. Send your abominations, world. He would destroy anything that dared to fu-

Language.

Dante smiled to the voice in his head and rested his forelegs on the railing. Beside him, Vice did the same. “So, what do we do now? How do we find our way back home?”

He didn’t look at Vice, instead keeping his eyes towards the horizon. “We are home.”