Fallen Stars

by Zachurra

Chapter 4 - War*

“The city gates? Who would attack us so openly?”

“Could it be those Changeling guys?” Dante asked with a cocked eyebrow.

“No, the Changelings would never risk a full on assault unless necessary. They take great pride in their cunning.”

“If that thing is a Changeling, it’s certainly one I’ve never seen before.” The guard said, still panting slightly. “It was very large and stood on its hind legs! Its mane was as your Highnesses’ coat, but it wore armor that was as black as night.”

Dante immediately perked up, “Wait, I know him! That’s War! But he wouldn’t just attack without being provoked, unless—“ His eyes grew wide with horror. His mouth hung open for a few seconds before asking quietly, “What color were his eyes?”

The guard looked at him stupidly. Of all the strange things about this creature, his eyes were the thing he was most curious about? “I didn’t get a good glimpse, I had to return to the castle and—“

Dante quickly trotted over to him and got in his face, the horror in his eyes replaced by anger, “What. Color. Were. His. Eyes.”

The guard began to look scared of this strangely dressed pony in front of him. “I-I think they were red… They looked like the eyes of a demon…”

Dante’s jaw began to slowly drop as he shifted away from the nervous guard. “Oh no…” He turned back to the twin Princesses, “We need to get out there now! Whatever spell you used, reverse it and change me back! If I don’t stop him, people might die!”

“Do not doubt our power, Dante.” Luna said. “We shall try not to harm your brother more than absolutely necessary.”

Celestia’s horn began to glow in its familiar golden aura.

“Its not him getting hurt that I’m afraid of…” Dante whispered to himself.

As Dante finished his sentence, he found himself and the Princesses outside the castle, near the gates of Canterlot. The houses and shops in the surrounding area were full of large holes. A few guards lay motionless on the ground, while others were attempting to neutralize the strange new threat.

The strange new threat being a creature standing a little over seven feet tall and covered in cold night-blue and black armor. He had long silvery white hair that partially covered his face and had grown to almost the length of his back. Upon his back rested a massive sword only slightly smaller than he. One of the guards that was able to remain consciousness charged at the monster before them in a blind attempt at doing some kind of damage. Being a Pegasus, he was fast, but the intruder was faster. In the blink of an eye, he had swung his arm out and connected his fist with the Pegasus guard, sending him into one of the nearby stores and creating yet another hole.

He turned slowly to face Dante and the Princesses as he lowered his arm. He gave them a cold, tired stare. The Princesses seemed unmoved by what they believed to be nothing more than attempted intimidation, but Dante seemed to almost be shaking. The thing that scared him most about the behemoth were the color of his eyes.

A very deep, bloody red.

Realizing that these were not mere infantry before him, he slowly reached behind him and took hold of his monstrous sword.

“War!” Dante said, galloping forward to keep himself between the Princesses and the intruder. “Its me, Pestilence!” He stepped closer, his voice falling to a normal level “It’s Dante, don’t you remember?”

War said nothing. He only lifted his sword and brought it smashing into the ground. The ground exploded forward towards Dante, taking him by surprise. He had no time to escape, and braced for impact. He felt nothing, however. He opened his eyes to see the rocks had been stopped by a barrier created by Celestia’s golden magic. She stepped in front of him, eyes burning with determination to protect her people.

War did nothing but watch as the Alicorn moved forward. He showed no sign of expression or real feeling. The only feeling Celestia could see from his face was that of exhaustion. He showed no sign of sleep deprivation, but something in his eyes made him look as if he had been battling for days on end, with not a moments rest.

War slowly twisted his body and sword around, preparing for a heavier strike. Before he could do so, Celestia picked him up with her magic and slammed him into a wall. She released him upon impact, and he fell to his knees. He looked back up to her, showing no sign of pain or fatigue. He began to rise again, but Celestia lifted him into the air once more and threw him into another wall. "I will not allow you to hurt my little ponies. Be you friend or enemy, I would sooner die than allow such an atrocity."

Despite Celestia’s overpowering him, Dante still looked afraid. He turned to Luna, who had moved to stand by his side, “You have to change me back! I’m the only one here who can stop him while he’s like this. Once I do that, I can stay a horse forever for all I care. But if you don’t change me right now, Celestia will die!”

Luna looked down at him in disbelief. "Do not doubt our sister's power. Thou are but a stranger to our land, and shall learn that just because we are princesses, we are not helpless." War raised to his feet once more after Celestia’s flurry was finished. Nothing had changed about him. He even seemed to repel the dust from the walls he had been thrown into. Celestia blinked once in surprise only to find War suddenly to be within arms reach of her. Before she could react, War swung the back of his hand into her face. Her body smacked into the wall nearby, cracking it.

“Change me, now!” Dante said in anger to the younger princess. Luna looked torn between doing as he said and stepping in herself. What if Dante failed, or worse yet he was using this as an opportunity to change back so that he may join his brother. She made a decision, hoping with all her heart that it was the right one. Her horn began to glow.

Celestia lifted her head just to see him standing just where he had been when he hit her. In an instant, he vanished and reappeared in front of her again. She gasped and her eyes widen and watched as he raised his blade high and swung it down to deal the final blow. Celestia flinched, but her end never came. Looking up, she saw Dante returned to his human form. He held his claymore in hand, holding War’s sword back. He turned his head just enough to see his brown eyes, “As much as I’d like a kiss for saving your life, I suggest you let me handle him.” he said in his usually sarcastic and teasing tone.

Celestia reluctantly nodded before teleporting back to Luna’s side. The Lunar princesses began tending to her sister's wounds.

Dante swung his blade forward with a grunt, causing War to recoil back. He attempted another swing, but War vanished and reappeared a further distance away.

Dante held out his arms and spoke mockingly, “Miss me big guy?”

War said nothing and only stared with his cold, emotionless eyes.

The humor in Dante’s voice left quickly, “I know you’re in there Desolate. Get out of him!”

Dante noticed a slight twitch around his eyes and knew he was right. Desolate was War’s second soul just as Carnage was Dante's. Normally, War was rather peaceful. One could almost go as far to say he was timid. Sure, he could crush every bone in your body without even having to try, but War would never even hurt an insect without good reason. Desolate, however, was ruthless. If allowed to run free, Desolate would do exactly as his name implies: leave nothing left alive. He didn’t need a reason; he just simply did it for fun. Dante remembered searching for a way to split apart War and Desolate’s souls long ago, but such a thing was impossible.

War raised his hand up with a finger pointed towards Dante. Slowly, he moved his index finger in a small circle. The tip of his finger glowed brightly and left a trail of blue light where his finger had been. After completing the circle, his finger darted back and forth until a five pointed star was drawn within it.

“I know you’re in there War! Fight him!”

He drew his finger away from the circle and it remained in the air. He placed his palm against the symbol and it began to grow brighter.

“War, please wake up…”

The light swelled up, ready to explode forward. Before it was able to, War removed his hand from the symbol and brought both his hands to his face. He dropped his sword and it fell with a thud as he held his head and writhed about silently. He fell to his knees, but made no audible sound of pain. Dante, still clutching his sword tight, made his way closer. War sat still, pulling his hands away slowly and looking down at them.

Dante was now close enough to touch War. He pulled off his hat and lowered himself slightly to be eye-to-eye with his friend. War looked up at him, the same blank, tired look on his face. But this time, his eyes were no longer a bloody red, but were instead just a cold grey.

Dante put his hand on War’s shoulder and gave him a small smile. War rose to his feet. He gave no visible response to Dante’s gesture, but Dante could tell from the softened look in War’s eyes that he appreciated it. His eyes slowly made their way around the scene, taking in the damage he had caused. He turned to Celestia and Luna and slowly made his way towards them. Dante followed by his side. Seeing the glare from Luna, who took a step forward to intercept them if War had not truly reverted to his real self, they stopped short. War dropped onto one knee closed his eyes before giving a slow nod of his head towards Celestia. He shifted his weight to get a better look at her.

“He trying to say he’s sorry and wants to know if he hurt you.” Dante said, interpreting War’s slight movements into words.

Celestia looked at him cautiously, but gently shook her head no. “I am alright.” She slowly raised to her haunches and turned to Dante, “Are you sure he has returned to his former self? He can be trusted?”

Dante patted War’s armor, “He may be intimidating, but he’s no scarier than a puppy once you get to know him.”

Luna let out a small sigh of relief, but kept a few spells in mind, just in case. Regaining her posture, she stepped forward and brought her glare to Dante, “Now that this dispute is over with, We believe we made a deal.” Dante looked away and rubbed the back of his head before putting his hat back on. “I trust that the same should be done with… War, was it?”

War nodded, then turned to Dante and looked at him. It was clear to him that he was asking what she meant. Dante chuckled nervously, “So War, uh... have you ever wondered what it would be like to be a horse?”

Author's Note:

I didn't write the chapter with the intention for Celly and Luna to look weak, but instead for War to look strong. Put away your "gary stu" flags, he has just as many flaws as anyone, or anypony, else.

Comments

[ImpossibleReflection]

Shouldn't this have the 'human' tag?

[Alicon Glactistar]

I require MOAR!!!!!

[Zachurra]

2316204
They are only hunan up until the most recent chapter, so i figured it was unneeded. Should i add it?

[ImpossibleReflection]

2317290
The human tag is for anything involving humans, If it has a human in it, it needs the tag. Not to be annoying or anything, just facts and statistics and things such as this, I am slightly OCD towards.

[Zachurra]

2318417
Dont worry, you didnt cone across as annoying. As this is my first fic, im still getting used to setting things up properly