We Are All Just Puppets

by Zachurra

Chapter 8 - Recovery*

Dreams of stars and the night sky faded from Princess Luna’s eyes as they slowly opened. She groaned as she tried to cover her eyes with her hoof from the sun as it shined seemingly on her and only her. She was angry at herself for forgetting to pull her blinds back at the end of the night. She attempted to use her horn’s magic to encase her within peaceful darkness once more, but her attempts were futile. It was then and only then that she came to remember the past events and her raising of the moon in an effort to assure her subjects across the world that everything was indeed alright.

Her eyes snapped open and her body spasmed as she attempted to quickly roll back onto her hooves only for her to end up falling right on her face. A face full of dirt was definitely the wake up call she needed, if not the one she wanted. She looked around and inspected her surroundings now that that she was out of her sleepy daze. She was prepared to face what kind of horrors that the monster Desolate had created during her and her sister’s absence, but she was not prepared to see that nothing at all had changed. The wind still blew, the trees still swayed, and the birds still chirped. One could daresay she was more shocked to see everything was alright than she would be if everything had gone to her vision of a worst case scenario.

The Lunar Princess lifted herself back onto her hooves and took a few steps back to look towards a familiar mountain. Canterlot, as she could see, was all but leveled. Not even the mountain itself had come out unscathed, with the peak being blown straight off. Outside of that, however, it seemed that the world had simply kept spinning.

“Ah, lovely. You’re awake.”

The sudden sound of a voice made the Alicorn jump. She spun around and was met by yet another of the creatures that had referred to themselves as “Demons” standing just outside of the small clearing she stood in. Strangely, it was not one she recognized. What also appeared strange to her was that it looked quite young by comparison of how she remembered War and Dante, and even when compared to Desolate.

From behind him came another being, but this time it was no Demon. Celestia’s body was far different compared to the last time Luna had seen it. She was smaller, much smaller. Her mane no longer swayed under an ethereal wind, nor did it contain the sparkling rainbow of colors that it once did. It was now two shades of pink. Her horn no longer had the length that it did just yesterday and now she simply appeared like an Alicorn child rather than an Alicorn Princess.

“Tia!” Luna galloped forward and embraced her sister tightly, nearly sending the elder sister onto her back. She heard a lighthearted giggle come from the sun goddess followed by an embrace of her own.

“It is good to see you too, sister.” Her voice sounded different than it had before. Smaller and lighter, not even close to the commanding-but-motherly tone she normally had. Luna took a step back, inspecting her sister once more.

“Tia, what has happened? Why art thou so… so… small?”

Celestia giggled again, “Perhaps you should take a look at your own body, little sister.”

Luna raised an eyebrow to her elder sister before following a short distance where they came to a gentle river. Luna looked down and her eyes spread wide when she saw her reflection. Like her sister, her, Luna’s mane no longer blew in the invisible wind. It no longer sparkling like the night sky, but rather it was the same shades of blue that it was shortly after she was purged by the Elements of Harmony and the threat to Equestria known as Nightmare Moon was banished forever.

“Sister… what has happened to us?”

“It would appear,” the Demon had remained silent up until this point, “that your duel with Desolate has left the both of you feeling… exhausted. I would assume that the lack of power coursing through your body is being represented in your physical form, leaving you as mere children of your previous selves. Quite curious, really.”

“And who might thou be, who hath taken such in interest in Alicorn physiology?” Luna suddenly became quite defensive against the one who might possibly have had a hand in their surviving through the night.

“My name is Horrus. I am, or perhaps I should say was, one of the Four Horsemen, specifically the Horseman of Death.” He spoke without the interest in his voice that he had when he was theorizing the new form of the once-powerful Alicorns.

“The Horseman of Death?” Luna held her head high as she began taking steps towards him. "We believe we recall hearing of a betrayal by your hand, as well as your assistance in a certain invasion of our land?”

Horrus showed no signs of backing down as Luna’s muzzle came just within inches of his own face. “I recall not being the first to betray your land.”

Luna glared softly at the Demon, who returned in kind. “We expected thou to be taller.” She said dryly.

“Same to you.”

Luna huffed, a sign Celestia took to intervene on the situation. “Horrus here protected us through the night. He healed our wounds, but it appears that we still need time to recharge our magic.”

“I am not deserving of such praise. Your wounds were not extreme, and even if they were then I am sure they would be no trouble. Healing Seals are simple enough. The only trouble is that the one being healed often feels the same amount of pain, more or less, that they felt when receiving the wound. You should be thankful for your exhaustion for leaving you in such a deep sleep. You should also be thankful Desolate didn’t do to you what he did to War.”

“War?” Celestia looked perplexed, “Is he here as well? You Demons certainly have a tough time dying, don’t you?”

“It would appear so. Come, he is just up the river.”

With that, Horrus spun on his heel and began walking. The two weakened Alicorns followed the Horseman upstream to where they found an incline in the land as well as a small waterfall. Within the path of the water was a rock big enough for the large size of War’s body to sit cross-legged upon. His eyes were closed as water went down his hair and back, only a little actually running down his face. His breathing was slow and paced, giving the Alicorns the impression that he was in a deep state of thought or meditation. Upon hearing the footsteps and hoofsteps disturbing the small rocks along the line of the river, his eyes opened and tracked the three as they came within range.

“Well, at least I’m still able to recognize one of you.” Celestia said with a smile. War rose to his feet and stepped off the rock and into the river itself. The water barely reached his knees as he moved forward.

“Enjoy your bath?” Horrus said. The princesses were unsure of whether his tone was sarcastic or serious.

“Simply… washing the blood off.” He reached up and scrubbed a small trail of dried blood that was on his left bicep.

“What happened?” Luna asked, only now noticing just how much blood there was even after War's supposed attempts at cleaning himself.

“I only lost something for a short time… nothing that cannot be replaced.” Both sisters quietly gasped to themselves as they realized just what he was implying. “But that is not a topic for the current time… Where is Desolate?”

Celestia was the first to snap out of her daze, “We are not sure… Judging by the surprising lack of destruction, I would feel it is safe to assume he is still in Canterlot. You don’t plan to go after him alone, do you?”

“He is my responsibility.” War began walking past the Alicorns.

“You’ll get yourself killed.” Horrus crossed his arms as he watched the giant continue his long strides. “You’re not even close to the man you were a decade ago.”

War stopped and turned his head to the left gently to show he was listening. Horrus took a seat on a rock before continuing. “Sit down. There’s a couple things that need explaining.”

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Twilight Sparkle felt a wave of relief as she saw the sun rise back over the horizon. “Thank goodness, Celestia is okay…” She had to continue her journey on hoof, having dropped to the ground some hour or so ago after her wings simply couldn’t bring her any further. Whether she wanted to admit it or not, flying was just something she couldn’t seem to get a hang of. The adrenaline rush she had gotten from escaping the battlefield had long worn off, leaving her exhausted with only her willpower and desire to find her friends leaving her on her hooves.

Her first stop would be to find Fluttershy. No doubt she would still be at her cottage at this time of day. She trotted through open field until she found the correct path, where she then proceeded up to the door and took a deep breath, rubbing her face in hopes to wipe away her tiredness. She knocked on the door three times and heard shuffling from behind it. She waited a few moments before knocking again. This time the door opened almost immediately and Twilight found herself face to face with a small Unicorn.

“Oh, hi aunt Twilight.” She said with a smile.

“Hello Pareidolia,” Twilight replied with a somewhat forced smile. She was always happy to see the little filly, but right now she didn’t have much time for idle catch-up. “Is Fluttershy home?”

The filly nodded.

“Um… can I see her?” Twilights smile was slowly fading.

“She’s… not feeling well.” Pareidolia looked off to the side as if she didn’t want to make any further eye contact.

“Not feeling well?” The lavender Alicorn questioned, “Is she sick?”

“Well… not exactly. She kind of fainted when we told her that dad was alive again, but I think she woke up just a few minutes ago.”

There was a long moment of silence as Twilight processed what the child had just said. “War is alive!?”

There was suddenly a loud thump from the next room over, followed by “Oh, come on!” The next moment, Fluttershy was being dragged into the room by her tail by her own son. He pulled his neck back up and spat out her tail before taking a look to see who had just had to come and knock out his mother again.

“Oh, hey aunt Twilight.” He said rather casually.

Twilight rushed through the door, quickly sliding into place by her canary yellowed friend. “Fluttershy!” She tried rocking the Pegasus to wake her and was, only to receive light groans in response. Her eyes rolled around in their sockets before they finally refocused on the ponies around her.

“Oh… Hello Twilight, I mean, Princess, I mean, Twilight… Um, what are you doing out here?”

“I think the better question would be to ask what happened to you... You look like a mess Fluttershy.” She licked her hoof and tried to rub away some of the dirt that stuck to the Pegasus’s fur.

“I-it’s nothing, really. I’ve just been feeling a little… light headed, recently.” Fluttershy soon found herself being levitated off the ground and carried away further into the house. Pareidolia quietly closed the door with her own magic before following after the Alicorn. Twilight set her yellow friend down on the couch before taking a seat in an open chair.

“So, judging from what the little filly told me at the door, which I can likely assume is true due to your ‘light headedness’, it seems like we both have some things we need to talk about with the other.”

“What do you mean, Twilight?" Fluttershy replied, finally seeming to ease out of her previous state. "Is something wrong back in Canterlot?”

Thoughts of the devastation caused by the one human flushed back into her mind. “Yeah, you could probably say that. But first I want to know what’s going on here. What’s all this about their father…?”

Fluttershy looked like she was about to fall back over so thankfully her children decided to fill her in. “Do you want the long version or the short version?”

“Um… can I get the middle version? I don’t have a lot of time, but if there’s some detail in what happened here that could be vital to saving Equestria then I need to know!”

Dark Star looked to his younger sister and nudged her forward. She reluctantly stepped forward, hoping her nervousness wouldn’t get the better of her even with just a one pony audience.

“Well… I can see things now,” she said softly as she gently brushed part of her mane back.

“…things?”

A sigh came from Dark Star’s direction, “She means ghosts.”

“Yeah, those.”

Twilight was beginning to lose confidence that these children could really help her, but for some reason she decided to feel like she would humor the filly. “So, you can see ghosts now… As in, right now?” She nodded. “Are there any in the house right now?”

She looked around for a moment before returning her gaze to the Alicorn, “No, not right now. I asked them to stay outside because it was scaring mommy.

Twilight looked to the elder of the siblings to see if she was being serious, and he just wore a bored, borderline-deadpan expression on his face. “She’s not lying. Trust me.” Pareidolia gave the princess a light smile.

“Ooookay then. So, what does that have to do with anything?”

“Well,” she continued, “After I became able to see them, this big one kept following me around everywhere I went… after that, everything went really blurry, like I had fallen asleep. When I woke back up, I saw my daddy and some other thing that looked like him, but more like a dragon.”

“There was another one, like dad.” Dark Star stepped in, “He was like dad, but... greyer, I guess?. He got mad at dad because he ordered him to kill us, but he refused to it. Next thing I know, there’s a lot of light and there’s a third one. It tried to kill us too, but dad stopped it and told us to run.”

“Well, I guess that explains Desolate being here… kind of.” Twilight rubbed her chin with her hoof as she took in this new information. Apparently War was alive again and fought with Desolate, but where was he now? He obviously failed to stop the monster. And what of this “greyer” being? Was he a Demon as well?

“Aunt Twilight? Are you okay?” Pareidolia stepped forward and nudged the lavender princess, startling her.

“What? Oh, I’m sorry… I guess I was just spacing out.” She smiled sheepishly. “Would you two mind making some tea for your mother and me?”

“Sure!” Another wide smile came to Pareidolia’s face as she rushed to the kitchen, more than happy to help one she considered family. Dark Star remained where he was until a magical aura appeared around him and he was dragged to the kitchen too.

“Anyways,” Twilight cleared her throat, “Fluttershy, about Canterlot… it’s gone.”

The Pegasus covered her mouth with her hooves, turning her gasp into a sharp breath. “W-what do you mean ‘gone’? Is everypony okay? Did something happen to the princesses?”

“Calm down Fluttershy,” Twilight spoke in a hushed tone, hoping that the fillies weren’t eavesdropping. “Everypony in Canterlot is okay, and as for the princesses… well, I don’t really know. They sent me out of the city to make sure I could escape in case the worse should happen. However, I am confident that they managed to make it out alive considering that the sun is still in the sky.”

“Oh, thank goodness…”

“But that’s what brings me to my being here in the first place: I need your help Fluttershy. We need to find the other girls and use the Elements to stop Desolate once and for all. If anything can stop him, I’m sure that our friendship can!”

“You’re right… but what about the other girls? It’s been years since we’ve had to use the Elements, and most of them have already moved on to different parts of Equestria to follow their dreams… what are we going to do?”

“Obviously we’re going to go out and find them! We’re going to need their help if we’re to save Equestria, and I’m sure that’s just a little higher on Rarity’s schedule than the next line of fashionable outfits.”

The two laughed together. It was already beginning to feel like old times. Fluttershy was the first to return to calmness. "Oh, but what about Star and Dolia? I just don't know what I'd do with myself if something were to happen..."

Twilight smiled softly and reached over to touch her friend. "They're older than Applebloom and Sweetie Belle were when we used to go on our old adventures, you know. I'm sure they'll be perfectly fine."

Fluttershy didn't exactly look convinced, but it really didn't seem like she had much of a choice at the moment given the circumstances. “Can… can I say goodbye to them before we leave?”

“Of course, Fluttershy. I’ll be waiting outside.” The lavender princess hopped off the chair and made her way to the door. After hearing the sound of it closing, Fluttershy picked herself up from the couch and made her way into the kitchen. There she found Pareidolia just about to carry a tray with two full teacups and a steaming kettle into the room over.

“Oh, I’m sorry Dolia, I know you worked hard to get us some tea but it looks like there’s been a teensy change in plans. Aunt Twilight and I are going to be leaving for maybe a day or two. Do you think you and your brother will be alright without me for that long?”

“We’ll be fine mom.” Dark Star said as he leaned against the wall by the doorway. “Go and do what you need to. We’re old enough to look after ourselves.” He added a smile at the end, officially scoring a point for him as Fluttershy embraced the both of them tightly before heading out the door.

Pareidolia hovered the teacup to her lips and took a quick sip. “So, what do we do now?”

“You heard aunt Twilight, something big is going on in Canterlot and dad is involved. We need to figure out how we can help.”

“What could we possibly do?”

“We’re the son and daughter of a hero, Dol. Not to mention you’re suddenly extremely adept at magic thanks to that one jerk. I’m sure there’s something we can figure out.”

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“To you ponies,” Horrus said as he and the other three sat in a small circle near the river, “The concept of friendship is the most important thing in the world. It gives you motivation to survive and prosper. For us Demons, the concept of the soul is the most important thing. Death is something that is inevitable and unchangeable – except for very, very special cases – and that is widely accepted. When one of us dies, our soul leaves our body and will one day return to be reborn in a new body. Death isn’t as much of a big deal as it probably is here since, technically, no one really dies.

“However, if the soul were to be destroyed somehow, then there would be no coming back. It is considered extremely taboo amongst our people to even think of developing a way to destroy the soul, and that’s beside the fact that it is extremely dangerous for the person doing it. It appeared that Pestilence, whom you know as Dante, had learned how to do such a thing. He was likely unsure of whether or not my soul would remain in this world to be reborn like it normally would in our world, so to be safe he decided to do away with my very core. However it would seem that he was not expecting my former life, the one known as the Horseman of Destruction, to save my life. She deflected his attack and I only lost part of my soul rather than all of it. The part of my soul that Destruction resided in was severed and lost. Because of this, it is as if Destruction was never a part of my life. My body appears to have reverted to the form it was in when Destruction and I first became one, and because of this I have lost much of my ability, including the eyes I had stolen from her.

“I feel it is proper to assume that the same can be said about War’s situation. This man, ‘The Guardian’, as he calls himself, essentially tore his soul in half and pulled out the part that contained Desolate which allowed him to be reconstructed. In doing so, your body has also reverted to the time you and Desolate became one, which would explain the regrowth of your wings. It would also appear that your mental and emotional states have been changed to something you aren’t used to anymore. For the first time in years, you aren’t feeling so hollow. Am I right? I saw the way you charged at Desolate when he took hold of that filly. Anger is what saved her, but it was also what led to your ass ending up in the sorry state I found it in. You came at him blinded by your fury and were unable to even scratch him. If you’re to even come close to standing a chance against that Demon, then you’ll need to learn to calm yourself again. You must be patient and wait a moment. Breathe.”

“We do not have time for patience, Death.”

“See? Even your speech is no longer slow and dull. And don’t call me Death anymore, I am no longer a Horseman. But that is beyond my point; my point is that you won’t make it more than five minutes against that man until you are able to fight with one hundred percent of your ability.”

“We don’t have time to be waiting around, Horrus." War replied as he looked into Horrus's eyes. "Desolate plans to level this world if he is not stopped in three day’s time. And that time started yesterday.”

“And I’m calling Desolate’s bluff.”

All eyes locked onto Horrus after such a statement. “What? Are you really telling me that I know Desolate better than you? Take a minute to think about it War; the man has never killed someone without reason. Anyone that was killed in Canterlot was likely just in his way or challenged him directly. The man loves a challenge, and if it means waiting a little longer to fight what I assume to be the only four beings here remotely capable of even standing a chance… I’ll put my money towards his patience.”

“And if Desolate is not bluffing?” Luna asked, slightly unsure of whether or not this plan was foolproof.

Horrus rested his chin in his hand, “Well then, I doubt we’d live long enough regret our decision, now won’t we?”

“I at least presume you have a plan to deal with this being that has so easily destroyed our home?” Celestia chimed in, having had enough of just sitting on the sidelines.

“Of course I have a plan!” Horrus defended, “And my plan would be to stay out of his way for now…”

“Thou cannot be serious!”

“I’m always serious. Besides, I’m more concerned with this ‘Guardian’ right now…”

“Yes, this Guardian… is he something from your world?” Celestia’s tone was far more pleasant compared to her sister’s.

“In a way. Every planet with life – this is a theory, mind you – has a sort of watcher, a Guardian. This Guardian holds a duty of making sure a specific race capable of real intelligence can make it to a point in their lifetimes where they can survive on their own and not die off within the first few years.”

“We’ve never heard of his so called ‘Guardian’ in all our time as rulers of Equestria. Where is your basis for this?”

“Hushed whispers, mostly. People don’t like to talk about things they don’t understand, but at least his existence is confirmed now.”

“And what is he capable of?”

“I’m not sure. He – if you can truly call it a ‘he’ – is an enigma. It’s strange that he has even made an appearance. They are supposed to remain distant from the ones they are meant to protect, which would lead me to assume that something is wrong. Of course, his presence all does well to explain another question: how did we get here? It is likely that it saw your kind in danger with the threat of the Changelings and thought that outside assistance would be necessary. Judging by the fact that Dante and Vice are no longer here, he probably allowed them to leave back to our home on Hellion. But that does nothing to explain why he would bring War back from the dead. Tell me, have there been any extraordinary dangers to Equestria as of late? I haven’t seen much but being contained to this forest in hopes of not being seen hasn’t exactly done wonders for my outside knowledge.”

“Nothing out of the ordinary has worked to endanger our land.” Celestia responded, “In fact, this last decade or so has been surprisingly peaceful.”

Horrus slid off of the rock he sat on and knelt down and began drawing lines in the dirt. Celestia and Luna recognized one of them as the Seal that was engraved upon Desolate’s hands and tongue, but the others were mysteries to them.

“The Guardian brought us here to end a threat…” the former Horseman mumbled to himself as he continued to draw one after another, “And then brings one back in order to disrupt the harmony in the land… it doesn’t make any sense. It’s doing the exact opposite of what it was designed to do.”

“And by whom, exactly, was this ‘Guardian’ designed by?” Luna asked.

Horrus quit drawing his Seals and looked at them like they asked an elementary grade question. “You really don’t know? You’re the immortal rulers of the land, the very existence of the world depends on your ability to move the sun and moon in a proper rotation, and you don’t know what gave life to all of you? Well, looks like we’re going to be sitting here longer than we thought.”

Horrus rose to his feet and drew his sword from the sheath upon his back. “But first, I feel it would be best if we found something to eat.” He picked up a stick that had been sharpened at one end and tossed it to War, who caught it with ease. “You’re better at sitting still than I am.” War nodded and proceeded to step back into the river. Horrus remained quiet for a moment before quickly spinning around and throwing his sword, beckoning forth a gasp from both princesses. Upon closer inspection, they could see that the sword had nailed a small critter to the side of the tree. One of them held their hoof to their mouth in hopes of blocking any desire to throw up.

Horrus gave them a smile, “Hope you like squirrel.”

Author's Note:

A small part of me kind of whats to rewrite this chapter, but I've got enough to deal with right now.

Fixed some spelling mistakes and added bits in Twilight's journey to Fluttershy's to help the flow and make it seem less like just a whole bunch of dialogue