When the gates are openedby Purple LightningChaptersCh.1 - The HarbingerCh.2 - Stranger DangerCh.3 - Mixed FeelingsCh.1 - The Harbinger“How long has it been?” said a long young man to no one in particular. “I can’t even remember the last time I saw the sun-“he puts on his hood to shield his eyes from the light “-it’s unpleasant.” The young man began to walk, leaving the battered and wounded form of Cerberus behind him. It had been decades since he last saw sunlight, much less felt its warm rays. It burned his pale skin, stung his cold blue eyes and he was growing sick of it. “Perhaps I just need to adjust?” he spoke again to the wind. He noticed a fairly thick forest, filled with lush vibrant vegetation that was as foreign to him as the dastardly sun. Most important off all though, it was dark, and the canopy was so thick nary single beam of light could break through. “Everything in moderation,” he proclaimed as he retreated to the comfort of the shadows.Wandering the forest was quite the experience for the black clad youth. The trees seemed so-alive, nothing like the things that passed for trees in the place he had come to call home. It reminded him a bit of his origins, as foggy as those memories are; some bits and pieces still come through clear as day. The various scents of the many flora, and the symphony of sounds from the fauna was a bit overwhelming, though you would never know it by looking at him, his stoic expression never changing. The leaves rustling in the breeze, the insects buzzing along, the birds chirping happily, the wolves growling hungrily- The boy was pulled from his reverie as a wolf lunged at him. He stepped casually to the right a placed his hand on the wooden creature for the briefest of moments before it landed a few paces behind him.He was so caught up in the beauty of the forest he forgot the many beasts that called it home, though he knew he’d be hard pressed to find anything that could threaten him. As the wolf turned and once more began growling, its threats turned into pained whimpers as its wooden body began to rot and decay. The other wolves looked on in terror as their mighty alpha was reduced to compost. As they stared at what was once their leader, they failed to notice the ebony flame enveloping the hand of what was supposed to be their prey. ‘These pitiful creatures,’ the young man thought to himself. ‘They are like mice before a dragon, perhaps I should be merciful?’ he pondered. Then he remembered one of his teachings as the flames grew in intensity, ‘mercy is for the weak.’ After a few minutes, the young man carried on through the forest, leaving behind seven piles of ash, and three piles of compost. Though it could barely be called a fight, the young man still enjoyed himself. He rather enjoyed easy kills, they gave you room to experiment, get creative, but alas he didn’t want to waste too much time. After all there was a whole new world to explore! This fight would only be one of many, and those wolves would be only a fraction of the creatures that would meet their end at his hands, he assured himself. -=≡Transition≡=- Zecora kept a rushed pace as she raced through the forest, doing her best to avoid all obstacles without losing much speed. She had lost track of time since she began to flee from these nightmarish beasts that pursued her, but due to the temperature she could tell night had fallen. She dove behind a large boulder and laid her back against it to catch her breath; shivers ran up her spine as she heard the gravelly howls of the beasts that hunted her. Never, in all her years living in the ever free, had she laid eyes upon such gruesome creatures. Nor had she ever been so helplessly lost in the forest, the entire area being unfamiliar territory. She had been on the run for hours, her muscles burned and her joints ached, but she had to keep moving; stopping was certain death. As she was nearly done catching her breath, she heard the crunch of dried leaves and twigs no far from her location. Her breath caught in her throat as she was being seized by panic. She tried her best to control her breathing as it might give away her position, but it took all her effort to simply keep from screaming to the heavens in fright. As she readied herself for another dash into the woods, she felt a fluid drip onto her back. Though it was nothing more than a drop of warm liquid, it may as well have been a bucket of ice water to the frightened zebra, as she froze once it made contact with her pelt. A look of unabashed terror on her muzzle, she slowly turned her heard to look into the face of one of the beasts from which she fled. Its long black muzzle housed dozens of razor like teeth, purely canines, as if their only purpose was to tear flesh, chewing was a luxury these beasts didn’t need. A putrid stench came from its mouth; it dripped with drool, and what could only be described as a shadowy mist left its maw with every breath. Zecora’s instinct to flee, finally breaking her out of her fear induced paralysis, took over her body as she made a mad dash for the tree line. Only to be flanked by one of the abominations and struck to the ground by its claw, leaving several gashes across her flank. She yelped in pain as she fell to the dirt, and desperately tried to crawl away, only to be blocked by a third of the shadowy beasts. Tears streamed from her eyes as the realization of her imminent death began to sink in. As she saw one of the beasts ready itself to pounce, she prepared herself for the end, and closed her eyes as she saw it leap towards her. When the pained yelp of the beast reached her ears before the agony of its bite did her flesh, she opened her eyes in surprise, to see little more than a long black cloak. ‘Well this is quite the situation,’ the young man thought to himself. To stumble upon three barghest giving chase to a zebra in the ever free forest during the dead of night was not something he expected. “Be gone pups, lest I be forced to teach you the pecking order,” the man said in a cold tone, which showed no trace of fear. The barghests however were not intimidated, only angered that this strange creature had not only stepped between them and their prey, but also attacked them. They growled and bared their teeth without backing down a step, this creature would pay. Zecora was at a loss for words. This bizarre creature had not only saved her, but antagonized the monsters which hunted her as if they were misbehaved pets. She studied her savior as best she could, but she couldn’t make out much aside from the fact that it was bipedal and male. She watched as it brought one of its blunt claws up to its hood and lowered it, and revealed its raven black mane, and as it turned to address her, furless porcelain skin and icy blue eyes. “Are you unhurt zebra?” Zecora blinked in surprise, she did not expect this creature to know of her kind, when even ponies didn’t. She shook of her shock when she realized he was waiting for an answer. “I am wounded, but much better than I would have been if not for your help stranger, thank you.” She managed to give him a pained, but genuine smile. A smile which quickly dwindled as she saw the strange being pull a sword out of the recess of its coat, a tool more seemingly fit for torture then actual combat. The young man stared at what would soon be his prey with serrated blade in hand, as a wicked smirk crept up the side of his face. “This is going to be fun.” Author's Note Yo, so yeah, thought I would write a story. My first one in fact, the idea seemed nice to me, and I haven't really seen any others like it. Sorry to all of those who are going to cry themselves to sleep over Zecora not rhyming, but I am by no means Dr.Sues. I'm just not good enough of a writer to do it, so sorry. Also just wanted to make sure I point out that this is by no means a bleach crossover. I'm just a shitty artist, and that happens to fit my mental image of the OC to a T. I found pic on google, tried to see if I could find the artist, but no dice. If you got some criticism, go buck wild, I am not known for the f*cks I give. Also if you have some kinda question, put it in comments, or message me if you SIMPLY MUST KNOW!!! I will probably answer you, no promises, especially not of the pinkie variety, but your odds are pretty good, Anyways, till I think up the next chapter, farewell. Ch.2 - Stranger Danger‘Fun?’ Zecora thought to herself. Her mind reeled as she watched this bizarre creature smirk evilly at the prospect of battle. Her eyes eventually focusing on his weapon; a dark colored serrated sword coated in a fair amount of rust and what was to her dismay, small patches and flakes of dried blood. She had not known many warriors in her life, but those she did treated their weapons with the utmost care. Always maintaining them, for they were a part of themselves, as she heard some put it. It was then she realized that this creature, with a rusted bloody saw and a sadistic grin creeping up its face, was not a warrior. It was a butcher, and the bit of hope that had appeared in her heart was replaced with fear, for what she thought might be her savior, may in fact be worst then the beasts it saved her from. With blade in hand the young man charged forward at an impressive speed for something on two legs. The barghests however were not alarmed, for they were 3 and he only 1, and so as the man charged straight towards the barghest in the middle, the 2 at its sides circled around the man to attack him from behind. ‘So simple,’ he thought to himself as he suddenly had a drastic increase in speed that the beasts had not expected, and was upon the first of them in nearly the blink of an eye. He lashed out with his blade as the barghest frantically tried to make distance between them, but could not fully escape the sudden and frighteningly fast strike. The man looked upon the large laceration he had placed upon the first of the creatures, giving silent thanks that it managed to dodge so well. If the blow had gone just a bit deeper, it wouldn’t have survived, and what fun would that be? As the man simply stood there, his grin ever slowly growing, the barghests began to rethink their plan of attack, it was faster than they had expected. As they all look to each other and let out a few growls and roars, they positioned themselves accordingly and all charged at the man at the same time. This attack was also anticipated by him, he was a bit disappointed to find that the barghests of the outside world fought the exact same way those from his “home” did; the only difference being that these are significantly smaller and weaker. He however was having too much fun to truly let that bring him down, as he leapt forward, surprising the barghests with how high he could jumped, laying the sole of his boot on the back of the injured beast, and kicking off it sending it crashing into the ground as its comrades crashed into each other, and he landed gracefully several yards away. The wounded barghest, in frustrated with this creatures mocking, charged it angrily, and alone. The man’s grin growing just a bit wider as the foolish beast attempted to pounce him. He dashed forward, keeping himself low to the ground and under the jumping beast, but made sure to keep the business end up his weapon pointed up. As the 2 passed each other, an almost guttural tearing sound could be heard that made Zecora, as well as the other 2 barghests wince. The beast landed from its attack in a crumpled heap, and tried desperately to rise to its paws as blood poured from its fresh wound. Before it even occurred to the other creatures to aid their brethren, the man was already upon the wounded beast, swiping his blade across the side of its face, tearing the flesh from the side of its skull and reducing its eye to little more than jelly. The beasts pained cries broke its companions out of their paralyzed state, and they began running with all their might to try and save their kin. Fate however was as cold and merciless as the hand that grabbed the bleeding monster by the scruff of its neck and lifted it up, as cruel as the saw that shred through its abdomen, eviscerating it without yet killing it, and as bone chillingly evil as the maniacal laughter that came afterwards. With a psychotic grin that threatened to split his cheeks, and a cold gaze filled with bloodlust and madness, the young man turned to the 2 unharmed barghests. ‘The sight of fresh blood, the cries of pain, and the stink of fear!’ the man began a slow trudge towards his next victims. “I live for this,” he said barely above a whisper. After a meager 3 or 4 paces away from the mess that was once a barghest, he heard pained and frantic yelps and barks coming from the beast behind him that refused to die quietly, much to his delight. However when he turned to the other 2 beasts, he noticed something new in their eyes, sadness. He was unsure why this was, until they quickly ran into the thicket of the forest, leaving the man and their dying comrade behind. “That’s new,” the man thought aloud as he sheathed his blood and gore covered weapon back into the recess of his coat. “Maybe the ones here are rather different than the ones back home.” If Zecora had managed to eat anything in the past few hours, she probably would have thrown it up watching this. She had seen predators hunt and feed, it is natural in the forest, as well as the land from which she hails, but this was different. This would haunt her dreams for many a night. She watched the one monster walk up to the other, and when the creature leaned down to the still dying monster, she shut her eyes. She was sure she didn’t want to see what happened next, and the cries of agony of what the fallen beast told her she made the right decision. After the cry of agony fell silent, and she heard steps approach her, she opened her eyes to see the bipedal monster approaching her, tossing something up and catching it back in its claw. As it came closer and she got a better look, she saw its arm covered in blood, and realized the thing in its claw was the slain creature’s heart. She froze in terror as it approached her, the idea that she was next her driving force to try and flee, but her injuries would not let her. She closed her eyes as to not see her end when it reached down to grasp her, she however did not see it offer its claw to try and help her up. The young man saw the terror gripping the zebra he had honestly forgotten was here. ‘This might be bad; I’m supposed to make sure they don’t find out where I came from. Not to mention try to keep my-darker impulses in check. I forgot about her and let a bit too much of myself show.’ His mind raced on how to repair this situation, as unlikely as it was. As he was beginning to consider simply killing her so she could never tell anyone what transpired in this forest, he was struck with an idea. “Hey,” he said to the horrified mare. Zecora winced as she was addressed, and slowly opened her eyes to see the creature offering its hand in what seemed like a peaceful enough gesture, its dripping blood covered hand. As the female cringed and pulled back, he realized her was still rather-unpresentable, but he was not going to display his magic to this creature, lest her fear grow. “Listen, I’m not going to hurt you.” The man said trying his best to sound as soothing as possible. “I mean come on; it’d be pretty silly of me to save you just to harm you.” The tiniest smile coming upon the man's lips. “You killed that beast in a cruel and wicked manner, what makes you think I could believe you?” “Well if I were you I’d start with the fact that if you don’t let me help you, you’ll die in this forest.” Zecora was once again a bit shocked at how blunt this creature was, and how incredibly right as well. She had no choice but to trust it, at least for now. “You make a rather compelling argument, stranger,” she said as a pained smirk ran across her face. She began trying to rise to her hooves, “if you would be so kind, I could use your aid in reaching my home.” The young man scooped her up in his arm, “of course, if you would be willing to guide me.” After the mare pointed in a direction, he began walking, keeping up a steady and rather rushed pace. Zecora took notice of the creature’s claws and realized she did not see the heart. “Where have you place the heart of the beast, stranger?” she asked curiously. “I put it in my coat, zebra.” “You may call me Zecora, stranger. Being referred to as ‘zebra’ is a bit rude and unfair considering I do not know what you are.” “My kind is called humans, and my name is Kastiell.” Author's Note Yo all, decided to do another chapter as you are obviously aware of. In case anyone didn't notice, I changed rating to mature. I originally planned to do it later on, and make this chapter a bit less descriptively violent, but buck all that noise, bloody AND gooey. At least I think so, but yeah I was wondering if you guys by any chance wanted any manner of romance element thrown into this? I for one like romance, but I am not particularly planning on going that direction. So whether you guys would like to see more of a, tortured soul overcoming his dark past type of story, or just more of a, necessary evil put to good use. I'm not gonna say I'll let you guys decide, cause lets be real, I decide. I WILL however take your thoughts into consideration. So feel free to let me know in comments, or if you wanna be more personal about it or go off on a tangent, pm me. Till next time, farewell. Ch.3 - Mixed Feelings“So you where distracting them so your friends can get to safety?” asked Kastiell as he continued his walk through the everfree. “Indeed, I struck them with my bamboo staff to garner their attention, then ran in the opposite direction my friends were fleeing in.” explained Zecora in a slightly pained tone. “That was very brave of you,” admitted Kastiell. “It’s lucky you came across barghests, otherwise that might not have worked.” Zecora smiled at being called brave, she had barely been allowed a moment to think before she had sprung into action. She was however confused about why Kastiell was so knowledgeable about these so called barghest. “I am curious though Kastiell, how is it you are familiar with these beasts? I have never even heard of a creature that resembled those barghests.” “They are not uncommon where I am from, they are usually larger than those, not to mention stronger.” A shocked look came upon Zecora’s face. ‘Larger? They were already larger than the average manticore, what were these monstrosities like in Kastiell’s homeland?’ “Where are you from friend? I for one have never heard of a human before.” “Where I come from is unimportant, I can’t go back there, and there are no other humans besides me.” “You say you are the last of your kind!?” Zecora shouted, to which Kastiell gave a small nod. Zecora was unsure what to say to this creature that stood before her, the last of its race and doomed to loneliness she could not even imagine. For even though she was a long way from home, and even other zebras, she knew they would always be there when she returned home, to welcome her back with open hooves. “I’m sorry,” was all she could muster to say, and she mentally berated herself for it. “You’ve nothing to apologize for,” Kastiell said to the downtrodden zebra, glad that mentioning he was the only human made her forget the question of his origins. After a long and painfully silent hour of walking hastily through the forest, Kastiell finally came upon what he assumed was Zecora’s home. “I believe we have arrived.” Zecora turned herself to the side to see if they had indeed arrived. “Yes, this is indeed my abode. However why the chimney is smoking I do not know.” Kastiell said nothing as he simply approached the door, and being careful not to drop Zecora, opened it and stepped inside. The interior was decorated much as he expected it would, as he had some experience with zebras. The frightened EEEP sound that came from the back room however was not expected. Kastiell paid it no mind as he laid Zecora down on some manner of couch and retrieved a bowl of water and a rag to clean her wound. “Fluttershy, is that you my friend?” “Y-yes,” came the reply, a barely legible whisper. “There is no need to fear this stranger, for he was the one who rescued me from danger.” Rhymed Zecora in a playful tone, however wincing slightly as the cold wet rag came in contact with her wounds. “I assure you he won’t bite,” she said through her slightly pained smile. The timid pony slowly poked its head out of the curtain that separated the back room, slowly approaching her friend Zecora and the strange creature that was tending to her injuries. She mustered up all her bravery, and made to enter the living area in one leap. “I might,” said Kastiell in a loud whisper. “EEEEP!” was all that was heard as the pony retreated back into the curtain. Zecora gave Kastiell a soft whack on the arm for teasing her friend and gave him a look that simply screamed ‘why?’ “It is alright Fluttershy, he is just teasing you. After all, why would he have carried me back to my home to treat my wounds if he meant me harm?” After those words it had finally registered in Fluttershy’s mind that her friend was hurt. She came bounding out of the safety of Zecora’s bedroom and rushed straight to her hurt friend’s side. “Oh dear! I’m sorry I hadn’t realized you were hurt Zecora,” she said as she inspected the wounds. “Oh my,” she whispered, “these look terrible, let me get some bandages and I’ll be sure to patch you up right away.” Fluttershy flew off to where medical supplies were kept in the hut. “Thank you dear Fluttershy,” said Zecora softly chuckling, “although I am grateful that Kastiell brought me here to treat my wounds, he is really quite bad at it.” Zecora said snickering lightly. Kastiell tossed the damp rag at Zecora’s face, to which she only continued her laughter. “I should have left you to the barghests.” Zecora only continued her snickering, knowing from the playful gesture beforehand that he was only joking; even if his stoic expression and tone failed to show it. Fluttershy returned with the medical supplies and went right to work on properly treating Zecora’s injuries. After she had finished she retrieved a bowl of the stew she had been making before Kastiell and Zecora had come in, and after hoofing it over to the injured zebra, she finally gave herself a moment to truly look at this odd creature. He reminded her a bit of Iron Will, being bipedal and having those dull claws on his forelegs. Though his posture was much straighter than the Minotaur, and he also had no coat. It did however have a shimmering raven black mane, and very fair skin. A small blush came to her cheeks as she thought Kastiell to be somewhat beautiful in a strange way. At least until she noticed how much blood he was covered in and rushed to his side. “Oh no! You didn’t tell me you were also hurt! Where are your injuries? With this much blood they must be awful!” Kastiell was a bit stumped as to how he should handle this situation, but before he could ponder further to formulate a decent response, his blatant nature took the initiative. “None of it is mine, I assure you.” With that, another EEEP was heard as the Pegasus retreated back to the zebra’s side and hid behind her mane, as if it was an impenetrable shield. Kastiell made for the exit, “I’m going to get myself cleaned up,” he said as he left. “I-if it wasn’t his, where did the blood come from?” Said Fluttershy in her usual whispered tone. “It came from one of the creatures that chased me, a barghest he said it was called. Watching him do battle was a haunting sight indeed, and I can say with confidence that he is dangerous. Though I cannot say for sure whether he poses a threat to us or not. He seems fairly civilized, but when he fought with that monster, I saw an unmistakable madness in his eyes. Honestly I do not believe he saved me out of kindness or good will, but merely on a whim. I wish I could be sure, but it is impossible to get a read on him.” Explained Zecora to the wary Pegasus. As Fluttershy thought on what she had been told by Zecora, a group of ponies walked into the hut with downtrodden expressions on their faces. “We searched for hours, but we couldn’t find Zeco-“the words of the purple unicorn who was leading the group died in her throat as she looked upon the bandaged zebra. “Hello my friends, it is good to see you all safe and sound.” Zecora said to the group with a smile. “Zecora!” The group shouted as they assaulted their friend with concerned hugs and nuzzles; relieved that she was both alive and safe. -=Transition=- After building a small fire at the side of a lake, Kastiell retrieved the barghest heart from the void of his coat, and with a few twigs, positioned it near the fire. When it was in place he approached the lake and dived in without thinking twice. ‘I wonder if my interaction was adequate,’ he pondered to himself while submerged in the crystalline water. ‘I tried portraying a bit more “emotion” as I was instructed to do in the living world. This place is different, here I can have an actual life, or at least that’s what she told me.’ Minutes later he broke the surface of the water and swam back to the shore where his small fire was. He climbed out of the water, it dripped off his coat and hair, but that hardly mattered since it was but a minor and temporary inconvenience. He pulled the heart off of the twigs that held it in place, and enveloped it in fire for a few seconds before he made the flame dissipate, making sure not to burn it. Then he took his first bite of food in the surface world. It wasn’t a life changing experience by any means, it was a typical meal for him back home, though it was a bit tenderer then he remembered. After finishing his meal, he began his walk back to Zecora’s hut. As he walked steam began to rise from his body as the water vaporized, and he began to spot bits of light seeping through the canopy. “Sunrise,” he spoke aloud to the surrounding nature. “Perhaps Fluttershy lives in a town near the forest; Zecora’s hut didn’t seem large enough to comfortably accommodate them both. Even if it is, she doesn’t really seem capable of living here. I suppose I should ask her, this may be a chance to make an actual life for myself.” He walked on in silence having finished his monologue, thinking about the implications of moving into a pony village. If they accepted him, life could be quiet and peaceful; the simplicity of working some small job to maintain his home and other needs like food and clothing. It would be so-so- “boring,” he said to himself, never stopping his trek. ‘I may have to reconsider this pony lifestyle business,’ he thought to himself as he came to the door. ‘Not enough’ -a devilish grin appeared on his face- ‘blood.’ With that final thought, he opened the door and entered the hut. Author's Note Yo all, been bit over a week since I last updated. Reason mostly being a mixture between laziness and not exactly knowing what to do with the main 6 here. I decided to procrastinate and leave meeting the others for next chapter. Don't have much to say this time around so I guess I'll just give you the usual, feel free to ask me any questions whether in the comments or in a private message. Also, if you're going to criticize do so in an intelligent and civilized manner. Till next time, farewell.
Ch.1 - The Harbinger“How long has it been?” said a long young man to no one in particular. “I can’t even remember the last time I saw the sun-“he puts on his hood to shield his eyes from the light “-it’s unpleasant.” The young man began to walk, leaving the battered and wounded form of Cerberus behind him. It had been decades since he last saw sunlight, much less felt its warm rays. It burned his pale skin, stung his cold blue eyes and he was growing sick of it. “Perhaps I just need to adjust?” he spoke again to the wind. He noticed a fairly thick forest, filled with lush vibrant vegetation that was as foreign to him as the dastardly sun. Most important off all though, it was dark, and the canopy was so thick nary single beam of light could break through. “Everything in moderation,” he proclaimed as he retreated to the comfort of the shadows.Wandering the forest was quite the experience for the black clad youth. The trees seemed so-alive, nothing like the things that passed for trees in the place he had come to call home. It reminded him a bit of his origins, as foggy as those memories are; some bits and pieces still come through clear as day. The various scents of the many flora, and the symphony of sounds from the fauna was a bit overwhelming, though you would never know it by looking at him, his stoic expression never changing. The leaves rustling in the breeze, the insects buzzing along, the birds chirping happily, the wolves growling hungrily- The boy was pulled from his reverie as a wolf lunged at him. He stepped casually to the right a placed his hand on the wooden creature for the briefest of moments before it landed a few paces behind him.He was so caught up in the beauty of the forest he forgot the many beasts that called it home, though he knew he’d be hard pressed to find anything that could threaten him. As the wolf turned and once more began growling, its threats turned into pained whimpers as its wooden body began to rot and decay. The other wolves looked on in terror as their mighty alpha was reduced to compost. As they stared at what was once their leader, they failed to notice the ebony flame enveloping the hand of what was supposed to be their prey. ‘These pitiful creatures,’ the young man thought to himself. ‘They are like mice before a dragon, perhaps I should be merciful?’ he pondered. Then he remembered one of his teachings as the flames grew in intensity, ‘mercy is for the weak.’ After a few minutes, the young man carried on through the forest, leaving behind seven piles of ash, and three piles of compost. Though it could barely be called a fight, the young man still enjoyed himself. He rather enjoyed easy kills, they gave you room to experiment, get creative, but alas he didn’t want to waste too much time. After all there was a whole new world to explore! This fight would only be one of many, and those wolves would be only a fraction of the creatures that would meet their end at his hands, he assured himself. -=≡Transition≡=- Zecora kept a rushed pace as she raced through the forest, doing her best to avoid all obstacles without losing much speed. She had lost track of time since she began to flee from these nightmarish beasts that pursued her, but due to the temperature she could tell night had fallen. She dove behind a large boulder and laid her back against it to catch her breath; shivers ran up her spine as she heard the gravelly howls of the beasts that hunted her. Never, in all her years living in the ever free, had she laid eyes upon such gruesome creatures. Nor had she ever been so helplessly lost in the forest, the entire area being unfamiliar territory. She had been on the run for hours, her muscles burned and her joints ached, but she had to keep moving; stopping was certain death. As she was nearly done catching her breath, she heard the crunch of dried leaves and twigs no far from her location. Her breath caught in her throat as she was being seized by panic. She tried her best to control her breathing as it might give away her position, but it took all her effort to simply keep from screaming to the heavens in fright. As she readied herself for another dash into the woods, she felt a fluid drip onto her back. Though it was nothing more than a drop of warm liquid, it may as well have been a bucket of ice water to the frightened zebra, as she froze once it made contact with her pelt. A look of unabashed terror on her muzzle, she slowly turned her heard to look into the face of one of the beasts from which she fled. Its long black muzzle housed dozens of razor like teeth, purely canines, as if their only purpose was to tear flesh, chewing was a luxury these beasts didn’t need. A putrid stench came from its mouth; it dripped with drool, and what could only be described as a shadowy mist left its maw with every breath. Zecora’s instinct to flee, finally breaking her out of her fear induced paralysis, took over her body as she made a mad dash for the tree line. Only to be flanked by one of the abominations and struck to the ground by its claw, leaving several gashes across her flank. She yelped in pain as she fell to the dirt, and desperately tried to crawl away, only to be blocked by a third of the shadowy beasts. Tears streamed from her eyes as the realization of her imminent death began to sink in. As she saw one of the beasts ready itself to pounce, she prepared herself for the end, and closed her eyes as she saw it leap towards her. When the pained yelp of the beast reached her ears before the agony of its bite did her flesh, she opened her eyes in surprise, to see little more than a long black cloak. ‘Well this is quite the situation,’ the young man thought to himself. To stumble upon three barghest giving chase to a zebra in the ever free forest during the dead of night was not something he expected. “Be gone pups, lest I be forced to teach you the pecking order,” the man said in a cold tone, which showed no trace of fear. The barghests however were not intimidated, only angered that this strange creature had not only stepped between them and their prey, but also attacked them. They growled and bared their teeth without backing down a step, this creature would pay. Zecora was at a loss for words. This bizarre creature had not only saved her, but antagonized the monsters which hunted her as if they were misbehaved pets. She studied her savior as best she could, but she couldn’t make out much aside from the fact that it was bipedal and male. She watched as it brought one of its blunt claws up to its hood and lowered it, and revealed its raven black mane, and as it turned to address her, furless porcelain skin and icy blue eyes. “Are you unhurt zebra?” Zecora blinked in surprise, she did not expect this creature to know of her kind, when even ponies didn’t. She shook of her shock when she realized he was waiting for an answer. “I am wounded, but much better than I would have been if not for your help stranger, thank you.” She managed to give him a pained, but genuine smile. A smile which quickly dwindled as she saw the strange being pull a sword out of the recess of its coat, a tool more seemingly fit for torture then actual combat. The young man stared at what would soon be his prey with serrated blade in hand, as a wicked smirk crept up the side of his face. “This is going to be fun.” Author's Note Yo, so yeah, thought I would write a story. My first one in fact, the idea seemed nice to me, and I haven't really seen any others like it. Sorry to all of those who are going to cry themselves to sleep over Zecora not rhyming, but I am by no means Dr.Sues. I'm just not good enough of a writer to do it, so sorry. Also just wanted to make sure I point out that this is by no means a bleach crossover. I'm just a shitty artist, and that happens to fit my mental image of the OC to a T. I found pic on google, tried to see if I could find the artist, but no dice. If you got some criticism, go buck wild, I am not known for the f*cks I give. Also if you have some kinda question, put it in comments, or message me if you SIMPLY MUST KNOW!!! I will probably answer you, no promises, especially not of the pinkie variety, but your odds are pretty good, Anyways, till I think up the next chapter, farewell.
Ch.2 - Stranger Danger‘Fun?’ Zecora thought to herself. Her mind reeled as she watched this bizarre creature smirk evilly at the prospect of battle. Her eyes eventually focusing on his weapon; a dark colored serrated sword coated in a fair amount of rust and what was to her dismay, small patches and flakes of dried blood. She had not known many warriors in her life, but those she did treated their weapons with the utmost care. Always maintaining them, for they were a part of themselves, as she heard some put it. It was then she realized that this creature, with a rusted bloody saw and a sadistic grin creeping up its face, was not a warrior. It was a butcher, and the bit of hope that had appeared in her heart was replaced with fear, for what she thought might be her savior, may in fact be worst then the beasts it saved her from. With blade in hand the young man charged forward at an impressive speed for something on two legs. The barghests however were not alarmed, for they were 3 and he only 1, and so as the man charged straight towards the barghest in the middle, the 2 at its sides circled around the man to attack him from behind. ‘So simple,’ he thought to himself as he suddenly had a drastic increase in speed that the beasts had not expected, and was upon the first of them in nearly the blink of an eye. He lashed out with his blade as the barghest frantically tried to make distance between them, but could not fully escape the sudden and frighteningly fast strike. The man looked upon the large laceration he had placed upon the first of the creatures, giving silent thanks that it managed to dodge so well. If the blow had gone just a bit deeper, it wouldn’t have survived, and what fun would that be? As the man simply stood there, his grin ever slowly growing, the barghests began to rethink their plan of attack, it was faster than they had expected. As they all look to each other and let out a few growls and roars, they positioned themselves accordingly and all charged at the man at the same time. This attack was also anticipated by him, he was a bit disappointed to find that the barghests of the outside world fought the exact same way those from his “home” did; the only difference being that these are significantly smaller and weaker. He however was having too much fun to truly let that bring him down, as he leapt forward, surprising the barghests with how high he could jumped, laying the sole of his boot on the back of the injured beast, and kicking off it sending it crashing into the ground as its comrades crashed into each other, and he landed gracefully several yards away. The wounded barghest, in frustrated with this creatures mocking, charged it angrily, and alone. The man’s grin growing just a bit wider as the foolish beast attempted to pounce him. He dashed forward, keeping himself low to the ground and under the jumping beast, but made sure to keep the business end up his weapon pointed up. As the 2 passed each other, an almost guttural tearing sound could be heard that made Zecora, as well as the other 2 barghests wince. The beast landed from its attack in a crumpled heap, and tried desperately to rise to its paws as blood poured from its fresh wound. Before it even occurred to the other creatures to aid their brethren, the man was already upon the wounded beast, swiping his blade across the side of its face, tearing the flesh from the side of its skull and reducing its eye to little more than jelly. The beasts pained cries broke its companions out of their paralyzed state, and they began running with all their might to try and save their kin. Fate however was as cold and merciless as the hand that grabbed the bleeding monster by the scruff of its neck and lifted it up, as cruel as the saw that shred through its abdomen, eviscerating it without yet killing it, and as bone chillingly evil as the maniacal laughter that came afterwards. With a psychotic grin that threatened to split his cheeks, and a cold gaze filled with bloodlust and madness, the young man turned to the 2 unharmed barghests. ‘The sight of fresh blood, the cries of pain, and the stink of fear!’ the man began a slow trudge towards his next victims. “I live for this,” he said barely above a whisper. After a meager 3 or 4 paces away from the mess that was once a barghest, he heard pained and frantic yelps and barks coming from the beast behind him that refused to die quietly, much to his delight. However when he turned to the other 2 beasts, he noticed something new in their eyes, sadness. He was unsure why this was, until they quickly ran into the thicket of the forest, leaving the man and their dying comrade behind. “That’s new,” the man thought aloud as he sheathed his blood and gore covered weapon back into the recess of his coat. “Maybe the ones here are rather different than the ones back home.” If Zecora had managed to eat anything in the past few hours, she probably would have thrown it up watching this. She had seen predators hunt and feed, it is natural in the forest, as well as the land from which she hails, but this was different. This would haunt her dreams for many a night. She watched the one monster walk up to the other, and when the creature leaned down to the still dying monster, she shut her eyes. She was sure she didn’t want to see what happened next, and the cries of agony of what the fallen beast told her she made the right decision. After the cry of agony fell silent, and she heard steps approach her, she opened her eyes to see the bipedal monster approaching her, tossing something up and catching it back in its claw. As it came closer and she got a better look, she saw its arm covered in blood, and realized the thing in its claw was the slain creature’s heart. She froze in terror as it approached her, the idea that she was next her driving force to try and flee, but her injuries would not let her. She closed her eyes as to not see her end when it reached down to grasp her, she however did not see it offer its claw to try and help her up. The young man saw the terror gripping the zebra he had honestly forgotten was here. ‘This might be bad; I’m supposed to make sure they don’t find out where I came from. Not to mention try to keep my-darker impulses in check. I forgot about her and let a bit too much of myself show.’ His mind raced on how to repair this situation, as unlikely as it was. As he was beginning to consider simply killing her so she could never tell anyone what transpired in this forest, he was struck with an idea. “Hey,” he said to the horrified mare. Zecora winced as she was addressed, and slowly opened her eyes to see the creature offering its hand in what seemed like a peaceful enough gesture, its dripping blood covered hand. As the female cringed and pulled back, he realized her was still rather-unpresentable, but he was not going to display his magic to this creature, lest her fear grow. “Listen, I’m not going to hurt you.” The man said trying his best to sound as soothing as possible. “I mean come on; it’d be pretty silly of me to save you just to harm you.” The tiniest smile coming upon the man's lips. “You killed that beast in a cruel and wicked manner, what makes you think I could believe you?” “Well if I were you I’d start with the fact that if you don’t let me help you, you’ll die in this forest.” Zecora was once again a bit shocked at how blunt this creature was, and how incredibly right as well. She had no choice but to trust it, at least for now. “You make a rather compelling argument, stranger,” she said as a pained smirk ran across her face. She began trying to rise to her hooves, “if you would be so kind, I could use your aid in reaching my home.” The young man scooped her up in his arm, “of course, if you would be willing to guide me.” After the mare pointed in a direction, he began walking, keeping up a steady and rather rushed pace. Zecora took notice of the creature’s claws and realized she did not see the heart. “Where have you place the heart of the beast, stranger?” she asked curiously. “I put it in my coat, zebra.” “You may call me Zecora, stranger. Being referred to as ‘zebra’ is a bit rude and unfair considering I do not know what you are.” “My kind is called humans, and my name is Kastiell.” Author's Note Yo all, decided to do another chapter as you are obviously aware of. In case anyone didn't notice, I changed rating to mature. I originally planned to do it later on, and make this chapter a bit less descriptively violent, but buck all that noise, bloody AND gooey. At least I think so, but yeah I was wondering if you guys by any chance wanted any manner of romance element thrown into this? I for one like romance, but I am not particularly planning on going that direction. So whether you guys would like to see more of a, tortured soul overcoming his dark past type of story, or just more of a, necessary evil put to good use. I'm not gonna say I'll let you guys decide, cause lets be real, I decide. I WILL however take your thoughts into consideration. So feel free to let me know in comments, or if you wanna be more personal about it or go off on a tangent, pm me. Till next time, farewell.
Ch.3 - Mixed Feelings“So you where distracting them so your friends can get to safety?” asked Kastiell as he continued his walk through the everfree. “Indeed, I struck them with my bamboo staff to garner their attention, then ran in the opposite direction my friends were fleeing in.” explained Zecora in a slightly pained tone. “That was very brave of you,” admitted Kastiell. “It’s lucky you came across barghests, otherwise that might not have worked.” Zecora smiled at being called brave, she had barely been allowed a moment to think before she had sprung into action. She was however confused about why Kastiell was so knowledgeable about these so called barghest. “I am curious though Kastiell, how is it you are familiar with these beasts? I have never even heard of a creature that resembled those barghests.” “They are not uncommon where I am from, they are usually larger than those, not to mention stronger.” A shocked look came upon Zecora’s face. ‘Larger? They were already larger than the average manticore, what were these monstrosities like in Kastiell’s homeland?’ “Where are you from friend? I for one have never heard of a human before.” “Where I come from is unimportant, I can’t go back there, and there are no other humans besides me.” “You say you are the last of your kind!?” Zecora shouted, to which Kastiell gave a small nod. Zecora was unsure what to say to this creature that stood before her, the last of its race and doomed to loneliness she could not even imagine. For even though she was a long way from home, and even other zebras, she knew they would always be there when she returned home, to welcome her back with open hooves. “I’m sorry,” was all she could muster to say, and she mentally berated herself for it. “You’ve nothing to apologize for,” Kastiell said to the downtrodden zebra, glad that mentioning he was the only human made her forget the question of his origins. After a long and painfully silent hour of walking hastily through the forest, Kastiell finally came upon what he assumed was Zecora’s home. “I believe we have arrived.” Zecora turned herself to the side to see if they had indeed arrived. “Yes, this is indeed my abode. However why the chimney is smoking I do not know.” Kastiell said nothing as he simply approached the door, and being careful not to drop Zecora, opened it and stepped inside. The interior was decorated much as he expected it would, as he had some experience with zebras. The frightened EEEP sound that came from the back room however was not expected. Kastiell paid it no mind as he laid Zecora down on some manner of couch and retrieved a bowl of water and a rag to clean her wound. “Fluttershy, is that you my friend?” “Y-yes,” came the reply, a barely legible whisper. “There is no need to fear this stranger, for he was the one who rescued me from danger.” Rhymed Zecora in a playful tone, however wincing slightly as the cold wet rag came in contact with her wounds. “I assure you he won’t bite,” she said through her slightly pained smile. The timid pony slowly poked its head out of the curtain that separated the back room, slowly approaching her friend Zecora and the strange creature that was tending to her injuries. She mustered up all her bravery, and made to enter the living area in one leap. “I might,” said Kastiell in a loud whisper. “EEEEP!” was all that was heard as the pony retreated back into the curtain. Zecora gave Kastiell a soft whack on the arm for teasing her friend and gave him a look that simply screamed ‘why?’ “It is alright Fluttershy, he is just teasing you. After all, why would he have carried me back to my home to treat my wounds if he meant me harm?” After those words it had finally registered in Fluttershy’s mind that her friend was hurt. She came bounding out of the safety of Zecora’s bedroom and rushed straight to her hurt friend’s side. “Oh dear! I’m sorry I hadn’t realized you were hurt Zecora,” she said as she inspected the wounds. “Oh my,” she whispered, “these look terrible, let me get some bandages and I’ll be sure to patch you up right away.” Fluttershy flew off to where medical supplies were kept in the hut. “Thank you dear Fluttershy,” said Zecora softly chuckling, “although I am grateful that Kastiell brought me here to treat my wounds, he is really quite bad at it.” Zecora said snickering lightly. Kastiell tossed the damp rag at Zecora’s face, to which she only continued her laughter. “I should have left you to the barghests.” Zecora only continued her snickering, knowing from the playful gesture beforehand that he was only joking; even if his stoic expression and tone failed to show it. Fluttershy returned with the medical supplies and went right to work on properly treating Zecora’s injuries. After she had finished she retrieved a bowl of the stew she had been making before Kastiell and Zecora had come in, and after hoofing it over to the injured zebra, she finally gave herself a moment to truly look at this odd creature. He reminded her a bit of Iron Will, being bipedal and having those dull claws on his forelegs. Though his posture was much straighter than the Minotaur, and he also had no coat. It did however have a shimmering raven black mane, and very fair skin. A small blush came to her cheeks as she thought Kastiell to be somewhat beautiful in a strange way. At least until she noticed how much blood he was covered in and rushed to his side. “Oh no! You didn’t tell me you were also hurt! Where are your injuries? With this much blood they must be awful!” Kastiell was a bit stumped as to how he should handle this situation, but before he could ponder further to formulate a decent response, his blatant nature took the initiative. “None of it is mine, I assure you.” With that, another EEEP was heard as the Pegasus retreated back to the zebra’s side and hid behind her mane, as if it was an impenetrable shield. Kastiell made for the exit, “I’m going to get myself cleaned up,” he said as he left. “I-if it wasn’t his, where did the blood come from?” Said Fluttershy in her usual whispered tone. “It came from one of the creatures that chased me, a barghest he said it was called. Watching him do battle was a haunting sight indeed, and I can say with confidence that he is dangerous. Though I cannot say for sure whether he poses a threat to us or not. He seems fairly civilized, but when he fought with that monster, I saw an unmistakable madness in his eyes. Honestly I do not believe he saved me out of kindness or good will, but merely on a whim. I wish I could be sure, but it is impossible to get a read on him.” Explained Zecora to the wary Pegasus. As Fluttershy thought on what she had been told by Zecora, a group of ponies walked into the hut with downtrodden expressions on their faces. “We searched for hours, but we couldn’t find Zeco-“the words of the purple unicorn who was leading the group died in her throat as she looked upon the bandaged zebra. “Hello my friends, it is good to see you all safe and sound.” Zecora said to the group with a smile. “Zecora!” The group shouted as they assaulted their friend with concerned hugs and nuzzles; relieved that she was both alive and safe. -=Transition=- After building a small fire at the side of a lake, Kastiell retrieved the barghest heart from the void of his coat, and with a few twigs, positioned it near the fire. When it was in place he approached the lake and dived in without thinking twice. ‘I wonder if my interaction was adequate,’ he pondered to himself while submerged in the crystalline water. ‘I tried portraying a bit more “emotion” as I was instructed to do in the living world. This place is different, here I can have an actual life, or at least that’s what she told me.’ Minutes later he broke the surface of the water and swam back to the shore where his small fire was. He climbed out of the water, it dripped off his coat and hair, but that hardly mattered since it was but a minor and temporary inconvenience. He pulled the heart off of the twigs that held it in place, and enveloped it in fire for a few seconds before he made the flame dissipate, making sure not to burn it. Then he took his first bite of food in the surface world. It wasn’t a life changing experience by any means, it was a typical meal for him back home, though it was a bit tenderer then he remembered. After finishing his meal, he began his walk back to Zecora’s hut. As he walked steam began to rise from his body as the water vaporized, and he began to spot bits of light seeping through the canopy. “Sunrise,” he spoke aloud to the surrounding nature. “Perhaps Fluttershy lives in a town near the forest; Zecora’s hut didn’t seem large enough to comfortably accommodate them both. Even if it is, she doesn’t really seem capable of living here. I suppose I should ask her, this may be a chance to make an actual life for myself.” He walked on in silence having finished his monologue, thinking about the implications of moving into a pony village. If they accepted him, life could be quiet and peaceful; the simplicity of working some small job to maintain his home and other needs like food and clothing. It would be so-so- “boring,” he said to himself, never stopping his trek. ‘I may have to reconsider this pony lifestyle business,’ he thought to himself as he came to the door. ‘Not enough’ -a devilish grin appeared on his face- ‘blood.’ With that final thought, he opened the door and entered the hut. Author's Note Yo all, been bit over a week since I last updated. Reason mostly being a mixture between laziness and not exactly knowing what to do with the main 6 here. I decided to procrastinate and leave meeting the others for next chapter. Don't have much to say this time around so I guess I'll just give you the usual, feel free to ask me any questions whether in the comments or in a private message. Also, if you're going to criticize do so in an intelligent and civilized manner. Till next time, farewell.
