“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.