Chapters The Tale of the Bladechaser
Just another unusual day on Earth (re-edit)
some are born great, some achieve greatness and some have greatness thrust upon them
- William Shakespeare
Another usual day in the life if Ted Visconti, usual life, usual school, usual everything. The young man wore a simple white t-shirt and blue jeans, his shoes a plain looking pair of Nikes or some athletic brand. He often thought that his being named after a crusader in their family tree was nothing more than a cruel joke. He dealt with a wide range of problems from school, particularly bullying. Just a few short hours ago he was suspended for fighting a bully for picking on his friend Alex. Also given he grabbed a stick from nearby and beat the living tar out of the bully, but still!
Alex was a friend of his and liked some little kids show. To each their own afterall. Ted couldn't care less save for the times his friend would just rant for hours on end. He was definitely thankful as he kept quiet about the reason why he was being bullied, though his parents were not so much thrilled as enraged. The boy was taught how to fight to defend himself afterall, not start fights with other kids. As it was he was both suspended AND grounded despite being about 17.
"Just another year and I can get certified as an electrician or something and move out.. Just gotta wait.."
Ted got up and moved to a small rack he had in his room, gingerly taking a sword from it. He was already the captain of the fencing team and was already rather good with other swords. After a while he started collecting them, mostly props but some of the gifts from his family were sturdy blades. One in particular, given to him by his grandfather, was an Italian styled bastard sword. It was odd how a particular sword could feel so right in one's hand, truly being an extension of the user. Slowly, savoring the moment, he drew the sword from the sheath. The blade was long and tough, yet slender to keep it light for quick strikes. He gave it a quick twirl, practicing a few techniques from his team with the larger blade. He made a habit of using heavier and more clumsy blades to practice the more precise motions he would use with his actual competing blade, making him improve much faster and competing at a higher level.
As he made the final flourish of his practice he heard a loud crash outside, ignoring his grounding and heading outside with his long black coat which trailed down near his ankles. As he got close the form seemed rather strange to say the least, a strange mixmatch of various creatures. Far as he could tell it was what he thought as a chimera, never having seen such a creature in his life. As it stirred and got up Ted raised his sword, ready to defend himself should it attack. Somehow though, what it did next surprised him more.
"Oh my word! Who ever thought traveling between dimensions could be so draining!"
Ted steeled himself, raising the sword till it's tip poked lightly at the draconequus' throat.
"Who- WHAT are you?! From what I can tell you're some sort of chimera, but they're just a myth, much less ones that can talk?!"
The strange creature looked the man over critically, letting Ted get a better look at it's body. It seemed to have a strange serpant-like body, though it seemed to be covered with fur mostly. The head seemed equine with two very different horns on his head, a strangely long fang, He had a small goat beard as well as the right arm of a lion, the left claw of an eagle, the right leg of a lizard, and the left leg of a goat. The two different styled wings also added to the boy's uncertainty.
"Hmm, I think you'll do just fine. As for what and who I am I am Discord, entity of CHAOS!"
As he spoke the last line the clouds seemed to turn pink and a dark rain come down. At first the boy suspected the curse of raining blood, though a quick taste test confirmed it was something much sweeter and unexpected: chocolate milk. Something about this seemed to tickle at his memory, maybe something his friend Alex mentioned before?
"The hell..."
Discord waved him off.
"As for WHAT I am I'm called a draconequus, though it seems such an unyieldy word don't you? Anyway, for once in my VERY long life I am doing something for a purpose other than just causing chaos. You're going to come with me, you're going to help me, and you will probably have one hell of a time!"
The youth was not as eager as the strange creature, moving his sword once more to reiterate his distrust.
"Last I checked, I have a sword to your throat, chimera. "
Discord scowled at the retort, particularly now that the boy was purposely disregarding his species just to spite him.
"As much as I hate to admit it, a world needs you. Not this one particularly, but the one I hail from."
Discord gained a very rare moment of lucidity, being completely serious as he pushed the blade away with his eagle talon.
"Where I come from, different forces fight one another to keep balance. Good and evil, harmony and Chaos. Particularly harmony and chaos! However something has... arisen that threatens that balance. Princess Celestia have... an agreement to keep balance. As it would seem though a third player has joined in and I just LOVE even numbers so I'm also bringing in a new player, you."
Celestia? now that he DEFINITELY recognized.
"Wait? Celestia? You're from that My little Pony show right?"
Discord simply raised a brow.
"What?"
"Some kid's TV show though it gets a older crowd. It's all but taken over the internet."
"Internet? TV show"
Discord seemed even more perplexed and unamused than usual, Ted heaving a sigh and relenting.
"Just, just come inside.."
Once inside Ted got his laptop and showed Discord some of the videos online (after calming him down about seeing moving pictures in a world with no magic) and explained. This only seemed to make Discord worry, and if Ted knew mor of the show he would know that was sure to mean terrible things since he normally laughed at trouble.
"I believe that may be a symptom of what I was speaking of. Not the nerdy old fanboys, but the show itself. Our world is projecting itself into this one on a mental wavelength, giving our world and it's events to this one through dreams. This may be worse than I thought.. We'll have to leave, NOW."
The draconequus grabbed the young man and his blade, gathering his chaos energy to send them back to where he came from: the Everfree Forest in Equestria, year 1003 of the Celestial Sister's reign and one year after the coronation of Twilight Sparkle.
Ted landed hard on his side, grabbing for his sword again and drawing it madly.
"Discord take me back RIGHT NOW or I'll-"
He spun around, noting the creature was gone before groaning out to himself.
"- end you..."
He looked around for any sign of where he was, a good many of the plants foreign to him despite his summmer of survival training with his uncle. It seemed nothing like what he saw at home.
"Must really be far away from home.. Will need to find out where I am and-"
Ted's thoughts were cut off as he heard a low growling behind him, drawing his blade to see something he would not have expected to see in his life...
Discord teleported into the throne room, now tastefully redecorated to accomodate the third Princess. Running down the right side of the long hall was painted bright to represent the sun and it's radiance. The left side where Princess Luna sat was much darker with bright magic lights floating about to give the image of night and the brilliant stars it held. The center seemed to meld the two, creating a deep auburn of Twilight and showing the third princess balancing the two normally opposing elements. The purple alicorn was surrounded by her five all too familiar friends.
"Discord, did you find someone who could help us?"
The draconequus huffed a bit, back to being his unpredictable self once again.
"Well yes and no. He can and might be what we are looking for. Though right now he is leagues away from being any help."
The white alicorn spoke out.
"We have no time for games Discord! You know as well as we do that the fate of Equestria hangs in the balance! With the mirror portal sealed we had to rely on you to bring us outside help. Are you telling me that your reformation has been fruitless when we most needed your abilities?"
The threat seemed to not phase the draconequus, scoffing at the attempt at intimidation.
"You forget Princess that the elements are back with the Tree of Harmony, and last I checked you're not having too much luck with those pesky little keys are you?"
Luna seemed ready to pounce though Twilight raised her hoof, having dealt with the draconequus first hand while first reforming him.
"You're in just as much danger as the rest of us Discord. Just speak plainly and we may all get out of this ok."
Discord rolled his eyes and relented.
"The man I found is strong willed, quite brave and seems to know how to wave a sharp stick around. The place I went to wasn't too populated with warriors, just dont ask me for miracles."
"Where is he then?"
Twilight grew curious, wondering if their savior was invisible before Discord spoke again.
"Seems he fell out of my grip while I was teleporting back. When I said he was 'leagues' away, I meant in distance. The kid is about 10 miles that way."
Discord pointed out the window, his finger pointed right at an ominous collection of trees those present knew all too well.
"The Everfree Forest!!"
Wooden wolves, TIMBER WOLVES! Literal timberwolves! The man could barely believe it himself.
'Oh why did I ask for a longsword instead of a machete?!'
Ted berated himself for not seeing the need for a hacking tool, figuring he could just hold off till later. Still, the longsword would work well enough for not, though the straight blade was hardly meant for chopping through wood. He focused himself on the timber wolf closest to him and slashed out, seeming to break the thing into pieces.
"Ha! Finally I get a break today!"
His victory was short lived as the Timberwolf reassembled itself looking rather angry, the young man groaning out and running once more.
"Why do I even open my mouth?!"
Suddenly his chest seemed to feel like it was on fire, clutching it while keeping himself moving.
"Shit! I dont need this right now! I cant do this right now!"
He had hit a dead end, turning back to see the Timberwolves surrounding him as he was backed against a rock face. It provided a decent strategic position for a last stand, placing his back against the wall to prevent a sneak attack. Soon the Alpha wolf walked forward, pouncing forward along with the rest of the pack as a sword was raised to defend against the blow....
The Tale of the Bladechaser
The Change in the Wind (re-edit)
Princess Twilight wasted no time heading outside with the rest of her friends, Discord in tow thanks to Fluttershy's legendary stare. Despite what he would say, Discord always seemed to succumb to it. As they left Celestia came out and looked to her former student.
"Are you sure you dont want a contingent of guards? The Everfree is a dangerous place to roam!"
Twilight seemed rather more confident than the others, smirking as she turned to the familiar yellow pegasus.
"Dont't worry Princess Celestia, we have Fluttershy with us. I'm sure we can handle any monsters on the way there." Without another word they teleported off, the white alicorn's brow furrowing.
"It's not the monsters that worry me.."
Ted ducked and dove under the pack, slashing above him as he rolled to the side. The wolves soon charged back at him with their splintered fangs ready, Ted retreating back to give him more time to parry the lunges of the ravenous wooden mutts. Each deflection and parry brought about a stronger pain in his chest.
'Focus, concentrate! Stop fighting for a second and you're dead!'
As he was distracted he felt a sharp pain in his left arm as a Timberwolf bit into him, giving the wolf a swift smack to the head with the pommel of his sword. Another wolf bit into his leg befre the blade came down and impaled the head. Ted quickly worked the teeth out of his leg before moving again. He was wearing out, slowly but surely with each second and swing seeming to make his body weaker. He was already bleeding from the wounds, not to mention what he might have been infected with from the bite. There was a cruel logic now: the more time passed by, the more useless Ted would be. He had to end this fight now. He raised his sword once more and charged at the timberwolves once more, nearly roaring out in rage as he and the Timberwolves felt they would soon clash arms once more. What happened next was surprisingly not a rain of splinters and steel as the young man expected.
"Henrietta! I am so surprised at you! You know well enough not to hurt others young lady!"
As Ted turned he saw a yellow pegasus scolding the timberwolves.
Wait a sec.. A YELLOW PEGASUS! THAT COULD TALK?!?! He was starting to consider this a bad case of food poisoning as the wolves still cowered in front of the shy pegasus.
"Now you go right back to your mommy and tell her what you've done!"
The timberwolves left with their tails literally between their legs, Ted falling to his knees in relief.
"Thanks, not sure how long I could have- YOU!!"
As the mares and the familiar Discord emerged from the brush the draconequus found a familiar sword pointed at his throat again, glancing at it like it was old hat.
"As much as I KNOW you missed me, you should really mix up your greetings a bit."
"Take me back, NOW."
He was soon yanked back by a rope, the orange pony tying him up surprisingly quick without any fingers. She stepped forward and spoke in a familiar southern droll.
"Listen sugarcube, we ain't here ta hurt you. Quite the contrary in fact. We were here figurin' you're the savior of Equestria. How about a bit a slack?"
Ted seemed unamused and raised an eyebrow.
"First you have a chimera barge into my house and teleport me to another universe, now you expect me to save it? Thanks, but no thanks."
A cyan pegasus was soon in his face, gripping his shirt roughly.
"And why the buck not?! Way I see i we just saved your hide from those timberwolves. What could you possibly hold against us?"
This didn't even take Ted a second to consider.
"That freak crashed into my back yard, bent the laws of physics, teleports me to GOD KNOWS WHERE, gets me attacked by those fucking wood puppets, and NOW you think is a good time to ask me for help?"
Rainbow chuckled nervously and backed off, the yellow pegasus wrapping some long vines around his wounded arm and leg with her teeth. It seemed to stop the bleeding well enough. As she did the purple alicorn stepped forward and looked the young man in the eye.
"Listen, I understand we're asking for a lot. You were brought here against your will and dropped into danger. For that I apologize. However, Equestria has faced a threat like no other we have ever seen. With the elements back in the tree of harmony we need help to protect ourselves. Without your help, Equestria could be brought into a new era of darkness!"
As much as Ted was tempted to tell her to buzz off, he couldn't help but feel this swell of courage inside of him. Finally, something worthwhile, somewhere he could do some good. He swung his sword around and cut the rope, getting into a kneeling position with his sword held on his side with the tip to the ground, much akin to knights back during the time of his namesake. He started to get a feeling his name was more than just a misnomer.
"Well then, what gentleman would I be if I refused?"
As soon as he said that a stream of confetti seemed to burst out of nowhere, Pinkie Pie pulling her pattented party cannon out of her mane like it was nothing.. As he looked on perplexed he felt a rather cute white unicorn move up to his side to offer support for his arm.
"Don't worry about her dear, she tends to do random things like that."
"I take it everyone here is able to defy the laws of nature?"
The different mares and Discord looked to each other nervously save Applejack who could be seen as the only normal pony in Ted's eyes. This point they had a unicorn, and alicorn Princess, a pink maned wonder who pulled a cannon out of her head, a pony that could tie knots with hooves, two pegusi, and a weird random scattering of animal parts capable of making it rain chocolate milk. Not surprisingly, Applejack responded.
"Two yes by our standards.Not sure you you'll take flying pegusi and magic."
Discord scoffed and smiled.
"Speaking of which.."
After a second Ted doubled over in pain, the pain starting anew again this time spreading through his body. Rarity was the first to respond.
"Twilight, DO SOMETHING!"
The purple alicorn was panicked and remembered something important, Ted's world was probably not fillled with magic like Equestria. He would be getting burned by the sheer amount of energy in the air around them.
"He's not from our world, he may not even be able to survive here. We have only once choice, but-"
Ted lurched forward and gripped her leg, Twilight looking down in shock.
"Do it! Whatever it is I don't care. Just do it."
Twilight shook her head.
"But it would mean that you might-"
"JUST DO IT!"
Twilight charged her horn and aimed it at Ted, blacking out just as she cast the spell.
Ted groaned as he started to come to, looking around as he soon found himself in a simple bedroom with a soft bed. He looked around and notices the intricate wood walls and shelves, many covered in books with an occasional picture. All of them had Twilight's face though so he figured he was sleeping in the Princess's home. Castle was ruled right out, more likely a cottage from the wood. He slowly got up on his feet only to stumble forward, catching himself with his hooves.
Wait, what?!
He looked down and saw two deep blue hooves where his hands should be. He also struggled to stand upright and walked to the mirror. What he swa next startled him a great deal. He was no longer a human but some blue pegasus pony, remnants of his torn clothing still covering his body. Even his favorite jacket had a huge rip in the back where his wings likely grew out. He took them off as delicately as he could in his new form, which was to say quite clumsily and falling over multiple times. Once he got everything off he looked around realizing he was in the nude. He hurriedly poked his head out to see one of the mane 6 in the hall, Pinkie Pie no less.
"Listen, I need to get some clothes. Mine are kinda... ruined."
At this Pinkie merely giggled an laughed.
"Oh silly! Most ponies don't wear clothes! Just come on out!"
The now blue pegasus blushed deeply.
"I don't know, just feels so.. weird!"
Pinkie didn't hesitate to yank him out just as the others were coming out of the adjacent room, the now stallion Ted quickly tried to cover where he expected his private parts to be.
"Listen I am SO sorry, I'll try and find some clothes to put on right.."
As he got a better bearing of his surroundings he saw every one of them was in the nude, slowly relaxing himself as he looked around.
"Uhh, take it nudity is ok here right? God this place is weird.." He went back slowly took the first few steps down the stairs to the main foor, tripping over his second set of hooves and tumbling down. He was far from used to his new body and he needed time to get used to it.
"Ah screw it!"
Ted lifted himself upright, feeling a sharp pain in his back from the unnatural pony position but didn't care. He was walking like he did before dammit! He made his way and saw a baby dragon cooking some pancakes with his fire breath. At this point nothing seemed to surprise him anymore.
"One question: Good dragon, or bad dragon?"
Spike turned around and thought for a moment, wondering what this pony's problem was.
"Uhh, good dragon."
"Right..."
Ted took a stack and chowed down, feeling better with some food in him. Soon enough everyone had breakfast and bet up in the main room of the library to formally introduce themselves save Discord who he already knew well enough.
"It's nice to meet you all formally. I'm Theobald Visconti the Second, but please just call me Ted."
Rainbow dash looked to the side and muttered.
"Weird name.."
Ted raised an eyebrow.
"Ya, and your names sound like they came from a cartoon for me. Lets call it even. But what I want to know is why I'm here."
Twilight sighed and composed herself.
"About a month ago we received some strange reports from the crystal empire and their investigation into the revival of King Sombra. It had been ongoing for quite some time but something new had come up. From what they could tell, Sombra should have only been a partial mental construct, barely able to exist in out world, much less have the presence he did. After more research we discovered some of the texts that he used to gain power. None of them had any information about surviving beyond the body. We believe there is something else at work, something not of this world. About a few weeks ago two guards in Canterlot collapsed. When they woke up in the hospital they reported seeing some apparition. The were unable to even touch it, though it touched them. They said images of war and bloodshed passed through their minds, at least what we could make out. Their mind were completely gone. They became utterly insane. They spoke of great battles won by creatures and weapons we have never even imagined here in Equestria. We believe the impact of this apparition is responsible for the revival of Sombra when the Crystal Empire re-appeared. When we got a description from the guards of what they saw I recognized one thing that was familiar to me, from my own experience going through the Dimension Mirror in the Crystal Palace. Humans. Sadly the portal is sealed for another month and this is an urgent matter so I had Discord teleport to the nearest human dimension. You're purpose here is two fold: Help us identify what this being is, and help us to destroy it."
Twilight passed over a sketch made from the guard's recollections, Ted recognizing the elements of the picture all too clearly.
"My world can never be said to be one of peace. We preach it but the truth is war is eternal, at least in my universe. This is an image of a soldier. From what I can tell it is from the most recent Gulf War in the Middle East. There is also bits of other areas. Vietnam, Korea, Europe, they are all related to wars that took place within the last century. Of course there's finally this."
Blade placed his hoof on the large mushroom cloud, lingering as the room seemed to fill with a sense of foreboding.
"That is a nuclear bomb, capable of wiping entire cities off of the map. Every living thing the dust touches suffers horribly due to nuclear fallout. The fact all of these events means that either the apparition took part in each of these events, or it is the culmination of all of that hatred and madness. All of the victims of senseless killing seeking vengeance on the world for their suffering. Now I pose this question to you: What would happen to any sane person when faced with so much destruction and death?"
Discord entered the room, a strangely somber and neutral expression on his face.
"Madness, insanity."
Ted nodded, looking back to the others.
"While Discord is the embodiment of chaos, he is far from insane. Some of the most sane people I know wish for less order and to gain more freedom. There is both good and evil within the forces of chaos and harmony. Harmony: order, justice, restriction. Chaos: anarchy, freedom, liberation. Madness however is an entirely different thing. They would see the world burn while laughing. That is what you face. The only good news here is that I have seen those horrors myself and have stayed sane. This madness incarnate is from the same world as myself, so there is a better chance I can fight it. Though I cannot fight anything like I am now. I need to train, learn how to fight in this body. I need to know everything I can about being in this form."
The new pegasus was about to ask for help from the girls but was soon interrupted by a loud scream from outside. Immediately they ran toward the source, finding a dead pony on the ground with a bloody indent in their skull. She was dressed in a gaudy pink coat with stockings ended by a set of horseshoes and well pedicured hooves. As every pony looked at the body, Ted looked to the windows and rooftops, eyes narrowing as he saw a pony move out of sight. He had no real background in detective work, but his keen eye and mind more than made up for his lack of firsthand experience.
"Everyone stay back! We need to keep the crime scene clear. Someone call 911!"
The ponies looked at him like he was mad, the pegasus rolling his eyes and saying more simply.
"Someone get help!"
They all seemed to immediately get the message as two fetched a pair of guards and brought them by, seeing the Pegasus already examining the body despite everypony else's chagrin. Even the guard felt his stomach growing upset seeing the body.
"It's just another suicide or something. Nothing to worry about."
Ted whipped his head around to the guard and scowled.
"Just another suicide?! Either you are just lousy at your job you you dont bother, more likely a bit of both! Anyone with half a brain cell could tell this was a murder."
The guard got right in the new Pegasus's face, ready to scold him like he did anyone else who spoke back to him.
"Oh really smart pony?! Why don't YOU go ahead and investigate this? Show me just how smart you are!"
Ted didn't waste a moment and surveyed the scene, only spending a minute before starting.
"Victim is in her mid 30s, unhappily married and likely a participant in multiple affairs, carried a rolling luggage bag as evidence of the uneven water marks on her stockings. Earrings are sparkling yet the outside of her wedding ring is dirty, showing how she does not even care for it. Inside is clean, most likely taking it on and off between visits being it's only source of polishing. Scuffs on her hooves suggest she fought back against her attacker as well as the bruises going up her legs. Struck once i the head with the murder weapon roughly an inch and a half in diameter, most likely a crowbar from the pattern of the strike. She was already dead for a while before she was thrown out the window, hence the lack of bleeding from the wounds caused by the shards of glass. Is that all or do you want me to humiliate you further?"
Despite the situation many of the ponies seemed impressed, the guard more shocked he discovered all that so quickly. He scoffed and turned.
"Alright smartpony! Show me an order from the princess putting you on this case and I'll be more than happy to hand it over. Unless you have a bucking good relation to one, you're not laying a hoof on this investigation. That means I get the final say on what happened here!"
Twilight coughed to get the guard's attention, the stallion almost seizing up and kneeling once he realized who it was.
"P-Princess Twilight! I apologize for you having to see this. I swear I will do everything in my power to find the cause."
Twilight looked him over critically, contemplating for a minute before shaking her head.
"No, you wont."
The guard raised his head confused, wondering just what she meant.
"You nearly dismissed this as a suicide on the spot without even looking over the scene. My friend here has the right idea and will be heading the investigation under my supervision."
The guard sighed in resignation and nodded.
"Very well princess Twilight. I'll get started registering your friend as a consulting detective and set his name for the file. Just need your name and I'll handle the rest."
Ted thought on this for a moment, knowing his real name would only make the ponies more curious than they were already, deciding on one that he thought fitted him well.
"Bladechaser."
The guard nodded and headed off, Twilight looking to him and letting out a sigh.
"Listen, just do what you can with this for now. I'll contact Celestia and get a specialist from Canterlot here to take over."
"That wont be necessary Twilight."
The alicorn looked at the blue pegasus confused.
"Wait, you are new to being a pony. You said yourself you needed to train first."
A wide smirk came over the now anointed Bladechaser, eyes never leaving the scene of the murder.
"What I need more is a warm up, a challenge for me to overcome in this form. My mind is just as it was before and this wont be too difficult on the body. For now just have Celestia promote more order to stem the madness. It will help weaken it's impact on Equestria while we prepare. I wont lie to you though, this will certainly get worse before it gets better."
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The Tale of the Bladechaser
To stare into the void as it stares back at you.
A great love is a lot like a good memory. When it's there, and you know it's there, but it's just out of your reach, it can be all that you think about. Then you can focus on it and try to force it, but the more you do, the more you seem to push it away. But if you're patient and you hold still, well maybe, just maybe, it'll come to you. I just have to be somewhere she can find me.
Bladechaser had finished assessing the scene and collecting samples for Twilight to run in the small lab in the basement of the library, getting the titles of a few books that would help him get acquainted with basic knowledge of Equestria. For the time being he would be with Fluttershy for a few days to help him get used to his new pony body as well as the basics of flying as a pegasus. Once that was done he would work with Applejack to build up his body strength while applebucking. Finally he would go to Rainbow Dash to learn more about flying as well as how to fight fluidly as a pony. Between his physical rehabilitation as a pony, discovering more about the source of madness in Equestria, and finding the killer in Ponyville, he was going to have a rough week or so.
For now though he would stay with Fluttershy. She had plenty of food for the animals as well as a spare room. Sadly the bed was rather small since the only other use it had was when she was babysitting the CMC. Even though he probably wouldn't be able to use it again Bladechaser kept his sword with him, serving as a reminder of who he was and his heritage. As he looked up he saw Fluttershy open the door, her hoof turning the handle with a surprisingly deft manner despite her lack of fingers. He would remember to ask how she could grip things in her hooves.
"Um.. din-dinner'sready.."
She almost squeaked meekly as Bladechaser placed a hoof on her shoulder, still a little awkward in this body.
"Listen, don;t worry about me being here. I'm about the last person here who can harm you. Hell, I actually need your help to learn how to do basic things while I'm here. Even then I need to get strong enough to help you fight whatever it is that's here. Once that time comes there is only one thing you will ever need to worry about..."
He gentlylifted her chin, looking in her eyes as he spoke. Fluttershy would say later that Bladechaser's eyes were still as water, full and deep and practically glowing with compassion. Those were the eyes that could mend even the most sundered of hearts.
"..is what will happen to those who threaten my friends."
Those words seemed to make Fluttershy more comfortable, particularly since they were friends now. She slowly helped Bladechaser to come down the stairs to the living room, the animals being as hectic as ever before Fluttershy gave them her infamous stare. Immediately every critter from the smallest mouse to the lumbering bear snapped to attention and sped to their assigned spots for dinner. Blade could only look in wonder at the mare.
'How can someone so shy be so dominant..'
He struggled to hide a blush as they sat down for a simple dinner of grass. Truthfully Bladechaser struggled to eat, remembering that grass was hardly nutritious for humans. Still, it tasted surprisingly good once he had gotten past his trepidation.
As he read through the books he learned more and more about pony culture, practicing common mannerisms with Fluttershy so he would not draw attention to himself. He often got a visit from Twilight who quizzed him on some more commonly known facts about Equestria. She would also bring updates on the investigation, following up on leads once they finished analyzing the samples. As he suspected there were traces of carbonized steel on the back of the victim's head, indicating a crowbar as the culprit. She had already asked some of the business owners who got their items delivered there for their own crowbars, testing the metal against the sample they had. For the sake of being fair they also included the Apple Family who often received new farm tools to help the farm and the Cakes. Still, he was doubtful that would give them any successful leads.
What he did remember was that case, the one the dead mare was wheeling behind her. It wasn't found at the scene and they began searching for dump spots nearby. They found it in some bushes in the market square, just by the pet supply store. He didn't think it worth his time to check in on the store owner just for that, figuring the place was picked at random by the killer. Twilight began checking over the case and taking samples as Bladechaser made his way home.
About a week had passed since he arrived in Ponyville in his new form, leaving Fluttershy's house and heading to Sweet Apple Acres for her training with Applejack. he had finished all of his lessons with Fluttershy and felt much more at home in his new body. He had even learned how to grip some objects in his hooves! It still astounded him that ponies could grip objects with such clumsy appendages, it just boggled his mind! As he was on his way he did notice a cute looking unicorn, her mint green coat seeming to brighten the world around her as her silver air billowed in the wind. She could be seen playing with a lyre, the same instrument adorned her flank. He was just outside Sweet Apple Acres when he noticed a strange shadow on the ground. Apparently it was a sky delivery group, unloading a heavy crate before a strangely cross eyes mare dropped the crate. It was falling right at that unicorn!
"Look out!"
He charged ahead, nowhere near as fast as Applejack or Rainbow Dash but enough to make a good pace. The green unicorn though could not hear him, enthralled with her won music as she continued composing. The ominous shadow seemed to grow bigger around the pony.
'Faster..Faster.. Faster!.. FASTER!!'
The one word raged in Bladechaser's head, the world seeming to slow around him. The unicorn noticed the shadow and looked up, her eyes growing wide with fear as she dropped her lyre. She tried to move, to scream, to do anything! She was a deer frozen in the headlights, her life flashing before her eyes. Growing up with her momma and papa, going to school with Bon Bon and her friends, learning about humans and their world, working as a musician in town, a strong blue pegasus grabbing her, wait.. that last one wasn't her past!
Bladechaser tackled the mare in just the nick of time, the crate shattering as farming equipment was scattered across the ground. If one of the Apples saw they would see the pony responsible getting scolded by another pure white pegasus, their face nearly going red with the anger it showed.
The blue stallion slowly got up, helping the unicorn as well.
"Are you alright? Anything broken?"
The mint green pony slowly got up with the helping hoof, looking at the stallion that saved her.
"Yes, I'm ok. Can't believe I almost died there!"
Bladechaser placed his hooves on her shoulders, shaking her lightly till she looked him in the eye.
"Listen to me, you're ok now. That's all you should be thinking of right now. You're ok.."
The mint green pony took several deep breaths and calmed down, Blade sitting down as well as he looked her over. From what he could tell she wasn't hurt, no splinters of wood hitting her anywhere nor any blood. Soon the unicorn perked up.
"I don't think I've seen you around before. What's your name?"
Bladechaser smiled and nodded. "I'm Te- er.. Bladechaser. Sorry, still getting settled in right now."
The mint pony smiled. "Nice to meet you Bladechaser, I'm Lyra."
Blade shook her outreached hoof, glad to get to know another pony in this crazy universe. Compared to the others she saw she seemed almost tame, that is until she spoke again.
"Say, uh, you don't seem to be from Equestria. You probably know a bit about us but the way you hold yourself, I never really saw anything like it."
Bladechaser immediately stiffened up, trying to hide his posture and imitated Applejack as best he could. Lyra simply laughed.
"No, that's actually a bit more obvious. Suppose you might have come from one of the Griffon Kingdoms or maybe Saddle Arabia. I uh.. don't suppose you know about humans by chance?"
If Blade were drinking he would have made a huge spit take, wondering just how much the unicorn know. Did the Princesses make some secret announcement that humans were among them in disguise? What kind of panic would that cause? How much stronger would the madness grow as panic set in and the basic foundations of society crum-
"Helloooo! Anyone home?"
Lyra's voice snapped him out of his worse case scenario moment, blinking a few times and nodding. "Ya, ya I'm here.. I do know a bit about humans I gu-"
Blade was cut off by a hysterical scream from Lyra, almost acting like a band groupie who just met her personal idol.
"OhmygodOhmygodOhmygodOhmygodOhmygodOhmygod!!! You need to tell me everything!!"
Bladechaser pushed her back down to all four hooves once she began hovering in the air with excitement, trying to calm her down.
"Listen, you probably wouldn't believe half of the stuff even if I said it. It might be better if I don't say any more.."
Lyra shook her head with determination.
"You don't understand! People have been calling me crazy for believing in humans for years! If there is anything, ANYTHING you can tell me I can know I was right all along!"
Bladechaser tried to comment back but words failed him as he saw those sad puppy eyes, looking around to make sure the mail ponies were gone before sitting her down.
"Listen, when I said you'd think I was crazy when I say this, I meant it. I'm actually human, or was before I ended up here.. Far as I know humans don't exist here and for good reason. From the moment I arrived I felt like I was burning, being roasted alive by the sheer amount of magic here. I changed so I could survive here. I can barely fly as it is!"
Lyra listened patiently, switching from excitement for learning more about humans to genuine worry. She didn't think him crazy for some reason, some ring of truth in his words convincing her.
"It does make sense I suppose. Normally ponies have cutie marks!"
Bladechaser remembered reading about them from the books Twilight lent him, already having enough time to have a point of view on the matter.
"Honestly, I'd rather go without one. From what I read it only indicates one talent, one specialized skill. I prefer to think of myself as multi-talented. It almost feels like a sentence, to have that as your destiny.. Just feels so binding!"
Lyra had not thought of it like that, a little disturbed how a stranger tore apart the blessing she had accepted as her cutiemark. Soon enough though she got her mind back on track.
"But why are you here? Can't imagine why a human would want to little ol' Ponyville."
A solemn expression came upon Blade's face, knowing he couldn't lie to the mare now.
"There is something in Equestria that threatens the delicate balance between Discord's magic and that of the regal sisters. I believe it might be some entity from my world causing it. I was brought here to help keep it from doing harm here. The elements are locked away where they are needed and the last group who spotted it were driven insane. They needed someone who could fight it without losing their mind."
Lyra's eyes went wide, a new form of terror she never knew filled her eyes.
"Why.. why are you telling me this?"
Blade sighed and looked at her.
"I never believed in sugar-coating the truth. Something this big and the whole world is gonna feel it. I also believe that you know well enough that panicking wont do a thing to save us. Think back to before, with the box looming overhead. You were scared, frightened beyond imagining. Despite nearly being crushed your body froze up, not moving as you panicked. What we need now is a clear head, and we need to know what we're up against if we are to do that."
Lyra blushed a bit and realized just how strong the stallion was, giving her a stern yet caring look as they nodded to eachother.
"How about we make a deal?"
Lyra perked up, not expecting this from Blade.
"You keep a clear head and don't get killed, and I'll tell you what I know about humans. Deal?"
Lyra beamed and shook the hoof ecstatically.
"Deal!!"
Lyra walked off, skipping and singing happily to herself as it seemed everypony she passed chimed into the tune. Blade couldn't help but remember that bit in the Equestria books that mentioned ponies would break into song at the drop of a hat. He shrugged and waved it off, figuring it was just coincidence until he saw three fillies marching by singing as they left the farm. Something about having hearts as strong as horses or such. He stood corrected...
Still, he couldn't help but get a little crush on Lyra, the cute mare being absolutely fascinated by him and he with her. He would have time to learn more about her later. For now though he already left Applejack waiting long enough.
He soon found Applejack and started applebucking, landing on his face the first few times before getting the hang of it. After an hour or so of that he was taken to a freshly fertilized field bare of trees with Big Mac and Applejack. Applejack soon started telling him what had to be done as Big Mac got himself hooked up to a large plow.
"Alrighty, we gotta start tillin' this here field for us to seed next week! I know you liked that weird metal thingie so ya won't be usin a regular plow like me and Big Mac. You'll be usin this."
The orange pony handed him a simple looking hoe, remembering what Fluttershy taught him about holding objects with his hooves.
"Ya can use it with your hooves, as I hear Fluttershy was teechin ya, or you ca use it with yer mouth. Yer call buddy!"
Blade felt like the strong pony broke his spine as he pat him on the back, getting hooked up to a plow and getting started. Blade fumbled with the handle for a few moments before getting his grip, nothing like using fingers but it still worked out. He was just glad that when he was transformed he kept his muscle mass and strength.
It took a good hour of trial and error but he was son using the hoe properly, knowing now he could do some of the basic attacks with his sword. Soon enough night fell and it was time to head back inside for some food. The Apples graciously let him stay now that he was training with Applejack to get up to par with the others physically. Fluttershy was good for the basics but he needed some strength training and learn how to use it now that he was a pony. As they were sitting down Twilight dashed into the room, not even exchanging greetings with everpony which soon worried the Apples. Blade was the first to respond.
"Twilight, what happened? What's wrong?"
The alicorn's face showed trouble was afoot, showing a grim look of worry.
"A pony in ponyville has disappeared! We think it's related to the murderer."
"Who was taken, what was their name?"
"Lyra Heartstrings."
The air seemed to shift from the happy atmosphere from before to complete tension, a the sound of a small pin could have been heard from miles away as even the farm animals became quiet. This silence belied what was happening below the surface as Bladechaser's fury came to a rolling boil.
"We find this scum, NOW."
He grabbed his sword and strode out of the house, the Apples looking at him curiously before Applejack and Twilight chased after him. The stallion looked like he would tear the town apart looking for the killer.
"Blade, what's wrong. Why are you suddenly so angry?"
Blade whipped his head around, his eyes filled with an unspeakable rage, Applejack would only recall a similar expression as Nightmare Moon herself was purged from Princess Luna.
"Lyra and I met already. She's a strong mare, standing up against so much already. Now some SLEEZEBAG has taken her god fucking knows where! I will tell you this: anyone who hurts my friends will regret every single breath they took on this earth. Now that he's abducted Lyra, tell me on a scale of 1 to 10 how screwed that son of a bitch is."
Twilight and Applejack gulped, simultaneously saying eleven as they were very glad he was on their side.
Despite his anger Blade's mind was very clear, almost disturbingly so. He went into town, everyone still searching though many stopped as they saw the trio entering town. The ponies already knew Bladechaser was on the investigation, though they still felt afraid in his presence. They could all feel the rage pouring off of him. Soon enough they were outside of the pet supply store they had found the case, a large sign saying 'closed' in the front. Twilight was the first to ask what the two mares were thinking.
"Why are we here?"
Bladechaser looked back.
"This is where we found the case before. Not to mention the store owner hasn't shown his face since he came in to submit his crowbar for testing. His store is the only one nearby that sells supplies for carnivorous pets such as a bear or two at Fluttershy's cottage. Surely he owns an industrial grinder to make some of hi products. Since you're herbivores I'll spare the details. He is also the only one NOT searching for Lyra. We haven't seen him around. He does not participate in the search because he already knows where she is."
Twilight and Applejack look at eachother in horror, not wanting to imagine what could have happened to Lyra. Soon enough the rest of the Mane 6 had come to the store, Blade wasting no time with explaining what was happening and charged into the store. A strong kick from Applejack knocked the doors from it's hinges, Twilight and Rarity used their horns to light the way, Pinkie Pie supplied her cannon, Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy were monitoring what was happening from above.
They went into the storage area of the large store, coming across a very scared Lyra chained over a monstrous grinder with a blood red unicorn levitating a knife in hand. From the looks of things Lyra had been given a large number of cuts to her body, only enough to reach the muscle. The scumbag was torturing her! The insane pony looked down and began cackling.
"Ah! Yes! The players have arrived eh? One must love it when the game can begin, yes.. You want to play a game don't you? I was about to make a nice coat out of this pretty thing here."
Bladechaser and the girls stopped a hoof ahead before he saw the unicorn bring his knife close to her throat, tsking at the stallion.
"Ah ah ah! That's not how the game works silly! There can be only three players here. The others will simply have to wait their turn~"
Blade turned to the others and nodded, letting them slowly spread out and get at a few different angles.
"So, what are you supposed to be? A henchman of madness? A poor sod who lost his mind and was abandoned by his perspective master? I'm sure that was a shock to you now wasn't it?"
Despite his calm outward expression they could swear they saw waves of pure fury emanating from the stallion.
"Oh yes!! You are not dull like all the others are you? Oh how they grow so soft and TENDER during so many years of peace. You're more like me than you know.. You can see the darkness can't you?"
Bladechaser gave a quick smirk.
"Oh yes, I have seen that darkness. Far more than you could ever imagine. I spent day after day looking into that void, searching for something worth while. Soon enough, I saw a light, just a tiny speck but enough to give hope. That is why it's you who are truly blind. You can see the darkness yet you cannot perceive it. You cannot see the hope that lies within the void.
"Now I will give you a choice: One, you let Lyra go and I just pummel you HALF to death for hurting her. Two, don't let her go and I will end your existence, VERY slowly. Life, or Death? I only give you this choice once, there will be no second chance here."
Bladechaser popped himself on two legs, ignoring how his equine body complained against the posture as he slowly drew his blade. Lyra would feel her eyes going wide, the proof of Bladechaser being human was right before her eyes. He now stood on two hooves, sword held ready in his front hooves as he took a offensive stance.
The mad pony rubbed his chin musingly.
"Hmm, I'll take option 3: I turn your little friend into mush and I watch as your mind breaks for the master to control!"
The mad unicorn hit a switch behind him, Lyra's body lurching toward the roaring machine as the chains slowly lowered her. Blade flew into a frenzy and charged with at the unicorn, kicking him off the platform long enough for him to pull Lyra away from the jaws of the machine. As he did the crazed Unicorn lunged at the pegasus, a deft parry pushing the smaller blade aside as he got some more ground between the madpony ad Lyra. Fortunately Rainbow speed in and grabbed the mint green unicorn, giving Blade the freedom he needed to go all out. Despite Blade's advantage with a larger weapon, the unicorn was using the small blade with magic and was accustomed to using it. Soon enough Blade began to adapt slowly to fighting in this new form, knocking the knife away before letting his sword drop and giving the unicorn a strong buck into the chest that sent him flying back a few feet. As it would seem the applebucking earlier paid off.
"Heheheh, you can't escape the gaze. They're watching! Always watching, always seeing!"
Lyra was gripping Fluttershy tightly, the yellow pegasus working to comfort Lyra as this whole mess was being taken care of. The anger on Blade's face didn't help too much though.
"Who is watching? WHO IS RESPONSIBLE!"
"The eyes! The EYES!! Always watching!!"
Blade took note of the eye comment, turning and leaving the madpony.
"Someone will pick you up. I'll enjoy working you over for everything else you can give us."
As much as he wanted to, he couldn't strike at an unarmed pony. It just didn't feel right to him. Soon enough he had his chance, the mad unicorn grabbing a pipe and aiming to smash Twilight's head in. Bladechaser blocked the heavy pipe with his sword, watching it break at the middle before he brought the remnant of the sword across the unicorn's neck. The already red coat of the unicorn began to turn a deeper crimson as the blood began to leave his body from his throat.
"As I said, no second chances."
The group had returned to the library once the incident at the pet store was taken care of. The store was shut down and is being checked for anything linking it to the other deaths and disappearances. Bladechaser helped to console Lyra with Fluttershy before turning to Twilight with a request for a topic he thought relevant. He started talking about humans which helped pep her up quite a bit. Rainbow Dash, Spike, and Rarity helped look through the books for the one in question. Applejack and Pinkie were making some sweets in the kitchen for everyone and to help alleviate the shock. All the while they gave strange glances to Blade, shocked that he ended that pony's life like he did. Sure, they had seen accidents where ponies died, but the first time a pony killed another in front of any of them was baffling. Still, it wasn't long before Twilight found the book.
"Here it is, 'Zoologist guide to Interdimensional Creatures'. I hope this has something relevant."
Bladechaser flipped through the pages until he found what he was looking for: The beholder.
Beholder: A creature known to originate from the plane of madness. It is noticable due to it's many sprouted eye as well as it's enormous main eye and fanged teeth. They are most noticable for their rumored ability to dispel any magic they see. They are considered to be highly dangerous in theory, though none have survived an encounter to verify their existence. For now, they exist only in the realm of theory.
The stallion smirked and spoke half to himself and half to everyone else.
"Oh.. Oh that is brilliant! Who would have known that would be the case!"
He looked up to see the girls giving him the same glances they gave the mad pony from before, figuring it was a good idea to elaborate.
"Ok, was going to try and keep this from you to avoid the creep factor, but the events here in Equestria have bled over into my world in the form of an idea, namely a children's cartoon about this world, and more specifically about your adventures with Rainbow, AJ, Pinkie, Fluttershy, and Rarity. Lyra has even been seen in the episodes. However, something from our world bled over as well: the concept of a beholder. They are not natural in this universe yet there is a book on it here. Now that the events of this world are bleeding over more profusely into my own, the same is happening likewise, only it being far more dark. This Beholder could very well have been given shape by the copious amount of magic here. Something that is physical from the human world like myself could barely survive from heating up. An IDEA though is an entirely different story. The magic could give it form. It also explains what happened to the guards. Beholders nullify magic and since almost everything here is absolutely brimming with it, it had a physical effect on them as well. If the guards were unicorns they probably would not have survived at all."
The looks on the ponies faces went from astounding, to worried, to absolute panic. They had no idea how to fight off such a powerful magical being! Even Sombra nearly killed them all and HE didn't have the power to blink magic out of existence around him. This could very well destroy Equestria! Bladechaser was much mroe calm, smiling almost happily before the others took notice of his chuckling.
"And what in the hay is so funny to you Blade?"
Blade brought a hoof to his lips, trying to silence his chuckling.
"I just had to appreciate the irony. A beholder constructing itself from that which it dispels."
Twilight's expression changed first, gears turning in her head as Blade continued.
"In other words, if the Beholder were to see himself.."
Twilight chimed in,
"It's gaze would dispel itself and erase it from existence! Blade that is brilliant! I knew you'd fix the madness coming into Equestria!"
Blade's gaze turned solemn again.
"Sadly the beholder is simply a symptom of this problem. The truth is the madness is coming through the rift between worlds. We need to mend that before we are anywhere near fixing all of this."
Twilight's gaze showed her surprise and shock. "But Blade.. If we close the rift..."
The stallion pegasus nodded.
"Then I'd be stranded here. And I need to be on this side in case anything else slips through as it closes.."
Blade slumped down in his seat, Lyra placing a comforting hoof on his shoulder.
"Listen, I may be new to all of this, but we can worry about that when the time comes. For now, lets just focus on destroying this beholder thingy."
Bladechaser smiled and placed one of his hooves on her own, showing how much her kindness meant to him. Perhaps being left here wouldn't be too bad after all.
The Tale of the Bladechaser
As of now I've decided on a new direction for the story. It will be reworked as an episode based story with 6 characters taken from a general D&D esque universe and brought to Equestria. For their final battle they will be using the Elements of Heroism, a universal duplicate of the Elements of Harmony. Each one of the characters will represent one much like the Mane 6. Bladechaser will be a part of the party but this will no longer be solely a prologue for EIA. As of now I'll dedicate more of my free time toward this project and this will be officially cancelled. However, it will still be available for people to examine as well as something for me to reflect back on. As of now I am currently planning out the finer points of the first chapter before beginning the story.