Act I - Till Fate Writes My Epitaph
Siegfried was not sure of the world he was now in. The small medieval-styled buildings, the techni-colored creatures who called themselves ponies - it all didn't make much sense to him. Never before has he seen such odd creatures, even on his travels. They resembled much like the horses or steeds or Europe, but substantially smaller, they possess the innate ability speak full English and not only that, they are quite intelligent. It puzzled the man to a great degree, but he didn't care much. All he wanted was to return back to Europe where his home, allies and enemies were.
That man on the tower, Siegfried began thinking. He simply crushed Soul Calibur like it was nothing. Like it was just a wooden sword that young children use to train with. He simply radiated power, but was he that strong? Siegfried did not know, but whoever that was - he has in his possession the two strongest blades in existence. Soul Edge and Soul Calibur.
"Siegfried, you okay?" One of the ponies asked. The tall, blond-haired man snapped from his thoughts and turned his head towards who asked the question.
She had a very light cerulean colored coat of short but soft fur that covered her entire body, even her hooves which for a normal horse would be exposed. Her mane was wild and somewhat long, going down to her withers. The mane itself, interestingly enough, was comprised of multiple colors. Red, orange, yellow, green, blue and purple. Her eyes were a moderate cerise and seemed to be staring into his very soul. Or maybe that was just him.
"I'm fine." He responded.
"You sure? You seem to be zonin' out on us. Have you even heard a single word we've said to you?"
"Probably not. Sorry, but I've just been thinking."
"Don't worry, darling. You are pardoned. We do realize how hard it must be in a different world filled with creatures you've never seen before."
"Thank you."
"Siegfried, you said you came from a place called Europe, right?" Twilight asked. He had already gotten accustomed to this. She was the one who asked who he was, in fact. He didn't immediately answer - he instead stood up and quickly took a defensive position. Twilight herself was quite different than her rainbow-maned friend.
She had a pale, light grayish mulberry colored coat and moderate violet eyes. Her mane was flat instead and also went to her withers but her mane slightly curled around her neck. Her mane was colored moderate sapphire with a single streak of brilliant rose.
"Yes, I did. It was my home for as long as I've lived."
"Interesting. Then this may just work. Siegfried, how well do you know Europe?"
"Like the back of my hand."
"Good. In order for you to return home, we're going to need a powerful unicorn or alicorn to perform the very difficult spell. The spell works on memories. The more rich and stronger memories, the easier it is for the caster to open the portal.
Almost as if on command, a seemingly solid gold chariot pulled by two alabaster pegasi adorned in golden armor touched down in Ponyville. The armored ponies stopped only a few feet away from the seven. Sitting inside the golden chariot was a tall pony wearing forms of golden regalia.
As soon as she stepped out, Siegfried finally could see her in full detail. For one, she stood at Siegfried's height - not counting her horn. She had a bright, pearly alabaster coat that was in flawless condition. Instead of a hair-based mane, her mane was ethereal and seemingly made out of energy. Her mane - similar to Rainbow's but to a lesser extent - was made up of multiple colors which flowed in an non-existing wind. Hues of pinks, blues and green made up the entirety of her mane. Her eyes were colored a pale, light grayish magenta.
"Greeting, my little ponies." As soon as she said a word, the ponies bowed to the ground. Siegfried was not an alien to royalty. He had dealt with the Roman Emperor and many others previously. However, seeing as this creature possessed no relation to him, whatsoever - he stood normally.
"I have received your letter, Princess Twilight." Twilight nodded in response. "So - you are Siegfried?"
"I am." She gave a light nod before turning to the group in general before turning back to the armored man.
"Now that we have been introduced, I assume we should get down to business. You wish to return home. This would be most wise. I fear if news about a creature such as yourself spreads beyond my control, Equestria would be in grave danger. Allow me to preform the spell." Princess Celestia's horn illuminated, bathed in a light golden aura. A dark-brown leather gold-encrusted book with then winked into existence in a quick poof of pink smoke. She blew on the cover of the large book, sending away any dust that had collected on the cover. On the book itself were symbols in a line which Siegfried did not understand.
She opened the book with her magic and began flipping through the pages until she stopped on one certain page. She quickly read through it, her eyes scanning the book faster than any reader could begin to do, before immediately shutting the book and making it disappear. She had familiarized herself with the complex spell that she was about to perform. She cleared her throat before she began speaking.
"Siegfried, come here. To perform the spell, I will need a perfect visual of your destination."
"It's called Europe."
"Alright. I shall now review your memories. Do not worry, this will not harm you at all." Siegfried nodded. As the man approached, Princess Celestia touched her horn to his head and closed her eyes. Siegfried did so as well. Her magic scanned his mind, examining Europe thoroughly. Siegfried had traveled across most of the lands while with Schwarzwind, his team of ex-mercenaries. She released her magic soon and stepped away from the man, opening her eyes as so did Siegfried.
"Thank you, Siegfried. Now - we may begin. I'm going to require all of you to be quiet as can be. For this spell to completely work, I will need absolute focus or something awful could happen. Now stand back." They listened to their orders and stepped away. Closing her eyes once again, her horn flared to life. I
Princess Celestia was then illuminated in a bright yellow glow as the ground beneath them began to shake. Loose pieces of rock and stone began to float in the air, suspended by magic. Blades of grass and sand ripped from the ground as many trees and houses began to creak and shake under the spell's power.
Then, a rip in the very universe appeared. Strong winds circled the portal, creating gales all around. Princess Celestia still held the spell, a few beads of sweat starting to drip from her fur. Siegfried saw this and began walking towards the portal. He stared into the swirling hole of blue and white energy, amazed by the sight. Then, a dark, bulky shadow appeared in the portal. Siegfried nearly froze in disbelief.
You are dead!, the holy knight thought. The large figure continued to get closer. It tiredly walked with big, clunky steps as if it just recovered from something that completely drained him. The large portal began to smaller as it grew unstable.
"Siegfried! It's now or ne- what is that?" The Princess opened her eyes and gazed at the large, dark figure in the portal. In one swift motion, the shadow moved and thrust a powerful arm through the portal. Siegfried jumped back and readied himself for what he was about to deal with. The "hand" itself possessed only three sharp fingers attached to the claw. Dark, wispy energy pulsated from as the figure soon stepped out of the portal, revealing himself in entirety.
Then, he finally stepped through. Adorned in azure armor, the beast of a man seemed to be panting deeply. He was hunched over, staring at the ground as he stood there.
"You cannot kill me, mortal." He spoke with a grim tone. His voice was heavily distorted and seemingly had a echo to it like the armor was actually hollow. He then raised himself and stared at them all. The ponies, except the Princess were instantly paralyzed with fear. "The nightmare will never end! DIE!" With a growl, he charged at Siegfried.
Siegfried was weaponless, but so was Nightmare. He ran at Nightmare, narrowly dodging a punch thrown by the Azure Knight. Siegfried jumped to the side and kicked him twice, before punching him straight in the jaw. He staggered backwards but was not moved. The holy knight knew he was out-powered but endurance is what mattered here.
"YOU WILL LEARN TO FEAR ME, YOU WORTHLESS CUR." Dashing to the side, Nightmare grabbed Siegfried with his other arm. The mutated claw of a hand wrapped around the knight. Siegfried could not escape from his grasp. His only help lied in the hooves of the awe-struck ponies.
"I...need...some...help...here!" Siegfried gasped.
Princess Celestia snapped from her state and began charging a stun spell. Nightmare realized this and dropped the knight. With a in-human twist of his body, he charged at the Princess. Nightmare lunged at the Princess, black energy surrounding his arm. She then fired the spell at Nightmare, but dodged and rammed her with his side. She was dazed from the attack, allowing Nightmare to deliver a serious blow.
With a quick strike, he viciously punched her in the horn. She flew back, ramming into the house of some unfortunate pony. The remains of her horn lay on the ground in fragments. Nightmare gave a dark chuckle upon this revelation. The ponies gasped at the sight of the Princess in such a manner. Rainbow was about to charge him, but Siegfried stood up and stopped her.
"Don't." He clutched his chest tightly with his other hand. "You'll die. He's merciless."
"You pitiful creatures disgust me." He mocked them, turning a eye to the group. "Weak and useless. Just like the humans. You are no different than them."
"What do we do then?" Twilight asked.
"Run. We must evacuate. Get your Princess and run." Siegfried stated grimly. "I'll keep him away for now. Rally up everybody and run. I don't care where, just get out of here!"
"O-Okay!"
"You cannot help them, Siegfried. They are already dead." Nightmare chuckled some more. Siegfried determination was slowly fading.
Soul Calibur was the only reason he defeated Nightmare. It's power that was given to him aided him during the fight and kept him alive with each attack that delivered to him. The thick ice that encased his armor safe-guarded him, preventing any fatal injuries due to his armor damaging him.
"I don't care. They helped me and I won't turn a deaf ear on them!"
"Your kind sickens me." His tone became dark. "I feel it in this world, 'knight'. Can you?"
"What?"
"Soul Edge is here." Siegfried was frozen in fear. But then, he had a thought. "If Soul Edge is here, then that must mean Soul Calibur is here as well!" Siegfried gave a slight smirk. "Isn't that just great?"
"That is sarcasm. You do not amuse me, Siegfried."
"I'm just surprised you know what sarcasm is."
"That is an insult you will regret."
"Funny." Once again, Nightmare charged him. Siegfried jumped to the side, but Nightmare quickly turned and gave a quick right hook to the man, greatly staggering him. Nightmare then took this chance to grab him with his mutated hand-like claw and grip him tightly again.
"Perish!" The Azure Knight released a powerful blast of dark energy from his hand, causing Siegfried to nearly launch into the air upon impact. He quickly recovered however and leg-sweeped the armored beast down to the ground.
"This is getting us nowhere! The only way we'll end this is by getting the blades!" Siegfried stated.
"You are right, human. I WILL return." Nightmare then began to slowly sink into the ground through a puddle of bubbling darkness. As he descended into the earth, he chuckled darkly. "But do you know where SoulCalibur is?"
Siegfried then had a realization as Nightmare finally disappeared. He was right. He had no clue where SoulCalibur was. It was in Equestria, but where? Nightmare had a connection with Soul Edge, of course he would know where it is. A sigh escaped his mouth before he turned around and began walking.
The village he walked in was now ruins. The orange fires of the buildings flickered and crackled as a brisk wind blew by, causing the fires to shudder but it is not enough to suffocate the flames. Many buildings have already collapsed due to the fires, but some stood tall. As he turned a corner, he was quickly locked in a embrace by multiple ponies of various colors.
"Siegfried! Are you okay?"
"Yes, now let me go!" He choked. He was unsure how in the world they were choking him, they seemingly possessed a vice-grip. They all released the tall man, allowing him to breath once more.
"We thought you were a goner, man!" The rainbow-haired one spoke up.
"Nightmare is strong, but he is nothing without Soul Edge. I'm afraid of that though. It seems that the two legendary swords are here in your world, Equestria. Nightmare knows where Soul Edge is but I can't even begin to guess where Soul Calibur is."
"What does it look like?" Twilight asked.
"Soul Calibur is a blade made out of crystals of ice pieced together by a holy energy. Both swords were shattered so only the fragments remain."
"Such as this?" Princess Celestia stepped forward, revealing a fragment of ice held aloft in her magic.
"Where did you find it, Princess?" Siegfried asked.
"When Nightmare first attacked, I was thrown into a building. Near the house was a mysterious piece of ice which was glowing brightly. It seemed quite important so I merely collected it. Now that I know it is important, I know I made a good choice." She explained.
"My gratitude is endless, Princess. If I am correct, there should be only ten pieces of both blades. This fragment is useless without the other nine. We must begin searching for them immediately. If Nightmare gets his hands on any of Soul Calibur's fragments, Equestria is doomed."
"Right."
Author's Note
This is an test. I'm going to be doing something new. Gore is will be in the story, be warned and I'm going to be writing differently. If you like this, don't expect it to be updated often.
Siegfried rested against the balcony, staring onwards at the early sun rising from the horizon. The light from the sun reflected off of the thick ice crystals encasing his steel armor, which now served as an under layer of additional armor. His keen eyes scanned the area thoroughly, looking for any creature that would dare emerge from the shadows and attack.
It was a habit that he couldn't break simply because being the wielder of Soul Calibur meant every living thing that wasn't after Soul Edge - was after him. This, coupled with the daily threats at his castle, there was never a time when Siegfried wasn't thinking ahead and forming a plan or a strategy for an upcoming battle or such. This proved to be a great issue in many ways, including his mental and physical health.
Without Soul Calibur, Siegfried was dumbfounded as of what to do next.
"You're awake, then." A voice came from behind. Siegfried quickly turned around to see who was the owner of the voice.
Twilight Sparkle.
He looked at her for a moment, giving a light nod before turning back around. Twilight joined him, admiring the undeniable beauty of the sunrise in the horizon unlike Siegfried, who just plainly stared off into space, thinking intensely about what lied ahead in his journey, unlike none other.
"I've actually been awake for some time. In my world, I was only able to get a few hours of sleep.
"Why is that?" She replied, cocking her head.
"The constant threat of being attacked. Being a general of my very own army, it was hard to really get a restful sleep. I always had keep a watchful eye."
"That doesn't sound very fun." She replied with a light giggle.
"It's not. It's terrible." Siegfried gave a slight smirk.
"I can imagine."
Nightmare stared onwards at the gorgeous sight in front of him. Built in the flesh of a vast mountain was a beautiful city forged from bricks of pure gold and rich silver. Towering spires of white and gold were raised high the in the sky, contrasting vividly against the morning sky. A wide stream of water from the apex of the mountain poured down, pooling into a small lake far below which inevitably led to the sea. The sun reflected off the water beautifully, casting a simply gorgeous scene overall.
To Nightmare however, it was absolutely disgusting to see.
Nightmare's left arm - now a grotesque, morphed claw with only three, sharpened digits - began to faintly glow. The arm, created by Soul Edge's power, also bore a link to the blade itself seeing as Nightmare was it's true wielder. He could feel it near Canterlot - this fact utterly enticed him, just knowing the raw power of Soul Edge was close. If he could smile, his face would feature a smug smirk.
That knight, Siegfried may reside in the city, but Soul Caliber is nowhere even close to his location. Nightmare peered down at the ground below him, the soft, white clouds just barely underneath his feet. Without any sign of cowardice, he then jumped off of the hill he stood upon and began to plummet towards the ground at a blazing speed. As his body hit the ground
The right time is almost at hand and there will be nothing to stop him from obtaining Soul Edge and sending this damned world asunder. Not Siegfried, not the Princess nor her pawns - he will win this time and if he must climb a mountain to get what he requires, he shall.
"Your Highness." A stone-gray Royal Guard entered from the main doors, bowing lightly towards the Princess on her throne. "The... "creature" approaches."
"He isn't a "creature", Shield. He is a race of highly-evolved species called Humans." Princess Celestia stated.
"Looks like a monkey to me, Your Majesty." He retorted with a grunt.
"He did mention a theory of his people descending from simians, but that's not the point here, Shield."
"Princess Celestia." Siegfried greeted, appearing suddenly.
"Good morning, Siegfried. How was your sleep?"
"I got enough to sustain me. I've been meaning to talk to you actually."
"Is that so? What about?"
"Nightmare." Celestia's face became stern. "What is your actions once he arrives? You have seen what he can do to just one man alone, Princess. What will you do when I fall and Nightmare stands?
Celestia sighed. "I am not sure yet. Retreating isn't an option. There are too many here in Canterlot. We would need to keep him at bay long enough to create a powerful force-field. Considering his strength, creating a shield of that fortitude would require a great deal of power."
"Is it possible to do however? This is important."
"Yes, but..." Celestia paused.
"But?"
"I would require Princess Luna, Cadence and Twilight to be here with me. Not only that, I would require my horn to be fully healed. Because of this, that task is impossible, Siegfried.
Siegfried gave a heavy sigh, letting his head droop to the ground. "What are we to do then?"
"I'm not quite sure, Siegfried. My ponies nor myself have never fought a creature such as Nightmare. Tell me, just what is he?"
"I'm still not even sure myself, Princess. But what I do know is that he's not mortal. Not by a long-shot."
"What does he want? There must be something he hunts after. Mere hatred or vengeance can go a long way, but him? He seeks something more."
"Soul Edge. Centuries ago, the Gods forged a mystical blade that was created for good. For heroes to slay dragons and defeat villains, but after years of bloodshed and hatred tainting the blade, it changed into something evil. Now, it thirst for souls and with every soul absorbed, it gains more and more power. At one point, it will become too strong for even Soul Calibur to stop. "
"I see."
"Your Highness!" A Unicorn Royal Guard burst into the room, just barely able to stop himself from running right into Siegfried. "There is some sort of thing in the city! It's destroying buildings and killing innocent ponies!" He panted. "It's like some sort of minotaur-like knight in blue armor!"
"Princess Celestia, you stay here. I'll fend him off. While I deal with him, you think of a plan to stop him, alright?" Princess Celestia nodded in response, before she turned to the guard.
"Stone, teleport Siegfried to where you saw "him"." The Guard hesitantly nodded as he turned to Siegfried.
"Good luck, man."
In a white flash, Siegfried appeared in the middle of a neighborhood, surrounded by destroyed houses and buildings. The thick scent of iron and blood perfumed the air, causing Siegfried to lightly cough as he walked forward. As he walked forward, he noticed many corpses along the road. All of the ponies were seemingly missing their souls, revealed by their colorless eyes. Siegfried followed the carnage, like it was some sort of trail until he heard a scream from a nearby a café. Just as he turned towards where the scream came from, Nightmare busted through the wall. Clenched tightly in his mutated claw was a seemingly unconscious pony.
"Nightmare! Unhand that pony and fight me!" Siegfried called out. Nightmare eerily turned his head towards Siegfried and gave a grunt of amusement, dropping the pony just like Siegfried asked. To his surprise and disgust, the pony was already dead. Her soul seemingly taken from her very body, as seen by her colorless, blank eyes.
"You have guts to fight me face-to-face, Schtauffen."
"I have no choice. More innocents will die if I don't do something."
"So, you'd rather yourself die first, then let them die with no hope of fighting back? Your thought process amuses me."
"We'll see."
Nightmare charged at Siegfried, gearing for a uppercut. Siegfried dodged out of the way, strafing to the left as Nightmare retorted with a left hook at Siegfried. The paladin stumbled back, stunned from the force of the punch. Nightmare took this chance to deliver another hit, this time with his claw. He punched Siegfried in the side with his right arm, causing Siegfried to nearly tumble to the ground but he swiftly recovered with a quick, but powerful uppercut to Nightmare.
Nightmare simply stepped back, allowing Siegfried to gain a stance before he charged again. Siegfried this time, charged as well. Just as Nightmare was about to attack, Siegfried jumped to the side, sweeping Nightmare with his right leg. Nightmare came tumbling down to ground. As he about to recover, Nightmare was stuck by a blast of magenta energy which completely stunned him, locking him in place.
"What is this?" Nightmare groaned, struggling to move.
Siegfried quickly looked towards where the beam came from, noticing five ponies standing there with Twilight proudly standing in front of the group.
"Twilight? What are you doing here? Go, this isn't a safe place for you to be!"
"No! If he really thinks he can cause all this chaos without any retribution whatsoever, he has another thing coming! Girls, now!" Twilight then closed her eyes, as her horn flared to life.
All of a sudden, the tiara atop her head began glowing with a bright white aura. Siegfried the noticed that the other ponies, her friends, behind Twilight wore these strange necklaces around their necks which also too began to glow. Twilight and her friends then began to float in mid-air, now fully surrounded by a bright colorful aura. As they floated there, Twilight opened her eyes, revealing her glowing white eyes as a large wave of colorful energy emerged from behind them that quickly descended upon Nightmare, enveloping him in nothing but color.
"NO!" Nightmare screamed as the wave directly hit him, purging his very essence with the power of "good." His dark, distorted screams of pain and denial echoed from within as the wave finally ended, finishing up with a large explosion which instantly blinded everyone, even the ponies.
Moments later, the bright flash faded revealing the landscape. All the destruction that was caused was now fixed, including the wrecked houses and stores. Siegfried looked around for Nightmare, but he did not find him. Rather, he found a small piece of azure-colored armor on the ground where Nightmare once was. Siegfried approached it. He bent down and hesitantly picked it up but he quickly found nothing of interest.
Just as he was about to stand up, a large claw grabbed him from behind. Siegfried was then turned around as he face-to-face with a heavily injured Nightmare. Multiple pieces and chunks of blue armor were completely gone from his body. There was visible blood dripping from cracks in his armor and he barely even had an entire chestplate. His helm was also heavily damaged, just nearly revealing his face underneath. Siegfried simply froze in utter disbelief at the sight of him.
Nightmare released a distorted, demonic shriek as he hunched down before rising up and stabbing Siegfried with the long, bright orange sharp horn atop his helmet. The ponies gasped at the gruesome sight unfolding before them. Nightmare brutally slammed Siegfried to the ground before violently ripping the horn from Siegfried's stomach, nearly tearing open his entire torso. Just as the ponies were about to attack, Nightmare then sunk into the ground in pile of liquid, tar-like darkness.
"It's far too late to beg for mercy." Nightmare exclaimed as he finally disappeared into the ground.
"Siegfried!" The ponies then ran to his bloodied body. "Rainbow, go get somepony to help. I must stay here and try to help him. Please hurry!" Rainbow nodded and zoomed off, in the blink of an eye.
Siegfried clutched his wound tightly as he coughed up a large amount of blood. "Good...job, girls." Siegfried muttered before he completely lost consciousness. The voices of the ponies next to him quickly faded as everything became black.
Author's Note
FINALLY HERE. I'M WONDERING IF PEOPLE ARE EVEN READING THESE. I TAKE SO GODDAMN LONG FOR ONE CHAPTER, IT'S RIDICULOUS.
Well, that's what you get when you lose interest in something. But I'm back - and I do plan on finishing this up, but I can't promise constant updates.
Anyways, tell me if I fucked up anywhere. I need a goddamn proof-reader.
Oh and don't worry, more characters will come in. I know it's very cut-and-dry right now, but give it time.
