Chapters Equestria's legend of the Black Swordman
Chapter 1 - An unexpected journey
As the wheel made of fire finished its course, the bay was now clean of Kushan soldiers, those abominations, results of heathen magic mixed with the cruelty and madness of the Kushan Emperor. Instead, all that remained were the dead bodies and some spot of still burning fire there and there. The attention of a certain little group of survivors wasn't focused on that deadly wheel or the massacre resulting after, no, they were concerned about the well-being of the one who caused that mayhem.
Looking down to the little girl full of surprise and magical power, Guts tried his best to awake her without hurting her, a hard task for the Apostle killer. "Hey, Schierke !" She didn't react at first, still dazed by the use of such a spell.
A faint scowl appeared on her face, followed by her eyes opening. Taking a few moment to become aware of her surroundings, all she could see was a black mass in front of her. She could guess only one person she knew had such a shape. Taking a slow breath and opening her mouth, she asked "Guts... how are the others ?". She was truly afraid of his answer, she knew that sealing a contract with a spirit could be very dangerous for her allies and even herself, like with the spirit of the river a few days ago. Her master taught her at the beginning of her formation that in a case of a battle, friendly casualties wasn't unexpected and even quite ordinary.
"Everyone is a few shades darker brown but hey..." Finally in possession of her senses, she could see the ones around here. It wasn't only Guts, but also Casca, Farnese and Serpico. Even that annoying monkey was also worried about her. "Good job."
"It's still not safe, we should move right now..." said Roderick, getting impatient "My boat is not so far away, if we hurry up we should be able to sail within the hour."
Guts nodded, helping Shierke trying to get up. Seeing her struggles he knew that she wasn't in condition for walking, he had seen it enough time on the battlefield to realize there was only two options left, helping or leaving her. 'Not anymore' Guts said to himself, 'I won't leave a brother in arms behind... not like last time.' he finished as he remembered the results of him leaving the Band of the Hawk after his duel against Griffith. He pondered how to move fast with a dead weight such as her, seeing no other option, he started to bend his knees to finally lay them on the ground, being face to face with the little wizard "Hop on."
"... What ?" Shierke replied with a faint blush on her face, she was not used to have someone close to a paternal figure like Guts was, even if she didn't want to confess that.
"You can't walk, climb on my back, we need to go fast." he said with a straight face and almost a commanding tone.
"Oh my..." Isalera said next to the ear of Shierke, to make her the only one being able to listen "You, the damsel in distress getting carried by your charming prince... How lucky you are young girl..." she finished with a smirk and a knowing gaze.
The little which couldn't help but blush the more she was listening. She finally regained the control of her facial pigmentation just before responding "Alright, I'll climb..."
After a few seconds, she was on Guts' back, holding for dear life with her hands grasping what she could around his neck without touching any skin, fearing to blush once again. It wasn't an easy task with her little fairy friend hovering next to her and holding a banner with a heart where was marked 'S+G' within the centre.
"Let's move. Now." Guts finally ordered. Getting out of the shady alley where they were hiding, the walk after was relatively peaceful if we could use that word in this context, it seemed that the Kushans were busy slaughtering their enemies in other parts of the town leaving the group almost alone. Even though, there was still the occasional enemy there and there, but they were quickly disposed of by Serpico or Isidro.
Still walking towards their destination, Shierke couldn't help but getting sad the more she saw the destruction around her. She was used to live in a peaceful forest protected by enchanted barriers, where all were connected by magic to the earth. Here, there was no connection, no peace. All she could see was death and sorrow, a grim remainder of the nature of the human kind.
After a few more minutes and turning around the last corner, Roderick laid his eyes upon his vessel, a proud warship of more than two dozen pieces of artillery and almost sixty crewmen. He smiled and proudly proclaimed "There ! My boat is right here, everyone get inside, I'll inform the cre-" He was suddenly interrupted by a laughter. A foreign laughter which seemed to belong to someone old, strangely this laughter seemed to also announce some hard times for the group. Looking around they saw the source of the noises. Getting out of the fog surrounding the bay was another warship, different in look compared to the design of the ones from Midland. Realisation dawned on the member of the party, it was a Kushan warship. Looking at the top of said ship, there was a man. It was indeed an elderly but this one was strangely flying above the deck of the boat.
'I have seen better...' thought Guts, it was true, after spending years fighting on the battlefields and then against the Apostle, barely anything could surprise him now. Especially not a half-naked old man with a turban and a strange haircut, even if his eyes were entirely black as ink. Eyeing him better, he understood something was amiss 'But I must say, it's the first time I'm seeing one flying... Could it be...' Reaching for his neck, he quickly tapped his brand to check if there was any blood. 'Not bleeding, it's not one of them. But even though, something is wrong, I sense like a link between the power of an Apostle and him... Could he be working for one of them ?'
"Well, well, well, it seems that the youth in this barbaric country can at least provide some sort of entertainment. Such a shame that you had to stand in our way..." said the old man with a small smile and in a raspy voice, a clear indicator of his age and experience.
Starting to lose patience and eager to get to safety, the boy of the group was starting to get angry "Hey old man we don't have time for you ! Get out of our way or we will beat your wrinkly ass 'till the border of your Empire !" Isidro screamed to the top of his lungs, he wasn't confident in front of trolls or Kushan soldiers, but what could that old man possibly do ?
Keeping a straight face but losing all signs of cheerfulness, the old man looked down in direction of the one who dared to insult him "I may be old, but I, Daiba the Paramilitia Senaanii, Leader of the Kushan Pishacha Division, still can teach you youngsters, some sort of manners before I kill you all." he said with a cold voice, so cold that the confident smirk on Isidro's face started to fall down and soon was replaced with fear and regret for angering this unknown foe.
Raising his arms and using his magic to control the water from the ocean, the sorcerer quickly summoned a tornado "Let's see how long you can entertain this elder." He finished with a smirk as his attack was heading towards the group.
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After several minutes of dodging the new tornados sent by the old man, the group was starting to get really tired and even if the attention of these attacks were aimed in priority to Serpico and Guts. But the most worrying part was when Guts had lost control of his actions because of his armour, his inner beast taking control and acted as a berserker, his body was being mutilated slowly by the power of the suit. Thankfully, Shierke's soul had awoken the conscious part of Gut's mind but unfortunately, she had to momentarily make her soul leave her body in the care of the others to help him.
'Guts...' Said Shierke in his mind 'We need to find a solution quickly to defeat that sorcerer, I don't know how much longer your body will support the armour's actions' She finished with worry in her voice.
"I know, but as you can see the situation became a little bit complicated when he summoned that big monster made of water." He answered. It was true, the beast that the summoner was using was really tall, its full height being taller than the biggest mat of the Kushan warship. The fact that the monster's body was made of water was quite bothersome, no matter how much Guts swung his gigantic sword, he couldn't do any damage to this foe.
While thinking of a way to slay his enemy, the sorcerer had a thoughtful look on his face, just like he would have if was analysing a scroll or an experiment subject.
"Yes, bearer of the Plana of Durga, you are without a doubt a formidable foe, you managed to cut through some of my tornadoes and then survived the attacks pf my Kundalini for more than ten minutes... But while you were fighting, I sensed something in you, something not human or from Durga" said Daiba with a frown and looking thoughtful, gazing beyond the ruins of the city in front of him. But his frown slowly transformed into a smirk followed by a full smile showing his remaining teeth and a devious chuckle "You ! You are a marked one !"
At these words, Guts stopped what he was doing and gripped his sword tighter, he didn't like where it was going especially if his enemy had access to crucial data like this. " Ah, how blessed I am to live long enough to witness a survivor of the ceremony... Lucky for young lad, you have in front of you the Kushan with the biggest knowledge about the Ceremony or the Behelits, I studied them long enough for my Emperor that I now know how to understand the process of the branding..." he finished his sentence by looking directly at Guts "Even how to control it..."
Hearing that, Guts couldn't help but look in direction of Casca and then something happened, something that he thought was long dead and impossible for him. He was feeling fear. He couldn't care less about what happened to him, but he couldn't stand to think of the woman he loved to be in danger.
'Guts... please don't think that way' said Shierke, in her position, she had a full access to what he was thinking, and the thought of seeing him sacrificing himself was, for her young mind, impossible to bear.
If what he fought earlier was a demonstration of the old man abilities, he couldn't imagine what he could do to the branded ones if he really had knowledge of that cursed power. Returning his attention to the sorcerer, he asked with some hesitation "What do you mean... control them ?"
Stroking his shin, Daiba took his time to think of a simple answer "Well..." he started, he really needed to simplify his explanations for those he considered no more than barbarians to understand him "This world is not unique you know... We are living in a particular realm, the God Hands in another, and so goes the same thing for different places." he said.
Guts immediately understood what he was implying, if it was true, then the sorcerer could easily defeat them by casting away Casca and him.
Using incantations made of words from a language long dead, Daiba entire body started glowing with the power he was using. Seeing that, Guts went for a sprint towards Casca, he had to protect her no matter what. Several second after, the sorcerer ceased but Guts didn't dare to stop his mad run, fearing to be too late if something really were to happen. For a moment, nothing happened, but soon after, Guts stopped in his tracks when he felt a hand holding his right foot. Looking quickly beneath him, it wasn't just one but a group of them, sprouting from a growing hole in the ground, said new hands were now grabbing his other leg. Trying to take them off was a lost cause, they were already around his waist, torso and shoulders. As he started to slowly sink into the hole, he casted a glance to his group, all of them had looks of horror plastered upon their faces as they tried to retain Casca as she was in the same predicament as Guts.
'Guts ! I can't do anything !' screamed Shierke in his mind, in this situation Guts couldn't see her but he clearly knew her eyes were watering when she was speaking 'The power behind those hands are too strong for me ! I can't help you !'
Sensing the clear despair of her friend and understanding the terrible situation he was in, he tried to comfort her and give her a last order "Shierke, if something happen-"
'Don't say that ! Don't you dare to say that... Please, stay with me...' Guts could now clearly heard her crying, a heart-breaking thought, even for the ex-mercenary.
Sighing, Guts started talking once again "Shierke, if something happen and we are separated, I want you to take the others the Fairy's Island. Can you do that for me ? I promise you everything will be fine." Hearing no answer but only her sobbing, he asked once more "Shierke, this is important, can I ask you that ?"
'Snif...Yes, yes I will but... promise me wherever you are going, please be safe and if you can... if you can, then get back to me !' she screamed as she feel her consciousness returning to her body.
Smiling, Guts finally said "I will little witch, I will..." before being entirely swallowed by the hole, casting a last look to Casca, who was in the same position as him, only the head above the ground. And then, everything faded into blackness and silence.
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When Guts awoke, he was in pain. The fight, the use of the berserker armour and the stress of the travel were very straining for his body. Trying to get up, he casted glances around him, to only find trees everywhere. Seeing that there was not immediate danger, he allowed himself to breath a sight of relief.
But he then opened his eye as the realisation struck him like an arrow in the heart 'Casca !' Glancing everywhere, Guts couldn't find her or even any traces of the woman he loved. "Shit... Shierke, can you locate Casca ?" Expecting a quick answer from the little which, he was rapidly getting impatient when none came. "Shierke ! Hurry up, we need to find her !" Once again, there was no answer. At that moment, he understood that something was wrong. The feeling he had when Shierke came into his soul to help him through the madness of the armour was gone. 'Did the travel only allowed me to come ? Is it because she was not branded ?' A grim vision flashed in front of his eyes 'Did her soul get back safely to her body and in time ?'
Looking once again around him, he saw the same trees as earlier, but thanks to his eyes adapting to the surrounding darkness, he could see details much clearer than before. It was night time, the moon was full and high in a sky almost devoid of clouds but full of stars, bright as candles. Lowering his gaze, his eye fell onto to the tree line and saw these woods were not much different than in the previous realm. He seemed to be in a clearing of some sort, luckily for him, who knows what could have happened if he was to appear in a middle of a tree. Looking down and touching the earth, guts could feel the grass and the mud beneath his fingers, but also the presence of rock, like in an man-made path. He understood slowly that if he was in a different plane, it wasn't much different compared to the previous, a good information for him, he shouldn't have any difficulties adapting.
Getting back to his thought, he realised that all of his companions were now in a place where he couldn't help them. But he wasn't afraid for the remaining members of his group, they were strong even without him and the sorcerer seemed to fight them only for Guts and what he called the Plana of Durga. Plus, the ship wasn't far away, he was sure that they could have gotten to safety quickly with the leading of Shierke.
Taking a few minutes to regain all of his senses and digesting these new information, Guts started to think of where Casca could have possibly gone during the travel 'We were only meres metres apart, I don't know anything about that fancy magic, but she should be in the same realm as me, right ?' With that thought in mind and in a calmer state, Guts finally arose to his full height, getting is sword from the ground and wielding it at eye level to check the state of his weapon. Approving the work of Goto, he strapped it to his back and checked his equipment. His left arm was covered in blood but was still functioning, his throwing knives were all on his chest, the berserker armour was practically intact, nothing less expected from this cursed object. His body, however was in a more pitiful state, and in a place apparently devoid of any medical assistance, he might need some rest, nothing different from his previous life as an Apostle's slayer. Ready to go, he finally started walking down the path that was in front of him.
He didn't know where he was. He didn't know where Casca was. He didn't know what could possibly populate these lands. But, he had a task, it was to rescue Casca. And in fact, he did know one and only one thing, if anyone or anything dared to get in his way, he would cut them in half. Apostles, monsters, humans, anything. He would kill them. All of them.
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Meanwhile, on a mountain's side was standing proudly a white castle. And in this castle was a disconcerted Princess of the Night. She was getting ready to open the Night Court when she felt a strange power emanating from her bedchamber and then fading into nothingness. Carefully walking out the Throne Room and followed by some of her Night Guards, she headed towards the room. After a few minutes of walking, she arrived in front of her bedroom and sotpped in front of the gigantic gates adorned with a moon. Igniting her horn, the dark blue aura engulfed the knob and slowly opened the door. Entering and casting glances all around, she saw nothing out of ordinary. The dark blue walls were the same as before, the doors of the balcony were still wide open for the moonlight to illuminate the chamber and the desk office was as organized as ever. Being careful, Luna trotted further inside to check a last time if what she felt earlier was real or just her imagination.
"Your Highness, is something wrong ?" asked Corporal Night Spear, one of the guard standing in the doorway.
Taking a few seconds before turning to her guard, the Princess replied "Well, it seems that we made a mistake, 'tis but a false alarm. Get back to thy post, until further or-"
"Buh..." She was interrupted by a strange voice which was coming beneath the Royall bed. A voice which belonged to somepony she didn't know, a strange thing for she, The Keeper of the Dreamscape, knew all of her ponies by their dreams.
Taking position right after hearing this word, the ten Guards were now standing in front of the Princess, spears pointed towards the source of the one who interrupted Luna. "Show thyself !" proclaimed Luna in a commanding tone, but not enough loud to be considered her Canterlot Royal Voice "Surrender peacefully or be prepared to face the wrath of the Princess of the Moon !"
After a few second in a heavy atmosphere, a patch of hair slowly make itself known from under the bed, followed by two hands crawling in direction of the ponies. Luna knew different species with hands, such as the Minautors, but those belonged to something she had never seen before. In front of the unknown, she couldn't help but tensed a little, fearing what monster could possibly coming towards her. But these feelings quickly faded when the face of the intruder was visible for all. A few second later, the whole body was in the open, and the creature put itself slowly on its feet "What... what manner of creature are thou ?" the Princess asked, she didn't know what was in front of her, it was an hairless ape-like creature, except for the mane on the top of its head. It seemed to be bipedal with strange extremities at the end of its hind legs. 'By Tartarus, what is that ?' Luna wondered 'It seems dressed with a kind of bedsheet, maybe a lost traveller or an exotic pet from a foreign land ?'
Her thought were interrupted when the creature slowly make its way in direction of the guards, it seemed its eyes were locked on the Princess with a strange emotion in them, almost like... amazement ?. "Stay back !" shouted one of the Guard gripping his weapon tighter in his hoof. The creature remained where it was, tilting its head to the side "Bo ?" It seemed to stop walking not because of the order but because of simple curiosity.
Feeling that the intruder was more lost than dangerous, Luna decided to resolve quickly the matter at hoof "Guards. Stand back." With these simple words, the soldiers obeyed without any question and left the path open for the biped and her. Walking towards it and stopping just a metre in front of her unexpected guest, Luna declared as regal as possible "Greetings, stranger. It seems that thou are unaware of where thou stand, I must ask th-" she was once again interrupted when the creature quickly puts its hand into Luna's mane. The guards tensed, no one had the right to touch a Princess without her permission, they were ready to jump and tackle the perpetrator of this crime when the same one started to laugh. What caught off the soldiers and even Luna is that the laughter was not devious or evil like expected, instead it was like hearing a foal giggle when he was discovering the wonders of a candy factory.
'Well, it seems that this little one has no ill intentions against me or the crown...' Luna thought with a bemused expression at the antics of the biped.
"Your Highness, what are your orders ?" asked one of the Guard, clearly lost in the recent events.
Thinking quickly, Luna answered "Go fetch mine sister, it seems that-" she stopped when she felt a weird sensation, looking at the intruder she saw it simply chewing peacefully on the ethereal mane full of stars. A small smile formed on the face of the Princess "It seems that we have an... interesting guest".
Author's Note
Well here it is, my first story just for you guys.
I had to make this one because I found the lack of stories about Berserk really disturbing.
So I would like some feedback for my story, I don't know if the pace was too fast or not, if the dialogues were good or not...
Equestria's legend of the Black Swordman
Chapter 2 - Not so peaceful
Sleep. A moment of freedom and peacefulness for every kind of living being, from critters in the forests to elder dragons from the edge of the unknown world. Such moment was currently being enjoyed by Princess Celestia, co-ruler of Equestria and Goddess of the Sun. After a long day dealing with the nobility of Canterlot and leading the business of the country, sleep was the deliverance the white alicorn truly needed. It's no surprise when Celestia say sleep is the thing she loves the most, after ~~cakes~~ her sister of course.
So when a knock on her bedroom's doors took her away from a slumber and her dreams of ~~glorious cakes~~ her little ponies, she was pondering if she should blast the door and the criminal who dared interrupted her with magic forbidden by Starwils the Bearded himself or if she should listen to what her subject had to say. And only then she should would blast him.
"Your Highness" the theastral guard behind the doors said "It is to inform you about an intruder breaking into Princess Luna's bedroom..." As soon those last words left his mouth, the door exploded and a half-awake but fully-burning Celestia was in the hallway.
"WHO ?! WHO DARED HARM MY DEAR LITTLE SISTER ?! IF THEY HAVE EVER ONLY TOUCHED HER MANE, I SHALL FIND THEM AND BELIEVE ME WHEN I SAID THAT TARTARUS WILL BE A PARADISE IN FRONT OF WHAT AWAITS THEM ! I SHALL RIP THEIR LIMBS APART AND SKIN THEM, THEIR BLOOD SHALL BOIL, THEIR BONES SHALL CRACK, THEIR FLESH SHALL BURN AND THEN I SHALL SEND THEM TO THE SUN BUT NOT BEFORE SHOVING HALF OF THE ARMORY RIGHT INTO THEIR THROATS AND THEN THE OTHER HALF UP INTO THEIR PLOTHOLES !" Looking around and seeing nopony, she stopped in her tracks and lowered her eyes to find the guard from before shaking like a leaf with watering eyes. Seeing what her state of mind caused, Celestia quickly calmed herself, her mane and tail losing their fiery aspect to find once again the rainbow hue. "My sincere apologies my little pony, it seems that I'm a bit over reacting." She let escape a little chuckle of embarassment "What is that... intruder you speak about ?"
"PrincessLunafoundanintruderinherbedchamberbutthiscreatureisharmlesswedon'tknowwhatitissoshesentmetoinformyou." With that being said the night guard ran down the corridor with a speed a certain cyan mare with a prismatic mane would be jealous of.
Taking time to reflect of what the guard just said, the princess couldn't help but grow curious 'An unknown creature ? If even my sister is unaware of what it is, it may truly be interesting...' Smiling, she went to walk to her sister's bedroom where she could hear the faint sound of laughter but stopped when she looked at the spot where the guard was. "Can somepony call a maid and tell her to bring a lot of towels ?"
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Sleep. A moment of freedom and peacefulness for every kind of living being, from critters in the forests to elder dragons from the edge of the unknown world. Such moment was currently not being enjoyed by Guts, as he walked through the forest he finds himself in when he arrived here. This forest was for a lot both dangerous and beautiful in the way ponies didn't need to be present, as the nature took care of itself. For Guts however, it was like home. 'Am I really in a different realm ?'He wondered 'Those woods are not much different from the ones in Midland, I can breathe so the air is the same and I saw animals like a squirrel...'
Before losing himself in his thoughts, he noticed that the forest in front of him seemed to be less dense than before, allowing light to shine between the trees. Soon, Guts arrived in a large clearing bathed in the moonlight, with a small river and beautiful white flowers across the place. Spotting the flow of water, Guts licked his lips, realizing how dry they were and how thirsty he was. Walking to the stream, he kneeled and put his hands in the river, allowing it to wash his arms covered in Kushan's blood, he then lowered his head and drank the crystal clear liquid.
After a minute or so of uninterrupted drinking, he got his head out of the water and sat on the ground, putting his sword on his side. Sighing and looking at the starry sky, he then began to think about what was awaiting him in this new place 'Where to begin ? I do not know this place and I have no idea where Casca may be right now. I need to get information from someone... eh, is there any human in this place ?' . Lowering his gaze, he tooks for the first time since he arrived a clear view of his surroundings, admiring the forest, the field of flower and the stream in front of him, reflecting the moonlight. He then closed his eye and listened the world surrounding him, the clear sound of the water running next to him, the wind rustling the trees' leaves at the edge of the clearing.
'When was the last time I found myself in such a calm place ?' Opening his eye, Guts looked down at his right arm, noticing the scars running almost everywhere, his hand was worst, skin damaged, broken nails from fighting all these years. He then glanced at his left arm, or rather the mechanical arm he got from Gotto the blacksmith and Pippin, now covered in scratches with traces of blood and dirt in the mechanisms, still present even after washing it countless times. Not bothering checking the rest of his body, as he already knew it was the same as his arms, he looked once again at the stream of water. 'Will it ever end ?' He wondered 'What will happen once I found Casca ? Will we ever have the chance to go back to Midland ?' .
Sighing once again, he heard a stick snapping from behind him in the direction of the forest, followed by a growl. Quickly reaching for the DragonSlayer, Guts bolted upright with his sword in hands and turned around, right in time to look at something he had never see before. It was... something, like a mix of different species, the body of a lion, the wings of a bat and the tail... the tail was a scorpion's tail. 'Great... Seriously, where the hell am I ?'
More growls could be heard behind the beast, as more of them left the cover of the trees "Hey little kitties..." Guts started talking "Any chances we could avoid to fight ?" The only answer was a roar and the first beast charging at him. "Thought so..." Getting ready, his arms above his head and sword behind his back vertically, he waited for the monster to be within range for him to bring his sword down. As soon the beast was close enough, he brought his arms down in front of him, blade following shortly. As fast as the action was, the sound of the bones in the skull could clearly being heard breaking and the flesh being cut through under the blunt strenght of his strike. Finally, the sword came to a halt when it hit the ground, leaving a manticore open in half from its head to the middle of the barrel, blood and organs falling on the earth.
Not bothering looking down at the mess he just created, Guts got his sword free from the ground and took a few steps forward in direction of the others, which after witnessing what happened to their kin and not being discouraged, were slowly surrounding him. Now being encercled by the four last beasts, Guts held his sword horizontally by his side, planting firmly his feet into the ground and taking a deep breath through his gritted teeth. After several seconds spent with no one moving, the monsters at the left and right of Guts both started to run to him at full speed. Expecting this, the swordman used his right heel to spin around like a windmill and held his sword high enough to cut through the first one's head, spraying the remains of its brain on the ground, and then slashing the throat of the other one, separating the head from the body.
The third manticore jumped at Guts, paws extended, only to meet the air as the human sidestepped, avoiding the attack and thrusting the blade into the barrel of the beast, which let a long and loud cry of pain before collapsing on the earth as it tooks its last breath. Trying to get his sword free from the dead body, Guts' eye widened as soon he realized the blade was stuck into the corpse. The last manticore, realizing the same thing, took this as an opportunity and went to attack the human but failed when Guts turned around, quickly throwing a pair of knives into its eyes, blinding it. Stopping itself and consummed with rage, the manticore decided to use its tail to attack randomly around it, getting dangerously close to the human.
Seeing as he couldn't get his sword free in time, Guts considered his options and decided to drop his weapon, he then walked slowly closer to the beast, readying his arms, waiting. A few seconds later, as the tail was about to srike him, he grabbed the appendage and protected himself from the poisonous part with his left hand, before pulling the tail of the mandicore. The beast, understanding what his ennemy was about to do, let a cry of wimper escaped its throat soon replaced by a cry of pain as the skin was slowly tearing apart. As Guts grunted, flexing his muscles and putting all his strength into what he was doing, the manticore was now on the ground, screaming at the top of its lungs, the sound reverberating across the Everfree. Letting out a cry loud enough to cover the one from the monster, Guts pulled once again stronger than before, eyeing as he was now tearing the very flesh of the manticore. The bones were now visible, as the skin and flesh were now separeted from the body. But he didn't stop, he kept going, again and again. With one final pull and ending his cry, he had now not only the tail of the manticore in his hand, but also its spin.
Breathing heavly and looking at the corpse, organs leaking from the new fresh hole, Guts let the tail fall from his hand and took the time to regain control of his breath. After a few moments, he walked to his sword, leaving his footprints in the blood of his deafeted foes. Putting his foot on the corpse where his blade was stuck, he pulled once again, this time finally freeing the DragonSlayer. Cleaning quickly his sword and strapping it to his back, he then put his black cloak around him and walked away. As he was on the edge of the clearing, Guts couldn't help but stopped and casted a last glance to the slaughter he was responsable for. 'Not so peaceful after all...' followed by a small chuckle, he then leaved the now tainted red flower field.
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As the first rays of light coming from Celestia's sun broke through the windows in the library, Twilight Sparkle, the fourth princess of Equestria awoke from her sleep. Getting out of her bed and streching her still sleepy limbs, she made sure to going through her mental schedule of the day. She didn't plan a lot, just reorganising the shelves of the library downstairs and maybe join the others at Sugarcube Corner for a little brunch. 'Well, I should get Spike up; I'm sure is still asleep that baby...' Preparing to get her assistant ready for the day, she was surprised when she heard the young drake knocking three times on the door of her bedroom.
"Spike ? Come on in." she answered, surprised and at the same time quite proud of the apparent eagerness from the little dragon to help her.
"Hi Twilight..." Spike said, followed by a yawn, "It's just to tell you that you received a letter from princess Celestia." he finished while fighting with all his will to keep his eyes open, he clearly had some problem to stay sharp when he is jolted awake by the reception of a message.
"A message ? At this hour ?" Twilight asked "It's quite strange from the princess to send a letter this early, it must be very important...". Getting the scroll in her magical aura, she started to read but stopped and asked Spike to prepare breakfast, which he answered by grumbling. Returning to the letter, Twilight started reading.
''Dear Princess Twilight Sparkle,
I'm writing today about a peculiar event which just took place in the Canterlot's castle and precisely in my dear sister's bedroom involving her bed, Luna and a strange pony.''
Twilight gasped and stopped reading at this point, the way it was written causing her to blush and let hundreds of possible scenarios rushing through her mind. Calming herself, she took a slow breath 'I really should stop borrowing those special romance novels from Rarity, what was their names again ? Ah right, "Fifty shades of Hay"...' and begun reading once again.
''Or rather something else, as the stranger was no pony, or zebra, or minotaur, or anything else known to my sister or I. Fortunately, this creature seems quite pacific and means no harm, my scientists, zoologists and even cryptozoologist are currently observing this specimen while I'm writing this letter. As I know your thirst for knowledge for the unknown, you are welcome to come anytime to participate in the research about this creature and of course your friends are indeed welcome to follow you.
Best regards my fellow princess,
Reading the letter once again to make sure she didn't miss anything, Twilight's eyes became wider after every word and a maniac grin slowly spread across her face. As soon she finished reading, she heard Spike opening the door, filling the room with the smell of fresh baked breakfast.
"Hey Twi', breakfast is rea-" Spike stoped talking once he saw her, as she was turning her head gradually like a clock towards him, he saw her bloodshot eyes filled with excitement and her devious smile. He knew this expression very well, the last time she had it was when she got to study the Crystal Empire's library for six days straight without resting more than two hours each break. "Oh oh..." Was all he could say.
"Spike... " Twilight said with a cold and slow voice, still grinning madly. Poor Spike couldn't help but gulped. "Prepare my special equipment for cryptozoology research in the storage room number 14... " Turning around and running without losing time to avoid the wrath of Twilight in mode 'Mad Scientist', he hurried to the storage room. Fortunately for him, it wasn't long before he arrived to his destination, bursting through the door as his life depended on it. As he stopped running in the centre of the dark room filled with dozens of different boxes containing scientific equipment, he looked around him to check what he needed to take, still unsure what to choose, as cryptozoology wasn't something Twilight studied often.
"Er... Twilight, which box should I take ?" Spike turned around to face her adoptive sister and witnessed something that even after many years of therapy, he wouldn't forget in his long life.
Getting her head through the remains of the door destroyed by Spike, her body being at the border between the light of the hallway and the darkness from the room without windows. She looked at Spike, her only feature visible being her eyes, red and shiny as the flames of Tartarus. She answered in a hushed but powerful tone.
"Everything..."
Author's Note
Updaaaaaaate !
No you don't dream, one of the only existing crossover with berserk is not dead ! The truth is , I'm sorry for taking so much time between each chapter but I'm never happy with what I write so sometimes I let the story untouched for weeks before I decide to write once again.
So as always, tell me in the comments what you think about the chapter, was it too fast, too slow, what I could use to improve, tell me your ideas, I'm listening... to everything...
Equestria's legend of the Black Swordman
Chapter 3 - First contact
As Twilight and her friends were preparing themselves for the travel to Canterlot, there was a pony who heard the cries of pain and rage from the Everfree during the night. That pony, or rather else, zebra decided to use her harvest time to investigate the cause of those screams. Walking with caution to avoid the dangerous fauna of the place, she couldn't help but notice her trip was calm and uneventful. Also the forest was silent, too much silent. The place was always usually quiet, with nothing but the faint noises of birds and critters living here. But right now, it was utterly silent, no sound could be heard from anywhere except from the hooves of Zecora.
'Such a strange feeling... What in this place is happening ?' The zebra was used to the strange behaviour of the Everfree. But currently even she, the shaman living in the infamous forest was under pressure in that situation. She could easily go through the woods during a predator's hunt or a parasprites' invasion without any fear, she knew how to avoid them. But that silence was something she had never witnessed here, something she couldn't escape, it was deafening to the point where she would gladly meet any animal at the moment, be it a bunny or a manticore.
And a manticore was exactly what she found when she entered the once white field of medicinal flower, now tainted red. Zecora stopped at the edge of the clearing, her eyes widening and jaw dropping at what laid in front of her. Looking without moving for a few minutes, eyes locked on the corpses of what must once have been a group of hunting manticores, she finally regained her senses. She dropped her saddlebags, disbelief still plastered on her face and walked to the carnage. Watching the bodies with a closer look, she deduced with disgust thanks to the not so late state of decomposition that one of the manticore here must had been the one who screamed in the night. She was no stranger to death, she saw in the past twimberwolves eating smaller prey, she was almost not bothered by that anymore. But never in her life she was the witness of something of that scale.
'So that is what awoke me. But what could possibly...' Harnessing her courage and poking a corpse with her hoof, she withdrew it immediately with a gasp when she touched the wound on one of the bodies. Taking several steps back, she watched with intensity where her hoof once was.
'Such a dark power ! What in the names of the spirits happened earlier ?!' Being so close to a dark and foreign power to her, she was almost in a state of panic. Breath quickening, she looked all around the border of the clearing to check for danger of any kind. When she saw nothing was near here and especially not the source of that power, she calmed herself by forcing her breathing to become slower each time she drew breath.
Not wanting to spend anymore time in that clearing, fearing that the beast responsible for that slaughter might be here, she quickly got her saddlebag back and ran to Ponyville after taking a last look to the scene she left behind.
< ====== | | ===== >
When Guts got back to the field of flower in the morning to fill his canteen with water, he stopped at the edges of the trees to observe if there was another beast before entering. Watching for several minutes, he was getting up from his spot when something entered in his field of vision.
'A... horse ? A stripped horse... Nothing surprising here...' he though with a sigh, at least even if this one was malformed with enormous eyes and an abnormal height, it was still a horse. Observing the arrival of this new animal, Guts noticed the facial features on the little horse's face. They were strangely very expressive, almost human-like. Especially when it went to take a closer look to a corpse, he could have sworn he saw disgust plastered on the equine's face.
So he was once again surprised when the little horse touched a corpse and gasped. That was something he had never seen with the ones from Midland, something going on with that animal's behaviour.
Watching the horse running back into the forest from where it came, Guts started to think of his next move. 'Should I follow it ? Maybe it went back to its owner, or at least somewhere closer to civilization...' Considering that to be the best choice at the moment, he slowly rose up to his full height, stepped into the clearing, and walked into the general direction where the animal fled, expecting to find something worth his time.
< ====== | | ===== >
"Ok girls, everypony get inside, I'll finish checking my list." Twilight said.
"Alright Sugarcube, we'll keep ya a seat in the train." the farmer said while entering the car, followed calmly by the others and a very energetic ball of pink.
Nodding, the Alicorn returned her attention to her checklist "So... 'Book on Cryptozoology' from Legend Fauna, check. 'Forgotten Species' from Smart Search, check. Mmmh... Where is my book on 'The Fauna of the South' ?" Looking up to search for her book in her luggage, she saw that she was only a few inches away from the muzzle of another pony with piercing blue eyes watching her with intensity. "AAH !" was all she could scream while falling on her rump.
"My apologies Twilight Sparkle, I did not mean to startle." Zecora said with a little smile badly hidden behind her hoof.
"Hehe, it's fine Zecora don't worry, I was not surprised at all..." Twilight replied a bit too fast while getting up "But I must ask, what are you doing at the train station ? We don't see you often here." she said after recovering from her surprise.
The shaman's smile dropped as soon the Alicorn asked that question. A grim tone escaped from the zebra's mouth "A deep scream into the night I heed. Your advice on the subject I need."
Twilight looked through the window of the wagon where Fluttershy was, checking that she didn't overheard them and then went back to Zecora "So you heard that scream too ? Fluttershy told us she heard something similar last night, but she couldn't go see for herself as she was too afraid of the forest and apparently of a second, louder cry".
"Yes, that last scream I heard too. And an investigation, I've been through." Searching her words for a few second, she continued with unease "A dark result I fear, something terrible happen to now live near."
"Zecora, I think you're starting to worry for nothing, clearly a manticore fighting another predator is not that noteworthy." Twilight said with a little smile, expecting to ease the fears of her friend but the corners of her mouth lowered when the zebra still had a look of seriousness on her face.
"If five dismembered manticores is not noteworthy, what could possibly be ?" the shaman said with a bit of sarcasm, seeing that the Alicorn was not taking seriously the matter at hoof.
A brief look of shock flashed on Twilight's face as she digested the information. She quickly looked once again in direction of where Fluttershy was sitting, thankful that the window of the train car was still closed. "What did you see in that forest ?"
Listening to tale of her friend, she put her hoof in front of her mouth as she analysed what she was learning to come with the best solution. "I must say..." she said after a few minutes of thinking "That much manticore dying is quite uncommon... But not that surprising." Igniting her horn and summoning a quill and a scroll, she quickly wrote a few lines before using magic once again to make the paper and quill disappear in a flash of light. "Well fear no more, I've just sent orders to the guard stationed in Ponyville to go investigate what happened in the Everfree."
Frowning, her friend wanted to argue her choice. "Are you sure it will be enough for our matter ? I think a more drastic solution would be better-" the zebra started but was cut off by Twilight.
"Listen Zecora, both you and I know how mysterious and dangerous the Everfree forest can be." Twilight responded " Species believed to be dead from long ago are frequently spotted by lost wanderers, plants from legends grow in mass in these woods, faint residues of forgotten magic are still present. Even the Tree Of Harmony is in that forest ! Clearly a bunch of animals dying from others predators is not uncommon, and even if those were truly as dangerous as you describe them, do you really think they would be crazy enough to attack a town protected by a platoon of guards ?"
Locking her gaze in the eyes of the lavender pony for several seconds, the shaman finally glanced down and sighed, her signs of worry almost completely gone. Looking once again at Twilight, she said "Very well my friend, "
"That's the spirit !" the pony said with a smile, happy she finally got to reassure the zebra.
Suddenly, the train's whistle came to life, causing both ponies to look at the conductor wagon, where an old conductor stepped outside the locomotive. "Everypony aboard !" he shouted.
Turning once again to Zecora, Twilight quickly grabbed her remaining bags and put them on her back. "Well it seems I have to go." Waving a last time at her friend, she stepped into the car just in time before the doors closed.
Joining her other friends and taking place in the seat they kept for her, she sighed and tried to put herself in a comfortable position for the journey to come.
"What kept you so long Twi' ?" Asked Rainbow while she was laying on her back.
"Nothing, just Zecora who wanted to talk to me."
"Darling, was there a problem ?"
"Nothing of importance, I assure you." The Alicorn said with a smile, as she felt the vehicle starting to move as Applejack watched her with a raised eyebrow.
Meanwhile, Zecora couldn't help but think of what Twilight had said as she Looked at the train leaving the station. It was true that a platoon of guards was now stationed in the town and they should be enough to handle a stray animal from the Everfree. Feeling a bit relieved, she leaved the station and went back to her home while planning new enchantments to protect her house if the new predator were to attack her, just to be sure. At that moment, the shaman, happy to see a solution to this new problem has already been decided, didn't realise she had forgotten to mention to the Alicorn the dark power she felt when touching the wounds of the corpses.
< ====== | | ===== >
Iron Shield was not happy. When he signed into the Guard, he was expecting a quiet and easy career, as the guards nowadays had practically nothing to do thanks to the peaceful era they lived in. When a guard platoon was said to be forming in Ponyville, he was the first to volunteer, eager to live in little town where the ratio between mares and stallions would play in his favour. The earth pony was ready for a new and carefree life. So, when his Lieutenant informed him he had to go into the Everfree to investigate on a slaughter involving manticores, he was definitely not happy.
Currently he was walking, more like trying to move his hooves deep into the mud of the forest, with three fellow guards. His team was composed of the Lieutenant, who was a Unicorn named Gold Lance and two privates Earth ponies. "Lieutenant, where is that clearing you mentioned before ?" he said with irritation.
"Maybe you'll find it in the toilets of the barrack after I'll send you to clean them if you keep talking Corporal." he replied with annoyance in his voice, he had to bear with Shield talking non-stop of how the place was messy, humid and full of insect. "We need to hurry, the natural weather in this place is starting to worry me..."
And he was right. Above them, the dark clouds which were forming since the beginning of their operation started to let rain fall upon the earth. In less than a few minutes, it was a real downpour with the sky painted by the flash of thunder. Darkness covered the Everfree as the sun was masked, leaving the ponies with a reduced field of vision like it was almost midnight.
"Lieutenant, I know princess Sparkle send the order, but should we really continue in this condition ?" One of the other private shouted, to make himself clear above the sound of the storm.
Reflecting quickly on that question, the officer went to answer with a sigh "I think you're right, let's get back to the-"
RAWL CLUNK
As the ears of everypony in the group swivelled in the direction of the growl and strange noise, Shield asked aloud what all his squad's members were wondering. "What was that ?"
CLUNK RAWL
"That growl, it's a timberwolf..." said the Lieutenant "But that other sound, I don't recognize it."
CLUNK CLUNK
"Sir, I think we should investigate that." Said one of the Private
Taking a moment to ponder and take a decision, the order was a surprising one for the squad "Negative, we are going back to Ponyville."
"But Sir, we were tasked to-"
"I said, we are going back to the town !" The lieutenant said with a commanding tone as he turned to his squad "There is too many unknown variables, it's raining, almost pitch black and we don't know how many timberwolves or other creatures we may encounter if we try to investigate. Understood ?"
"Yes Sir." The two privates answered, even if they were curious, they had no power over their officer thanks to his rank and his good arguments.
"And to be honest I don't want to spend more time than necessary in that damned forest..."
Walking back from whence they came from, the group struggled to find the path they took earlier thanks to the dark clouds. After a few moments, the lieutenant started to hear less and less the noises from before, at some point everything was quiet. Too much quiet. Nothing was perturbing his earing, especially not an annoying corporal. Stopping in his tracks, Gold turned around and took a look at his team before asking.
"Where is Iron Shield ?"
< ====== | | ===== >
Shield, if he was wet and hooves deep in the mud, would at least get a bit of entertainment by seeing a timberwolf up close for the first time.
'Buck the lieutenant and his orders, something interesting is happening for once in that Celestia forsaken place !' he thought while trying to follow the source of the commotion.
Having a quiet and easy career was something Shield wanted, but the study of wild fauna was above all the rest for him, having enough books on the subject to make a certain lavender pony back home quite jealous. He knew of course timberwolves were dangerous, we was no fool. He knew how difficult it was for a group of experienced guards to drive off a timberwolf, let alone kill one.
Moving fast while being silent to keep the timberwolves unaware of his presence, his pace slowed for a bit when he spotted claw marks on the trees surrounding him. He almost stopped when he noticed what seemed to be piles of dead wood in the shapes of quadrupeds. He came to a total halt when he saw several trees completely separated in half, closing the distance, he saw that they had been cut in a really clean way.
'What could have possibly do that ?' He wondered 'I know no lumberjack capable of doing something like that, it's almost if those trees were cut in one swing...' Getting lost in his thought, he quickly came back to reality when he heard a loud howl and the strange noise from before coming from behind a couple of bushes, reminding him of where he was.
Getting his courage back, he laid down and started to crawl in the wet mud under the foliage to get a close look at the mysterious scene. Pushing away the last leaves in is way out of his vision, what he saw made his jaw dropped and his eagerness disappeared.
There were timberwolves, three of them admist more than a dozen piles of woods like Shield saw earlier, understanding dawning on him as realised those were the corpse of dead beasts. He watched as the pack of three was walking, slowly, in a predatory manner around what appeared to be something the corporal had never seen before in his life.
It was a tall bipedal being made of metal and covered in a cape with a hood, all of these elements as black as the night Nightmare Moon brought for her return after her banishment, a black devoid of light, of life. But what surprised Shield the most was what was in the arms of this mysterious entity, it seems it was carrying a big plate of metal, handling it like a weapon.
'Wha... What is that thing ?' Going through his memories, he tried to remember reading anything related on that specimen in his books 'What in Celestia's name is that... monster ?' Keeping his eyes on the being, he didn't notice one timberwolf running straight jaw open to the metal cladded being. In less time it took for Shield to realise an attack from the pack was happening, the black biped swung the plate of metal down, crushing the entire body of his foe in one strike and reducing it to dust. The last two of the pack decided to play their final card and charged a the same time from the same direction but to no avail as the being drove his weapon through both of them in a single movement, destroying them as if they were mere flies. Silence fell as the biped took a deep and heavy breath before putting his weapon on his back after waiting for something to happen for several seconds.
'So that piece of metal... is a sword ? No that's impossible, it's... too big, too thick, too heavy, and too rough, that thing is too big to be called a sword, it is more like a large hunk of iron...'
His musings were cut short however, when the monster in front of him stopped in his track and turned his head around in direction of Shield. At that moment, the corporal caught a glimpse of what laid under the being's hood who reduced to nothing an enormous amount of timberwolves. It was an eye, an eye as cold as the frozen landscape of the Crystal Empire, devoid of compassion, mirror of a soul covered in the blood of tens, hundreds even thousands of beings. Shield was petrified, never in his life had he witnessed something that caused a fear so intense like that, a pure and primal fear, like gazing into the maws of a starving ancient demon of Tartarus.
Suddenly the monster took a step towards Shield. Getting out of his catatonic state, the corporal mustered all the will power he had left to get up and run. He ran as far and fast as his stamina and legs could take him screaming at the top his lungs all the way. He ran in direction of the town from whence he came, he didn't stop when he stumbled upon his squad even when his officer called him several times. All he wanted to do was to put as much distance as it was possible between him and this monster, this... demon.
Author's Note
Fear not my friends, for i have returned from Oblivion !
As always, sorry to take that much time between each capter
Also if you have any ideas, suggestions, do not hesitate to write a comment, I enjoy reading each ones of them.
So for now, see you in 7 or 8 months for the next chapter. (Just kidding I'll try to take less than that
PS : I had an idea recently, do you think it would be great to create another story where instead of Gut and Casca appearing in that version of Equestria, they would go to the 'Your Human And You' verse ? Casca would be in practically the same mental state as the other humans, and with Guts looking for her, do you imagine what he would do to abusive slavers ? Oh boy...
