Equestria Black Swordsman

The tension in the air increased so much that it could be touched with bare hands. The guards and Guts looked at each other, waiting for each other to make their first move. Rarity was on the verge of a life-saving swoon, and Applejack, standing upright, was prepared to fight in case of emergency. Rainbow, in turn, glared at him, preparing to attack at any second to save the fillies.

"Stop, no need to fight!" Sweetie Belle," she said nervously.

"Yes! He saved us from the manticore!" Scootaloo screamed.

"And Sweetie Belle from the Treewolves!" Apple Bloom was added.

Applejack, Rarity, and Rainbow Dash stood in shock, alternately looking at Guts and the fillies. A pony stepped out of the crowd with a strange hat that Guts had never seen before. Stopping, she carefully looked at the black swordsman.

"I'm Applejack, big guy. This is true?" She asked, narrowing her eyes questioningly.

As an element of honesty, she wanted to see if what the Markstalkers were saying was true, as well as test the biped. Looking at the pony in front of him, Guts removed his hand from the hilt of the sword, which calmed the guards behind her a little. To be honest, they were scared shitless. As tall as, if not taller than, princesses, black armor with a truly huge sword on his back, a strange, slight smell of blood, and the absence of eyes did their job. After all, the guards were more decorative than real warriors, but they could do something. The filly in his arms was the only thing that made Guts a little less scary.

"Yes." Guts answered with an indifferent voice.

Applejack continued to stare at Guts for a while, twitching her ears in turn, then smiled and, coming close, stood up on her hind hooves and put her front ones around his waist. And although it looks very strange from the side, she didn’t care because he saved her sister, and the rest at that moment was not important. Guts was taken aback, but with his brains out, he smiled weakly and scratched behind her ear, which looked more like a cat's than a horse's. Thus, he puzzled and calmed the ponies a little more.

"Applejack, honey, what are you doing!?" Rarity said, turning even more pale despite the fact that she was already white.

"It's all right, Rarity; he told the truth, or believes he's telling the truth, and I have a feeling he's not a bad guy." Still snuggling up to Guts, the orange pony replied.

Turning her head towards Guts, she carefully looked into his eyes and spoke.

"Thanks, sugar; if it wasn’t for you, something terrible would have happened to my sister."

Pulling away from him, Guts noticed a little bit of moisture on her eyelids, which she vehemently tried to hide. The black swordsman raised his hand, scratching the back of his head, noticing something.

"What a strange day, filled with thanks and scared looks." Guffawing a little, Guts said.

"I hope you don't mind another thank you, dear."

Looking in the direction of the voice, he saw the same white pony but with a nervous smile. Guts gave a strange smirk and bowed slightly in front of Rarity.

"Absolutely not, Miss Rarity." Guts said still with a smirk.

For a second, everyone froze, but a quiet chuckle was heard from the side of the fillies, to which Applejack and one of the guards, who were calmed by a cuff, joined.

"Ah, you also have manners, Mr. Guts." Putting a hoof to her chest, Rarity was already smiling sincerely.

"A very good friend of mine said that ladies should be treated accordingly." The black swordsman was already fully smiling.

Suddenly, a rainbow-maned pegasus reminded itself of itself, buttling up and flying up to Guts, from which he recoiled a little.

"Haha, very funny! Now tell me why you stink of blood, huh?" The pony asked accusingly, poking his chest with her hoof.

The whole atmosphere, which was shaky built, collapsed to hell. The ponies tensed up again, looking anxiously at the rainbow pegasus and Guts. The guards tightened their grip on the spears with their hoof-kinesis and looked at the giant with frowns. Guts' smile faded from his face, and looking directly into Rainbow Dash's eyes, he said:

"Saving Scootaloo and Apple Bloom from a manticore, I killed her."

Her eyes snapped open, and, shouting out why he did it, Guts answered in a terribly calm voice:

"At that moment, saving the foals was a priority for me rather than the well-being of some damn monster." He was already poking a finger at the chest of the pegasus. "I think a dead manticore is better than the torn and gnawed corpses of little fillies.
After finishing speaking and poking his finger, Guts sternly looked at Rainbow.

Unable to say anything in response, she tucked her ears to her head and, shaking her head in agreement, landed next to her friends, who also had flattened ears. One of the guards had a breakfast reset from Guts' details.

"Well, if we have closed this topic, then why don't we go to the exit from this forest?" Guts said, looking around at all the ponies.

Pony, in turn,just silently waved in agreement. The guards, having calmed down a bit, raised their spears up and, by order of the elder, stood in front of the group. Applejack placed Apple Bloom on her back as she walked over to them. Rainbow Dash, along with Scootaloo and still pursed ears, trudged along behind her friend, sometimes glancing at the black swordsman like a puppy who has done some dirty trick. Rarity started walking towards Guts, giving him a faint smile.

"Don’t be mad at Rainbow. She is actually very nice, just sometimes very cautious with strangers, and also stubborn." The white pony said it with a snort. "By the way, about the smell, let me help you with that."

After saying that, her horn glowed, enveloping Guts in an aura.

"Done! You don't stink of blood now, dear." Rarity said when she finished.

Guts looked down at himself and sniffed at the armor. But it's true! There was no smell of blood. We can say that he even began to smell pleasantly of flowers.

"Thank you, Miss Rarity, for that. And don't worry about Rainbow; I'm not mad at her; I just pointed out a mistake."

"No way, dear, and just call me Rarity, yet you saved my sister and even bandaged her wound." "Waving a hoof in front of her, said the pony. "By the way, about her. How is she?"

"I'm fine, Rarity; it's just that my leg hurts a little." Sweetie Belle looked up from under her chest.

"Well, as you can see," Guts said with a slight smile.

Giggling into her hoof, Rarity said that it was time for them to go to the others. Standing next to her friends, Rarity turned to Guts with a smile, then turned forward again. In this group, Guts stood at the back with Sweetie Belle in his arms, closing the formation. And he, together with the pony, again went towards the exit from the forest, this time for sure.

***

The sun began to slowly set as a group of ponies and a man emerged from the Everfree Forest. An unusual view appeared before Guts: a small city with the city hall he assumed in the center. There was also a house nearby. The roof is covered with grass and bushes, and there is also vegetation in the backyard. On the other side of the city is a farm with a house that looks more like a huge barn. Around a vast field planted with apple trees, and a little further, other diverse crops.

"As I see it, have you done a cursory tour of the local sights?" Applejack said he was coming out from under Guts' side. "That's where you were just looking at my family's sweet apple farm. How is she to you?"

"Not bad at all. I would even say it's exciting." Rearranging his hands to make it more convenient to hold the filly, answered Guts. Sweetie Belle squirmed a little at this and buried her muzzle against the swordsman's chest, making a soft purr-like sound.

"Thanks for the compliment, sugar; I appreciate it," the orange pony said, giving Guts a gentle nudge in the thigh and smiling. In response, Guts also gave her a small smile before continuing on their way to the city. Already approaching him, Guts noticed a sign on which was written:

Welcome to Ponyville!

"Ponyville, then," the black swordsman said softly.

"Hm? Did you say something?" Rarity turned around and looked questioningly at Guts.

"No, it's alright; I'm just thinking out loud."

"Than good." Rarity said, turning back, but not for long. - "By the way! If you don't mind, we'd like to take you to our friend Twilight Sparkle. She owns our library and will definitely help us figure out what to do next with you." Rarity spoke with some hope in her eyes, along with Rainbow and Applejack.

"I don’t mind; I still need to find out where I am right now," answered Guts, looking around the houses, which were around more and more.

"Wonderful! Then let's not delay." After straightening her mane and saying something to the guards, Rarity spoke.

Thus, the guards went the other way, sometimes looking at the black swordsman, and the rest of the group went to the so-called Twilight Sparkle.

On the way to the library, Guts noticed that the inhabitants looked at him with a certain horror, some with interest, but still with the same fear. Perhaps the most unusual resident was a turquoise pony, marked on her hip in the form of a musical instrument familiar to Guts and with a horn on her head like Rarity's. People like them are called unicorns. She looked at Guts with genuine interest and smiled, waving her front hoof at him. Guts was surprised at her friendliness, but he waved back anyway. The unicorn's eyes widened, and it ran towards Guts. He wondered if he should start worrying, but his worries immediately vanished when the turquoise pony, who had come a meter away from the swordsman, began to speak.

"Hello! My name is Lyra Heartstrings! You're human, right? Right?" Lyra asked, jumping on the spot.

From such a feint with his ears, Guts hung a little, but quickly realized what was happening and calmly replied:

"Yes, I am human."

Lyra squealed with delight as she circled Guts, looking at him.

"Incredible! I knew! I knew that people really existed. Nobody believed me, but behold, one of them is standing right in front of me!"

Guts' gaze turned to Lyra. His face showed real shock.

"Wait, wait… "In what sense do people exist?"

"Umm… well… "People were described in legends many, many years ago, but what is it?" Lyra asked with a worried look.

"No, it's okay; don't worry." The black swordsman waved his head.

"Okay, where are you going if it's not a secret?"

"We are heading to the library to see Twilight about our great friend." Applejack said as she approached the man. "What is the question?"

"I would really like to go with you, can I?" Please!" Lyra, looking at them, begged with her puppy eyes.

"Big guy?"

"I don't mind."

Lyra squealed again and settled down next to Guts, smiling with might and main. With the replenishment in the group, they went further to the library. Passing through the market, they came to the library, which was a large oak tree with windows, a balcony, and doors with a carved candle on them. The doors for Guts were a bit small; he would have to bend over to get through them.

"Well, here we are; wait, perhaps, behind us, sugar," the orange pony said, turning to Guts.

The trio approached the door, knocked, and began to wait. There was a soft clatter of hooves and the voice of a pony. Opening the door, a lavender unicorn came out.

"The library is already closed; come tomorrow; oh, it's you. Girls, how happy I am!" At the last word, she began to scream, falling on her back.

"Twilight!" A young voice was heard from the library.

"I think I've seen this reaction somewhere before." Guts said, grinning at Rarity.

Said pony blushed and raised a hoof to her lips, coughing loudly.

"Ahem, Twilight darling, are you all right?"

"Yeah, I'm fine." Twilight replied as she got up from the floor. "But who is with you? And why does he have Sweetie Belle in his arms?"

"Meet our new friend, Guts. We met him in the Everfree Forest, and it was he who saved the Markseekers." Rarity said, pointing to the black swordsman.

Applejack shook her head in agreement, Lyra walked next to the man with a satisfied face, and Rainbow looked at Guts with a strange expression on her face.

"Well, if he's your friend, then so is mine. Since he saved the girls, I don't think he's bad. Please come through!" pointing to the entrance, invited Twilight.

"Thank you, dear."

Everyone started going into the library one at a time, and the last one was Guts. Entering it, he saw a lot of books and various scrolls, and a small purple dragon with a green comb peeked out from behind the sofa. Noticing the man's gaze, he quickly hid himself and spoke in a trembling voice:

"T-t-twilight, who is that?"

"Don't be afraid, Spike; he won't hurt you." She looked at Guts. "Dont you?"

"I promise." Guts said, smiling lightly at the lavender pony.

"Here you see? He promised, "Now get out of there."

Her horn lit up, and the dragon began to slowly fly out from behind the sofa. He resisted but eventually gave up, hiding his muzzle with his paws. As Twilight laid him down on the couch, Guts also walked over there, laying Sweetie Belle down.

"Eh? Where are we? Already home?" Sweetie Belle said she was looking around.

"No, we're in Twilight's library right now." Rarity said softly

The filly shook her head and turned to Guts with a wide smile. Guts couldn't help but smile back, as did the rest of the ponies in the room.

"As you can see, you got on really well." Twilight noticed. "It’s already night, so I think if you have nowhere to spend the night, then stay with me, and then we’ll see what can be done."

"Okay, thanks for the hospitality," said the black swordsman as he took off his sword and sat down on the floor in the corner.

Scootaloo yawned and blinked owlishly around the room. Noticing this, Applejack said:

"Perhaps it’s time for us to go home. See you tomorrow, big guy." waving her hoof and more conveniently putting her sister on her back, said the pony.

"I agree; good night, dear." Picking up her sister, Rarity said

Rainbow just turned around, and after saying something to Scootaloo, she headed for the exit. Lyra waved her hoof and followed them.

"Bye, girls, and don't forget to bring the others here tomorrow. I think we'll have something to talk about." Twilight said, looking at Guts with burning interest in her eyes. "You can lie down on the sofa. And if you need something, then call."

Guts shook his head as he got up from the corner and lay down on the couch, which was surprisingly just right for him. Twilight called Spike to the second floor, saying that they needed to write a letter to some Celestia.

Guts stared up at the ceiling and wondered to himself where exactly he had landed and if it was his world at all. Everything around was too friendly and innocent, as if there had never been the horrors of war and the cruelty of monsters. Continuing to think about it, he gradually began to fall asleep.

***

In the city of Canterlot, namely in a large castle on a mountain, Princess Celestia was sitting in her chambers. A large white alicorn with wings, a long horn, like a mane of blue, pink, and light green flowers raised by a non-existent wind, and a mark on the hip in the shape of the sun. She sorted through the papers, peering at them carefully. The doors to the chambers opened, and another alicorn came out, but this time black with the same iridescent mane, the color of the night sky. On the side, there was a mark in the form of the moon.

"Good night, sister." Celestia said.

"Good, how are you?" Luna asked as she walked over to her.

"Oh, all these aristocrats and their letters are terribly tiring." Celestia raised her head. "And why did the monsters suddenly start attacking the cities? There wasn't such a thing."

"I don’t know, maybe..." But before she could finish, a scroll appeared in green fire in front of Celestia’s face.

Celestia caught the scroll with her magic and unfolded it, smiling. After all, the scroll was from her student, Twilight Sparkle. Reading the text, her smile began to disappear little by little, and after reading it, it completely disappeared, replacing it with surprise and anxiety.

"What is it, sister?" Luna asked.

"I think you should read it for yourself." Celestia said she was handing over the letter.

Luna took the scroll and began to read it carefully.

Dear Princess Celestia!

Today I met a new, unusual friend named Guts. When I saw him, I was very scared. Two meters tall, black armor with a cloak, and a huge sword. My friends convinced me that he was really good because the villain would not save the foals, right? He also behaved in a friendly manner and showed no signs of aggression, although sometimes his face showed indifference and thoughtfulness, as if he did not know where he was. I am writing this letter to you just to let you know.

Sincerely, your student, Twilight Sparkle.

"Guts..." Luna repeated. "What does that word mean in Old Equestrian?"

"The entrails... yes, sister, I know." Celestia said it with a worried look.

"Tomorrow we have to go to Ponyville."