Equestria Black Swordsman

by FunGuy

Rating: mature
Tags: My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic, Dark, Other, Romance, Adventure, Sex, Violence, Crossover, Human
Length: 17701

Hell survivor in the world of colorful ponies

After the rupture of the worlds of the astral and the present, the living light enveloped the planet, uniting them. The moment the wave reached Guts, his essence was split in two. The first was no different from the original, except for a certain dislike for cakes. And the second was transferred to another world and her memory was erased important for Guts..........

Published 2023-04-26 22:00:00 UTC
Last updated 2023-05-12 22:28:40 UTC

Prologue: Uniting Worlds

In a cruel world where goodness has almost died out, an event occurs that will turn life upside down. On a truly huge being standing on a ruined kingdom, which in such a short period of time was given many names: "Harbinger of the End", "Shiva", "God".

While chaos was happening at the feet of this creature, three creatures stood on top of its head, if it can be called that. The Skull Knight is an enigmatic figure who has waged war against demons for millennia. Nosferatu Zodd is an apostle with a particular passion for war and battle. And finally, the last creature: Griffith, aka the Falcon of Light, aka Femto - one of the Hand of God, and the leader of the new Falcon squad, Zodda is his right hand, on whom Femto could safely rely.

Slicing through space with the Sword of Behelit, the Skull Knight gets behind Femto and swings his bone sword arm for a vertical strike. Zodd, in the form of an apostle, noticing this, attacks the Skull Knight with all his fury, but does not have time. The second still managed to swing his sword. Femto warps space, redirecting the cut to "God".

"I was waiting for you." Femto said.

“The Skull Knight rushing into battle with the Hand of God… At the crossroads of time.”

"...."

"You have warped space... This rift has grown fruits... From the flowers of conditioning."

Femto turned his head and looked at the face of "God".

"He was reborn twice... And the rift reached the depths of the astral world."

The face of "God" began to diverge, revealing the astral world to the environment.

"He opened... THE GATE."

The gates continued to open wider and wider as the clouds began to move towards them. Femto climbed onto Zodd's back, and as he flew away from his head, he looked at the gate again. Those, in turn, have already managed to open almost completely. The monsters that "God" gave birth to suffered the same fate: gates began to open over their bodies. On earth, people and the apostles watched all this, continuing to observe how the bright white light filled the space around more and more. The people through whom the light passed became more ethereal. People who were far from the epicenter of this event looked at the rapidly approaching light with interest, awe, and a bit of fear. It didn't get past the ship Guts and his group were on. As soon as the light reached them, he sensed something was wrong. Guts felt something separate from him, and for some reason he himself began to dislike cakes.

"Guts, are you okay?" Puck, who was flying past his ear, asked worriedly.

"Oh? Yes, yes, I'm fine... but what was that?"

The moment Guts felt the separation, nothing but his other self awakened within him. It was like two drops of water similar to the original, but with one huge difference. Something important had been erased from his memory. Why he was on the ship. That piece of memory has been replaced. Another Guts was thrown back by the gate to another world, straight into the forest. Strange, dark, wild... Everfree forest...

Author's Note

Intriguing, right?
Well.......
Wait for new chapters)

Part 2: Search Party and Pony Rescue

"How did it all turn out like this?" "Sweetie Belle," she thought, breathing heavily.

Along with other members of the Markseekers, she went to the Everfree Forest to meet Zecora. They counted on the fact that by helping her, they could get their cutie marks. On the way to Zecora, the trio was separated due to the attack of the timber wolves, most of which were chasing after her.

Continuing to run, Sweetie Belle rushed at full speed, running away from the woodwolves, who did not even think to lag behind but rather approached her. When they were already breathing down her back, one of them cut the back leg of the filly, causing her to squeal and roll head over heels down the slope. There she was, moaning from the pain in her leg, going with a limp gait to a tree and hiding behind it. Looking out, she did not see the woodwolves chasing her. Sweetie Belle breathed a sigh of relief, but when she heard a growl from behind, she realized that she had relaxed early. She yelped as the six woodwolves circled the filly in a semicircle and slowly approached her, baring their wooden teeth and snarling viciously.

"Please, someone... save me!" Sweetie Belle asked tremblingly.

The bushes stirred, and out of them came a large, two-legged man with a huge sword to his advantage.

Quickly closing the distance, he easily cut off the head of the tree wolf, and when three more attacked him, he cut them down with one movement. The remaining treewolves stepped back, but the two-legged creature cruelly turned them into firewood as well. Then he looked at her with a creepy smirk that made her shake even more, trying to keep herself from fainting. Suddenly the branches stirred and began to form another wolf, large and obviously strong. The two-legged wolf abruptly raised its front arm, and a small ball began to emerge from it, which pierced right through the wolf with great speed. She had never seen anything like it! When finished, the biped turned back to Sweetie Belle and began to approach. Standing upright, he sat down on one knee in front of her. Sweetie Belle was trembling violently and literally huddled in fear, mumbling softly:

"Please don’t k-kill me."

A rough but calm voice began to reassure her, saying that he would do nothing wrong and offering to bandage the wound. She slowly nods and stretches out her leg, gradually calming down. Twoleg pulled some kind of ointment and bandage from his saddlebags. After washing the wound with water from a flask, he anointed the wound with ointment; it tingled a little, and he began to bandage it. When she finished, Sweetie Belle looked at the biped and said:

"T-thank you."

The two-legged man smiled tenderly and folded the bandage, the flask of water, and the ointment back.

"My pleasure, umm... "What’s your name?"

"Sweetie Belle." She said this, lifting the corners of her lips.

"And I'm Guts; we'll get to know each other."

***

Having introduced themselves, Guts held out his hands, gently picking up the filly, which squealed in surprise. Carefully placing her in his arms, he said:

"What are you doing here in the forest?" "I don't think the woods are a good place for girls to... ahem... fillies like you."

Sitting comfortably in the black swordsman's arms, the little filly looked at him with a smile.

"Well, my friends and I went to my friend, and we were attacked by treewolves, after which we split up."

"Timberwolves?" Guts looked questioningly at the filly.

"Yes, those wooden wolves you defeated. They are called "treewolves."

"Okay, then your friends were also being chased by treewolves?"

"As I remember, most of them ran after me." Sweetie Belle replied while rubbing her bandaged leg, lowering her ears.

"Then we need to hurry, because they, too, may be in danger." Guts said, frowning.

"Then I'll show you where to go."

an hour later.

Walking through the thickets of the forest, Guts held Sweetie Belle in his hands and walked in the direction where her friends had fled. Guts noticed that small piles of branches and leaves began to appear along the way.

"I don’t like this." The black swordsman thought tensely.

Suddenly, they both heard a loud roar and children's cries. Guts instantly ran in the right direction, hugging Sweetie Belle tighter. Having run out into a small clearing, they noticed how something huge, similar at the same time to a lion, a scorpion, and a bat, growled at two fillies. One was an orange pegasus with a purple mane and lavender eyes, and the other was a light yellow with a dark crimson mane.

"Manticore!" Sweetie Belle yelled softly.

Guts placed it near the tree, telling her to stay here and not to look.
The black swordsman quickly walked towards the manticore, holding the hilt of his sword. Coming as close as possible, he swung and cut off one of the legs of the manticore. A good stream of blood gushed out, and the manticore, in turn, howled loudly in pain. Turning sharply, she limped in the direction of her offender. An evil grin was reflected on the muzzle of the manticore, and with a sharp movement, she tried to pierce the black swordsman with her sting. Guts held his sword forward like a shield. The sound of hitting metal and the crunch of a sting. Roaring in pain, a manticore with a broken sting, from which poison was leaking out, and the stump, instead of a paw, backed away, looking fearfully at Guts. The black swordsman dived under the manticore, ripping open its belly, thus dousing himself with blood and entrails. The lifeless body fell on Guts, crushing him with all its weight, but he did not care, and therefore he easily threw the corpse out of himself. Covered in blood and with entrails on his shoulders, Guts began to inspect the fillies he had rescued. They trembled as they pressed against each other, tears streaming from their closed eyes. One of them was clearly on the verge of fainting, and the second, opening one eye, immediately spewed out her breakfast. The black swordsman did not like this alignment at all. He guessed that they would react negatively, but he did not expect it to be so strong. Guts thought it was a peaceful time here in this country, maybe even for a few years. He brushed off his insides, already shifting his gaze towards the filly he had left behind. Sweetie Belle limped slowly towards Guts, but when she saw what happened to the manticore and where the man stopped now, her muzzle began to turn a greenish tint. After a little more standing, she continued to walk towards him. Approaching a distance of two meters, Sweetie Belle said:

"W-w-why?"

Guts looked at her in surprise, shaking the blood off himself.

"Why, what?"

"Why did you kill the manticore?"

"To save your friends, obviously."

"Yes, I understand. You could negotiate with her or scare her. But don't kill!" the filly said more clearly.

"Haaah… Look, I don't see how I was supposed to 'negotiate' with this monster, but you have to understand that your friends' lives are higher than the life of a manticore that tried to tear them apart. In emergency situations, you need to prioritize either your friends or the manticore. I hope you know what to choose." Guts said it almost in one breath.

"Y-yes… I get it." Sweetie Belle," she said with a sniffle. "Thank you."

"You are welcome; now I could use the river... ah! Here she is." Spotting a small river, Guts said

While the black swordsman was trying to wash off the blood and bits of manticore from himself and from the armor, Sweetie Belle limped towards her friends. It hurt a lot, but she still managed to get to them.

"Scootaloo! Apple Bloom!" Sweetie Belle exclaimed happily.

The fillies began to open their eyes, trying to ignore the corpse along the way.

"Sweetie Belle?"

"Are you alive?" the fillies said in unison, hugging their friend.

"And even in order!" Scootaloo said, but after looking at the hind hoof, she corrected. "Almost whole."

"If it wasn’t for Guts, I’d be food for the woodwolves by now." Turning to the black swordsman, who had already put on his armor, Sweetie Belle smiled a little.

"Guts? Are you talking about him?" Apple Bloom asked cautiously, pointing with her hoof.

"That's right, about him."

"But he k-killed the manticore! He's dangerous, and he's scary." Apple Bloom," she said, glancing nervously at the approaching man.

"Perhaps I agree, but still, he saved us." Sweetie Belle said affirmatively.

Guts was already approaching the fillies. Stopping, he caught the other fillies with his gaze. To prevent the situation from getting out of control, Sweetie Belle pointed at the black swordsman with her hoof and said:

"Meet Guts. He saved me from the treewolves and you from the manticore."

"Greetings." The black swordsman waved his hand.

"And these," pointing to the fillies, "are my friends: Scootaloo and Apple Bloom."

"Hello," Apple Bloom said softly.

"Hello!" Scootaloo said it quite loudly. "Hmmm. You don’t seem so scary anymore."

"I think the river has done its job." Guts said, rubbing the back of his head.

"Thank you for saving us, albeit in such a cruel way." Apple Bloom thanked her, glancing occasionally at the corpse of the manticore.

"You're welcome."

Turning around, Guts looked at the manticore's corpse, thinking.

"It seems to me that I am definitely not close to Elfheim." "If at all in his own world," the dark swordsman thought, closing his eyes.

"Since you are in relative order, then I think it’s time to get you out of this forest." Guts said, turning to the fillies.

"Yes!" the three mares answered in unison.

"Okay, let's go then."

Walking over to the fillies, Guts took Sweetie Belle into his arms, making her sit comfortably. Sweetie Belle, without resisting, calmly walked into her arms. The fillies asked why he took Sweetie Belle on his paws, but Guts calmly replied that it was better to move less with such a wound. And so they went toward the exit from the forest.

25 minutes later

.

Passing through the bushes and various trees, the four heard several familiar voices calling to them. Walking towards its source, Guts saw more ponies: a light gray unicorn with a purple-blue mane; a sky blue pegasus pony with a rainbow mane and tail; an orange-brown pony with large green eyes and a light-colored mane and tail, which are fastened at the ends with small red rubber bands; as well as a strange hat.

Together, they walked with other ponies in golden armor with spears. Scootaloo and Apple Bloom looked towards Guts and Sweetie Belle, then walked out of the bushes towards the other ponies.

" Scootaloo! Apple Bloom! Thank you, Celestia; you're fine!" shouted the pony with the hat. "Where's Sweetie Belle?"

The fillies did not have time to say anything, as a voice was heard from the rustling bushes.

"I'm here!" Sweetie Belle screamed.

"Ah, Sweetie Belle, I'm so glaaaAAAAAA!"

***

Equestria has not been calm lately. Monsters began to emerge from the forests and attack civilians. Therefore, after several hours since the disappearance of the Mark Finders, Rarity and Applejack, seriously frightened, gathered several guards, who were allocated by the crown to protect the inhabitants of Ponyville. Together with Rainbow Dash, they went to the Everfree Forest in search of them. For several hours, they walked and looked for fillies until Scootaloo and Applebloom came out of the bushes.

"Scootaloo! Apple Bloom! Thank you, Celestia; you're fine!" shouted the pony with the hat. "Where's Sweetie Belle?"

Rarity was frightened when she saw that her sister was not with them, when suddenly she heard a voice from the bushes.

"I'm here!"

"Ah, Sweetie Belle, I'm so glaaaAAAAA!" Rarity started screaming.

The guards roused themselves and pointed their spears in the direction from which Sweetie Belle's voice could be heard. A two-meter creature with a light, barely perceptible smell of blood came out of the bushes with a huge sword behind his back and a filly in his hands. Seeing that spears were thrown at him, Guts raised one hand, grabbing the hilt of the sword with the other.

Author's Note

"The author of the devil, stopped at such an interesting place!"
Of course) how else?
Well, here's a new chapter, folks! Hope you like it)
Enjoy!

Part 3: Welcome to Ponyville!

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."

Part 4: Other memories and royalty

Ah, a soft sofa and a cozy library house. Even though Guts slept in his armor, that didn't stop him from sleeping in such a pleasant atmosphere. He would have continued to enjoy a sound sleep if he had not been shaken violently, trying to wake him up.

"Guts! Guts, wake up!" Twilight said this worriedly while continuing to shake the swordsman.

Opening his good eye, he took up a sitting position and turned his head to look at the pony.

"Don't shake me; I'm already awake." Guts said, but seeing the pony's worried look, he asked, "What happened?"

"Princesses! "They will be here soon!"

Guts didn't know what kind of princesses he was talking about, so he asked Twilight about it. In short, the princesses are two alicorn sisters: Celestia and Luna. They have ruled Equestria for over a thousand years, but in the past, Luna, under the influence of Nightmare Moon, tried to seize power. Thanks to the Elements of Harmony, Nightmare Moon was sent to the moon and imprisoned there for a thousand years. As a result, she recently returned, but with the help of her friends and all the same Elements of Harmony, they were able to expel Nightmare Moon and save Princess Luna. So now they rule together. When Twilight finished her "little lecture", Guts held his head with one hand and thought that she was about to start to hurt. He vaguely remembered the meaning of the word "lecture" when Schierke talked about Farnese's magic. Suddenly, there was a knock on the door, making Twilight jump in surprise. A familiar voice came from behind the door, reassuring Twilight. Opening the door to the guests, she smiled. Outside the doors were all her friends: Applejack, Rarity, Rainbow Dash, and two more ponies. The first was a hot pink pony with a dark pink curly tail and mane. The second was a yellow pegasus pony with a light pink mane. Lyra was behind them, peering over Twilight to see Guts.

"Hello, Twilight." Applejack said, straightening her hat. "How's the big guy?"

"Good morning, Applejack; why don't you ask him yourself? He just woke up." Pointing somewhere to the library, said the lavender pony.

"Hey, Twilight! I heard you made a new friend, right?" Appearing right in front of the muzzle, the pink pony chattered.

"Yes, Pinky, he's inside now. Just be careful." Twilight said she was trying to calm Pinky. "Come in, don’t stand at the door."

The ponies began to enter the library one at a time. At the same time, the ponies, already familiar with Guts, greeted him. Seeing Guts, the yellow pegasus yelped and quickly hid behind Applejack, speaking very quietly to her.

"Fluttershy, can't I hear what you're saying?" Applejack asked, turning to the aforementioned pegasus.

"W-who is i-it?" already louder, but still quietly asked Fluttershy.

"Meet Guts. The one who saved the marksmen I already told you about him this morning." Applejack said, pointing at Guts.

Applejack continued to say something to Fluttershy until suddenly something pink flew past her. Guts, on the other hand, wanted to get up off the couch and maybe get to know everyone better, but almost falling back on the furniture, he, thanks to his incredible reflexes, caught something pink in his hands. In his hands was the same pink pony, named Pinky.

"Hello! My name is Pinkie Pie; for friends, it's just Pinkie! "The pink pony introduced herself cheerfully." - Whatisyourheight? Whatisthisarmor? Whathappenedtohiseye? Howoldareyou? Andweight? What'syourfavoritecolor? Whatsizeofyourdi…" Pinkie chattered, not giving him a chance to understand her.

"Pinky!" Twilight blushed slightly, hoping that Guts wouldn't get mad at her hyperactive and slightly weird friend.

Guts, on the other hand, raised his hand and covered her mouth with it, preventing the others and himself from further straining. Pinkie mooed into her hand for a while, not calming down. When Pinkie finally stopped mooing, Guts removed his hand from her muzzle and began to look at her. She also looked at him, then raised her front leg and poked Guts's nose with her hoof.

"Boop!"

Everyone in the library gasped and stared at the black swordsman intently. Guts looked at his nose and the hoof that was on it. Smirking, he raised his hand and stuck his index finger forward, jabbing it into Pinkie's nose.

"Boop."

Snorting, Pinkie grinned widely and wrapped her front legs around Guts' neck.

"Hooray! We'll be super duper friends from now on!" Hanging around Guts' neck, Pinkie said.

Everyone breathed a sigh of relief as they started to smile as Pinkie laughed and said something to Guts, who just smiled a little and listened to her. Even Fluttershy wanted to approach him to meet him, but she was too shy, so she just looked and smiled. Someday, she will be able to do it.
There was another knock on the door, and a man's voice was heard from behind the door.

"Open up! Their Majesties, Princesses Celestia and Luna, have arrived!" solemnly announced by a voice outside the door.

Everyone who was in the library started up. Pinkie released Guts and went to her friends, and Twilight began frantically and as quickly as possible to clean up the library. Guts just stood and watched, thinking to himself.

"Well, let's see if the royals are the same as in my memory or if they are different," thought Guts, anticipating the appearance of the princesses.

The door opened, and the six ponies, along with the dragon and Lyra, lowered their heads and bowed to the newcomers. Guts continued to stand with his arms crossed, doing nothing and just watching as the princesses entered the library one by one. As he understood, the white alycon was Celestia, and the black one was Luna. The black swordsman noticed that they were beautiful in their own way: Celestia's snow-white and well-groomed fur, like her mane, swaying from a non-existent wind, caught the eye with its beauty. And the moon, dark and similar to the night itself, fascinated me with its mane of the color of the starry sky. Celestia's voice pulled him out of his unusual thoughts.

"Greetings, my little ponies. Stand up, no need to bow," said the day's leader, looking at everyone with a slight smile and occasionally glancing at Guts.

"Princess Celestia! I'm so glad to see you." Twilight said excitedly. "But why did you come here? Has something happened?"

"I will explain to you some other time, but now I have come here because of your new unusual friend." Celestia said she was already looking at Guts.

Guts, on the other hand, looked at the princess with a look like "What does this mare want from me?".

"I hope you don't mind telling us how you got here." And about yourself in general?" Celestia said, looking up at Guts.

"Only if you're prepared for what you hear." Guts spoke in an almost grave voice as he sat down on the floor in front of the sofa.

Spike, who was standing next to Twilight, gulped nervously as he noticed how the atmosphere around Guts was getting darker. The other ponies, like the diarchs, also noticed this, wondering what could have happened in his life. The ponies followed the example of the black swordsman and also sat on the floor in a semicircle. Pinkie sat comfortably next to Guts on one side. Rainbow Dash also sat next to him, but on the other side. As the people settled on the floor and whispered between glitches, Rainbow gave Guts a light nudge, drawing attention to herself.

"Listen, dude, I just wanted to ask..." The rainbow-maned pegasus began to speak. "You're not mad at me for the first time we met, are you?"

"No, I am not angry. On the contrary, I'm a little glad that you are ready to help someone close to you."
Guts replied with a slight smile.

Rainbow, from his words, was pleased. Not only is he not mad at her for her quick temper, but he is also praised! But he can't escape a little revenge. Rainbow Dash quietly thanked Guts and sat closer to him, feeling a little strange. The ponies were already seated comfortably and were looking at Guts, waiting for his words.

"I think we can start with questions," Guts said.

"Oh, oh, tell us about your family!" Pinky called out from under her side.

Guts' gaze became more distracted, and he himself looked at his left hand.

"Family, huh? My own father and mother are unknown to me and have long been dead, and of the adoptive mothers, only my mother was kind. After a few years, she died of an unknown plague. Adoptive father Gambino already disliked me, and even more so after the death of my mother. He blamed me for her death and hated me with all his heart. After one of the fights on the battlefield, he became disabled and also went crazy. Then something clicked in his head, and he sold me as some kind of fucking whore, and then later tried to kill me." Guts said, gritting his teeth with anger at the last words.

Anger began to seethe in him, trying to get out, when suddenly he heard sobs from the side. Turning around, he saw that Pinkie's mane had faded a little and her curls had been replaced by straight ones. The pony herself was crying softly, lowering her head to the floor. Looking around at the rest of the ponies, he saw the same picture: they all had wet lines on their cheeks, and compassion was evident in their eyes. Applejack lowered her hat so her face couldn't be seen. Twilight tried to wipe the tears from her eyes with her front foot, and Spike next to her covered his face with his paws. Rarity actively used the headscarf along with Fluttershy, who had the most compassion in her eyes. Rainbow Dash snuggled closer to the black swordsman, whimpering slightly. Lyra was also in tears. Even the diaries could not hold back the surging tears. Yet they were empaths.

"Sorry, sorry, Guts. I didn't have to ask you about that." Pinky said she was crying. "I'm a very bad friend!"

"You don't have to apologize, Pinky." Guts said, stroking her head. "You didn't know, and neither did everyone else." Guts said, looking back at the ponies. "More questions?"

"Can you still answer them?" Celestia asked in surprise, wiping her tears with the handkerchief she gave her.

"Yes. I did warn you."

"Then how did you live in the past?" Celestia asked herself.

"Lived? It was hard to call it life. Since then, I have grown up as a mercenary, taking part in battles and even going to several wars. Then I met a detachment of the Falcon and, having lost to their leader, Griffith, I joined them. That's where I met my only best friend, Tony. At first, I did not like this guy because of his vulgarity and frivolous behavior. But passing through the enemies together, I did not notice how I began to trust him with my back, which he saved several times. I became too attached to him, considering him almost my own brother, whom I never had. He taught me so-called "Friendship". He tried to make me less callous and untrusting. You could say he almost made it. After a while, I decided that the time had come. And I challenged Griffith again. Having defeated him, I left the Falcon squad. Tony did not dissuade me, saying with a smile on his face that we would definitely meet again. But that idiot Griffith! He managed to fall into the hands of disgusting aristocrats, who crippled him. We had to save his ass by sneaking into the dungeon. Still, we managed to save him, and we were able to escape to some kind of lake when suddenly an eclipse began, something that I would like to forget forever. I then lost a lot: an eye, an arm, almost the entire Falcon detachment, and the most precious thing I had. My best friend He was brutally killed right in front of my eyes without giving me a chance to save him. I was the only survivor of the eclipse."

Spike ran up to Guts, hugging his stomach tightly.

"After that, I literally survived, trying not to die at the hands of monsters."

Applejack, Rarity, Rainbow, and the remaining six also followed Spike's lead, standing from different sides.

"I had nightmares about that day over and over again, torturing me."

Lyra came up to Guts's back, nuzzling her nose, but Guts didn't hear.

"I met with an elf named Puck, who told me that Elfheim might be able to help me. On the way, I saw many people, and I traveled with some of them, recognizing them as comrades: Farnese, Schierke, Isidro, Serpico... "Even on the ship, a flash lit up the world, and I myself woke up here." Guts finished his story.

Celestia placed a hoof on Guts' shoulder, almost solemnly saying,

"Guts, your life was filled with suffering and sadness, which I have never met in all my long life. But you resisted. Kindness remained in you, for someone else, it would have disappeared without a trace. I, as the princess of Equestria, promise that you will never suffer like this again. I give you my word." Celestia said this with a smile on her face.

Guts listened to these words, and he himself was surrounded by a pony and a dragon who actively hugged him, trying to console him. The black swordsman wondered how there could be so much kindness in these creatures.

"Thanks, Celestia. I'll remember that." Turning to the day, Guts said with a martyred smile on his face,

"Guts, can I ask you one more question?" Luna said.

"Yes, I think this will be the last one."

"Well, then you said that you lost your arm, but I look at it right now and see that it is quite functional. Why is that?"

"Hmmm. I think I can show you what's going on." Guts said, simultaneously asking the ponies to move away.

Everyone obeyed him, and he began to take off his armor. Having removed the bib, the ladies were presented with a pleasant sight: a muscular body appeared before them, highlighting steel muscles. Numerous scars only improved the picture of a strong and brutal warrior. Some of the ponies blushed, and Pinky whistled, saying:

"Not bad."

"Hm? Did you say something, Pinky?" Guts looked at her questioningly.

She just waved her hooves, saying she didn't say anything. Guts simply shrugged his shoulders at this and, having removed the armor from his arm, began to remove the "prosthesis" of the arm itself. A blue glow began to fill the room, and the ponies began to feel strange. But this did not stop Twilight, Celestia, and Luna from getting into a stupor from what they saw.

"Ethereal body?!" Twilight screamed. "But that spell was long lost!"

"Etheric body? What is this?" Guts said, looking at his hand.

"Let me explain." Celestia said, looking at Guts strangely. "The ethereal body is a top-level spell that covers some part of the body and uses the purest magic of the magic body itself, which all the inhabitants of Equus have. It increases spell power, casting speed, range, and more. The Ethereal Body spell was used only once, by the archmage Star Swirl the Bearded. After using it, he declared this spell forbidden and destroyed almost all information about the "Etheric Body". It is still unknown why he did it." Celestia explained. "But here’s the odd thing: I saw the spell envelop a part of the body, but it doesn’t replace it! In addition, I feel a strong and pleasant aura of calm emanating from your ethereal hand." Come as close as possible to the back of the black swordsman, said the church of the day. "It feels like the safest place in the world is right next to you." Celestia said, sitting down on the floor and resting her head on Guts' shoulder. "Ah… This feeling is so good. such a relaxing, intoxicating feeling.

Celestia's hot breath filled Guts' ears, and he winced a little at this. Guts looked at the rest of the ponies in shock. He saw in their eyes the desire to soak up his presence and not only They slowly approached him and began to wrap around his athletic body. Fluttershy, covering her muzzle with her wings, laid down on Guts' lap like a big cat. Pinky and Rainbow took a seat next to his strong hips, shaking their necks against them. Twilight stood with her hind legs next to Celestia and began to rub against his strong neck. Lyra took Guts's hand and, opening her palm, began to rub her muzzle against the rough, but pleasant in its own way, skin. Applejack and Rarity grabbed the same arm as Lyra and rubbed against it as well. Spike took the black swordsman's other hand and rubbed his scaly muzzle against the ethereal hand as well, seemingly having more fun than the others. Luna, on the other hand, stood to the side of her sister, clearly restraining herself with the last of her strength. Guts realized that if he did not stop all this, then he would not get off with calf tenderness. Guts freed his right hand, which was rewarded with displeased moos from Lyra, Applejack, and Rarity. They were also joined by Spike when Guts, having freed his already ethereal hand, was finally able to put on the "prosthesis". For a while, nothing changed, until all the ponies suddenly flinched. The black swordsman could see the faces of the pony, the dragonling, and the diarch blushing brightly. Celestia rose to her feet and stood next to her sister, whose face showed some resentment.

"Oh, sorry about that, Guts. All these... liberties." Celestia said, trying to hide a slight blush. "This aura is very strong, and resisting it is only bad for yourself." Celestia looked at her sister with a malicious expression on her face, who, in turn, ignored her.

"I think we're a little late." "I will ask the mayor of Ponyville to build you a house somewhere nearby as soon as possible."

"House? Do you want to put me here?" He turned his head towards Princess Guts.

"Yes, but is there something wrong?"

"I have been a mercenary and monster hunter all my life, it’s hard for me to imagine a quiet life. How about working here as a mercenary, or still being the same monster hunter?" Guts suggested.

"Or the Guardian of Ponyville." Celestia replied.

"Sister!" The night diarch finally spoke up. "Guardian is a fairly high position. And you are ready to give it to the unknown?"

"Luna admits, if Guts wanted to, we'd be in big trouble. What is his ethereal hand and aura?" Celestia said, looking at her sister and turning to Guts, "Really?"

"I don’t need power. There will be too many problems, and it’s not mine." Guts replied innocently, stroking Spike's head with one hand and scratching Applejack and Rarity behind the ears with the other.

Guts felt like a princess from a fairy tale, surrounded by animals that he had seen several times during his travels. The ponies were still sitting next to Guts and didn't really want to move away from him. Still, that feeling, though weakened, was still there.

"See?"

"Your faith in goodness in everything will one day play a cruel joke on you, sister." Luna said with a sigh.

"Speaking of the ethereal hand, what does it open up for me?" the black swordsman asked.

"At a minimum, you have access to magic and the study of it in general." Celestia rubbed her chin.

Magic. It's a handy thing in and of itself. And in battle, it will help, an example of which is Shirka, and in everyday life, it is an indisputable assistant. The fact that Guts discovered magic made him a little happy, because studying it can help him brighten up his peaceful everyday life. Or not entirely peaceful. He did not know if there were attacks by bloodthirsty monsters or robbers who were ready to kill many for the sake of profit. By the way!

"You said something happened." Guts said, drawing the attention of the princesses.

"Yes, that is right. I think we can tell now." Celestia said as she looked at the pony. "But first..."

Celestia turned to her sister, speaking into her ear. When she finished, Luna smiled slyly and began to draw air into her lungs.

"Oh, I don’t like this," thought Guts, covering his ears in advance with his hands.

"WARNING, PONY! " Princess Luna said it using her Canterlot voice.

All the ponies jumped up and out of their seats, shock and fear in their eyes.

"Wh-what happened?" Twilight said stifledly,

"We needed to talk about something. I had to use the Canterlot voice to remove the last of Guts's aura." Celestia explained. "Forgive us for that."

"No, no, you don’t need to apologize." Rarity waved her front leg.

"Then I'll give you time to calm down, and then I'll tell you what happened," said the church of the day, giving them a slight smile.

After a while, the ponies calmed down, and now, like Guts, they looked at Celestia, listening carefully to her.

"Well, I think you've calmed down." Celestia said, looking around at the pony and dragon. "Then listen: Discord is back!"

"Discord?!"

Part 5: Discord

Discord is an insidious spirit of chaos and discord. Once upon a time, he ruled Equestria, bringing anxiety and misfortune to its inhabitants. Many saw how terrible life was for ponies, pegasus, and unicorns. Therefore, having discovered the Elements of Harmony, Celestia and Luna joined forces and rebelled against the villain, turning him into stone.

"I thought that the spell we cast would stop him forever, but since the connection with the elements was gone, the spell has lost its power." Celestia said, shaking her head. "But here you are, the new guardians of the Elements of Harmony." And with your help, we will be able to prevent him from acting out again on the lands of Equestria.

As the six ponies looked at each other and whispered, Guts considered whether he should go with them or stay in the library. On the one hand, he wanted to study the books that lay on the shelves. Many books with a variety of content awaited him—the same books about magic and its varieties, the unusual cuisine of another world, its history, and just fairy tales that are told to children. But Guts had already chosen another option. He wanted to help them and somehow protect them. Still, he wanted to thank them for being so kind to him, a being from another world. Perhaps this is where he can find happiness.

He was snapped out of his thoughts by Princess Celestia, who lightly poked him in the shoulder with her hoof.

"Guts, we'd like you to fly with us." Diarh said.

"Where?"

"Canterlot, weren’t you listening?" She asked, tilting her head to the side.

"I think I overdid it with my thoughts." Guts thought, scratching his head.

"Well, then I will repeat. I would like you to fly with us to Canterlot. We are thinking of holding a Guardians title ceremony after defeating Discord." Celestia repeated.

"Okay, when do we leave?"

"Right now," the minister replied, pointing to the door. "We won't waste a minute."

The six ponies shook their heads almost in unison as they stood near the door. Twilight told Spike and Lyra to keep an eye on the library while they were gone. And if Lyra agreed immediately, shaking her head, then the dragon hesitated before following her example. The princesses approached the door and exited first, followed by the six and Guts. Outside the doors, guards in golden armor were waiting for them with the same spears and marks on the chest of the armor in the form of the sun, like on Celestia's rump. Tags! For some reason, Guts was only now noticing that almost every pony he'd met had different markings on their flanks. Celestia has the sun, Luna has a crescent moon, and Twilight has a pink six-pointed star. He didn't really understand their meaning or why they were there at all. He will ask about them later. As soon as Guts came into view of the guards, they all turned their attention to him and looked at him with a stern look.

"Everything is fine," said the princess of the day, looking at the guards. "He is our guest."

The guards calmed down and took their places, but they still looked at Guts with suspicion. The princesses were heading towards one of the two wagons and told the six and Guts to get into the other. Typical carriages of the nobles, which the black swordsman saw many times live They were painted in beautiful white colors with gold engravings and harnessed by six guardian pegasi. The six ponies had already sat inside and looked at Guts, who, in turn, stood in front of the wagon and thought.

"Will I get in at all?"

Still, Guts was able to squeeze into the wagon and just sit on the floor without causing any inconvenience to the other ponies. After a while, one of the guards shouted, "Ready to fly!" The wagon trembled and, after a few seconds, flew into the air. Guts looked out the wagon window and saw the whole city and its surroundings. The same town hall and farm peered through the clouds, but he also noticed a strange house. For Guts, this caused an association with the house of some people who make clothes. The second house that Guts noticed looked very much like a pie or something like that. You will need to get there somehow. While he was thinking about unusual houses, the city had already managed to hide behind the clouds.

"Listen, Guts, can you tell us a story from your life?" Rainbow Dash said it enthusiastically.

"Merry!" "Barely holding on so as not to jump," Pinky added.

"And less cruel, please." Fluttershy was also added.

"Girls?! No need to bother Guts, especially about his past." Twilight said, narrowing her eyebrows sternly.

"It's okay, Twilight." Guts raised his hand. "Hmmm, a fun and not violent story. I think I have one."

***

"Listen, Tony, where are you taking me?" Guts looked questioningly at his best friend.

"Don't worry, everything will be fine!" Tony smiled.

After one assignment, Tony suggested that Guts go somewhere to "blow off steam," so to speak. The unsuspecting Guts agreed, because a friend won't take you where they usually find adventure on their asses, right? Together, they walked through the city, near which the detachment stopped. Tony was talking animatedly about something, sometimes smiling lewdly, but Guts paid no attention to it and wondered if he should have gone at all. Tony began shaking Guts's shoulder, pointing at a bright building with a Surprise in Bed sign.

"Voila! We have come!" Tony quirked his eyebrows.

"You brought me to a brothel?" Guts said, realizing again that his friend was an idiot.

"Certainly! You, as I understand it, have never felt a woman's caress." "I'm still looking like an idiot, Tony said.

Guts restrained himself so as not to nail him out of the blue, and he said it with an annoyed smile.

"If you want problems in your ass, then go ahead; I do not hold back." "I'll go to a nearby bar and have a drink."

Tony told him to come with him, but Guts insisted. The guy did not force him and, waving his hand, said that he had not gone with him in vain. Guts just rolled his eyes at that and walked into the bar. The bar greeted him with pleasant warmth, cleanliness, and the smell of flowers, which Guts was very surprised at because usually in such places it stank of booze and various drunkards. There were few people in the bar; they looked neat and did not make much noise. Sitting at the bar, he waited for the owner of the bar to finish wiping the glass. Guts ordered himself an alcoholic drink called Elf's Dream and waited. When his order was brought, he tasted it and was pleasantly surprised by its excellent taste. He also managed to talk with the owner of the bar. The middle-aged man turned out to be a good conversationalist and gladly entered into a dialogue. Guts once mentioned a brothel that his friend and bar owner went to, was startled, and looked Guts in the eyes. He asked if he went there, but after Guts said that he didn't, he breathed a sigh of relief. Guts was about to ask what the matter was when suddenly the doors of the bar flew open and Tony, half-dressed and out of breath, stood in them. Spotting Guts, he walked over and sat down beside him, exhaling heavily.

"Well, fuck this brothel." Tony scolded. "I wasn't ready for this sh*t."

Asking Tony what happened, Guts nearly fell out of his chair laughing. It turns out that in the brothel there were not beautiful girls, but handsome guys dressed as girls. After this incident, Guts mocked Tony for a long time, calling him "Guy Seducer.".

***

Some of the ponies in the wagon laughed out loud as Guts finished the story. The level of laughter could be counted from Rarity, who was giggling into her hoof, to Rainbow and Pinky, who were laughing excitedly. Guts was also smiling broadly, remembering such a funny and pleasant story. The guards who were pulling the wagon were restraining themselves from laughing. One of the guards called out that they were almost at Canterlot. Guts looked out the window and saw a large city with a castle carved into the mountain. He was surprised that this castle had not yet fallen, but after thinking for more than a couple of seconds, he scored, telling himself that this was magic. The wagons began to descend to special places for them. Having already lowered himself, Guts got out first this time, and the rest of the ponies followed him. Celestia and Luna had already climbed out of the wagons and were already waiting for the others. The princesses led them to the entrance to the castle and, opening large doors, went inside. The interior decoration was simply amazing. Although Guts was not a fan of excessive luxury, this place caused him some admiration. Further down the corridor, he realized, was the Alicorn sisters' throne room, but they turned into another corridor that led them into the garden. He was greeted by a variety of flowers and beautifully trimmed bushes, some of which looked like the princesses themselves. Entering the depths of the garden, he and other ponies were met with various statues of creatures. Finally, they came to a hedge maze, where the princesses stopped, turning to face the pony and the man.

Before they had time to say something, literally in front of them appeared from nowhere the hero of the occasion. A serpentine amalgam of various creatures appeared before them. Its paws were the paws of other creatures. Lion, goat, birds, and something like a dragon. The creature also had horns, one of which was deer, and the other was horseradish.

"Hi, hello, new elemental wielders!" said the spirit of discord loudly.

"As you may or may not have noticed, I have hidden the Elements of Harmony somewhere in the labyrinth. It will be, so to speak, a test! Oh, ho, this is going to be so much more fun. Drawling the last word, Discord said, finally noticing Guts.

Discord's eyes widened as he stopped hovering, paws on the ground, and tried to speak. A sharp pain shot through Guts' neck, and as he reached out his hand, he saw blood on his fingers. The realization of what he saw did not come immediately, and looking up at Discord, he only spoke.

Sacrifice...?

A moment later, Guts jumped back abruptly, grabbing his sword with both hands and pointing the tip at Discord.

"VILE APOSTLE CREATURE!" the black swordsman shouted angrily, preparing to break the spirit of discord at any second.

"W-wait, wait! Let's just talk! Shall we drink tea?" Discord spoke convulsively, snapping his fingers with the service that appeared.

But Guts didn't listen to him. Did not want. Anger seethed in him, and his eyes burned with hatred. Behind the back of the black swordsman, the outline of a black wolf, the Hellhound, began to appear.

"You have suffered so much." For what? "This being alone can take away this paradise from you!"

"Shut up. I'll deal with him myself." Dulling his rising rage, Guts said in his head.

At the point where the flesh prosthesis was attached, a red aura leaked out in the form of a light mist. Guts immediately pounced on Discord. The spirit only managed to dodge at the last moment, but the tail could not be saved. The tufted tip detached from Discord's body in a trickle of blood. Discord let out a yelp of pain as he quickly hid behind Celestia's back.

"Celestia! I beg you, take him away from me! I'll give the elements; just take them away!" Snapping his fingers again, Discord said in a trembling voice as he tossed the elements to the ground in front of her.

"GUTS, STOP IT!" Celestia said it in a Canterlot voice.

"Get away."

"Please explain what's the matter?"

Drops of blood dripped from his neck, which everyone noticed.

"Okay, don't care." Guts said it irritably, hiding his sword behind his back. "If you want me not to touch this creature, then so be it. Now don't touch me."

The ponies watched as the black swordsman walked up to one of the trees and, leaning on it, closed his eye. They were shocked by what had just happened. There were two things they didn't expect: a frightened as hell spirit of chaos and discord and, for some unknown reason, an angry gut. Celestia, on the other hand, was hurt by one word that Discord uttered: sacrifice. He seems to know something about Guts or something related to him. Turning to the dragonicus, who in turn was holding his tail, looking at it, and muttering something about the magical sword and his inability to recover, Celestia asked if he knew why Guts had attacked him.

"What? Ah, no, no! I don't understand why he did it. Yes, it's a sensitive topic."

"Discord." Celestia furrowed her brows.

"Ehh, okay. I will tell." climbing on the grass with his back, the spirit of chaos surrendered.

All the ponies present were listening intently to what Discord began to tell them.

"Before, a long time ago, I didn’t live on Equus, but in the same world as that guy. I was an apostle, a hideous monster who adored violence. But I was able to see clearly and understand what I had become. I rejected everything I had and, using all my strength, went here. As soon as I got here, I lost my memory a little, and that's when I began to rule Equestria. BUT! As soon as I saw him, I felt this smell, felt the pulsation of the mark, and remembered everything. Did he tell you about the eclipse? It's a pretty terrible event. Where people like him are sacrificed for a new member of the Hand of God. Then no one survives. Absolutely. But he managed to survive!"

Everyone was alarmed. How did Guts manage not to break down after everything he'd been through? Fate had been too cruel to him. Suddenly, they heard Guts' voice behind them. Discord hid behind Celestia again.

"So, what have you decided to do with it?" Guts asked, glaring at Discord.

"I think he will be here in Canterlot for the time being, under the constant supervision of the guards." Celestia replied.

She didn't know how to deal with guts. On the one hand, she was angry with him, but on the other, she understood that it was stupid. Because of people like Discord, he lost too much. She didn't want to be mad at him; no, she wouldn't be mad at him. She wanted to comfort Guts and show him that there was more to life than just suffering. She will definitely do it later.

Guts exhaled, looked at Discord again, and said that if he did anything bad to the pony with his disgusting hands, he would not get off with one tail. The spirit of chaos, in turn, said something like "Yes sir!" and put an open hand to his forehead. Guts just rolled his eyes at that and asked if we were done with this whole stupid show. Celestia nodded her head as she put the Elements of Harmony in a drawer and said that they should have had their rooms ready by now.

Once again, Guts saw the beautiful decoration of the corridors, but he no longer found them exciting. His whole mood was spoiled by one creature as soon as he heard this filthy word. On the way to the rooms, the guards watched with great surprise as the great spirit of chaos and discord, Discord, followed their princess, clearly trying not to catch the eye of the two-legged primate. They were horrified to imagine what could happen there. Finally, they were able to reach the guest rooms, where the six ponies split up and wished each other good night as they entered their quarters, yet it was already evening outside. Guts wasn't in much of a hurry to get into his room; he just stood looking at the door.

"I think it was a hard day for everyone, wasn't it?" the deacon asked. "There will be a ceremony in two weeks; until that day, have a good rest, and please try to have some fun." Celestia smiled, placing a hoof on his shoulder.

"I do not promise anything. Good night." Guts opened the door and went inside, disappearing behind it.

"Good night, unusual friend," said the diarch, turning to her sister and telling her that she too would go to sleep in her quarters.

Discord, scratching his chin, said that he wanted to choose a room near Guts, so to speak, because it would be more difficult for him to escape or somehow make mischief. Celestia was too tired to object and simply ordered four guards to guard the entrance to Discord's quarters.

Guts took a deep breath of air into his lungs and exhaled heavily. He began to take off his armor and sword, only to sleep more comfortably on a large and comfortable bed. It might have been dangerous to remove the armor, but he didn't care. All he wanted was to fall into a restful sleep in a comfortable and warm bed. Not every day he could afford it. Before entering Equestria, he only dreamed of sleeping well on a good bed, without evil spirits, and without the risk of dying in his sleep. Just calmly sleep.

"You're so weak. But dont worry, not even the power that was given to you, will help you protect other beings dear to you. And when you lose them because of your carelessness, I will feed on your rage, suffering, and regret." the hellhound whispered softly to him, covering him with its large tail as Guts slowly fell asleep.

Part 6: Nightmare, its consequences, and a walk around the city

After wishing each other good night, Luna went to her chambers, because it was here that her work as a princess of the night began. Removing her regalia and hooves, she sat comfortably on the bed, lying on her side. Taking a deep breath and slowly exhaling, Luna plunged into the world of dreams. The world of dreams greeted her with a huge, almost endless space of stars and a large number of different doors. Color, shape, decor, and other design solutions were different for everyone. Each door here is unique. And nightmares could be identified by the rust or poor condition of the wood on the door. Luna began her work by walking to a small white door that had lilac-pink lines on it. The door was a bit faded, which meant the nightmare had just begun. Once inside, she found herself in the Everfree Forest, seeing a picture of six dartwolves surrounding a wounded white unicorn filly. The moon wanted to intervene when suddenly her friend Guts jumped out of the bushes, unsheathing a huge sword and chopping off the head of one of the treewolves. After some time, all the woodwolves were defeated, and even the emerging king of woodwolves did not prevent his victory. Luna was pleasantly surprised by Guts' fighting skills. Perhaps his sister's decision to make him the Guardian of Ponyville was not a bad one. But Luna would like him not to kill monsters in front of everyone, thereby injuring them and adding robots to her. It would be a good idea to replace his iron sword with one made of soft but very strong wood. Turning her attention back to Guts and the filly, she saw him bandaging her hind leg, and the filly herself began to smile at him. The moon realized that her services were no longer needed, and opening the door again, she returned to the world of dreams.

A few hours and doors later, Luna saw something that made her very excited. A large, rotten door with rusty frames met her. It was covered in large claw marks, bloodied spikes, and bloodstains. In the center of the door, she saw a strange egg with two closed eyes and a mouth.

"Oh my god, is this the door....Guts?" not believing her eyes, said the night diarch.

She had never seen a nightmare take over a person so strongly. And the condition of the door! It was terrible. Collecting herself, Luna touched the door in an attempt to open it, but she couldn't. She tried to repeat this several times until she noticed a strange egg. After a little thought, she poked the egg with her hoof, expecting something. For a while, nothing happened, but soon the egg began to form a face, and opening its eyes, it began to silently scream, crying bloody tears. The door opened, and an unknown force grabbed Luna, pulling her inside.

Waking up, she opened her eyes and was horrified. Around them were rivers of blood, entrails, and body parts. Many monsters tore apart and devoured creatures similar to Guts. She also noticed Guts himself, near a truly huge limb that reminded her of a minotaur's hand. All in his own blood, without a hand and a pierced claw in his eye, held by monsters from all sides. He screamed with an evil grin, emitting incredible rage and grief. Turning her head, she saw the reason for his despair. Guts' friend was being slowly torn to pieces to the sound of the hideous laughter of the monsters. The only words he spoke were for Guts to save himself at all costs. Moisture gathered before Luna's eyes, rolling down her cheeks and falling to the bloody ground. She couldn't watch Guts suffer.

"What a beautiful sight, isn't it?" said the voice behind Luna.

Turning around sharply, her eyes widened and her pupils narrowed at the creature in front of her. Huge and pitch-black, the wolf appeared before her, gleaming with blood-red eyes and razor-sharp teeth. He was covered in chains that seemed to be holding him down.

"Have you looked? Great, now GET OUT!"

Luna instantly opened her eyes, breathing heavily. Taking a decanter of water from the table with telekinesis, she began to swallow it greedily, quenching her incredible thirst. His heart was beating like crazy, and all his hair was covered with sweat. She stood with trembling legs on the floor, opened the door, and went towards the chambers of her sister.

***

Celestia exhaled tiredly, removing her regalia and hooves. The bed was waiting for her, and she would gladly give herself into the arms of softness, but the sharply flung open door did not think so. Raising her head from the pillow, she saw her sister and her condition.

Luna! What happened to you? Celestia jumped up from the bed and quickly approached her sister in an excited voice.

"I saw..." Luna said softly.

'What?"

"I saw the Eclipse!" Luna half-screamed.

Celestia's eyes widened, and after standing for a moment, she said

"Can..... can you show me?"

Luna shook her head, after which a ball of light began to appear on her horn. Touching the horn to Celestia's forehead, the ball detached and soaked into her forehead. For a while, Celestia just stood with her eyes closed, but the more time passed, the paler her face became, and tears appeared.

"God...... we need to go to him." opening her eyes and looking at Luna, said diurnal diarch.

Luna agreed, but before leaving, she went to the bath to wash off the sweat. When they finished, they walked together towards the guest rooms. On the way, they met guards. Noticing the princesses, they saluted and continued patrolling. When they reached the guest rooms, the princesses opened the door to Guts's room and froze, listening to see if they had woken him up. A soft sniffle came from the room, indicating that he was still asleep. Looking at the bed Guts slept on, it felt like he was surrounded by darkness. Coming to the bed, the princesses looked at Guts and his face. His forehead and trained body were covered with sweat, and his face was grimacing.

"We need to do something to calm him down. My abilities are useless here." Luna said, glancing at Guts' body. "But magic cannot be used; it can only harm him because of the nightmare."

"I think I know what can be done." Celestia said as she lay down next to Guts.

"Sister! "What are you doing?" Luna said she was blushing.

"Like what? I calmed him down. You lie down too," the alicorn replied with a touch of malice.

Luna fidgeted in place for a while, shifting her legs, after which she slowly climbed onto Guts's bed, lying down on the other side. Celestia, looking at her sister, smiled even wider as Luna moved closer to Guts. Guts' face frowned for a while, but then turned into serenity and calm. Luna and Celestia were pleased with the result and were thinking of going to their quarters when suddenly the prosthetic arm slipped out of the ethereal arm and a soft blue aura lit up the room.

"Oh no…" Celestia groaned, burying herself in Guts's hair and inhaling its scent as she slowly drifted off to sleep.

"Stupid aura…" Luna also groaned, burying herself in the neck of the black swordsman and closing her eyes.

A few minutes later, the room was filled with silence and the quiet sighs of the three beings. Or not three? Discord sat in the shadow of the room, watching the scene with his yellow predatory eyes. He slowly approached Luna and touched her forehead with his finger. A slight glow appeared on Discord's finger, and he touched his forehead. The same picture of the Eclipse, the suffering of Guts, and all kinds of cruelty Discord looked at the figures standing on the huge arm, and the figures looked at HIM. Discord opened his eyes and fell to the floor, breathing heavily. Draconicus's entire body was trembling and filled with cold sweat.

"H-Hand of the Lord..."

He got up from the floor and looked at Guts, or rather, at his ethereal hand.

"Surprisingly, Star Swirl will be weaker." Discord said and held out a lion's paw to his hand.

As they touched, a soft, warm, and pleasant feeling of calm engulfed the dragonicus, spreading to the whole body. The fear vanished along with the feeling of anxiety. He smiled and walked towards the door, thinking that it would be nice to make friends with him. At least a little.

***

Guts woke up with an incredible feeling of cheerfulness. He had never slept so well before. Although he still felt some discomfort, heat, and slight pressure on his chest, Opening his eyes, he immediately closed them back.

"Damn it..."

Opening his eyes, he again realized that this was not a dream. To Guts' left lay Luna, her body pressing against his. Her head was near his neck, and she sometimes shook her muzzle against him. To his right lay Celestia, with her head resting on his hair. And everything would be fine if it were not for two more ponies in maid costumes on his legs and one particularly arrogant pink muzzle on his chest. Pinkie, sprawled on the black swordsman's chest, sniffled with a satisfied face and a smile. Looking at his hand, he realized what the problem was. His prosthetic arm tears from the ethereal arm, releasing a blue aura. Looking closer, he saw his flesh prosthetic on the floor and cursed softly. Guts felt a rustle to his right and turned to see Celestia, who was looking at him with her beautiful eyes with a pink iris. She smiled and leaned her head against his ear.

"Celestia, what are you....Ah!" Guts trembled all over.

Celestia began to playfully nibble on Guts' ear, occasionally licking it. Guts understood that things were bad, but they were only flowers. Feeling movement to the left, he saw the awakened moon. She stared at Guts for a few seconds, a blush appearing on her black fur. Seeing what her sister was doing, she blushed deeply and covered her eyes with a wing. Guts thought it was damn cute, but when Luna brought her muzzle closer to his neck and began to lick it in the same way, he realized that this must be urgently ended before the irreparable happened.

"Look, you need help," came a voice from the corner of the room.

Turning back, he saw the same dragonicus in a dressing gown on a luxurious chair. He read some large papers, sometimes turning the pages.

"You!"

"Calm down, calm down. I'm not going to do anything." Raising his hands above his head, Discord said, "Come on like this: I’ll help you put your arm back on, and you won’t cripple me even more."

Guts didn't want to agree, but when Celestia got to her earlobe and Luna to her Adam's apple, he forced himself to agree.

"Deal"

"Great! This is a good start to a friendship," said the dragonicus, picking up the flesh prosthesis under Guts' gaze.

Walking up to Guts' ethereal hand, Discord began to put him in his place. As soon as the prosthesis was finally dressed and securely attached, the princesses flinched and stopped. Just in case, Discord moved away from the bed, hiding behind a chair and giving a thumbs up.

"Oh, you snake-like bastard!"

Looking at the princesses, Guts saw a bright blush on their faces, but they were in no particular hurry to get off the bed, let alone recoil from him.

"You didn't have to interrupt us, Discord." Celestia said, looking dissatisfied at Discord.

Discord realized that the case smelled of fried food and hurriedly retreated into the corridor, closing the door behind him. Celestia turned back to Guts.

"Good morning, Guts. How did you sleep?"

"Good. Listen, Celestia, I slept well, of course, but what are you all doing here in my bed?" The black swordsman asked, pointing with his eyes at the pony on the bed. "And I'm still silent about the Ethereal Hand."

"Well, you had a nightmare, and since Luna is the Guardian of Dreams, she tried to help with her abilities and magic, but it didn’t help. So I offered to comfort you by lying next to you. The plan worked, but for some reason, your prosthetic came off. And here we are." Celestia finished her explanation. "The maids were looking for us, but they also fell under the influence of the aura. And Pinky... well, she was already here when the maids came."

"Clear. So are you getting out of bed now?"

"Mmmm, no." Smiling and resting her head on the pillow again, she said the daydream of the day.

"What? Why?" Guts asked again, not understanding.

"Don't want."

Then the doors opened again, and Discord's goat face poked out with words.

"I think they need a little stimulation to get rid of the remnants of their aura." Draconicus said, quickly hiding his face from the beam of magic fired by Luna.

"Stimulation, you say..."

Guts looked at Celestia, who was clinging to him. Freeing his hand and saying goodbye to the world, he swung and slapped his palm on her rump, causing her to gasp and fly out of bed on all fours, sobering her mind. Guts turned to Luna, causing her to rattle off something about him not doing this, but Guts was adamant. And soon there was another slap.

An hour later

Rubbing the small bruise on his hand that was assigned to the eye, Guts, along with the princesses and the six, walked towards the throne room.

"Admit it, you deserve it." Luna said with a slight blush.

"Excuse me, Princess Luna, what happened? Has he offended you in any way?" Twilight was a little worried.

"What? Ah, no, no. It's all right, our sister's student." Luna replied.

"It's just that we're good friends with your friend, Twilight." Celestia smiled mockingly, looking at Luna.

"Then that's good!" Seeing that there was nothing to worry about, Twilight said

When they reached the throne room, the princesses approached their thrones and sat on them, looking at the ponies and the man in front of them.

"Discord," said the sermon of the day.

"Yes, Celestia?" Draconicus replied, peeking out from behind her throne.

"As you can see, Discord is now free but hasn't done anything wrong so far. Therefore, for some time he will be here in Canterlot, under my supervision with Luna. His further fate will depend on his behavior and actions towards the pony. Since the ceremony will not begin until two weeks later, you can walk around the city or visit the castle, and in the evening you will be sent to Ponyville. Celestia finished her short speech. "By the way, Guts, your house has already started to be built. It will be ready in about five days. And don't worry about the money; the crown will pay the expenses. Just tell this to some vendors when you're in town. That's all."

Pony and Guts left the throne room, behind the doors of which a line of aristocrats and ordinary residents had already gathered. The six have already talked about what and where they will do. Guts remained standing at the exit of the castle, inhaling the fresh air with the scent of flowers. He left the sword in his room so as not to frighten civilians again.

"So, I’ll be busy exploring the city alone." Guts said, looking around the city.

"Not really."

"Oh my god…" Guts groaned, slapping his forehead.

Discord was standing in the doorway beside him, smiling at Guts.

"Come on! Let's go, have fun, and eat something delicious. I know one place where you can eat fried fish." Draconicus said, clapping Guts on the shoulder and quickly removing it. "And don’t worry about my disguise; I’ll just shrink and sit on your shoulder."

So he did, while wearing some kind of black glasses. They went out together through the main gate that led to the castle. The city met them with many ponies and other intelligent races, although there were much fewer of them. Many streets with different shops, several parks, and a market much larger than the one that was in Ponyville. The ponies reacted to Guts in different ways. Someone was frightened and tried to get away from him as quickly as possible. Others looked at him with interest. Rarely, but someone even waved a hoof at him, to which Guts reciprocated. There were those who looked at him with disgust. It was easy to guess that they were mostly aristocrats or noble ponies. On Discord's instructions, they reached a small building with a sign for fish and cutlery. Going inside, they saw a small restaurant with a large red carpet and beautiful decorations. Among the visitors were several griffins, two dragons, and one pony. Guts thought this was odd since ponies were mostly herbivores—that was obvious. After thinking for a few more seconds, he still walked over to the table and sat down in the chair. According to Discord, the menu should be brought to him now, and after the meal, the waiter will come to collect the payment. Discord also snapped his fingers, and a small golden dog tag appeared in front of his face with the emblem of the sun on it. According to him, Celestia asked him to give him the token so that he could use it to pay for food and other services in the city. Soon a griffon waiter with a red bow tie around his neck and a strange collar came up.

"What are you ordering, sir?"

"Grilled salmon and salad." Guts ordered.

"This minute." the waiter replied, and he left, as Guts realized, to the kitchen.

After some time, the waiter came with the order on a tray and laid it out on the table. The beautiful smell of salmon filled the black swordsman's nostrils, making his stomach growl. And no wonder; except for rainbow apples the day before yesterday, he ate nothing. Taking his cutlery, he began his meal with salmon. Tender and juicy meat filled Guts' mouth, satisfying his taste buds. Discord tugged at Guts several times, saying he deserved a bite. Guts exhaled and handed him a piece of fish, which quickly disappeared into the belly of the draconicus. After dinner, Guts waited for the waiter to come up. And when he came up, I showed him the token.

"Oh! So you are Princess Celestia's guest!" Bowing slightly, the waiter said. "I hope the food was delicious."

"The food tasted delicious, please pass on my thanks to the chef." Guts replied with a slight smile.

"Definitely, sir."

Saying goodbye to the waiter, well-fed Guts went on to explore the city. They reached the next place that Guts liked—the train station. The black swordsman marveled at the technological progress of Equestria. He saw something intriguing about it. For a few hours, Guts just looked at the local sights and points of interest, such as the school for gifted unicorns. On the way back to the castle, Guts noticed a bewildered reddish gryphon with a map in its paw. Seeing Guts, the griffin approached him, holding out a map.

"Excuse me, do you know how to get to the castle of the princesses? I got a little lost, and now I don’t know where I am." said the griffin with an awkward smile.

Guts and Discord looked at each other, then explained on the map where they were now and where to go. Guts also offered to go with him, as he was also going to the castle. The griffin was very grateful for the help and agreed to go along. The griffin introduced himself as Red Storm, an aristocrat from the Storm family who lives in the country of griffins. He said that he came to Canterlot for an audience with the princess but got lost. They talked for several more hours until it began to get dark outside. Guts and Discord returned to the castle again, but with Red. Walking along the corridor, he met the guards, who, for some reason, saluted him. Red asked Guts if he was a noble person, but Guts replied that he himself did not know why they did this. Upon reaching the throne room, the guards opened the door for him, telling him that Ponyville Guardian Guts had arrived. He froze a little, then turned his gaze to Celestia, who had a barely noticeable, sly smile.

"I think this is your job?"

"That’s right. I should have warned them ahead of time about you," replied the day's Diarh.

"Greetings, Princess Celestia." Red said, bowing.

"Oh, Prince Red Storm, good to see you." Celestia said, tilting her head slightly.

"Prince?" asked Guts, a little in disbelief.

"That's right, Red Storm is the prince of the Griffin Empire."

Guts turned to Red, who looked at him with a smile as he spoke.

"What? You didn't tell me you were a Guardian either."

Guts just sighed wearily and looked around at the ponies in the throne room. Rarity was crammed full of fabrics, gems, and sewing supplies; Twilight had many different books; AppleJack had seeds and gardening tools; Fluttershy had animal feed; Rainbow had posters and cards; and Pinkie Pie had sweets. Celestia told them to pack what they could leave in their rooms and go to the already-prepared carriages. Guts retrieved his sword and sat on the floor of the carriage, waiting for the other ponies to get into it. Once they were all in their seats, the carriage shuddered and headed back to Ponyville.

Part 7: Prank from Rainbow Dash and Welcome Party

Something has gone wrong. We don't seem to have an archived copy of that chapter.

Part 1: The Everfree Forest

The Everfree Forest is a very unusual place. A place filled with its wild, unbridled magic. A place full of surprises and dangers awaiting careless travelers at every turn. From the local flora, like a poisonous joke, to the fauna of tree wolves or cockatrices. And don't even try to attribute some category to this forest; everything is so confusing here that at first you see a dark oak, and after a moment there is already a palm tree or a birch in front of you. Also in the forest, there are various anomalies of space and time or something like that, but this happens extremely rarely, even for a place like this. And on one of those days, as you might guess, an anomaly happened.

***

Guts' morning didn't start with a warm bed on a ship. Still asleep, he rolled over onto his back, enjoying the warmth of the sun, the song of the birds, and the gentle rustle of the leaves.

Wait a minute!

Rising abruptly to a sitting position, he looked around. He was surrounded by a variety of trees and bushes, and birds were singing somewhere nearby. At first glance, it seems like an ordinary forest, but it only seems so. Guts has been to different forests many times and even came across living trees! Well, live first. They met with "Uncle Gun in Hand" and were no longer alive.

Something that diverted our attention away from the main topic, namely, "What the fuck am I doing here?"Even though the sun sometimes peered out of the trees and hung high in the sky, it was still darker than usual in the forest. By the way, about the trees, they are very different here: somewhere there are needles, somewhere there is an oak, and here there is a birch. In short, Guts had no idea where he was.

"What am I doing here? How did I get here? And why am I in the forest and not on a ship at sea?"

There are lots of questions and zero answers. He looked around and noticed his two-meter sword, "Dragon Slayer," gleaming in the light of the rare sun beside him. The sword was in excellent condition! As if only recently from the forge. Guts examined himself, just in case, because it's not every day that you get from a ship somewhere in the sea into a strange forest. After checking the circle for enemies but not noticing anything, Guts began to slowly remove the armor. After removing part of the armor, he did not notice any wounds, only his scars, so he began to remove the armor on his arm, where the prosthesis should have been, but immediately flinched. What he saw shocked him. Instead of a prosthesis, he had a full arm! Guts, trembling slightly, brought the other to his hand and, feeling the touch, pulled it back.

"Soft and warm skin," the black swordsman said very quietly. "But that's impossible! How?"

Continuing to examine the arm, he noticed strange patterns in the palm area, similar to the muzzle of a cannon, and almost imperceptible, something similar to the straps of a prosthetic shoulder. Unfastening the straps, his arm began to "detach" from the body. A little frightened, Guts grabbed his hand and began to take it off little by little. Guts thought the healing of his hand was the weirdest thing that had happened today, but he was wrong. In the place where he cut off his hand, there was its continuation, but already in the form of a translucent blue limb, inside which blue threads were intertwined, giving off a blue glow. And when he looked inside the severed arm, he saw flesh and bone. Without thinking for a long time or guessing, he attached his hand back and, fastening the straps, checked his hand for performance. Worked great, as if it had not cut off. Guts definitely liked it. Yes, he got to hell knows where, but now he has two capable hands. Hoping for another miracle, Guts checked his eye. But the miracle did not happen to him. Putting his armor back on and hanging his sword behind his back, the black swordsman began to consider what he should do now.

"First of all, it would be nice to find people." Guts said it more cheerfully.

So he did, heading wherever his eyes looked, towards the exit from the forest.

Two hours later

"Okay, so where am I?" Guts scratched his head.

The same forest surrounded Guts, but this time there were sometimes strange apple trees with rainbow-colored fruits. Guts would have simply ignored them if not for one thing. He was hungry. Logic told him that picking and eating unknown fruits was a bad idea, but Aunt Hunger said: "Either you eat or you die. Guts knew that hunger was not to be trifled with, so he plucked the fruit anyway and took a careful bite, expecting the worst. Starting to chew, he took another bite, and then another, and another, until the apple ran out.

"Juicy and incredibly tasty fruit!" Guts thought enough

He started picking more rainbow apples to satisfy his hunger. Having finished the meal, the black swordsman took some fruit for himself, saying that although he does not believe in the gods, it is a sin not to pocket a couple of such beautiful apples. Guts was continuing his journey towards "I don't know where but toward the people" when he suddenly heard a child's cry. Guts, shaking his whole body, turned towards the sound and immediately ran towards it, putting his hand on the hilt of the sword. Having reached the source of the scream, Guts again did not understand anything.

Five wolves, made as if made of wood, growled at a small white filly with a lilac-pink mane and horn. She was wounded in the rear leg, which, in turn, was bleeding. The wolves growled louder and began to slowly approach the filly. Coming out of prostration, Guts ran out of the bushes and, with a sharp movement, decapitated one of the wolves. Other beasts started up and fixed their attention on the black swordsman. Three of them jumped at Guts, who, with a creepy grin, slashed them all with a single blow. The two remaining wolves did not rush to the black swordsman, but he did not care, and still smiling creepily, he had already pounced on them. He cut one in half across, causing the chips to scatter everywhere, and on the second, he split the head lengthwise. When he finished, he turned towards the filly, who was looking at him with fear in her eyes. Suddenly, he heard strange noises from behind and turned around to see the wolves he had killed begin to gather together, forming a large tree wolf with what looked like a crown on its head. Without waiting for the creature to form, Guts, out of habit, raised his hand where the cannon should have been. Remembering that his hand was no longer a cannon, he wanted to lower it and take the sword, but flames appeared on his fingers, and a blue ball formed in the center of the palm. The lights rushed into the ball, and he, having absorbed them into himself, instantly flew into the wolf, burning through it and thereby leaving a large hole in it. The wolf finally fell to the ground, decomposing into smoldering branches and roots. After making sure that the beast was completely dead, Guts went towards the filly and, hovering over her, sat down on one knee. The filly trembled like an aspen leaf, and she quickly chattered:

"Please don’t kill me."

"Hush, hush, calm; I'm not going to kill you." "I'm trying to calm the filly, said Guts. "You have a wound; let me bandage it." The dark swordsman spoke with the most tender smile.

Taking out a bandage and ointment from his pouch, he began to bandage her wound. The wound was a shallow cut with claws, left by someone who knew. The filly stopped
tremble and, waiting for Guts to finish, said quietly:

"T-thank you..."

"Not at all, um... "What’s your name?" asked Guts, looking inquiringly.

"Sweetie Belle." "Smiling a little," she said.

"And I'm Guts." "Let's get acquainted."

Author's Note

And here she is! Long awaited new chapter
I hope you will enjoy!
Until then, I say goodbye to you. Until the next chapter!

Characteristics of Guts V1

Author's Note

There will be no plot in these chapters. It is something similar to the system.

Characteristics of Guts V1

Name: Guts.
Race: Human?
Titles in Equestria: Guardian of Ponyville (not formal yet); Owner of the Ethereal Hand

Equipment

"Dragon Slayer": With a huge blade forged by Godot, Guts is able to cut through armored knights and their horses with ease and successfully fight against apostles and demons.
Function 1: Thanks to the blood of the apostles he killed, he acquired magical properties and is able to injure astral and magical creatures that ordinary steel does not harm.
Feature 2: [unknown yet]

"Berserk Armor" is an old, enchanted skull knight armor given to Guts by the witch Flora.
Function 1: The armor, along with the berserk state, renders Guts insensitive to pain and allows him to overcome his natural physical limits.
Attention! When using armor, it injures the body and psyche.
Function 2: When the bones are broken, the armor pierces the spikes into the bones, setting them back.
Attention! Causes bleeding and does not heal the bones; they just pierce them into place.

~~Hand-cannon~~ "Ethereal Hand": According to Celestia, it is a powerful spell that increases the characteristics of magic several times. Replaces Guts' lost arm, transforming the prosthetic arm into a flesh arm.

Hand abilities:
Function 1: with prosthesis
Function 2: no.

Blue: When Guts is calm, collected, and happy.
F.1: It shoots out a gob of pure magic, burning through everything it goes through.
F.2: A strong aura of calmness and attachment to the owner of the aura stands out.
Attention! Due to the weak seal of the flesh prosthesis, little aura leaks out.

??????? Color: [Unknown]
??????? Color: [Unknown]
?????? Color: [Unknown]
??????? Color: [Unknown]

Current state

Status: Alive
Diseases: not found
Emotions: Calm

waiting for the next update.