Equestria Black Swordsman

"How did it turn out like this!" - thought Sweetie Belle, breathing heavily.       Together with the other members of the Marksmiths, she had traveled to the Everwild Forest to see Zecora. They were counting on the fact that by helping her, they would be able to get their cutie marks. On the way to Zecora, the trio were separated due to an attack by timber wolves, most of whom chased after her specifically.       As they continued to run, Sweetie Belle was running at full speed, running away from the treewolves who were closing in on her. When they were breathing down her back, one of them slashed at the mare's hind leg, causing her to shriek and tumble down the slope. There, groaning with pain in her leg, she walked limping toward a tree and hid behind it. Peering out, she did not see the treewolves chasing her. Sweetie Belle breathed out a sigh of relief, but when she heard a growl behind her, she realized she had relaxed too soon. She cried out as six treewolves surrounded the filly in a semicircle and slowly approached her, baring their wooden teeth and growling viciously. "Please, someone... save me!" - Shivering, mentally begged Sweetie Belle.       The bushes stirred and a large biped emerged from them with a huge sword at his side. Quickly closing the distance, he easily severed the head of a treewolves, and when three more attacked him, he cut them down in one motion. The remaining treewolves fell back, but the biped turned them into firewood as well with ferocity. Then he looked at her with a grin that made her shiver even more, trying to keep herself from fainting. Suddenly the branches stirred and began to form into another wolf: large and obviously strong. The biped raised its front arm sharply and a small ball began to emerge from it, piercing through the wolf with great speed. She had never seen anything like it! Finished, the biped turned to Sweetie Belle again and began to approach. He got down on one knee in front of her. Sweetie Belle trembled violently and literally cowered in fear, mumbling quietly: — P-please don't kill me.       A gruff but calm voice began to soothe her, telling her it would do nothing wrong and offered to bandage her wound. She, slowly nodding, held out her leg, slowly calming down. The biped pulled some ointment and bandages from his saddlebags. After rinsing the wound with water from the flask, he rubbed the ointment on the wound, it stung a little, and he began to bandage it. When he finished, Sweetie Belle looked at the biped and said: — T-Thank you. The biped smiled gently and put the bandage, water flask, and ointment back together. — You're welcome, um... what's your name? — Sweetie Belle. - she said with a lift of her lips. — And I'm Guts, I'd like to meet you.

***

      Guts held out his hands, gently lifting the filly, who shrieked in surprise. Laying her gently in his arms, he said: — What are you doing out here in the woods? I don't think the woods are a good place for a girl like you to walk.       Nestled comfortably in the black swordsman's arms, the little filly looked up at him with a smile. — Well, I went with my friends to a friend's house and we were attacked by treewolves and then we split up. — Treewolves? - Guts looked at the mare questioningly. — Yes, the timber wolves you defeated. They're called treewolves. — Well, were your friends chased by treewolves, too? — As I recall, most of them ran after me. - Rubbing her bandaged leg, Sweetie Belle answered with her ears down. — Then we must hurry, for they may be in danger too. - said Guts, frowning. — 'Then I'll tell them where to go.

An hour later.

      Guts was walking through the thickets of the forest, holding Sweetie Belle in his arms and walking in the direction her friends had run off to. Guts noticed that small piles of twigs and leaves were starting to appear along the path. "I don't like this..." - Tensing up, the black swordsman thought.       Suddenly, they both heard a loud growl and children's screams. Guts instantly ran in the right direction, clutching Sweetie Belle tighter to him. Running out into a small clearing, they spotted something huge that looked like a lion, a scorpion, and a bat at the same time, growling at the two mares. One was an orange pegasus with a purple mane and lavender eyes, and the other was a light yellow color with a dark crimson mane. — Manticore! - Sweetie Belle shrieked softly.       Guts placed it near the tree, telling it to stay here and preferably not to look. The black swordsman walked quickly towards the manticore, holding the hilt of his sword. Getting as close as possible, he swung and cut off one of the manticore's paws. A good stream of blood spurted out, and the manticore let out a loud howl of pain. She turned sharply and limped toward her assailant. A vicious grin reverberated on the manticore's muzzle, and it tried to stab the black swordsman with its stinger. Guts thrust his sword forward as a shield. There was the sound of metal hitting metal and the crunch of the stinger. Growling in pain, the manticore, with its stinger broken, venom oozing from it, and a stump instead of a paw, staggered backward, looking fearfully at Guts. The black swordsman ducked under the manticore, ripping open its belly, showering himself with blood and viscera. The breathless body fell on Guts, crushing him with all its weight, but he didn't care, so he easily threw the corpse off of him. Covered in blood and with entrails on his shoulders, Guts began to examine the mares he had rescued. They were trembling, huddled together, tears streaming from their closed eyes. One of them was clearly on the verge of fainting, and the other, opening one eye, immediately spewed out her breakfast. The black swordsman didn't like this arrangement, not at all. He guessed they would react negatively, but he didn't expect it to be this bad. Guts thought that it was a peaceful time here in this country, perhaps even for a few years. He brushed off his insides, already shifting his gaze toward the filly he had left behind. Sweetie Belle was slowly limping towards Guts, but when she saw what had happened to the manticore and what the human was now in she stopped and her muzzle began to turn a greenish hue. After standing for a bit longer, she continued walking towards him. After coming within a distance of about two meters, Sweetie Belle uttered: — W-why? Guts looked at her in surprise, shaking the blood off of himself. — Why, what? — Why did you kill the manticore? — To save your friends - that's obvious. — Yeah, I get it. You could have negotiated with it or scared it away. But not kill it! - said the filly more clearly. — Haaaaah. Look, I have NO idea how I was supposed to "negotiate" with that monster, but you have to realize that your friends' lives are higher than the manticore that tried to tear them apart. In an emergency, you have to prioritize either your friends or the manticore. I hope you know which to choose. - Guts practically said in one breath. — Y-yes. I understand... - said Sweetie Belle with a sniffle. - Thank you. — You're welcome, and now I could use a river..... Oh! There it is. - Spotting a small river, Guts said. While the black swordsman tried to wash the blood and manticore scraps from himself and his armor, Sweetie Belle hobbled towards her friends. It hurt a lot, but she still managed to reach them. — Scootaloo! Applebloom! - Sweetie Belle shrieked with joy.       The filly began to open her eyes, while trying to ignore the corpse. — Sweetie Belle? — You're alive! - The mares said in unison, hugging their friend. — And I'm fine! - said Scootaloo, but looked at her hind hoof and corrected her: - Almost intact. — If it weren't for Guts, I'd be treewolves fodder by now. - Turning to the black swordsman who had already put on his armor, Sweetie Belle smiled slightly. — Guts? You mean him? - Applebloom asked cautiously, pointing with her hoof. — That's right, him. — But he killed the manticore! He's dangerous, and he's scary. - Applebloom said, glancing nervously at the approaching man. — I guess I agree, but he saved us. - Sweetie Belle said affirmatively.       Guts was already approaching the mares. He stopped and caught the other mares with his gaze. To keep the situation from getting out of hand, 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 mares, - are my friends, Scootaloo and Applebloom. — H-hello... - Applebloom said quietly. — Hi! Scootaloo said quite loudly. - Hmmm... you don't seem so much scary anymore. — I guess the river did its job. - rubbing the back of his head, Guts said. — Thank you for saving us, even in such a cruel way. - Applebloom thanked him, glancing occasionally at the manticore's corpse. — You're welcome. Turning around, Guts looked at the manticore corpse, pondering. "It seems to me that I am definitely nowhere near Elfheim. If in my world at all." the black swordsman closed his eyes and pondered. — Since you're relatively fine, I think it's time to lead you out of this forest. - Guts turned to the mares and said. — Yes! - the three mares said in unison. — Good, then let's go.       Approaching 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 into his paws, but Guts calmly answered that with such a wound it was better to move less. And thus, they walked towards the exit from the forest.

25 minutes later.

      As the four walked through the bushes and various trees, they heard several familiar voices calling out to them. Walking towards its source, Guts saw even more ponies: a unicorn, light gray in color, 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 mane and tail, which are secured 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 Applebloom looked towards Guts and Sweetie Belle before walking out of the bushes towards the other ponies. — Scootaloo! Applebloom! Thank Celestia, you're okay. - shouted the pony with the hat. — Where is Sweetie Belle? Before the fillies had time to say anything, a voice was heard from the rustling bushes. — I'm here! - Sweetie Belle shouted. — Oh, Sweetie Belle, I'm so glaaaaaAAAAAAA!

***

      Things haven't been calm in Equestria lately. Monsters started coming out of the forests and attacking civilians. Therefore, after several hours after 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 Everwild Forest in search of them. They walked for several hours and looked for the fillies, until Scootaloo and Applebloom came out of the bushes. — Scootaloo! Applebloom! Thank Celestia, you're okay. - shouted the pony with the hat. — Where is Sweetie Belle?       Rarity was scared when she saw that her sister was not with them, when suddenly she heard a voice from the bushes. — I'm here! — Oh, Sweetie Belle, I'm so glad! — Rarity began to scream heart-rendingly.       The guards perked up and pointed their spears in the direction where Sweetie Belle's voice was heard. A two-meter creature came out of the bushes with a light, barely perceptible smell of blood, and a huge sword on its back, along with a filly in its hands. Seeing that spears were pointed at him, Guts raised one hand, grabbing the hilt of his sword with the other...