Undone by the Blood

by Visiden Visidane

Hunters and Beasts

Undone by the Blood

Chapter 2: Hunters and Beasts

"This is a strange city."

That's hardly a witty conversation starter, but I say it anyway.

Partly, because its true. There's something unsettling about Ponyville. It's not just the crazed ponies, and its disrepair. The architecture just seems so sharp. Everywhere I look, there's pointed iron fencing, a lot of which is twisted, rusted, and broken in places. The buildings themselves are tall, thin, and capped with pointed rooves. The skyline, whenever I can catch a glimpse of it past the clouds of smoke, resembles a field of blackened daggers aimed at the dark purplish haze of the sky. And then, there were the statues. Every street corner and alley has a life-sized statue of a mare swaddled in thick robes, holding out a candle with a wizened front hoof. They must mean something given how they're everywhere, but I haven't a clue.

Mostly, however, it's because I need to talk to somepony. This city may not be bustling with citizens, but it is alive. Every other minute there's another distant howl. The smoky, night air carries dog barks to my ears. They may be a couple of corners away, or several dozen. These streets keep winding, and the buildings loom so high that the sounds could be distorting. For all I know, there's a pack of vicious mongrels coming for me, or they're chasing somepony else. A little conversation might help take the edge from my nervousness.

Next to me, Ghast Coin doesn't seem to hear. I don't blame him. His ears are constantly pricked, and swiveling. He has the look of somepony who's done this before. It's the grim calm in his light blue eyes, and the easy grace he carries himself for such a tall pony. His weapons look worn; the axe blade's pitted, and notched, while the haft's worn with bite marks. The blunderbuss looks freshly oiled, but the stock can't hide the wear nor the barrel all the old scorch marks.

Ghast Coin moves through the streets like he's walked them hundreds of times before, but I have to note that his clothes are quite different from the ones I've seen the ponies of this place wear. Those deranged ponyvillians wore tattered brown vests over crumpled white shirts. One of them had a beat up top hat. They may have been deranged, but those looked like clothes meant for day-to-day city drudgery. Ghast Coin's clothes looks...official, ceremonial even. A rather ominous black robe covers him from the neck down, and across. I can't even see his cutie mark. Combined with his hat, he looks like some sort of undertaker. It's the scarf that marks him for more than taking care of bodies, though. Around his neck is a long, rather tattered, white scarf. The warm evening breeze makes it clear that he doesn't wear it for warmth. There's writing on the thing. I don't recognize the letters.

"How can you tell, outsider?" Ghast Coin surprisingly asks. "Do you remember some other city to compare it to?" He doesn't look at me as he speaks given that he's busy glancing about for trouble, but he cracks a faint, toothy smile.

"No," I answer. "But this can't be normal."

We finally get out of the maze of smaller streets and into a large, suspiciously well-lit one. The smoke here's so much more thicker, enough to get me coughing. As if that's not bad enough, it's mixed with the horrendous stench of burned flesh and fur. I squint past the smoke, and the harshly glaring firelight, ignoring the smarting in my eyes.

The firelight is coming from the several bonfires that dominate this street. At center of each one is a cross made from crudely lashing together enormous poles. Vaguely wolf-like shapes hang from them like macabre scarecrows. As we approach, the lower half of one crumbles into ash, sending cinders and soot billowing outward.

"You're right, it's not," Ghast Coin growls. "On its best day, Ponyville's no paradise. You're not catching it on a good day."

A chorus of loud and frightened whinnies seem to answer him. Out of the smoke, several pony-like shapes stumble towards us. I only need a glance at the silhouette of one twig sticking out of one of them, and I know this is trouble.

Ghast Coin steps in front of me, his eyes hard. "Just passing through," he calls out to them. "No beasts here."

The ponies come closer. There's five of them this time. Torches to their sides and cleavers in their mouths, just like the ones I met earlier. The sight of Ghast Coin gives them a bit of pause. Strange enough, it's not his weapons that makes them hesitate. They sniff at his direction like starved dogs, and squint. The sight of me makes their minds up. One look, and their leader, a haggard, towering stallion snarls. "It's a beast!" He points at me, then looks at Ghast Coin. "Don't let that one fool--!"

Ghast Coin's axe blade cuts the leader's cry, and his muzzle, short. The blunderbuss discharges, shearing off half of another pony's face. The rest of them let out a hue and cry before closing in.

I wish I can wade in there and fight, really, but I''m more likely to block Ghast Coin's view, or catch his axe on my back. Besides, he doesn't seem to need help. He rips his axe out of the lead stallion's face, taking a sizeable chunk out in the process. The stallion that got shot's still screaming, and clutching his face, up until Ghast Coin takes his head off with a wide, horizontal swing.

The two close in on Ghast Coin while the third tries to cut past him to get to me. I glance at the jagged cleaver my pursuer has clamped in her jaws, then behind me. There's no running from this fight. I'll just get lost in this labyrinth of a city, and lose an ally.

A loud, metallic, sliding sound comes from Ghast Coin, punctuated by a pained cry from my pursuer. She drops her cleaver, and tumbles into a heap a few feet away from Ghast Coin. Her left hind leg's missing a hoof.

That was an axe strike, but how did he sweep that low and far? He'd have to duck low and sweep unless...I stare at the axe. It's blade's almost touching the ground, and dripping with blood. The haft looks like it just doubled in length. No mere wood after all. From the sound, it must have a telescoping metal center cleverly disguised as wood. I wonder how many opponents Ghast Coin had decapitated because they misjudged his reach.

Seeing three of their companions dispatched so quickly doesn't faze the remaining two. They don't even seem concerned about defending themselves. Fire and metal erupt from the blunderbuss' muzzle again. Ghast Coin aims it between his attackers this time. The blast rattles them enough to stop their charge, and they catch enough of the wide spread of fragments to wince. That's hardly a killing shot, though.

The next hit proves to be.

The muscles around Ghast Coin's neck bulge as he winds up a wide sweep. He's curled to the point that he's looking behind him before he finally strikes. The pole-axe's blade grazes the stone pavement with a loud whine, and a brief spray of sparks. With both ponies still wincing from the gun blast, the blow finds its mark. The top half of the stallion's head flies off, and skitters across the pavement while his body crumples. The pole-axe keeps going, and slams into the remaining mare's left shoulder so hard that it rips the limb off its socket, and bowls the mare over.

The surviving mare crashes to the ground with a whimper, trying to re-attach her dangling foreleg. "This town's finished," she sobs. For a moment, Ghast Coin stares at her, and I'm almost convinced he's going spare her life. The wild look in her eyes and the woody growths that had all but consumed her ears makes me doubt how wise that decision will be.

"You sick creature," Ghast Coin growls softly. "Be at peace in death, umbasa." He shortens his axe's haft again, then brings it down on the mare's head. Blood splatters on his black vestments and the body falls still.

I walk over, unsure of whether I should thank him, question the need to be so brutal, or just keep going. Sick creatures he called them. They have to be sick somehow. They're in the verge of transforming into hideous creatures, and they think we're the ones that are beasts.

I have to look away from the gore. A worn axe does not kill cleanly after all. The smell doesn't help either. I sigh to clear my lungs and thoughts. We should just go. I'm an unarmed stranger to this place without even a memory to my name. If I had more means, I'd worry about ways to stop these sick ponies without cutting them apart. Right now, I'm barely able to take care of myself.

It seems looking away's a lucky move. There's another pony in area; a stallion with a top hat standing on top of a partly burned and dismantled carriage. He's standing on his hind legs, a rifle pointing at Ghast Coin.

"Look out!" I yell as I run forward. My cry startles the would-be shooter. Ghast Coin hears, and starts to gallop forward as well, but there's no way we're going to reach the stallion in time unless...I drop low, and grab a loose bit of pavement. It's not much; just a chunk of rock good for a throw. It's better than nothing. I let it fly while the shooter tries to get his aim back, and it strikes true with a meaty smack.

Well, that's quite thrilling.

The shooter staggers forward, and loses his footing. The rifle clatters to the pavement while the stallion falls flat on his face nearby. He tries to get back on his hooves desperately. These ponies might be sick, but they still have a good sense of danger.

Ghast Coin's axe finds the stallion's spine before he can find his gun. He gets a brief, strangled cry before his muzzle bursts with blood when it smacks the pavement. Ghast Coin rips the axe out, and strikes again, nearly cleaving the now-dead stallion in two.

I look around wildly, afraid that there might be more shooters hiding in the burning wreckage. If there are, they'd be fleeing at the sight of this carnage. Ghast Coin must not be taking that brief monent of being off-guard well. He lets out an angry grunt, and chops again. This one parts the stallion's forelimbs in a copious spray of blood. Ghast Coin's vestments are soaked, even his hat is dripping crimson.

"Ghast Coin..." I say tentatively. I'm already picturing that axe coming my way. "Ghast Coin, It's over."

He doesn't hear me. Another strike sends a head flying.

"That one's dead enough, Ghast Coin," says a voice from a distance.

We both freeze at that soft, low-pitched voice. Ghast Coin's eyes grow wide, and he looks at himself as if he barely has a clue how he got that way. The moment passes, and he's already putting away the axe. He's got that grim, familiar look to him. He must recognize the voice. "Just the heat of the moment," he says.

"I asked you to retire," the voice replies. I follow it towards another burning carriage farther down the street. There's a faint silhouette of someone sleek atop the carriage, just past the smoke. I catch a glimpse of a pointed hat, a fluttering twin-tailed cape, and...is that a long beak?

Ghast Coin tries to wipe his blood-stained muzzle on his robes, but he can't find a single dry spot. With a shake of his head, he gives up on the notion. "This needs to be done," he growls. He reaches for a nearby discarded rag, then wipes his axe blade clean.

"Don't wait until I'm the one saying that," the voice says. I catch the sound of powerful wing beats, and the silhouette disappears. Something flutters towards me from the smoke, then lands gently on my muzzle. It's a small, black feather.

"Who was that?" I ask. I walk over to the fallen rifle. I have to arm myself, and I'd rather be shooting from afar than getting anywhere near Ghast Coin and his axe.

Unfortunately, the gun was in a bad condition to begin with; barrel covered with rust, stock partly rotted. The fall was the final blow, and had snapped the thing in half. That leaves a rusty, pitted cleaver, or a pitchfork that's missing a tine. I take the cleaver eventually. It still looks and feels sturdy, while a large crack on the pitchfork's haft suggests that it might break on the next stab.

With his axe clean, Ghast Coin starts moving again. "Hunter of Hunters," he replies. "We don't have to worry about her." He gives a wry smile. "If you're smart, you'll keep it that way, outsider."

Hunter of Hunters...no, the name doesn't ring a bell, except for the fact that he called me a hunter earlier. An un-blooded new hunter, if I recall. That makes "Hunter of Hunters" sound ominous.

A few hoofsteps reminds me that we're supposed to be going somewhere. I'm about to break into a gallop just to catch up, only to find Ghast Coin only a few feet away. He's moving slower. I hope he's not hurt. We're not going to get far if he starts relying on me to do more fighting. I glance over to himonce I catch up, but he's so covered in blood, I can't tell which is his. He's not clutching any wound, but he's breathing heavily. Amidst all the crimson trickles running down his cheeks and beard, are several large beads of sweat.

"Are you alright?" I ask.

"I can still fight if that's what you're worried about, outsider," he replies. "Don't have to sound like my wife."

I muster a smile. I suppose that's a better topic than "this is a strange city". "So, what's her name?" I ask.

Ghast Coin smiles as well. He opens his mouth to answer...then stops before uttering a word. The smile fades, replaced by a tight-lipped grimace, and a frown of exertion. We walk silently past a small plaza, where several barren trees stretch their dried limbs upwards like skeletal hands. We've climbed a few more stairs when I realize that we're about to get on the street connecting to the Great Bridge.

"It's Viola," Ghast Coin suddenly says. He looks like he just defeated a worthy foe the way he's smiling. "Stupid me, must be senility." He starts mumbling. "Viola...Viola...pretty dark mane, like spilling ink...silky white fur...sleek...graceful..."

"Ghast Coin..." I say. He doesn't look like he hears "Ghast Coin!"

He stops mumbling, eyes wide like he's been startled awake. He looks at me guiltily for a second, before putting on his usual grim stare. "Let's just keep going," he growls. "We're almost there."

The street leading to the bridge is littered with corpses and abandoned carriages. I stop to look over one of the fallen mares, expecting her to have been mauled by an actual beast. No hideous scratches or bites, though. No signs of feeding. Her legs are twisted and leafy, but whole. Maybe this mob ran into another hunter. Even then, this one must be remarkably clean. Ghast Coin all but rips his enemies apart with his axe. The only wound I notice on this one is a small stab wound beneath the jaw; an upward stab pierced this pony's palate, and likely found her brain.

"Playing doctor, outsider?" Ghast Coin asks.

"These are clean kills," I reply. "Only one stab killed this mare."

"The Hunter of Hunters." Ghast Coin lets out a snort. "Could be just passing by. Could be doing me a 'favor'."

"She's helping us then?" I ask.

"Helping herself. Fewer kills to make, one less blood-addled hunter. A worrier, that one."

We step past several more neatly slain ponies, and even an enormous woody beast like the one I encountered in that clinic. This one had not died as cleanly. Where it's neck meets its jaw is a hole far too large for a stab wound. The edges are also splintered and frayed, the pieces facing outward from the hole. Something burst from this hole. Or was ripped out.

As we come ever closer to the actual bridge, however, the trail of bodies simply disappears. More spiked iron fencing lines the sides of the bridge, with large pointed posts spread out evenly among them. More of those strange, candle-holding statues. It ends with a massive, circular wall of gray stone. The pointed spires of what I assume is a cathedral from the circular stained glass windows, peek above it.

I expected a massive gate; an iron monstrosity topped with spikes to intimidate anypony who dares to approach the place. Instead, there's a reinforced metal door, large enough to fit a pony at a time, to the side of a short tunnel into the wall.

Ghast Coin stares up at the impressive structure, then snorts. "Cowardly scholars," he mutters. "They need to open up."

I squint at the massive spires. A bridge to separate itself from the rest of Ponyville, and a massive wall to keep ponies out, with a small door to allow a very select few to enter. I don't think "Church of Harmony" fits the builder of this place to any degree.

Ghast Coin breaks into a trot, and I follow suit. I can't help but find the neatness of this bridge disturbing. Sure, there are abandoned carriages and a large wagon full of clay pots, but no ponyvillians, alive or dead.

"High Crest!" Ghast Coin calls out as he nears the door. "Are you in there?"

The pitiless gray wall answers as I expect it to. It's Ghast Coin's condition that worries me. He's still breathing heavily, and the gruff demeanor he had earlier has turned to a near-desperate urgency. He pounds on the door, and calls out again. "Crest, answer me. I know it's still your shift." He pounds the door so hard, his aged hoof starts to crack. The door, unfortunately, refuses to budge. "Damn the Vicar's orders! If the Church has any worth at all, open up!"

Still no reply. Ghast Coin clenches his jaw, and keeps pounding for a few more minutes. "Crest!" he roars. "At least have the guts to refuse!"

And something does answer.

An ear-splitting shriek erupts, not from the other side of the door, but atop the wall. We hurriedly back out, and look above in time to see a furry, leafy, black mass of fangs and claws drop on us. How I am not crushed is a miracle of instinct and reflex. Perhaps, I've given myself too little credit in fighting ability.

Speaking of instinct, my first one after rolling to safety is to look for Ghast Coin. When my view is blocked by the bulk of this thing that just fell, My thoughts fly from his survival to my own.

I can only gape at this monstrous...amalgamation of tree and beast before me. It's shaped vaguely like a gigantic, gaunt and shaggy wolf, twenty feet from its deformed, bloody snout to its ragged tail's tip. Its matted, patchy, black fur is thick with leaves and branches. The patches of exposed skin are dull gray and gnarled like tree bark. It's chest, in particular, is bare of fur, exposing its emaciated torso. I can pick out every rib with a look.

Two things catch my attention, though; first is its horrifically mismatched forelimbs. The right foreleg is bare of fur or leaves, making it resemble a twisted tree branch tipped with far too large, black claws. The left foreleg is massive, nearly three times as big as the right, thick with fur and leaves, and also tipped by powerful claws. Its deformed asymmetry gives it an odd loping gait as it strides forward. It'd be comical if I can stop imagining myself crushed under that giant claw.

The second thing is the pair of antlers atop its wolfish head. They're twisted, disproportioned things, looking more like diseased growths than proper body parts. What are these beasts? The smaller ones and the partly transformed ponies are bad enough, but this thing...it does't even seem to be just one thing. It's like an explosion of ferality, a demented artist's abstract for beasthood.

A growling cry from Ghast Coin rouses me from my terrified musings. I'm lucky this monster noticed him first, otherwise, I'd truly be crushed under that huge claw. As if to answer Ghast Coin, it lets out another high-pitched shriek. I cry out along with it, though more from pain than rage. My ears may well be bleeding. It slams its massive foreleg into the ground, then vaults towards Ghast Coin with its smaller foreleg raised for a slash. All it hits with that strike, however, is more pavement. Ghast Coin had nimbly sidestepped, dodging so close that the draft from the monster's swing causes his robes to flutter.

Another loud squeal erupts from the monster, this tine after the distinct crunch of Ghast Coin's axe biting into woody flesh. Its head snaps back as the blunderbuss erupts, spraying its face with metal.

I doubt even those smaller wolf creatures would have survived that combination, but the monster simply raises its left claw, revealing a bleeding gouge near the elbow, then brings it down on Ghast Coin. He jumps aside at the last moment, and claw pounds the ground so hard that fragments fly up on impact. Again, the creature shrieks. This time, I run to a safe distance. I can't stand any more of that shrieking so close. I hear Ghast Coin's blunderbuss again, then the sliding sound of his axe extending.

There must be something I can do to help. This pathetic cleaver might carve up a pony, but it's probably not enough to scratch an itch on that thing's hide. The bridge is mostly empty, not even any loose rubble to toss. At least for now. The way that thing is wrecking the place, I expect to find a few in a while. Ghast Coin yells again, the monster shrieks in response. It's flailing both forelimbs now. The left claw, it's swinging like a grotesque club. It smashes a small crater with an errant swing, then follows it up by bowling a carriage over. The wood splinters and breaks in several places, and a wheel pops loose. Its right claw, it uses for shorter, more precise strikes. Ghast Coin avoids all the big swings, but a swift jabbing motion of its right claw sends him staggering back.

The monster wastes no time in swooping its left claw forward. It wraps its fingers around Ghast Coin, and lifts him like a rag doll. He grunts as the fingers tighten, and it looks like the monster is about to smash him into the pavement.

The cleaver leaves my hoof so fast, the sight of it spinning through the air catches me off guard. The blade buries itself into one of the monster's eyes. Another shriek, but this time I've braced for it. Ghast Coin slips through its fingers. Instead of falling back to recover, however, he raises his pole-axe high, and brings a vertical slash across the monster's surviving eye.

"Get back!" Ghast Coin shouts. He takes his own advice, all the more reason for me to do the same. It takes only a moment to see why. The monster flails wildly with both forelegs, battering the nearby posts, and carving great gashes across the pavement. A stone fragment flies out of the clouds of powdered stone, and slices past my cheek. I keep backing up until I bump against something wooden. It's the wagon of clay pots. One of them is cracked, and a thick black liquid's leaking out. A shipment of lamp oil for the Church of Harmony, perhaps? Likely about to be delivered before this madness happened.

Even Ghast Coin is on the defensive. He raises a foreleg to shield his eyes, and stays circling at a distance while the monster continues thrashing. The monster's chest is soaked with blood running from its eyes, and its blind, frantic swings flings the foul, viscous liquid all around it. I press my lips together tightly, and endure another agonizing shriek from it. It can't keep this attack up forever. It will tire, and we'll have our opening.

As I hope, the monster slows its attacks. It wheezes with ragged breath, and thick gobs of saliva drips from its lolling tongue. It drops its head low, its mismatched ears swiveling as it tries to find us by sound.

That turns out to be a mistake. Ghast Coin instantly leaps in front of it. He winds his pole-axe back so far, he's almost made a full turn. When he swings it, the blade turns into a silvery blur of motion, and bites into the monster's skull.

Something crashes a few feet away from me. I look out of instinct even as the monster bursts into a cacophony of pained cries. A bloody trail ends in what looks like a huge, twisted, tree branch propped against the bridge's side. A closer inspection reveals a shard of bone attached to the base. I look back to the monster again, and, as I expect, one of its antlers is missing...and a small chunk of its skull.

A veritable stream of blood pours down on Ghast Coin, drenching him in fetid crimson. The monster clutches its horrific wound with its smaller claw, and swings widely with the bigger one. It's a slow, labored swing, however. There's no way it's going to hit Ghast Coin.

If he's bothering to dodge, that is.

Ghast Coin's rears up, and stands there dumbfounded, lips spread into a wide grin, forelegs outstretched. His mouth starts to move in laughter, but I can't hear a thing besides the monster's ear-splitting shrieks. The claw slams into him, sending his axe spinning across the bridge, and him flying towards the sides. I don't hear the thud, but I wince when he strikes the stone, then falls on his face. I stand there, desperately wishing he'd get up to finish things, but he remains motionless, and now the monster's feeling around for him. It runs its huge claw across the ground as it wheezes and makes futile attempts to stanch its bleeding.

I have to do something. I glance back to the jars of oil behind me, then to one of the many candle-holding statues nearby. I may be weaponless again, but there is still something I can do. If I can gather the courage for it, that is.

When the claw brushes even closer to Ghast Coin's still form, I finally let out a loud yell. The monster's ears perk, then it swivels its head towards me. "Over here, beast!" I shout. I plant myself in front of the wagon, then fling one of the many chunks of pavement this monster created. It bounces off the thing's hide, eliciting an angry growl. I shout again. This time, the monster decides that it knows exactly where I am.

The ground trembles as it starts running. Its claws scrape loudly with each step. With another deafening shriek, it threatens to simply plow over me. I stand my ground, my heart hammering loudly enough in my ears to be heard over the shrieks. A few drops of spittle land on my muzzle, and its hot, foul breath blows against my face before I finally will my legs to move. A claw whistles past me, but I crash on my side unharmed.

The monster doesn't fare as well. It runs right through the wagon, shattering pots and splintering wood. Thick, black rivulets mix with the streams of blood.

My head's spinning from the combined smell of blood and oil. What was the next step? I whirl around. Candles...yes, that's right. I run -well, I try to run, but all I get is a hurried stumble- towards one of the statues. The monster starts flailing around again, and sends the shredded remains of the wagon flying off the bridge. I finally make my way towards one of the statues, and rip off one of the candles. "Hey!" I yell again. The monster quickly finds my voice, and swivels its head towards me.

The candles flies true, and I can only hope that the flame doesn't blow out before it hits its mark. That hope is answered by an explosion of flame, and an agonized scream from the beast. The bridge lights up like it's day for a while, thanks to our makeshift bonfire. The horrid stench of burned flesh swiftly washes across me, while thick clouds of black smoke billow upward. I choke and cough, but I can't not smile at my hoof-work. The flames spread all across the monster's chest and forelegs, and it staggers close to the bridge's sides.

"Outsider!"

The sound of Ghast Coin's voice lifts an enormous burden off my shoulders. It looks like we're both walking away from this fight. It's only when the heat from the flames becomes uncomfortably close, and a shadow appears beneath me, do I realize that something can still go terribly wrong.

It all happens so fast. A moment of staring at the growing shadow beneath me proves a moment too long. In the next instant, all I see is pavement. There's a crack. Maybe its the stone. Maybe its my ribs. I draw a breath and utterly fail. The claw leaves my back, and I desperately will my legs to get up. No good. Breath again. It hurts every step of the way, and all I get is a gurgle followed by a trickle of blood coming out of my lip.

Ghast Coin yells again. I can't turn my head, but the monster's shadow leaves my vision, and I hear the stone sides cracking. The shrieks fade to the distance, and I doubt the monster's running away.

Breathe. I need to breathe. My sides are killing me, my legs won't do anything, and I can't breathe. I hear the very distant crash of the monster finding the bottom of this bridge.

"Outsider..."

Ghast Coin rolls me over. Pain stabs at me from all angles. I can't even moan. Only more blood from the mouth. Need to breathe... He looks me over, every inch of him drenched in blood. That's not sympathy I see in his eyes.

"Rest easy, outsider," Ghast Coin says. "You still have plenty of dreams." My vision's fading. Slipping...

"I'll see you around."

Then everything fades to nothing.

Comments

[Jake The Army Guy]

Well, that's quite thrilling.

derpicdn.net/img/2012/1/16/488/medium.jpg

"Hunter of Hunters," he replies.

No, no. It's "Hoonter of hoonters."

You know, I was wondering why you had the Outsider tagging along with Gascoigne, but then I remembered that you can summon him for the Cleric Beast fight. Very well played.

Now the Outsider can finally dream and meet my waifu get some understanding and arm himself. The night and the dream are long, good hunter. May the Good Blood guide your way.

[Reader Review]

Oh another exciting chapter! I like how the Outsider's main strength appears to be his quick wit. A trait that shall serve him well on the Hunt. Also great job on capturing the Gothic atmosphere of Yharnam. I remember being excited by the architecture and scenery when I first saw the trailers. So it's nice to see someone else did as well XP

[you that read wrong]

Then everything fades to nothing.

you forgot the "YOU DIED" message.

[stringtheory]

Ah, it wouldn't be a souls game without the main character dying...and here I thought you were writing a no death run.
I really do need to get a PS4...

[Reader Review]

6528671

I mean lets be real here, if the story was 100% accurate the main character would have died fruitlessly karate chopping a beast to death....Or was that just me?

[you that read wrong]

6529098
Yeah, but then we would have to put
"YOU DIED
LIKE A BITCH"
Instead.

[Cloverleaf]

6529098 It's possible with patience to kill that wolf with the karate chops. If you can time it right....well, unarmed is the fastest r2 charge attack in the game, and it is possible to backstab the dang thing.

[Follower of Chaos]

I liked the twist of having Ghast Coin with the Good Hunter for the Cleric Beast fight, though something about the way the fight ended without a kill confirmation, makes me think we haven't seen the last of it.

Ponies with guns, this is probably the only scenario where it might work if the guns still fire bullets fused with the blood (and therefore magic being these are ponies) of the wielder, making the speed and damage of the bullets much greater. Even with that though having ponies use guns is never not going to seem weird to me. Earth Ponies couldn't use them and could achieve comparable (if not better) results simply throwing projectiles at enemies given their absurd strength. Pegasi have weather manipulation, who needs guns when you can shoot lightning at your enemies, and are easily fast enough to dodge bullets. Unicorn magic just generally shits on guns in every single way.

Not saying the story sucks, I just don't see why ponies would ever invent guns at least not ones identical to human versions. More magic based equivalents designed for non-unicorns would be more believable.

[Visiden Visidane]

8813712
Explain how throwing objects is better than guns. Even with great strength, it is much more tiring to fling objects with great force than it is the pull a trigger. You would have to be at the strength level of Superman or Toguro 100% to make that remotely feasible. And no, earth ponies are not as strong as Superman or Toguro 100%. Don't give me that shit with Big Mac dragging the house around as an example when in another episode he was struggling to lift a cake.

Pegasi have weather manipulation, who needs guns when you can shoot lightning at your enemies, and are easily fast enough to dodge bullets.

Yes, which is why the pegasi in the show carried clouds tucked under their forelegs which they squeezed to shoot lightning during the changeling invasion. Oh, wait, they had plain old boring spears. The whole squeezing lightning out of clouds looks stupid. It looked stupid when Rainbow was doing it and it looks stupid as a concept in a ponyfic. Not only that, apparently the lightning you get from it is so safe that Rainbow had no problem using it for pranks. I doubt it's even enough to produce a taser-like effect let alone as a lethal weapon.

Pegasi can be fast, but they're not too fast for a fucking bullet. You would need not just great speed for that but ridiculous reflexes as well.

Unicorn magic just generally shits on guns in every single way.

Not every unicorn is Twilight Sparkle. On average, they seem to have a simple telekinesis with limited carrying capacity and one unique spell depending on their cutie mark which is usually low power too. I also point out that magic is taxing, more taxing than pulling a trigger.

[Follower of Chaos]

8814706 No you don't have to be Toguro or Superman level to throw shit with more force than a bullet. You're seriously overrating how strong a bullet is to make that claim. Hell the show literally has Earth Ponies throwing PIES with enough force to knock out Buffalo that can shake TRAIN CARS without injury, why do you think Twilight thought tossing apples at a dragon would slow it down?

Also tiring? When Applejack bucked apples for a week straight before we see her actually tired in Applebuck season.

Big Mac struggling to lift a cake? When we see a mere four Earth Ponies can drag a seven car long steam train for at least a full day without breaking a sweat, when Rainbow (a fucking Pegasus) can crash into a rock cliff with enough force to shatter it without any damage until her wing was hit, when Maud Pie grinds boulders to dust and causes huge explosion just by tossing boulders. Big Mac dragging a house is far more consistent with what Earth Ponies can generally accomplish. Fucking Twilight and Rarity (both Unicorns) carried a boulder as heavy, if not heavier than that cake. Hell Sweetie Belle dragged Rarity's luggage which was heavier than that cake.

As for Pegasi, bare minimum we see them easily generate tornados just with the power of their wings. And Ponies being able to take lightning without issue isn't a sign of that lightning being weak. Trixie's lightning (which Rainbow took fine mind you) dealt a rather large bruise/burn to an Ursa Minor. Not to mention Twilight can take Spike's (giant ice melting) flame to the face with little issue. Ponies are just that fucking tough dude. As for Pegasi using spears, they need some manner of close range weapon but it doesn't change the fact we have seen them use weather manipulation that could easily be weaponised and far more devastating than any gun.

Even Rarity who is as average as you can get for a unicorn, can easily drag her couch half way across Ponyville in less than 3 seconds and fling a large town's worth of clouds around using only telekinesis. Fucking Trixie has overpowered Rarity twice so don't act like she's anything special.