Siegfried was not sure of the world he was now in. The small medieval-styled buildings, the techni-colored creatures who called themselves ponies - it all didn't make much sense to him. Never before has he seen such odd creatures, even on his travels. They resembled much like the horses or steeds or Europe, but substantially smaller, they possess the innate ability speak full English and not only that, they are quite intelligent. It puzzled the man to a great degree, but he didn't care much. All he wanted was to return back to Europe where his home, allies and enemies were.
That man on the tower, Siegfried began thinking. He simply crushed Soul Calibur like it was nothing. Like it was just a wooden sword that young children use to train with. He simply radiated power, but was he that strong? Siegfried did not know, but whoever that was - he has in his possession the two strongest blades in existence. Soul Edge and Soul Calibur.
"Siegfried, you okay?" One of the ponies asked. The tall, blond-haired man snapped from his thoughts and turned his head towards who asked the question.
She had a very light cerulean colored coat of short but soft fur that covered her entire body, even her hooves which for a normal horse would be exposed. Her mane was wild and somewhat long, going down to her withers. The mane itself, interestingly enough, was comprised of multiple colors. Red, orange, yellow, green, blue and purple. Her eyes were a moderate cerise and seemed to be staring into his very soul. Or maybe that was just him.
"I'm fine." He responded.
"You sure? You seem to be zonin' out on us. Have you even heard a single word we've said to you?"
"Probably not. Sorry, but I've just been thinking."
"Don't worry, darling. You are pardoned. We do realize how hard it must be in a different world filled with creatures you've never seen before."
"Thank you."
"Siegfried, you said you came from a place called Europe, right?" Twilight asked. He had already gotten accustomed to this. She was the one who asked who he was, in fact. He didn't immediately answer - he instead stood up and quickly took a defensive position. Twilight herself was quite different than her rainbow-maned friend.
She had a pale, light grayish mulberry colored coat and moderate violet eyes. Her mane was flat instead and also went to her withers but her mane slightly curled around her neck. Her mane was colored moderate sapphire with a single streak of brilliant rose.
"Yes, I did. It was my home for as long as I've lived."
"Interesting. Then this may just work. Siegfried, how well do you know Europe?"
"Like the back of my hand."
"Good. In order for you to return home, we're going to need a powerful unicorn or alicorn to perform the very difficult spell. The spell works on memories. The more rich and stronger memories, the easier it is for the caster to open the portal.
Almost as if on command, a seemingly solid gold chariot pulled by two alabaster pegasi adorned in golden armor touched down in Ponyville. The armored ponies stopped only a few feet away from the seven. Sitting inside the golden chariot was a tall pony wearing forms of golden regalia.
As soon as she stepped out, Siegfried finally could see her in full detail. For one, she stood at Siegfried's height - not counting her horn. She had a bright, pearly alabaster coat that was in flawless condition. Instead of a hair-based mane, her mane was ethereal and seemingly made out of energy. Her mane - similar to Rainbow's but to a lesser extent - was made up of multiple colors which flowed in an non-existing wind. Hues of pinks, blues and green made up the entirety of her mane. Her eyes were colored a pale, light grayish magenta.
"Greeting, my little ponies." As soon as she said a word, the ponies bowed to the ground. Siegfried was not an alien to royalty. He had dealt with the Roman Emperor and many others previously. However, seeing as this creature possessed no relation to him, whatsoever - he stood normally.
"I have received your letter, Princess Twilight." Twilight nodded in response. "So - you are Siegfried?"
"I am." She gave a light nod before turning to the group in general before turning back to the armored man.
"Now that we have been introduced, I assume we should get down to business. You wish to return home. This would be most wise. I fear if news about a creature such as yourself spreads beyond my control, Equestria would be in grave danger. Allow me to preform the spell." Princess Celestia's horn illuminated, bathed in a light golden aura. A dark-brown leather gold-encrusted book with then winked into existence in a quick poof of pink smoke. She blew on the cover of the large book, sending away any dust that had collected on the cover. On the book itself were symbols in a line which Siegfried did not understand.
She opened the book with her magic and began flipping through the pages until she stopped on one certain page. She quickly read through it, her eyes scanning the book faster than any reader could begin to do, before immediately shutting the book and making it disappear. She had familiarized herself with the complex spell that she was about to perform. She cleared her throat before she began speaking.
"Siegfried, come here. To perform the spell, I will need a perfect visual of your destination."
"It's called Europe."
"Alright. I shall now review your memories. Do not worry, this will not harm you at all." Siegfried nodded. As the man approached, Princess Celestia touched her horn to his head and closed her eyes. Siegfried did so as well. Her magic scanned his mind, examining Europe thoroughly. Siegfried had traveled across most of the lands while with Schwarzwind, his team of ex-mercenaries. She released her magic soon and stepped away from the man, opening her eyes as so did Siegfried.
"Thank you, Siegfried. Now - we may begin. I'm going to require all of you to be quiet as can be. For this spell to completely work, I will need absolute focus or something awful could happen. Now stand back." They listened to their orders and stepped away. Closing her eyes once again, her horn flared to life. I
Princess Celestia was then illuminated in a bright yellow glow as the ground beneath them began to shake. Loose pieces of rock and stone began to float in the air, suspended by magic. Blades of grass and sand ripped from the ground as many trees and houses began to creak and shake under the spell's power.
Then, a rip in the very universe appeared. Strong winds circled the portal, creating gales all around. Princess Celestia still held the spell, a few beads of sweat starting to drip from her fur. Siegfried saw this and began walking towards the portal. He stared into the swirling hole of blue and white energy, amazed by the sight. Then, a dark, bulky shadow appeared in the portal. Siegfried nearly froze in disbelief.
You are dead!, the holy knight thought. The large figure continued to get closer. It tiredly walked with big, clunky steps as if it just recovered from something that completely drained him. The large portal began to smaller as it grew unstable.
"Siegfried! It's now or ne- what is that?" The Princess opened her eyes and gazed at the large, dark figure in the portal. In one swift motion, the shadow moved and thrust a powerful arm through the portal. Siegfried jumped back and readied himself for what he was about to deal with. The "hand" itself possessed only three sharp fingers attached to the claw. Dark, wispy energy pulsated from as the figure soon stepped out of the portal, revealing himself in entirety.
Then, he finally stepped through. Adorned in azure armor, the beast of a man seemed to be panting deeply. He was hunched over, staring at the ground as he stood there.
"You cannot kill me, mortal." He spoke with a grim tone. His voice was heavily distorted and seemingly had a echo to it like the armor was actually hollow. He then raised himself and stared at them all. The ponies, except the Princess were instantly paralyzed with fear. "The nightmare will never end! DIE!" With a growl, he charged at Siegfried.
Siegfried was weaponless, but so was Nightmare. He ran at Nightmare, narrowly dodging a punch thrown by the Azure Knight. Siegfried jumped to the side and kicked him twice, before punching him straight in the jaw. He staggered backwards but was not moved. The holy knight knew he was out-powered but endurance is what mattered here.
"YOU WILL LEARN TO FEAR ME, YOU WORTHLESS CUR." Dashing to the side, Nightmare grabbed Siegfried with his other arm. The mutated claw of a hand wrapped around the knight. Siegfried could not escape from his grasp. His only help lied in the hooves of the awe-struck ponies.
"I...need...some...help...here!" Siegfried gasped.
Princess Celestia snapped from her state and began charging a stun spell. Nightmare realized this and dropped the knight. With a in-human twist of his body, he charged at the Princess. Nightmare lunged at the Princess, black energy surrounding his arm. She then fired the spell at Nightmare, but dodged and rammed her with his side. She was dazed from the attack, allowing Nightmare to deliver a serious blow.
With a quick strike, he viciously punched her in the horn. She flew back, ramming into the house of some unfortunate pony. The remains of her horn lay on the ground in fragments. Nightmare gave a dark chuckle upon this revelation. The ponies gasped at the sight of the Princess in such a manner. Rainbow was about to charge him, but Siegfried stood up and stopped her.
"Don't." He clutched his chest tightly with his other hand. "You'll die. He's merciless."
"You pitiful creatures disgust me." He mocked them, turning a eye to the group. "Weak and useless. Just like the humans. You are no different than them."
"What do we do then?" Twilight asked.
"Run. We must evacuate. Get your Princess and run." Siegfried stated grimly. "I'll keep him away for now. Rally up everybody and run. I don't care where, just get out of here!"
"O-Okay!"
"You cannot help them, Siegfried. They are already dead." Nightmare chuckled some more. Siegfried determination was slowly fading.
Soul Calibur was the only reason he defeated Nightmare. It's power that was given to him aided him during the fight and kept him alive with each attack that delivered to him. The thick ice that encased his armor safe-guarded him, preventing any fatal injuries due to his armor damaging him.
"I don't care. They helped me and I won't turn a deaf ear on them!"
"Your kind sickens me." His tone became dark. "I feel it in this world, 'knight'. Can you?"
"What?"
"Soul Edge is here." Siegfried was frozen in fear. But then, he had a thought. "If Soul Edge is here, then that must mean Soul Calibur is here as well!" Siegfried gave a slight smirk. "Isn't that just great?"
"That is sarcasm. You do not amuse me, Siegfried."
"I'm just surprised you know what sarcasm is."
"That is an insult you will regret."
"Funny." Once again, Nightmare charged him. Siegfried jumped to the side, but Nightmare quickly turned and gave a quick right hook to the man, greatly staggering him. Nightmare then took this chance to grab him with his mutated hand-like claw and grip him tightly again.
"Perish!" The Azure Knight released a powerful blast of dark energy from his hand, causing Siegfried to nearly launch into the air upon impact. He quickly recovered however and leg-sweeped the armored beast down to the ground.
"This is getting us nowhere! The only way we'll end this is by getting the blades!" Siegfried stated.
"You are right, human. I WILL return." Nightmare then began to slowly sink into the ground through a puddle of bubbling darkness. As he descended into the earth, he chuckled darkly. "But do you know where SoulCalibur is?"
Siegfried then had a realization as Nightmare finally disappeared. He was right. He had no clue where SoulCalibur was. It was in Equestria, but where? Nightmare had a connection with Soul Edge, of course he would know where it is. A sigh escaped his mouth before he turned around and began walking.
The village he walked in was now ruins. The orange fires of the buildings flickered and crackled as a brisk wind blew by, causing the fires to shudder but it is not enough to suffocate the flames. Many buildings have already collapsed due to the fires, but some stood tall. As he turned a corner, he was quickly locked in a embrace by multiple ponies of various colors.
"Siegfried! Are you okay?"
"Yes, now let me go!" He choked. He was unsure how in the world they were choking him, they seemingly possessed a vice-grip. They all released the tall man, allowing him to breath once more.
"We thought you were a goner, man!" The rainbow-haired one spoke up.
"Nightmare is strong, but he is nothing without Soul Edge. I'm afraid of that though. It seems that the two legendary swords are here in your world, Equestria. Nightmare knows where Soul Edge is but I can't even begin to guess where Soul Calibur is."
"What does it look like?" Twilight asked.
"Soul Calibur is a blade made out of crystals of ice pieced together by a holy energy. Both swords were shattered so only the fragments remain."
"Such as this?" Princess Celestia stepped forward, revealing a fragment of ice held aloft in her magic.
"Where did you find it, Princess?" Siegfried asked.
"When Nightmare first attacked, I was thrown into a building. Near the house was a mysterious piece of ice which was glowing brightly. It seemed quite important so I merely collected it. Now that I know it is important, I know I made a good choice." She explained.
"My gratitude is endless, Princess. If I am correct, there should be only ten pieces of both blades. This fragment is useless without the other nine. We must begin searching for them immediately. If Nightmare gets his hands on any of Soul Calibur's fragments, Equestria is doomed."
"Right."
