The Blade Chronicles: Book One

by boykingkilla

Chapter 3: Legion of the Damned

The battle had begun as the group steadied themselves, taking on more defensive stances as the undead crowd and Bleeding Heart advanced. Seeking Blade quickly drew his long sword as he brought it in for a quick slash at the alien-like equine, who had brought out a short sword and parried his blow. As he caught the Chaos Hunters blade with his own, he let out a wicked laugh as the crowd drew their weapons and began to attack Barnaby, Serene Morning, Sun Spot and Night Eye. Bleeding Heart smirked as he took a swipe at Seeking Blade, his body covered in chain mail as he spoke with a deep and spiteful voice. “Heh, finally, I get to meet you Seeking Blade. I am surprised that you managed to evade me for so long.” Seeking Blade grunted as he parried Bleeding Hearts blade with his own, his expression became one of confusion as he continued to fight off against his opponent.

His response was filled with confusion in his voice as he spoke. “What? How do you know my name...? and what do you mean by “you finally get to meet me”? I haven't seen you before in my life, and I intend to make it to where I don't see you ever again!” The two stallions grunted as their motions and movements were quick and fluid, graceful against the flames that had spread along the houses and the screams of horror as the undead crowd had dispersed, four of the attackers had focused on Serene Morning and the others, while three others had moved to attack civilians and continue their attack on Port Mareheart.

Barnaby let out a loud roar of annoyance as he had grabbed his attacker in his right giant hand, tossing the corpse of a stallion into the ocean as he looked to Serene Morning, Sun Spot and Night Eye. His voice was filled with a rough tone as he spoke. Occasionally, he would glance to the undead that were attacking civilians and destroying homes and shops. “Will strong ponies be alright? Must assist the other pretty ponies that are being hurt...” He caught a roof that was crumbling in and falling down onto the occupants in the building below with a hand. The fire had burned his hand and actually harmed him, but he didn't let go. Barnaby took the burning roof and threw it into the ocean with a mighty thrust of his arm, bringing his hand back as he examined the burns on it.

Serene Morning and the two foal's gave Barnaby a nod, however, Serene Morning spoke up with a smirk on her face. “Hey, Barnaby... not every pony is strong.” she then quickly turned around using her wings to lift her off of the ground, her hind hooves moved forward and thrusted back as hard as she could into her opponents face and snout. Causing him to stumble backwards for a moment. “Like me, I'm more graceful and can use my wings to give me a advan-” she was cut off as her opponent regained his composure and charged her with his sword raised.

Sun Spot grunted as he grabbed the undead that he was facing off with using his hooves, tossing him into the stallion that was charging his and Night Eyes mother. Sending the two stallions sprawling to the ground as he lifted into the air. His voice was raised as he looked to his mother. “This is no time to be talking about your advantages and disadvantages! Seriously, mom!” he then looked to Barnaby and nodded. “Go help out the townsfolk and get them to a boat. We've got this!” he then turned his attention to the stallion that Night Eye was fighting and charged into his side. Knocking his sisters opponent to the street a few feet away.

Barnaby gave a nod as he ran down the street to help out anyone that he could find, the flames rose steadily from the buildings as they were torched and turned aflame one by one. The rooftops crackled and popped as the shingles burnt up more and more by the second. The tall, blue troll stopped as he had heard muffled cries for help from one of the nearby buildings. He grunted as he had fully healed between the time that he had went off to help the townsfolk and left Seeking Blade and his family to face off against the hoard that had attacked the port town. Barnaby approached the burning building, he grabbed the front side of the house and yanked as hard as he could. The front side of the building gave way easily due to the burning wood and loosened stone, inside of the building was a Ponykind family of four. A unicorn stallion, a pegasus mare and two small fillies that were of unicorn descent. Barnaby gave a mighty thrust as the flaming wall to the ground, his hands were lit aflame which caused him to thrash his arms in the air for a moment. His low intelligence made him briefly forget about how he had put the fire out the first time. Before he decided to do anything about that, though, he had to worry about the ponies that were in the burning house. He put his right foot inside of the house and quickly brought them outside and into the fresh air, the family of ponies appreciatively bowed to Barnaby.

The unicorn stallion noticed that Barnaby's hands were on fire, and his horn began to glow a faint blue light. Water from the ocean was lifted up with the help of the stallion's magic, he bucked his head from one side to the other, splashing Barnaby's burning hands with the water. The flames had become extinguished, and the trolls hands had started to heal. The pony family looked up to Barnaby, the stallion's horn glowed once more as he lifted up more ocean water and tossed it onto the burning houses and doused the flames. He smiled to the tall and big fellow as he spoke to him. “Hey, thank you for the save, big guy! Let us worry about the buildings and the fire. Go on ahead and do what you gotta do, we'll handle the rest!” and sure enough, the pegasus mare and the two unicorn fillies began to assist the stallion in putting out the fires all throughout the port. The guards that were on the watch were assisting as well, though their first priorities were aiding anyone that were trapped inside of the buildings further down the line.

Barnaby gave a nod as he let out a hearty laugh. “Alright! Thank you, small ponies!” as he turned around and ran back towards the part of the Port where Seeking Blade and the others were still facing off against the undead and Bleeding Heart. His footsteps caused the ground to shake and tremble with each mighty stomp, his body rested underneath his armor as he ran as fast as he could. As he made his way back to the others, a object fell from the night sky and crashed into the ground in front of him. Preventing his way forward, Barnaby came face to face with a strange monster that stood at about half of his height. Its body was rough, gray and bulbous. Its head rested on its body with big black eyes, and a mouth made up of tentacles. It let out a loud roar as it raised its two massive claws and unfurled its wings which were leathery and as big as its body. Barnaby took a moment to process the monster that stood in front of him, speaking in a confused and rough tone. “Hmm... strange monster want hurt ponies...? Not on Barnaby watch!” he then threw a punch at the thing only to be blocked by a raised claw. The monster let out another loud roar as it slashed at the big troll, managing to cut him only to find that he was unphased. The troll let out a mighty laugh as he punched the monster in its bulbous body. “Ah! Fighting spirit! Barnaby not have fought anyone with that since he met tough pony and tough ponies friends! Gonna be fun~!”

As Barnaby and his opponent began to face off with one another, Bleeding Heart had not gained any ground against Seeking Blade and the others. Serene Morning and the two foal's had successfully taken out the undead that had accompanied him. The others had joined Seeking Blade in driving the stallion back, his body beginning to become battered and slashed as the fight wore on. Bleeding Heart gave a smirk as his tendrils arched up from his back and grabbed Serene Morning and the foals tightly. He then gave a swift throw and let go of them, he sent them through the air and away from them so that he could get some breathing room. Seeking Blade managed to lock his long sword with Bleeding Hearts short sword. The stallion pulled back with all of his strength, disarming the other as he pressed the tip of his long sword up against the alien-like stallions throat. “I'll ask you again, how do you know who I am...? and what do you mean that I have been evading you?” he asked in a serious and incredibly angry tone.

Bleeding Heart grunted as he backed away, however, Seeking Blade kept his pace with him. His voice filled with spite and fear at having been cornered by his opponent. “Oh, how silly of me! I know of you from the one that has trained me... she knows of your kind, your Chaos Hunters, your Holy Crusaders... In fact, I do believe that she was the one who you were chasing the grunts of... She is the one that caused you to crash on that planet, and sent me out to retrieve you shortly after. However, you managed to escape my grasp. Until now, that is.” Bleeding Heart dug his tendrils into the ground and in one fell motion, ripped the ground asunder. The street had separated as a barrier had surrounded them. Seeking Blades eyes widened as he gulped, long sword still at the alien-like stallion's throat. Bleeding Heart gave a wicked chuckle as he spoke once more. “And this shall send you right to her, right to Shub-Nigguroth's waiting bosom where she shall show you what fear really is!”

Serene Morning, Night Eye and Sun Spot had managed to catch themselves as they tumbled through the air and sped back towards the battle between Seeking Blade and Bleeding Heart, they saw that Barnaby was facing off against a strange monster. They also saw that he had it under control, so they didn't pay much mind to it. However, as they reached the area where Seeking Blade and Bleeding Heart were fighting at, they noticed that the ground was split open. And as Sun Spot tried to go and join up with his father, he felt his head bonk against a invisible wall of some sort. He, his sister and their mother watched on in horror as they shouted out to their father. Barnaby heard the shouting and quickly finished off his opponent by ripping off its arms and then by punching its head clean off of its torso. The monsters torso quickly began to bubble and then exploded into a strange, acid green puddle. Only to end up absorbed inside of the ground and vanish. Barnaby then ran to where the shouting was coming from, and proceeded to slam his fists into the barrier. His voice was frantic, along with the others.

As Seeking Blade saw his wife, foals and friend pound against the barrier, he noticed that it had refused to give way. He was so occupied with the shock of the ground being split apart and the barrier being brought up between his family and himself, that he didn't notice Bleeding Heart as he grabbed him by the throat with a tendril. The stallion let out a triumphant laugh as he trotted with the helpless Chaos Hunter in his tendrils clutches towards the edge. A torrent of cold, rushing ocean water was able to be seen by Serene Morning and the others as they watched in horror. Bleeding Heart held Seeking Blade over the edge, a wicked smile came across his snout as he spoke. “Well then, Enjoy your time with Shub-Nigguroth, foul Chaos Hunter... because after your time is up, you will be dead.” the stallion pulled Seeking Blade's long sword out of his snout and tossed it to the ground with a free tendril, and let go of his throat.

Everyone that was there, Barnaby, Serene Morning, Bleeding Heart and the two foal's watched as Seeking Blade fell into the torrent of water down below. He was helpless as the fast moving waters swept him off and out of sight from the onlookers. Barnaby, Serene Morning, Sun Spot and Night Eye let out yells and shouts of rage and moved back. The four shoved as one as the ground sealed back up and cut them off from chasing after Seeking Blade. Bleeding Heart backed up a bit as he became outnumbered. He looked from the tall, powerhouse of a troll to the two Pegasus and the Earth Pony. Bleeding Heart knew that he could not win this fight as he closed his eyes. He continued to back away as his eyes opened up and he turned, galloping away quickly as he slashed a tendril across the ground behind him. As Serene Morning and the others began to chase him, the spot that Bleeding Heart had struck with his tendril caused a wall of strange, glowing purple spikes to rise up and out of the ground. A strange liquid dripped from the spikes as Serene Morning managed to grab Sun Spot by the tail. She pulled him back and away from the spikes just in the nick of time.

Serene Morning let out a enraged yell as Bleeding Heart ran, having been separated from Seeking Blade and unable to catch the stallion that was the cause of not just the separation, but also the cause of Port Mareheart's burning. The mare yelled out at the top of her lungs as she let go of Sun Spots tail. “I will find you! And when I do, you are dead! I'll rip your head off of your torso and feed it to the fishes... you no good piece of garbage! You absolutely, horrible, no good, good for nothing... Piece of scum!” Tears filled Serene Morning, Night Eye and Sun Spots eyes as they looked to one another, and then Barnaby. Bleeding Heart however had managed to gallop as far away as fast as he could, he wasn't going to be caught sticking around the port. And he had a few towns under his control that he was going to gather and take back to Viljatown. He was sure that he had killed Seeking Blade, however, he was wrong... As Bleeding Heart made his way to Viljatown, Seeking Blade had passed out in the raging torrent.

The stallion's unconscious body hit the walls as the torrent carried him farther and farther from the port. A soft white light was traveling right beside him as he was carried away, the light was on the watch for anyone or anything that was going to harm him. The light eventually faded to reveal that it was actually a Ghost Pony Mare. Her body was transparent, and if Seeking Blade was awake to see her, he would have noticed her Brand that had the design of two sharpened short swords across a shield. In her lifetime, she was a Earth Pony. As she flew alongside the stallion, the mare felt her mane stand on end. Her mane was a flank length ponytail that as it stood up, sent a signal down and into her body. She looked down the right of a upcoming forked tunnel in the torrent, and beheld a horrific sight. What she beheld was a mass of writhing tendrils that had arrived inside of a large cave, along with several other monsters that if they were seen by a normal pony who was completely sane, would cause their hairs, manes and tails to become ghost white... and they would go completely and utterly insane. The Ghost Pony mare focused on her left fore hoof and grabbed Seeking Blade by the waist. She had managed to, with some struggle, get Seeking Blade to the left path of the forked tunnel so that the torrent would take him away from the horrors that were waiting for him.

After what felt like hours to the mare, Seeking Blade had eventually come to rest in a underground grotto that had been around for who knows how many years. As soon as the unconscious stallion came to a rest, the mare floated onto dry land and focused once more. Both of her fore hooves became solid as she dragged Seeking Blade onto dry land and rested him on his side. She took a moment to look around as she let her focus and concentration drop and noticed two cave openings. One was on the west side of the wall, as the other was on the opposite east side. She then layed down next to him on all fours, her eyes closed as she pressed her snout gently against his forehead. She was relieved that she had finally found her colt after years of searching and facing down demons and all sorts of other beings in her journey. And this time, she wouldn't leave him without a parent. Like she and her husband had all those years ago.

Seeking Blade found himself falling through darkness, his eyes tried to adjust and he tried to keep calm. The darkness soon gave way as he felt his hooves land on solid ground, his eyes snapped shut as a beautiful and wide open field began to suck in the darkness, itself. Seeking Blade slowly opened his eyes as he adjusted to the sunlight, it was a soft blue color that felt warm to the touch despite its cold look. He looked to the flowers which all looked much different then any he had seen before. These flowers were transparent and able to be seen through, as well as taller then usual, as tall as about five feet tall. The place was unconventional, and as Seeking Blade searched for his long sword, found that he did not have it with him. “Uh-Oh... this isn't good for me. I have no clue as to where I am, or what happened to me. I just hope that Serene Morning, Barnaby and the foal's are alright...” he said out loud, as he looked around the field, he heard somebody walking towards him. The stallion quickly turned around, only to find himself face to face with a Earth-Pony mare who stood at his height. Her hair was the same tanned color as his own, with a mane in the form of a ponytail that was black. She had no tail and soft orange eyes as she approached him. Her body was toned and she had some muscle to her.

As the mare trotted up to Seeking Blade, her Brand was able to be seen by him. As she spoke to him, her voice was tough, however, there was a softness to it which sounded somewhat familiar to the stallion. “It has been a long time, Seeking Blade. I am sure that you do not remember me.” her eyes looked over his wounds as she sighed softly, speaking to him once more. “You got beat up pretty bad, but you'll live. On the other hoof, I did save you from meeting Shub-Nigguroth... You wouldn't have lasted a minute against her so called “children”.” She laughed softly as Seeking Blade tilted his head in confusion.

Seeking Blade blinked a bit as he looked at the mare, a confused expression came over his face as he rubbed the back of his head with a hoof. He had a lot of questions running through his mind currently, however, the only one that made its way out of his mouth as he spoke, was. “Um... who are you, exactly?” He watched as she giggled once more, and asked in response to the giggling, “I'm sorry, but, what's so funny?”

The mare couldn't help but laugh at his second question, she took a moment to calm herself before taking a deep breath and exhaled. Her voice became softer as her expression became one of happiness. “My name, is Shield Stabber. And Seeking Blade, to answer why I found your question funny is because...” Shield Stabber took a moment, looking to the ground and then back into Seeking Blade's eyes. “I am your mother, Seeking Blade.”