An attempt to make a crossover with Blasphemous. Don't expect anything spectacular since this is just an experiment of mine.
The plot will be a little bit different but the substance is quite the same.
The Unworthy Miracle has been manifested through a horrendous crime. Because of this, the majority of the creatures populating Equus has been turned into savage monstrosities, avatar of both their desires and sins with an unusual faith in the said miracle. The entirety of the world has gone downhill and the Harmony has been corrupted.
Centuries later, a human soul has been taken from hell and had been reborn into a masked humanoid pony like creature known as the Renegade One, also known as the Penitent One. This is the grim pilgrimage that he had to do to set things right.
"And because your hope of everlasting Harmony is your guilt, I shall claim your life."
Those are the words spoken by a mysterious being wielding his own sword and stabbing it through one alicorn's body, in the very dark of night. The alicorn screamed in agony and the sword began fusing itself with her own body. Thorns protruded from it and traveled through her veins, and her body began to turn into a wooden statue that was still bleeding.
"That will make your chest burn with regret that goes far beyond your woodened body."
The entity turned away and made his way toward the exit without even looking back. Behind him, the alicorn's body began to irradiate a darkened aura coming and began to crack.
"Farewell... Princess Twilight Sparkle."
As he disappeared in the dark, the alicorn exuded a magical shockwave of corrupted magic that engulfed the entire Equestria, turning every creature into monsters, being their own desire and sin personified. And in some case, even virtue was personified, but in a very twisted way. Thus Equestria fell down in a age of chaos that ravaged the land in a blink of an eye.
That deicide gave birth to the Unworthy Miracle, with the Canterlot mountain being the forbidden pinnacle of it. The word perished and remained in that state for centuries.
At least until that day... In which a human soul was picked up from hell and was rebirth as the Renegade One.
In a sanctuary far away from the rest of the world, in a room full of armored dead bodies, someone suddenly woke up from the slumber and rose up. Dizzied, he looked around and was immediately disgusted by the landscape of pony corpses around him. He realized to wear an pointy helmet with a iron mask. But more than that, he realized that he can't speak, as if his voice was silenced by some obscure force. He looked at the rest of his body, being a humanoid pony-like bipedal one.
He was obviously not human, and was not a pony either, although he had a cutey mark being a number eight made of metal. His forelegs were arm with clawed fingers and his hind legs being talons.
The first thing that came in his mind was the image of his real entity and a voice who spoke to him.
"Airel Nim. Shall this journey being both your fate and a way to atone for your sins that you had committed in your previous existence as the Penitent One."
Putting that aside, Airel looked around one more time and noticed a metallic thorny sword at his feet. He picked that up and walked across the room filled of corpses, reaching one exit. He stepped inside a corridor and traveled around through the maze of hall filled by other corpses, with the torches illuminating the way.
"At least that made me understand the situation for a little portion." He thought.
As he continued to walk, Airel checked every corner of the desecrated place in search for a hint about his mission and the world in which he was in.
Suddenly, a roar accompanied by the echoing sound of slammed metal ranged at his left. He turned toward the source and faced a opened metallic gate leading to another room full of armored pony corpses. He reluctantly walked inside, expecting whatever horror was waiting for him.
Airel has his fear being founded when something fell in front of him, making the the earth shaking for a moment. That thing looked like and ariel minotaur hybrid with some of his muscles being exposed and was armed with a giant hammer made of gold. He roared ferociously and tried smash him.
Airel rolled away, but was then sent to fly along with some corpses by a shockwave caused by hammer's impact with ground. He fell on the ground with one corpse falling upon his body and his sword falling from his hand. The monster roared and was about to jump toward him. Airel moved away the body and picked up his sword as the monster jumped in his direction.
The creature landed in front of him, causing another earthquake. Airel almost stumble but remained still and glared furiously in the monster's savage eyes.
"I can't speak? No, problem. I let my sword doing the talk." He thought.
The monster was going to hit him with his hammer, only for Airel to slide under his legs and wounded both of them with his sword, causing the monster to fall on his kneels. The creature roared aggressively as Airel stood up from behind him. Ignoring the pain, it stood up and tried to deliver an horizontal smash. Airel ducked and cut off both of his arm, making his hammer falling on the ground and causing another earthquake.
The monster screeched furiously as he tried to pick up the golden hammer with the other arm, not noticing Airel making a high jump above it's head and stabbed it's skull with his sword. The blood erupted as he pulled out his weapon from and landed in front of the creature, which was now falling on the ground. It was dead.
A little bit shaken by both his newfound combat abilities and the monster itself, Airel was about to leave when a obscure instinct induced him to stay. He approached the creature's dead body and carved one deep wound into his chest. He then removed the helmet and filled it with it's blood, a moment before putting it on again, soaking his own hand with the said blood. At that point, he realized in horror what he had done.
"What the hell was I doing?"
"Penitent One." A mysterious voice said from the gate at the end of the room. "Regretful be the heart. His anguish and anger had both come to a end."
"Who is it?"
Airel followed the voice outside the cathedral and found himself in front of a wasteland, adorned with a bleak orange sky. But that wasn't the only thing. In front of him there was a taller pony with a pointy cape and a spiral like mask wielding a scroll.
"This is Equestria as it came to be after the advent of the Unworthy Miracle. This is only the beginning. The beginning of both your atonement and your destiny."
"My name is Airel Nim. A lost soul tasked to save this world... Apparently. That doesn't change one thing: I ended up in hell because of a crime of mine. It all started when my childhood friend Miriana was constatly bullied and eventually killed by a group of bullies leaded by Chad. In sign of reprisal, I had killed them personally, only to be killed in that same instant I won. I ended up in hell as a result and my fate was sealed."
"But then something weird happened. A mysterious force picked me up before my fall was completed."
"And now I am here, involved in this mess of a world, in this weird body and deprived of my voice. I even killed a monster. And now I stood in front of a equine masked creature. That I was still dead or reborn, I cannot tell."
After a fierce battle, Airel stood in front of a tall pony towering on him while wielding a scroll. He wore a pointy cape with a spiral like mask and was heavily bound by heavy ropes. A detail that Airel didn't had noticed before. His appearance exuded an arcane mixture of hemertism and confusion. Airel was nervous and tried to interpret what he heard from him before.
"What's up with this guy? It's like he's scanning my being through his mask." Airel thought.
"Don't be so wary about me," He said. "I am Fallen Grace, the witness and narrator of the acts of the Unworthy Miracle that ravaged Equestria and the entirety of Equus. Because of this, the desires and sins of every creature had been manifested in painful, grotesque monstrosities like the one you had saw. Such narration is my penance, as yours is silence."
Fallen paused.
"The Pinnacle of the Penance is what you must seek. You will find it in what used to be Canterlot mountain. It was once a majestic. Now is just a grim, desecrated place, those access to it's core is forbidden to anyone, and is sealed by the Grand Gate. Not even a wise Penitent One like me knows what lies beyond it."
"The Pinnacle of Penance?"
"Penitent One, In order to get through the gate, you must perform the Three Humiliations. One of them must be performed mountains near to the ruins of Baltimare. Another one in what remains of Maretropolis, inside of a dark, entombed sanctuary where the dreaded one lies. And the last one at the end of the trails of putrified blood near to the base of Canterlot Mountain. In the bowels of the hell named Voldor, that grows into the earth."
"It sounds like a very grim trial, huh. It's not like I am afraid or anything, but I don't like being involved in this mess without a valid reason."
"Did you see the thorns adorning your sword." Fallen said and I nodded. "The Penance Sword is your weapon, but when the time comes, it will sprout even more and wound you. That will mean that you will be at the mercy of the Unworthy Miracle, whatever is for punishment or a corrupted form of forgiveness. To be honest, is just a theory but be wary about what you wield. As powerful it can be, it can be also double edged."
"Great, as being sent to hell wasn't enough."
"May your benefactor guide you." Fallen said, one second before disappearing into a black mist.
"He disappeared without saying anything else... And who was my 'benefactor' anyway?... Ok, calm down. I took one monster. I guess I have took very unnatural fighting abilities that will allow me to survive but... Where do I began?"
Without having an hint about his situation, he wandered in the wasteland that was presented in front him, traveling under the bleak orange sky. After having walked for miles, he found a forest full of withered trees. A chorus of moans and groans resounded from there.
"What was that?"
Reluctantly, he stepped into the forest, scanning his own surrounding. He found nothing but dead vegetation and ruins of ancient buildings into his path. As he stepped forward, the chorus grew even more louder. Airel stopped upon seeing multiple shadows coming after him.
Hideous creatures came out of the shadows, and looked almost anything but ponies. Their eyes were completely wide and some of their muscles were exposed. Some of them had a bone knife protruding from their mouths. Others had spiked wooden wheels being fused with their bodies. That alone lead Airel to the following conclusion.
"So that's what the Unworthy Miracle did to those ponies."
The knife armed ones leaped toward Airel, only to be parried and rejected by him and being beheaded by him. The wheeled ones rolled menacingly toward him. Airel missed all of them and jumped backward, like to take distance himself from him.
The ranks of monsterized ponies continued to grow and advanced ferociously toward him. In that moment, Airel felt a surge of power coming from his right hand and noticed something that he didn't had realized to have.
A Twisted Rosario being attached to his arm.
Not wanting to get thrashed, he channeled it's energy to it's Penance Sword and stabbed the ground, unleashing multiple shockwaves that traveled toward them and wiped them all out of his sight. Despite being masked, Airel was genuinely surprised by that display of power.
But that wasn't the time to be amazed, so he began to run forward as fast as he could, without looking back. There are other of those monsters coming in his way, which forced him to dodge them all while slashing some of them. As he continued, deformed ponies came out of the puddles of mud and tried to grab him. Airel just sliced them instantly and continued his run until he found the exit.
Having escaped the dreads of the forest, he stopped and fell on his knees for the fatigue. He felt exhausted and was breathing like a mad bull. He did expected hell coming out for his life already.
After a momentary rest, he slowly rose up and looked forward, only to find a very rural town in front of him. There was a sign with the word "Ponybero" being written on it.
"A town in the middle of the chaos?" He thought, not knowing what to think in that moment.
The town looked like a empty husk. The buildings looked worn out and ruined. As Airel wandered, he couldn't help but notice some of sick ponies laying on the ground, suffering from their own injuries. Some of them noticed him, but didn't seemed scared by Airel's humanoid like appearance and the mask he was wearing.
"Why I have the impression that those ponies seemed encouraged with my presence?" Airel thought.
Proceeding in his path, he found a very unusual building that looked like refuge. Moans of pain echoed from inside. Wanting to know what was going on, Airel stepped inside and found a very grotesque spectacle.
There are wounded ponies being scattered to the floor, with other ones squeezing a wet cloth to pour a strange liquid on the said wounds, causing the former to wail in pain. And in the middle of all of this, there was a white cloaked pony kneeling on his legs as he was praying for some miracle that wasn't that one.
Airel didn't know what was going on, but decided to approach the white cloaked figure. His curiosity looked inappropriate and yet legit. Ignoring the sight of the sick ponies and their moans, he decided to confront her despite him not having a voice.
"Seriously, how I supposed to do without my voice?"
"Ah heard your thought, Penitent One," The cloaked pony said with a female voice.
"What!?"
"Forgave mah rudeness but ah can read in yer mind," She said. "Also, welcome to Ponybero, the humble sanctuary of the Blessers of Wounds. Ah am their own matriarch."
"Matriarch of a cult, huh?"
"Don't be disrespectful," She said with a almost harsh tone. "Those ponies that ya saw dropping their liquid on the sick and ailing ones are the few healers who still care for them. As for me, ah'm used to be Applejack, the Element of Honesty and a farm pony who should have died centuries ago."
"Centuries ago!?"
"Yes," Applejack said. "I should have, but after that Unworthy Miracle happened, I have been immortalized in a very painful way."
She removed her cloak, revealing her whole body being covered in lethal looking wounds exposing his muscles and arteries, which made Airel flinch. Her blond mane was mostly blood soaked and her cutey mark being consumed.
"That's not the only thing that the Miracle did to me. Reading in the minds of every creature was my punishment for being the Element of Honesty, apparently." Applejack putted back her cloak. "And my family had been turned into a bunch of monsters. Ah had escaped them, refusing to kill them because ah couldn't bring myself to kill them... Not even mah sister Applebloom."
"Are you serious?"
"And now here I am, being a matriarch like figure to those ponies who needed help and protection, and were at the mercy of the Unworthy Miracle."
"I understand."
"Keep in mind," Applejack said. "I also know who you really are and what your mission is. I know your past life and why you are here. Oh, ah forgot. The time here is completely different to that one outside those walls."
"Wait, the time flows differently here?"
"Exactly. And let me tell you that we don't care about the sun setting outside since it's not Princess Twilight's sun anymore."
"Who?"
"Twilight was the ruler of Equestria, until the day a mysterious force killed her, triggering this curse of a Miracle..... She was mah friend... Now if you excuse me, I need to pray. That your benefactor while guide you."
"Can I at least-"
"Please, at least for now... Leave us alone." Applejack said as she turned toward her healers and returned to pray.
Under his suggestion, Airel leaved the Applejack and her group to their problems and proceed to explore the rest of the refuge. Traversing the empty halls, he found a bronze door. Airel opened it and stepped inside a room illuminated by the torches. What he found shook his calm.
"What is this?"
It was something that nobody in Equestria, not even him expected to find: A shrine with a altar and a wall sculpture depicting human saint like figures, including a angel, a hooded woman and a child. Their eyes were pointed toward him. Airel felt uneasy but for strange reason he wasn't afraid. He was rather calm and eager to know what that means. As he approached it, multiple voices coming from their mouths began to speak.
"Penitent One, who carry the painful guilt in your cracked hands and your soul. Lend your blade, the one known as Mea Culpa to us and alleviate our burden."
"If that is what you wish." Airel thought as he leaned his sword to the sculpture's arms.
"Lend it to us and wipe our tears."
The arms suddenly moved and gripped the weapon, and used to wipe their tear in pain. At that point, a light blue light illuminated the sword for a moment. The weapon then slipped away from the sculpture's arms and returned to Airel's hand.
Airel was suddenly engulfed by a new wave of power flowing inside him. That act seemed to have invigorated his powers and determination. He didn't know the nature of the shrine itself but could tell it's linked to him.
"Because that is an act of penance." The voices said.
"Whoever they are, I should thank them for this boost. Although I don't know their names but who cares.... Wait, was Mea Culpa the name of my sword?"
After that, Airel leaved the room and went out the refuge to explore the rest of the town. The ski was still orange, being stuck in a frozen dusk.
"The time is indeed different, like Applejack said before."
He stopped in front at what seemed to be a church with bronze doors. There was a message being carved in a stone nearby it: Formerly known as Ponyville. He tried to open the door but it was closed by some kind of mechanism. Before he could try knocking at it, a female voice spoke from behind him.
"Excuse me, Penitent One." She said, inducing Airel to turn around to face the source.
It was a bronze maned white unicorn mare with green eyes. She looked at him with a calm and yet worried expression. To Airel prospective, her appearance was very normal compared to the rest of the ponies he had encountered, which surprised him.
"This mare didn't seemed afflicted by the Unworthy Miracle. That it had intentionally spared a few of the entire population of Equestria?"
"I am Gliding Light and I need your help to find my brother."
Warning. Another incoming eviction. Even this experimental fanfic is going to be cancelled in the future. To the ones who want to download it's pages before the complete erasure from the site can do it until they can. That story would be replaced with a revamped version that would still retain some elements of the story while outright modifying the others. I don't think that would matter since there are only few that would read it but I will still apologize for the inconvience.
