//------------------------------// // Heaven or Hell // Story: Guilty Mare // by nintendo917 //------------------------------// Dark, humid and eerie. That’s what anypony would describe the inside of the Everfree forest. Nothing was managed, the forest’s ecosystem sustained itself on its own. Its exotic wildlife was enough to warrant caution if and when somepony decided it was a good idea to trek through it, which was why Twilight was more on edge. No Manticore or Cockatrice could have done that much structural damage to Fluttershy’s chicken coop. Remembering Zecora’s description on what she was up against didn’t help either. These were aliens she was going to go up against. Powerful, magic-wielding aliens she knew very little about. The closer she and Zecora got, the more destruction she saw all around her. The Everfree Forest was known for one to be easily lost in it, what with its prominent darkness and abundant hostilities that lived there. Yet thanks to the decimated vegetation which had formed an easy path to the aliens, Twilight need not fear of getting lost, neither was there any worry of running into any wild beasts The forest was overlayed with battered up bodies, of various wild beasts. Timberwolves, giant spiders, and even a Manticore lay there without it’s fur, most likely burnt off by the monsters; Twilight had never even seen a Manticore completely naked before... Until now. They were beaten and wounded, no doubt caught in the crossfire by the deadly intruders. All of this for all to see, and Twilight was tasked with the role of hero and getting rid of them. If I’m going to do this, I need to find them without being seen. I’ll also need to be careful not to be caught in the middle of their fight, like these poor souls. Soon the sound of roars and cries of the monsters could be heard, but something was off. Twilight could have sworn she heard audible sounds. Almost like the monsters themselves were speaking Equish. As much as that perked Twilight’s fascination, it would have to wait. The sooner she and Zecora got to the magical monsters the better, which was why they both had broken into a full gallop towards the source of the forest’s agony. They had eventually reached a portion of the forest that had not yet been claimed by the monsters. Vegetation was still abundant, spared by the fires that had consumed all else. It was here that the cries and roars had reached maximum volume. Yet the moment Twilight and Zecora had arrived, all fell silent. The kind of silence that is heard when somepony crashes a party. Evidently, just like in that scenario, both of them felt as though they were being watched, like they had interrupted something. No, they are the intruders. I need to stop them before they decide to crash Ponyville. “...Zecora... you might want to hide. If they find me, I’d rather I be the only one in danger instead of the both of us. You can help out if you want after that, ok?” The herbalist nodded and jumped into a nearby bush, now completely hidden from sight and leaving Twilight alone to face the two beings of fire and lightning. After a few moments of hesitation, Twilight began to slowly move forward. All was quiet except for the sounds she produced. The sound of disturbed foliage and her pounding heart. This is nerve-racking! I feel like they’re going to jump me at any moment! Two steps....four steps... eight steps... nothing happened as Twilight continued to advance. Her ears were perked up, eyes darting in all directions. I’ve had enough of this. I wish they’d just come out already and- “GUNFLAME!!!” Suddenly a flash of light bloomed out of the shade as a surge of fire charged its way towards Twilight. Time seemed to slow down around her as she was abruptly thrown into a situation of life or death. An intense burst of adrenaline surged through Twilight’s veins as she avoided the burning, slithering trail. The flame kept burning forward until it eventually died out, and all that was left of the grass behind the fire’s path was replaced with ash and cinder. What in the hoof was that? Twilight exclaimed in her mind. It looked like magic, but in all my years of studying, I've never seen such a powerful cantrip. Twilight continued to examine the mysterious forces, until she heard more screaming within the looming blackness of the woods. "STUN EDGE!!!" In response to the flames Twilight had narrowly avoided only moments ago, an arrow of lightning shot forth from the darkness behind her. Twilight tried to jump out of the way, but the sudden bolt of plasma flew through the air with the speed of a certain rainbow-maned Pegasus. She would not be able to avoid this next assault in time! As quick as this revelation had dawned on her, a blessing in the form of a tackling Zebra knocked her hard on the ground, taking the wind out of her lungs as the neon-blue arrow whizzed right over her head, grazing the tip of her lavender horn. “Twilight, you are much too slow. Back on your hooves, we have to go!” No sooner did Twilight begin to formulate a response to her savior did the two monsters burst forth from the forest depths, into the air and on a collision course with each other! “VOLCANIC VIPER!!!” “VAPOR THRUST!!!” Blue and orange-red sparks flew in all directions upon their initial impact, snowing hot embers onto the forest floor beneath them. The monsters finally landed on the burning woodland floor right in front of the two ponies. It was the first time Twilight got a good glance of the two behemoths. She was more fascinated than afraid as she witnessed that the creatures were not only bipedal, but were well clothed. Their outfits were rather unique, and nothing she'd never seen in any of Rarity's designs. The beast closest to Twilight was definitely wearing the devil's red, but it didn't stop there. He closely resembled a glam rocker who lost a fight with his closet: dressed in casual wear, rags, leather, and belts (and belts, and belts, and belts). The other one, the 'angel man' had a mop of golden hair and blue eyes that seemed to not only contain divinity, but commanded respect. His poise, his white robes, his mannerisms--all were the hallmark of a prince of rigid upbringing. Devil and Angel. Hunter and Soldier. Heaven and Hell. However if that wasn’t enough to fascinate Twilight, one of the monsters started to speak. “To hell with you, Ky,” uttered the monster in the red headband. “I’ll find my own way out of this crazy place.” “We’re going to work together if we are to figure out where we are, but you’re going to have to follow my lead, Sol,” replied the uniform wearing beast. “My goodness, these creatures are... intelligent,” said Twilight. “This could be my chance to actually sort things out without resorting to violence.” As Twilight came to this sudden revelation, she stepped forward in order to communicate with the two strangers. Twilight began to make her speech towards the two men. “Excuse me, my name is Twilight Sparkle and I...” However she was interrupted by the two men’s constant ramblings. “I’ll figure it out myself... I don’t need your help kid,” Sol said with a grunt. “What makes you think you could even navigate yourself out of this crazy world anyway?” Ky facehoofed. (What did you call that action when the appendage has fingers, anyway?) “Sol, why must you be so difficult?” he asked, plainly. “Hello?” Twilight repeated, but it was no use. It’s as if these two were so caught up in their hatred towards each other that they weren’t even aware of their current surroundings. “Just leave me the hell alone,” Sol yelled. “HEY!!!” Exclaimed Twilight. “Not until you see to reason!” Ky cried as they both raised their swords in unison, both piercing the air above them. Sol carried a broad, rectangular blade while Ky’s was more narrow and pointed. “You don’t have the balls,” Sol grunted with a long smirk on his face. “If I have to knock some sense into you, then so be it,” Ky replied. The two warriors then began to charge right at each other, both intending to cause damage. “GRAND VIPER!!!” Sol called out as his entire body enveloped itself in a shell of fire as he began to charge towards his opponent. “RIDE THE LIGHTNING!!!” Ky cried while being encased in a barrier of pure electricity as he dashed towards Sol. “LOOK OUT!!!” Twilight yelled as she jumped out of Sol and Ky’s respective paths. The two titans collided as they made their marks, and with that the fight continued. It was no use, no amount of reasoning could even grab their attentions. Perhaps she didn’t yell loud enough? No... Even if she tried again, these two were already in the heat of their duel. In quick desperation, Twilight pounced back into the woods in order to consult with the striped herbalist. “Oh no, Zecora,” exclaimed Twilight. “These two just won’t listen to me.” “This is a dire situation indeed, we must not let this epic conflict proceed,” Zecora said with a clever limerick. “If we let their fight go on, it is Ponyville that they might stumble upon. For it shall spell sheer doom, as all of Ponyville may go... KABOOM!!!”. “OH NO OH NO OH NO!!!” Twilight panicked as she galloped in place. “What do we do then?” “What answer do you expect me to tell? You're the one with fancy spells,” Zecora stated as she pointed at Twilight’s horn. Twilight stopped. She blushed and looked away, feeling so silly that she'd forgotten her greatest advantage. “Well... I could teleport them to someplace far away... No, that would be a bad idea, they’d just fight there instead. I could instead transport one of them somewhere secluded and void of life.” Twilight focused her attention back at the fight, trying to decide who to teleport and who to leave behind for questioning. After witnessing the blond-maned knight in white and blue attempt to reason with the red guy, she decided it was best to keep him and send the red one to an area that was barren and empty. Twilight had now come up with a plan and was ready to act on it. She focused all of her magic energy towards Sol Badguy, concentrating on someplace that was ‘void of life’. Her initial thoughts were of the moon, but decided against it. As powerful as she was, Twilight couldn't teleport somepony whole astral bodies away. So she tried to think of another place that could work, but before she could select a destination a stray stun edge collided with the tip of her horn. The lightning based magic mixed with hers, turning from purple to a dark navy blue, and shot back towards Sol, who was in the middle of attempting yet another Gun Flame. “Augh!” The shot hit its mark well as Sol lit up like a light bulb. The electrical energy surged through his body, which now glowed a bright dark blue, before the magic started to expand and engulf him in a dark purple bubble. “What the!... What is happening now!? Could this be I-No’s doing!?” Ky was at a lost for words as yet another phenomenon flashed before his eyes since the past twenty four hours. He tried to save Sol like last time by diving into the bubble, which didn’t turn out so well, but failed as it suddenly collapsed into itself. Twilight was at this point struggling to maintain consciousness. She begins absent-mindedly reciting a segment of a poem that she once read through in her recent studies as smoke rolls from her mouth and electricity sparks from her mane. “Mama, just killed a man. Put a gun against his head, pulled my trigger, now he's dead.” Still, she accomplished her goal. Using the last of her strength she witnessed the bubble explode, leaving no trace of Sol. Not being able to stay on her hooves she started to fall to the ground, but not before being caught by Zecora. Indeed, she was a true friend. Holding the librarian in her hooves she turned to face the bewildered Ky, who had yet to discover their presence. “Thanks to Twilight, the battle is at its end. It is time now to make a new friend.” She spoke in a whisper, making sure that the knight in blue remained in ignorance until she was ready to reveal herself.