//------------------------------// // Chapter III // Story: SMITE- Of Gods and Ponies // by Guy who Buried his Head //------------------------------// The cobblestone lane was barely quiet. Wind blew through the branches of the jungle, torches crackled lightly with dim fire. Even the sounds of Twilight and Athena's footsteps were audible. As the unicorn walked down the crooked path, she saw the enemy base not to far away. A red fort made of wooden logs, some filed into points. An orange banner hung from the side, bearing an odd symbol: Omega. "We need every advantage we can get." Athena said, turning right into the jungle after they passed the second tower. "Go in there." "I thought you said monsters were in that jungle..." Twilight said nervously. "Yes. You will slay a few monsters together. It will make you stronger." Athena answered. She then made her way to the other jungle, toward the left lane. Twilight faltered, hearing calls of strange creatures from inside. Trusting her companion, she made her way in. Not too deep into the forest was Sun Wukong and Bastet, waiting by a small clearing. "So you are fighting for us." Wukong smirked. "Let's see what you got. Help us take down these furies." "Furies? What's a f-" Twilight was cut off as a screeching pierced the air. Two tall, winged monsters emerged from the brush. They looked like enormous women, covered in blue feathers and taloned feet. Anypony Twilight knew of would probably run screaming at the sight of these beasts. But then again, she wasn't with anypony she knew. The two gods jumped into the fray, Bastet raking her claws against them, and Sun Wukong bashing them with his cudgel. As the furies lashed at them, the gods lashed back. "Well? Do something!" The monkey shouted to Twilight. The unicorn blinked. She was here to fight, so she could take on a few jungle beasts, right? Twilight summoned something to well inside her. She closed her eyes, and clenched her teeth and focused. Her horn buzzed with an untapped power. One she hasn't used in a while... As the energy built up, Twilight released, and sent a surge of purple light barreling toward the target. She opened her eyes, hoping to see the raw power she unleashed, but her blast flew straight over the bodies of the two. The furies lie dead on the forest floor. "Sorry about that. We might've gotten ahead of you." Bastet apologized. "Oh... I-I should've been faster." Twilight sighed. "Don't worry about it, young one." Wukong added. "Just land that blast of yours a little quicker on those minions and you'll be fine." He said, dashing deeper into the jungle. Twilight approached Bastet. "I'm not sure If I'm cut out for this... what are we fighting, anyway?" "We'll find out soon enough. We'll communicate once we learn who our adversaries. Do be careful." She said, prowling away from the lane. Twilight shyly made her way out. Something she hadn't noticed before filled up the lane. Humans, clanging swords and shields in a brutal brawl. Some wore blue, the others orange. "Minions..." Twilight noted. Making her best assumption, the blue ones were her allies. Twilight didn't have enough strength to summon another burst of magic so soon, but smaller beams were manageable. Lucky for her, the unicorn, her beams harmlessly phased through the blue soldiers, and soon the orange minions were all defeated. Twilight's minions trekked down the lane, eager to advance on the tower ahead. A wooden pillar with a crossbow mounted on top. However, before they stepped into the range of the tower, a blazing fire swept out from the jungle, roasting the minions in their tracks. Dumbfounded, the purple mare stepped back, blinking furiously to comprehend what she just saw. They just... burned! Twilight smelled the undeniable smell of smoke, and her eyes stung a little. Out of the forest walked a two-headed god. His skin was black and charred, like he was composed of ash. His legs were covered in red silken pants, and a string of beads draped under his arm, and into his chest. And of course, two heads resting on the same pair of shoulders. Two bald heads, made of the same ash. One set of eyes blazed with a searing anger, the other of elation and crazed joy. He turned toward Twilight, his hands igniting once more. "Twilight, what do you see?" Athena's voice said in Twilight's mind. "Who's in the middle lane?" "Where are you?" Twilight asked, looking around in vain for the source of her voice. "I'm in the left lane. I said you can hear us, and we can hear you. Now, what do you see?" Twilight focused on the foe in front of her. "Uh... two heads... shoots fire?" "That's Agni." Sun Wukong chimed in. "I got Odin in the right lane. "I think Thanatos is in the Jungle. Who's in left?" Bastet added. "Bacchus and Neith." Athena answered. "What?! No! I can't fight against Neith!" Bastet cried out. With all these voices in Twilight's head, and names she didn't recognize, she grew confused. "I don't understand... what's going on?" Twilight was snapped out of her daze by the smell of smoke... no... methane? Either way, it smelled dangerous. Coughing, she backed over to her tower, before the gas was set aflame, burning up in a flash. Agni wandered toward her, stopping at the tower's range. "What's this?" He asked, both mouths speaking at once. "A horse on the battlefield? Shouldn't you be for the cavalry?" He mocked. At this remark, Twilight stood her ground. She had faced countless villains and monsters before, some all on her own, and this guy was going to just put her down like that? No. Twilight was not going to take it. "I don't know why you think you can be so cocky, but it's not going to help!" She shouted, concentrating another burst. She fired it straight at Agni with greater reflex than before, surging right onto him. He skidded a good distance back, the pink energy crackling off him. Agni glared at Twilight. His palms filled with fire, embers trailing off his ashen body. "Maybe I have underestimated you. Just maybe." He growled. "Are you going to hide at your tower like a coward, or are you going to come out and fight?" Twilight stepped forward. She prepared a different blast, one that buzzed the air around her. She couldn't channel it like before... not in a concentrated burst. But... it resonated out from Twilight's horn, with no boundaries, in a wide dome around her. The pink field surrounded herself and Agni. Agni's twin heads swiveled, looking around the dome. It didn't seem to hurt him in any way. "Pitiful." He scoffed. "My turn." He rushed towards her, but much slower. Agni looked at his own feet in shocked as he was slowed, and continued to move forward. Twilight used his brief distraction to sidestep, and readied a quick burst of energy, shooting them rapidly at Agni. With the arrows of pink light pelting Agni, he reared his head back, and inhaled a vast amount of air. He leaned back forward, breathing a wall of fire toward the unicorn. It washed over Twilight in a violent wave of scorching heat, knocking her to her hooves and forcing a painful scream from her. The pink dome faded, and Agni resumed to move normally. Twilight lay on the ground, her coat smoldering and her throat to dry to shout. Everything burned... it hurt so much. Her muscles were too far in pain to lift herself up. The tall fiery being loomed over her, a flame burning in his palm. "See you around..." He cackled, before everything turned red.