//------------------------------//
// Chapter 5: Meetings with the Devils 
// Story: X and Zero in Equestria 
// by Acclamations 
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Chapter 5: The Meeting with the Devils

Applejack galloped out of the barn and looked around the apple orchard. “What in tarnation happn’d here?” Applejack slowly walked around, observing the damage. Trees fell over, dirt was flung about, but what got her attention the most was a distant mountain. There was fire coming out of it. “What in pony’s sake is gon’ on up there...” Applejack took a step back, before running full speed to Twilight.
Twilight felt a rumble as books fell off the shelves in the Library. She put down a book she was reading and went to the balcony, seeing Rarity and Fluttershy galloping full speed towards the tree. Rainbow Dash came into view as did Pinkie Pie and Applejack. She went down and the girls came crashing in through the door.
“Twilight! Thank Celestia you’re alright.” Rarity wiped off some sweat off her forehead, and recoiled in disgust when she saw her mane. 
“‘Dere was a giant ‘splosion when ah came out to th’ field.” Applejack said quickly. Fluttershy nodded, sparing her the explanation. 
“My house, it turned grey!” Rainbow Dash exclaimed. She looked shaken, seeing how she was in her house when the sudden change of color shocked her. Pinkie Pie came rumbling through, a few pieces of cake on her mouth.
“Oh boy! It was so sh-sh-sh-sh-sh-shaky! Brrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr!” Pinkie Pie imitated a drill hitting concrete, a rapid bouncing. Everypony talked at the same time, a mess of incoherent babble when Twilight slid her hoof down a chalkboard. The screech hurt everypony’s ears and they quickly covered them, silencing them in the process. Spike came bounding down the steps.
“What’s the fuss? And why do all of you look like you seen a ghost?” Spike said. He rubbed his eyes and was quickly grabbed by Twilight.
“Spike, take a letter! There are some weird things going on!” Twilight said. Spike sighed, and went into the back. He emerged later with a scroll and quill. 

Dear Princess Celestia,
From the various reports from my friends, there is apparently a unknown source of fire in a mountain. We would like to check it out, to see what’s causing all the commotion. 

From, Twilight Sparkle

Twilight stamped her hoof onto the scroll, ensuring its authenticity and gave it to Spike, bellowing a green fire. Not less than 10 seconds, Spike shot out a letter, slightly choking him. Twilight picked up the drool covered letter and read what it says.

Dearest Twilight, I will be accompanying you and the elements to apprehend the situation.
Princess Celestia

Twilight was puzzled as to what happened, when a bright light enveloped the Mane 6 and teleported to the mountain. The group suddenly came to and were hiding behind a bush, Celestia watching over it. 
“Princess, what’s going on?” Twilight said tiredly. She could never get used to the instant teleportations, it put a great deal of stress on her body. Celestia didn’t say anything, amazed as to what was happening. X and Zero were fighting the source of the problem. The dragon was swiping about, trying to hit the duo but only got air. Zero spun with his Saber out, causing a massive cut into the dragon’s body. It’s howl shook the land, pulling trees out like they were weeds. X shot his buster head on, only to bounce back. Twilight looked on as how well they were doing, when she noticed her mentor follow the shot. It ricocheted off the face, but it went into the sky. Then, it exploded, creating a giant plasma vortex, sucking everything into it. Celestia’s eyes went wide, seeing how powerful X was. Twilight picked up on this and tapped her mentor on the back, bringing her back to the fight. Rainbow Dash hid behind a rock, as did Applejack, clutching onto her stetson for dear life. Fluttershy hid in Pinkie’s mane, who couldn’t keep her excitement in. Rarity, on the other hand, was cowering behind Celestia, and ducked as stone projectiles scattered from the fight. 
Zero’s sword made contact onto the dragon’s back, and a metal replica came instead. Zero jumped off and slid under the dragon, driving it’s sword until the hilt hit the belly, and sliced open the dragon’s abdomen. Blood spewed from the broken veins and splattered onto the floor. The dragon looked ragged, and it’s breathing showed signs of fatigue. To make matters worse, the cave started to collapse. X and Zero dashed out of the cave, whilst the dragon, not so lucky. In the end, it laid to ruin and X and Zero started to descend down the cliff.
Twilight tried to get out of cover but Celestia used her magic to keep her down. Twilight looked up to Celestia, and saw that she was nervous. Twilight was also stunned, but not to an extent. She knew that dragons had really tough scales, but there are certain soft spots in the body that are easily accessible and can cause fatal wounds if not protected. It surprised her even more when Zero got lucky and managed to hit a few. Rainbow Dash flew from behind the rock, and started to push rocks off of the large, covered corpse.
“What in th’ hay are you doin’ Rainbow?” Applejack asked. Rainbow kept on working, letting out grunts when she stopped.
“Curious.” Rainbow resumed her work, and it startled Applejack, noticing a change in her personality. Rainbow Dash worked full speed until she could see the red scale of the dragon. Rarity came along soon, as did Pinkie Pie and Fluttershy. They all helped move rocks around, uncovering slight indications of red. Celestia released Twilight, who galloped toward her friends. 
“What are you girls doing?” Twilight cocked her head. 
“Rainbow Dash ‘pparently wants sumthin out o’ this pile of stone.” Applejack said without turning her head. Twilight was still confused when a scream came out. The crew stopped working and noticed that it was Fluttershy, crawling backwards as if she witnessed a murder. Twilight and the gang accompanied her, when she went to inspect what made Fluttershy scared. She cringed as she found the source. It was the dragon’s heart, and intestines, slopped and pierced under a rock. The heart looked as if it was cut in two, and remembered that Zero had technically decimated the dragon’s organs. Twilight cringed at the thought and turned around. Celestia got up and levitated all the rocks from the dragon and reduced it to dust. She put tried to speak but the total destruction made her close her mouth. A shining light caught the group’s attention. It was Zero’s metal sword, Rakukoujin, still lodged inside the dragon’s back. The blood stained the sword but it was still intimidating, to say the least. Rainbow went up to the sword and pulled it out. She took out a cloth tucked away at her wing and wiped off the blood, and put the sword behind her back. Twilight was about to object when she remembered the task at hand.
“Celestia, was this all you called us here for?” Twilight inquired. Celestia snapped back to reality and sighed.
“No... it was not. Although this is partially the problem, the main reason is that we need to apprehend X and Zero. They are too violent and are causing destruction in their wake.” Celestia concluded. She looked at Rainbow Dash, observing the sword. She seemed to marvel at its height by also by how Zero wielded it like it was a knife splitting butter. Rainbow Dash noticed Celestia’s glare and quickly put the sword down. Celestia looked back at Twilight and began to make plans. The group listened intently as Celestia explained how they would capture the duo. All the while, X and Zero were hiding in the forest, able to pick up what they were saying. Soon after, the group came to an agreement and broke off, getting things ready. X sighed and rubbed his temples.
“So, should we play their game?” X said. He didn’t like to hurt horses, especially magical talking horses. 
“Do we want to be enslaved by the magic... ponies?” Zero retorted. Zero sighed and walked with X back to Ponyville, but slow enough so the Mane 6 will have time for preparations. After a good hour or so, X and Zero started to head towards Ponyville.

“I see them coming from the forest.” Twilight buzzed. She had a walkie-talkie in one hoof, another steadying the telescope. Despite being designed for space, it had multiple lenses for adjustments. Another buzz came from the walkie-talkie.
“Copy that, watchtower, shall we start the plan?” Rarity sat upon her building, with a small pillow as a cushion. She spoke with worry, unsure if this is the right thing to do. She scowled a bit, saddened that she had to do this to her new friends.
“Yes, let the attack commence.” Twilight stuffed the walkie-talkie into a saddlebag and went outside. She looked up and saw Rainbow Dash circling around a cloud. Applejack came with a bucket load of apples and Fluttershy, regretting all that she did, prepared her animal army with sticks and stones, ready at their commander’s hooves. Fluttershy gulped, noticing how intimidating her once harmless friends now looked like savage animals. “Oh my...”
Pinkie Pie came bouncing out of Sugarcube Corner with a large cake on her back. The residents of Ponyville winced each time as Pinkie bounced, fearing that the cake might fall. Miraculously, it did not fall and she hid it under a blanket and slipped it into a hay bale. X and Zero, with the most bored look on their face, walked into Ponyville. They were greeted by the occasional wave or a smile. X returned the gesture, while Zero continued to walk. Twilight came into view and he started to look at her. She was looking around, trying to see all her friends when she too, noticed Zero. Then something happened. She felt...odd. Her body started to be cold and her eyes slowly came to a shut. She used all her might to force them open but they eventually came down with a soft clamp. Her hooves started to buckle and she understood what it was. Fear. She had a sudden flashback of all the past events with X and Zero. Utter destruction. Nothing came as close as a scratch on the two figures who were slowly approaching her. Twilight used her magic and enveloped herself, giving her her vision back. She could see Zero smirk. Twilight broke down and yelled out.
“NOW!” Twilight produced a sharp stick and threw it in the air. Pinkie and Applejack threw their apples and cake also, Fluttershy on standby with her animals. Rainbow, from the clouds, came down through the sky and produced a sonic rainboom, and using the momentum to bring down the sharp stick. She cut up the cake and apples into many parts and Twilight, using her magic, brought all of the goop into a hailstorm. It splattered all over the area where X and Zero were, but Twilight knew something was up. X and Zero didn’t move the whole time. In fact, they looked bored. Twilight hoped it wasn’t so and the mess came down into one big explosion. Rainbow Dash signaled to Fluttershy and she led the attack upon X and Zero. There were crashes and the animals screamed as if they were truly monsters. The battle kicked up dust and it enveloped the duo. Rarity sighed. She used her binoculars Twilight had given her and sighed. Was it really necessary? Just to capture two lone aliens who don’t have a whiff of what’s going on? Apparently so, because when the whole event was over, the animals jumped back. The group hung their heads down, guilty for what they’ve done but knew it was for the better. The dust started to disperse and much to their surprise, X and Zero were gone.
“Quick, scan the area! They couldn’t have gotten far!” Twilight panicked, and so did every other pony. The giant cake explosion caught everypony’s attention and they all scattered, thinking Discord had gotten loose once again. Everypony scattered into their houses, except for the Mane 6, who were cautiously looking around.
“Uhm... is everypony alright?” Fluttershy spoke softly. She disarmed her “rabid” animals and slowly petted them. Rainbow hovered the air, scanning for the two.
“I can’t see where they are!” She yelled a top. 
“Ah can’t see ‘em either, Twilight.” Applejack said. The group paced around for a bit until they noticed they were missing something. OR somepony, to be exact. Some white, fluffy, marshmallow. 
“RARITY!” They said in unison. The group started to make their way towards the Carousel Boutique. The house was in sight and sure enough, X and Zero were on the roof with Rarity. Rarity’s mouth was agape, shocked by what the duo was doing here. Rainbow Dash started to charge when a giant thump came from the forest. It shook the trees and then another thump, and another. Twilight stopped and X and Zero were facing the forest. Suddenly, a giant, 4 headed, yellow serpent came out. 
“What’ in th’ hay is that yella bug eye lizard doin’ out here!?” Applejack exclaimed. The Hydra continued to zero into Rarity, drool dripping from their mouth. Apparently it was hungry, and Fluttershy started to make a move. She stopped in her tracks, when 3 more Hydras appeared behind them. The other four knew that the situation was bad. They tried to save Fluttershy but they were struck with fear. One of the Hydras noticed Fluttershy and zoomed into her, when a familiar green swipe of light came out from Zero. The green light left a streak across one of the Hydra’s heads, and it suddenly splattered onto the floor. It landed next to Fluttershy, who was currently having another nervous breakdown, seeing death before her own eyes. Twilight pulled her out using her magic and saw X throw Rarity to them. She faceplanted into the dirt, and popped out.
“MY MANE. MY BEAUTIFUL MANE, RUINED! THE WORST.POSSIBLE.THING.EVER!” Rarity started to cry and Applejack put a hoof onto her back, rubbing away the pain. Twilight focused back onto X and Zero.

(Cue Battle Music!)

The Hydras started to attack at the same time, unleashing a flurry of yellow. X and Zero managed to avoid each of their attacks, and Zero hopped next to X. 
“Cover me!” Zero jumped and X started to charge his buster. One of the Hydra’s head snapped at Zero but X shot out his Charged Shot at the head, stunning it. Zero, seeing this as an opportune chance, jumped up whilst bringing up his sword, cutting off the tissue from the head. It was close to another one, so it severed the other head. Another Hydra came from behind and cornered Zero. X, facing the same problem, started to glow. A bright blue aura enveloped X and his gem also resonated with the blue aura. A sudden flash and X was in Ultimate Armor. The Hydra in front of X used its mighty foot to stomp the ground, but X managed to dash out of the way. X hopped onto its tail and charged his buster. He ran onto its back and shot into the middle of the body. The shot ripped a hole into the Hydra’s chest, exposing all the blood. It went down with a thud. Zero was ducking and jumping over the tail swipes the two Hydras that cornered him also. Zero leaped behind one of them and started to repeatedly stab the Hydra. Zero went to the head and brought down his sword, cutting off two of the heads. Twilight and the gang could only look in horror, seeing how much blood came from the Hydra, but more importantly, how X and Zero were just demolishing the competition. The fight waged on, until Zero finally killed the Hydra. The remaining two were bloodied, and stuck together. X and Zero walked slowly, each step they took, the Hydra took one step back. X retracted his buster, and Zero dropped his sword. They picked up the pace, taking the Hydras by surprise. X then went into a stance. 
“Zero, let’s end this.” Zero nodded, once again, in silent agreement, X’s hands started to glow, and so did Zero’s. The Hydras were now hobbling, trying to get back into the forest, but Zero wouldn’t let it happen. Zero appeared in front of them in a blink of an eye, making one Hydra turn around, only to meet face to face with X. X charged his attack, and Zero jumped up.
“SHORYUUKEN!” 
“HADOUKEN!”
X unleashed a massive wave of energy and Zero’s fist uppercutted the Hydra’s body. The Hydra Zero uppercutted went flying off into the air, while the Hydra X shot a wave at speeded like a bullet. The Hydra curved at an angle into the air and the Hydra Zero hit came rocketing down on top of the other one, a massive yellow blur hit the ground. 

(Music End (If it hadn’t already.))

Zero picked up his weapon and X walked next to him, observing the damage. Twilight was frightened. How powerful were they, and how lucky were the Princesses to survive an attack against these...things!? Zero snapped his head and stared dead on at Twilight. She yelped and ducked behind Applejack, who successfully calmed down Rarity. X about faced and saw a bright regal light. Celestia popped out from the air and went over to the group.
“Alright, now let’s wrap this up.” X groaned loudly.
“So much work. I’m so tired~” X whined. 
“Will you just get on with it!” Zero snapped. Celestia fired a spell into X and Zero’s area, and it was slapped away. It went around, then circled back onto X and Zero, who dodged. The spell hit Celestia and she was dazed. Luckily, she had a trick up her sleeve and a dark blue hole hole came from under the duo. The two didn’t leave their eyes off of Celestia, stunned by their reaction.
“We’ll see you soon, you damn princess.” Zero cursed. Soon, they sunk into the void and disappeared, as mysteriously as they came.


X and Zero awoke later, in the sky. It was an night time, and it seemed pretty peaceful, despite the fact that they crashed into a building. The concrete collapsed by the speed of X and Zero, who coughed.
“Dammit.” Zero said. X was on the topside, landing on the roof. He jumped down into the hole and helped Zero up. When all of a sudden, two people caught their eye. One was wearing a red trench coat, and had a massive sword. He had silver hair, hung down over his eyes and had icy blue eyes. The other, a blue trench coat with his hair swept back. He had a katana at his hip. The red one spoke.
“Who the hell are you two?”


Author's Note: Now commences the next ark in the story. More focus on the X and Zero, with the occasional chapters on the Mane 6. Remember to thumbs this up so more people will be drawn to read this story!