CYOA NovelAi Adventures

You nod your head. Courage is something you've had plenty of lately.

The other ponies agree with the idea and begin to approach the beast. You pull out your hammer and walk right up to the giant three-headed dog.

"Oh yeah?" the dog snarls.

"What's wrong, big boy? Can't take a joke?"

"I can handle whatever comes my way!" the dog roars. He turns his attention toward you and tries to lick your face. Oh! The dog is no threat. He pins you and licks you until you're covered in drool. Gross.

"Whoa!"

"Eeeewww!"

"That's disgusting."

Everyone runs away from you except for Fluttershy. She sticks close by your side, not wanting to let you out of her sight.

"Gross! That's just gross!"

"Come on, Fluttershy! Let me clean myself off!"

"No, please don't! Just stay here!"

"Okay, fine."

You get up, dusting yourself off while still dripping and try to open the massive doors. They are locked by some supernatural force so you call upon the resident magical pony to take care of things.

"Well, Twilight?"

"Here goes nothing..."

She casts a spell to unlock the door. It opens slowly, revealing a dark room filled with all sorts of bones and skeletons. As you enter the room, you notice two large wooden tables. One table has a skull sitting atop it and the other has what appears to be a pony body lying across its surface. A small pony skeleton stands near each table.

"Hurry!" Twilight urges. "Before they wake up again."

"Let's hurry then," you reply.

You run to the nearest table, but when you touch the pony's corpse, you feel a surge of power flow through you. Suddenly, you grow larger, becoming a full-grown stallion! Now you know why this place was called Tartarus; it literally means hell. Your new form gives you more strength than before. You use that newfound muscle to smash apart the skulls on both tables.

"Wow!"

"Woah!"

"Nice work, Anon!"

"Thanks, guys!"

"Good job!"

"Great teamwork!"

"I knew I could count on you!"

"Looking handsome in your new bod!"

"All hail the mighty Anon!"

"You look good in any shape!"

"Man, you really got bigger!"

"Awww, you're so cute!"

"Hey, now!"

You move forward past the skeleton-infested room and come upon the river Styx. A dark pony in black robes and with no face greets you on a barge. A deep voice moans, "Can you pay the price?"

"What is the price?"

"A part of your soul."

"Hell, no. I demand to speak to your manager."

"You mean Death?"

"Yes."

"Any man may challenge Death, but the price is that much higher."

"Fine. Give me a minute to think about it."

"Do as you wish. But remember: the longer you wait, the greater the cost will be."

You ponders the situation for a moment. If he waits too long, there'll likely never be another opportunity to defeat death once and for all. And if he does fight, well...he'd probably win. Then again, maybe it wouldn't hurt to give himself a few minutes to consider it.

"Very well. I accept your terms."

"Then welcome to Hell."

Everyone boards the boat to cross the River Styx. The black waters are full of wailing souls and tormented beasts. Once you reach the other side, the boat stops at a castle made entirely of pony bones. Inside sits an old stallion who looks like he's been dead for centuries. He wears a crown of bones and has a skeletal staff in one hoof and a book of bones in the other. His eyes glow red.

"Welcome to Tartarus Castle, where we rule over our domain," says the undead king. "Now tell me, how did you die?"

"I didn't. I wish to challenge you on the terms that Equestria isn't Earth and Death shouldn't exist."

"Then get ready to die."

The undead monarch raises his hand, summoning lightning bolts of fire to strike down you. The flames engulf you completely. You scream as you burn alive inside the inferno.

"Oh, dear god, oh, God, oh, please stop! Oh, my poor heart can't take anymore!"

Twilight interferes and glowing darkness forms around her. It envelops the entire group, shielding them from the fires. After a moment, the flames fade away, leaving everyone covered in ash.

"That was quite the entrance," laughs the ruler of Tartarus. "Now tell me what are you here for in my realm?"

"We're here to find Tirek," you say.

"What," Twilight deadpans. "And do what? Kill him?" She rolls her eyes. "This is going to be fun."

"It won't have to go that far," replies Death. "But first, let's see just how strong you are."

He takes out a scythe and swings it toward you. With a quick flick of your hammer, the blade shatters into pieces.

Death frowns. "Impressive, but not enough to beat me yet."

As he prepares another attack, Twilight interrupts. "Hold on a second! We came to ask you some questions about the world after death. Why don't we start by finding out who you are?"

"Who am I?" asks Death, surprised. "Why, I'm the ruler of Tartarus! My name is Death, and I've been ruling this realm since the dawn of time."

"Okay then, that makes sense," says Twilight. "Since you were already here, I guess that means you must have died yourself somewhere else."

"Not exactly..." sighs the ruler of Tartarus. "I'm actually immortal. No matter how many times I die, I always return to life eventually."

Anon stares at him blankly. "Wait, hold up. How is that possible? Aren't you supposed to only be able to die once?"

"Well, yeah, technically speaking. That doesn't apply when you're immortal though."

"Immortal?! What kind of bullshit is that?!"

"Don't worry about it," Death chuckles. "No offense intended, but you humans aren't very smart or advanced."

"Aha!" you say, beating on a technicality. "I am no longer a human, but am now a pony!"

"Ah, yes," nods the ruler of Tartarus. "Your species is known for their short lifespans and lack of intelligence. Still, even ponies are expected to live longer than most races, so it works out in the end. So, why do you want to know more about the afterlife?"

"Because," explains Twilight. "Our friend here wishes to defeat death itself. Since you are supposedly the ruler of Tartarus, perhaps you could help us."

"I would never defeat myself, but I did hear you wanted to meet Tirek. I could arrange to make that happen for you."

"Yeah!" Rainbow Dash says.

"No!" Twilight disagrees.

"Fine, fine," Death shrugs. "Tirek should arrive within the hour. Now, I think it's best if you five went ahead while I wait here alone."

"Thanks for understanding," Twilight says. Together, you, Twilight, Rainbow Dash, Fluttershy and Pinkie Pie advance along the path. As they walk, you wonder aloud:

"If he's immortal, does that mean there's nothing stopping him from killing himself again and coming back to life?"

"Maybe," Twilight answers. "But let's worry about how to defeat Tirek for now. We'll need to use the Elements of Harmony so I should probably summon my friends."

"Can you do that?"

"Well, if everyone puts their hoof on me and lend me your heart and support, I should be able to have enough energy to do it."

She turns to her friends, and all four put their hooves together. A few moments later, she summons the power of each element. The ground shakes as the magic swirls around her. Suddenly, a rainbow appears over Twilight's head and grows bigger. Then with a pop, Applejack and Rarity suddenly appear as if by some deux ex machina thought up by a bored pressured writer struggling to implement suggestions during a marecon.

Rarity looks down at herself. "Oh, dear! I can't believe how dirty and raggedy these clothes look! Can't we talk about this like civilized beings instead of making a scene?!"

Applejack ignores her and keeps walking. "Hey, Twi. You okay?"

Twilight smiles at them both. "Yes, thank you! It seems everything worked out well."

"Where in tarnation are we anyway?"

"Don't you have eyes, Applejack dear? We're obviously in Hell. And I was not prepared with anything in black today. Dear Twilight, can't you give me some advance notice for these things?"

"Sure thing, Rarity."

The three of you continue onward, passing through the tunnel leading deeper underground until you come upon an opening where a massive demon centaur lies sleeping. He snores loudly as he rests his chin atop the horns growing from either side of his skull. His body glows red hot, causing you to feel uncomfortably warm just looking at him.

"Heeeyyyy!" shouts the creature, waking up. "What'cha doing here?"

He stands up and stretches before turning towards you. His muscles ripple with every movement. "You're early!"

"Oh no!" Twilight cries, stating the obvious. "It's Tirek!"

"That's right. But don't worry, I've got plenty of time left. Let's see what you lot can do."

"We won't take long," Twilight promises. She begins chanting as the others prepare themselves. In the meantime, the centaur watches them warily. When they finish preparing, he steps forward and asks:

"So…what are ya gonna do?"

Pinkie Pie points at him and laughs. "This guy scares the shit outta me!"

"Me too," adds Rainbow Dash.

Fluttershy giggles nervously. "I'm sorry, but I find him rather cute…"

Anon has been following Twilight and her friends, but when he hears them talking about defeating Tirek, he decides to intervene. "Excuse me!" he calls out as they approach.

"Who's that?" asks the centaur.

"My name is Anon. I am new in town and have heard much about you."

"New pony, huh? What brings you here?"

"I'm here to pound your ass into the ground with my massive hammer."

A grin spreads across the face of the beast. "Ooohh yeah, I'd love to try that. Come on then!"

Without waiting for a reply, he charges forward, swinging his axe high overhead. With lightning speed, Twilight jumps aside, dodging the blow. Meanwhile, her friends dodge or block several blows from the monster.

"How dare you attack us!" Rarity exclaims angrily.

"Sorry, but I ain't apologizing," replies Tirek, who swings another strike. This one hits Fluttershy in the flank, knocking her off balance and sending her flying backwards.

"EEP! Ow, that hurts!"

Tirek smirks. "Not as much as it will hurt when I chop your head clean off!"

Before he can swing again, Anon rushes forward and swings his hammer. Twilight charges up her magic. Her spell blasts forth, striking Tirek square between the eyes. He staggers back, blinking rapidly. As soon as he regains his bearings, Twilight casts her second spell. She strikes the centaur's head, stunning him once more. Tirek winds up and swings his axe wildly at Twilight, who dodges and counters with a kick aimed squarely at his crotch. The impact sends him stumbling backward.

"Okay, now's our chance," Twilight says as she gallops after him and knocks the axe away.

"Yeah! Time to end this!"

Rainbow Dash flies in close behind and uses her wings to push the centaur hard enough so he falls flat on his backside. She leaps onto the beast's chest while Fluttershy runs toward Tirek's neck. Fluttershy dabs on him and he just dies.

As Twilight turns to congratulate her friends, however, she notices something odd. There is no sign of any wound or blood anywhere near Tirek's body. No matter; he'll be dead soon.

She summons her magic and prepares for the final blow, but suddenly stops short. "Wait—he isn't bleeding?! How could that happen without a scratch?!"

"Well, uh—" Twilight pauses to think. "Maybe if there weren't any cuts, he wouldn't bleed?"

"Or maybe he's immortal?" suggests Rainbow Dash. "Like how Discord was always able to regenerate himself whenever he needed to."

Rarity looks down sadly at the corpse. "But he looked so very mortal."

"Well, we know what works on immortal beings." Twilight's eyes shimmer and magically summon the Elements of Harmony. She calls forth each element. First comes the power of fire, which burns Tirek's flesh and boils his blood within seconds. Next follows the strength of earth, which crushes his bones and breaks the tendons in his legs. Then comes the purity of air, which freezes him solid. Finally, the last two elements come together and form an explosion powerful enough to tear him apart. It does work, though. Even as he screams, his remains fly through the sky until they disappear completely.

Twilight smiles triumphantly and holds up the Element of Magic, shouting: "Victory!"

***

Twilight and her friends return home. At first glance, everything seems fine. However, upon closer inspection, they notice that all four of their friends seem different somehow.

"You guys look weird," Pinkie Pie observes as she trots over to Twilight. "What happened?"

"We're not sure yet," Twilight explains. "All of us got hit by some sort of strange magical force that changed us slightly. We don't even remember how long ago it started."

"That's creepy," remarks Rarity.

Pinkie points to herself. "Hey, I've never had such big hair before. And my ears are bigger too. But why did yours change?"

"Mine grew longer, and my tail's shorter." Rainbow Dash adds. "And I feel lighter than normal, like I weigh less now. Why do you think we were affected?"

"It may have something to do with the battle against Tirek," Twilight thinks aloud. "He cast spells that drained the life out of us, and made our bodies stronger. Perhaps these changes are similar to those effects."

"Could it also mean that Tirek has been reborn in some way? That he might rise up again someday and threaten Equestria again?" asks Fluttershy.

"Maybe someday, but for today, he is dead," Twilight says.

Anon goes around and boops all the ponies.

The next day, Twilight visits Spike and tells him about the events from the previous night. When she gets back to Canterlot, however, she finds Princess Celestia waiting for her in front of the castle.

"I'm sorry, Twilight," the princess apologizes. "I should have told you earlier, but I didn't want to worry you unnecessarily."

"Worried me?" Twilight gasps. "How could anything possibly be wrong? You said nothing was amiss yesterday afternoon, right?"

Princess Celestia nods slowly. "Yes… well…" She sighs heavily. "Yesterday morning, one of the guards found Tirek lying unconscious outside the palace gates. He appeared to have fallen off a cliff and landed here. The guard brought him inside and called for help immediately. As soon as I heard the news, I rushed to check on him myself. Unfortunately, he died shortly afterwards."

Anon walks over and boops the dead corpse.

"This wasn't supposed to happen," Twilight whispers. "Tirek's death was guaranteed when the Elements destroyed him. How can he still be alive?"

"Perhaps because someone else killed him," replies the princess quietly, looking down. "Someone who knew exactly where he would land after falling."

"Who?" Twilight demands. "Why? Who dared commit this crime?!"

Celestia shakes her head sadly. "There was only one pony left in town capable of killing Tirek, and she's already gone. Her name is Lyra Heartstrings. If anyone knows more..."

"Then let's go find out! Come along! Oh, and bring plenty of oats," Twilight orders, then teleports away.

Twilight teleports in atop a nearby hill overlooking the village. There's no sign of the villagers or Lyra anywhere. In fact, there isn't much of anything except for a few hoofprints leading into the forest. Twilight notices several other tracks heading toward a cave in the side of the mountain. This must be it. She heads towards the entrance, but stops suddenly when she sees something odd in one of the prints—a single hoofprint missing a chunk.

"Lyra," Twilight mutters, realizing that this is the same pony that tried to steal her magic book during her visit to Fillydelphia.

She follows the trail until she reaches a large rock formation blocking the path. It appears to be an old, abandoned mine shaft. Suddenly, Twilight remembers reading somewhere that mineshafts are dangerous places;

***

Lyra intones to herself: "I am become Death, destroyer of oats."

She thinks she is all alone.

In the dark depths of the mine, Twilight spots Lyra sitting alone at the edge of a deep pit. The unicorn approaches cautiously, trying to keep her voice low so that Lyra won't hear her coming.

"Hello, Lyra," Twilight greets nervously.

"Oh, hello!" Lyra answers happily, turning around to face the stranger. "I haven't seen you since—"

Her words cut short as she looks behind Twilight to see Anon standing silently beside her.

"Well, hello," he says cheerfully. "What are you doing here?"

Lyra stares blankly at him. "You… you look different." Then, noticing Twilight's presence, she turns back to the unicorn and smiles widely. "Hi! What brings you here?"

"Actually, I came to ask you what happened last night," Twilight explains quickly.

"Last night?" Lyra echoes curiously. "Oh, yes. Well, um, I killed Tirek."

"Really?" Twilight exclaims excitedly. "That's wonderful! Congratulations! But why did you try to take my magic book before you killed him? Were you planning on using it yourself?"

Lyra frowns and scoffs. "Of course not! I just thought your magic book would make a good weapon against Tirek. Besides, I don't even know how to read."

"But you stole it anyway," Twilight points out.

"Yeah, I guess I did," Lyra admits sheepishly.

"And now you've got the power to do whatever you please," Twilight adds. "Do you plan on hurting anypony?"

"No way!" Lyra assures them both. "I mean, I might hurt some ponies if they're really annoying me, like those two idiots who kept bothering me while we were walking home together."

You reach over and boop Lyra. "Greetings from Earth!"

"Huh?" Lyra gasps. "What does that mean?"

"It means time is almost up and we have to end the story suddenly."

"Wait! You're leaving?! Why?!"

"Because there's nothing more to tell about our little adventure. And besides, this is probably going to sound strange coming from a talking horse, but I think you should leave right now."

"Leave?" Lyra asks, confused.

"Yes," Twilight explains patiently. "We'll explain later. For now, follow me!"

The three friends teleport back to Celestia's castle.