Chapter 14
“LOKI!” Thor bellowed, flaring his wings. “It is time thou paid for thy crimes!” He leapt into the air, raising Mjolnir. He moved like lightning through the air, closing the space between him and Loki in the blink of an eye... only for the mighty Mjolnir’s swing to be interrupted by a barrier of magical energy. A flare of energy sent Thor tumbling back, but he righted himself quickly. “How...?” Loki’s horn wasn’t glowing... but Trixie’s was. “Impossible. No unicorn could halt Mjolnir’s path.”
“You shouldn’t underestimate unicorns, brother,” Loki said with a smirk as Trixie strode forward, like a champion defending her king. In effect, Thor mused, that wasn’t a bad analogy. “Your beloved Princess Celestia did, and look what happened to her!”
“Of course, even Trixie needs help sometimes,” Trixie remarked, her horn glowing as she raised a weapon Thor hadn’t noticed until now. “Master Loki was kind enough to grant The Great and Powerful Trixie a weapon to make even the great Mjolnir pale in comparison!”
It was a spear, but to call it a mere spear would be to call the Princess a mere pony, or the great Mjolnir a mere hammer. Its’ haft was beautifully carved from gold, with Asgardian runes along its’ length. The blade was shaped like a thunderbolt from the finest crystal the Diamond Dogs had ever mined, and upon that fine crystal was carved the magnificent weapon’s name. Thor’s eyes widened as he recognized the mighty spear. “Gungnir.” He whispered.
“Ah, so you recognize our father’s favored weapon?” Loki said idly. “It was just sitting around in a part of dear old father’s treasure vault that survived the Fall of Asgard. With the awakening of Mjolnir and the rising magic levels caused by the Singularity your dear princess initiated, its’ power reawakened. So, I thought, since father had the foresight to ward against my using it, what better use for a spear which amplifies the user’s magic then to give it to my most loyal apprentice? Right, oh Great and Powerful Trixie?”
Trixie’s eyes glowed with power, her pupils obscured by the sickening green of her borrowed magical power. The crystal blade of Gungnir, normally a beautiful blue, lit up with in the same color as Trixie leveled it at Thor. “Yes, Master. The Great and Powerful Trixie is undoubtedly the best choice to be the wielder of Gungnir, for what other pony could possibly match her in magical prowess?” Magic fairly thrummed through the room; Thor could feel it in his horn, a sickening wave of the magical equivalent of dark sewage. “And what better use then to rid Trixie of her Master’s most hated enemy?”
“You... you arrogant, power-hungry nag!” Thor exploded, his wings beating against the air in his anger. “Thou would defile the legacy of Asgard? Thou would consider thyself a worthy wielder of the Spear of Odin? Foolish mortal! For this insult, thou shall suffer a thousand years’ torment in the depths of Helhiem!”
Trixie’s nostrils flared in anger. “You dare insult the Great and Powerful Trixie? It is you that shall pay the price!” A bolt of magic leapt from the blade of Gungnir, streaking across the room. Thor lifted Mjolnir in defense, but the attack wasn’t aimed at him. It shot straight past him, and struck Pinkie, whom Thor had forgotten had come in with him. Her strangled scream echoed in Thor’s head, and dread filled his heart as he turned to see what the magic had done to his dearest friend.
Pinkie was suspended in midair, body held rigid by the sickly green magic Thor had grown so accustomed to. Pain filled her expression, and she screamed again as she struggled in vain against the magical prison. “Pinkie!” Thor cried, stepping towards her.
“Stop right there!” Trixie shouted, and Thor froze. “Take one more step, and Trixie will charge the Prison spell with a Soul Sap spell. It’s like the Soul Seal spell you’ve seen used already, only it takes days.” Thor slowly turned to face Trixie’s smirking face. “Trixie imagines it is an unbeleivably painful death.”
“I’d listen to her, brother.” The look of enjoyment on Loki’s face nearly enraged Thor to the point of disregarding Trixie’s warning and smashing his brother to a pulp right there... but then Pinkie would pay the price. “My faithful Trixie has a vicious streak nearly as wide as mine. She’d be more than happy to kill your little friend. I suggest you surrender yourself.”
Thor beat his wings helplessly, trying to think of a way out. Sadly, Thor had never studied magic, and Big Mac was merely an earth pony, with no knowledge of the inner workings of magic. Thor had all the natural magical power of an Alicorn, or course, but he had all the subtlety of a sledgehammer and knew very few spells that didn’t involve his purview of God of Storms. He knew of no way to free Pinkie or protect her from Trixie’s magic...
No way but one.
Thor slowly dropped himself to the floor, lowering Mjolnir to the floor. If looks could kill, then both Loki and Trixie would already be dead, but sadly such an ability was beyond even the power of a god.
“Excellent!” Loki laughed, hopping down from his throne. “You see, brother? For all your strength, all your much-vaunted power and your mighty hammer, it was my brilliant plan and mighty magic which felled you at last.”
“You mean thy cowardice, using the magic of another and taking hostages?” Thor growled. “If that is the route to power I would rather remain a weakling.”
“Oh, dear, dear brother.” Loki said, walking slowly towards his rival. “You didn’t think this meeting happened by chance, did you? You thought your brother Loki didn’t plan every step of our contest, since the day your little farmpony host first found Mjolnir? I drove him to that cave, controlling a mighty beast to force him there, to uncover Mjolnir and awaken its’ power. I chose a pony from Ponyville, to ensure they’d meet my descendent, giving me an unwitting spy in your midst.” Pinkie gave a startled cry. “Oh, yes, Pinkamina. You were quite helpful, my granddaughter. You made keeping tabs on my brother much easier, and you gave me an easy way to tell him when I sent him enemies to fight.” He turned his attention back to Thor.
“I ensured you would come to the Princesses’ attention with your fight with the Wrecker, and when you met with them I sent Fin Fang Foom to you, to prove your prowess. I had Trixie weaken the greater Princess, as well as cause a Singularity with her mighty magic. Do you know what that is, you uneducated oaf? It is when the magic of a fallen or weakened Alicorn is absorbed into the world, twisting fate and destiny on their heads and changing what was impossible into not only possible, but probable. It was the Singularity caused by the Fall of Asgard that brought unicorns and pegasi into the world, and gave earth ponies their strength. Not only would this Singularity bring me a step closer to the world ruled by magic I so desired, it would also provide you with what I needed you to have: teammates. Allies. Friends.” He gestured to the strange guards holding Thor’s friends. “Dark Avengers! Bring my foolish brother’s friends forward!”
Thor was struggling to process just what Loki had said as the Dark Avengers, as Loki called him, dragged his largely unresisting friends forward, until they lay just before a smug-looking Trixie. Loki continued to advance towards Thor, grinning ear to ear. “You see, Thor, Celestia can go on and on about the so-called ‘Magic of Friendship’ all she likes. In the end? Friends are a weakness, in more ways then one. Your friendship with my descendant has rendered you impotent. Her friendship with your Avengers allowed me to establish the magical link I needed to siphon their magic into my Dark Avengers. And it your friendship with them that I shall now use to seize all of Equestria!” He was nearly nose-to-nose with Thor as he finished his speech, before suddenly spinning around to face his apprentice. “Trixie! Begin the Soul Theft!”
Trixie cackled as the glow around Gungnir intensified, before an achingly familiar bolt of magic erupted from its’ blade. The beam split in three before striking Thor’s three friends, eliciting a howl of pain from each. Thor shut his eyes tightly, unable to watch his friend’s pain. Loki merely laughed. “Oh, how easily your supposed ‘strength’ you draw from friendship turns to weakness. Open your eyes, brother. You may want to see what comes next.”
Thor warily opened his eyes just in time to see three beams of sickly green magic leap from his friends, merging back into one before striking him square in the chest.
Thor bellowed, collapsing to the ground. The pain was unimaginable, like a claw digging at his very soul. He tried to summon magic, tried to fend it off, but his power abandoned him. It would not head his call, and Thor was left to suffer. Dimly, he could hear Loki still talking. By Odin, did he ever shut up?
“You see, Thor, I have studied the power of the soul quite extensively. It is how I developed the Soul Seal you’ve seen me use so many times, as well as the more advanced variant, the Soul Theft you are now suffering. A normal pony would have no resistance, of course. A Soul Seal would kill them instantly, and in the case of the Soul Theft, whatever meager magic they had would be returned to me. But an Alicorn, why, they’d fend it off, though not without consequence, as your Princess discovered. So, I devised a way to fool the powerful magic of an Alicorn into allowing itself to be siphoned away.”
Loki leaned in close to his fallen foe, his grin filling Thor’s fading vision. “Did you know? The power of friendship that your Princess so adores? It’s a real thing, an actual principle of magic. Ponies can share magic amongst each other, creating a harmonizing effect that amplifies the magic into something that no single pony could control alone. Impressive, but nothing that cannot be replicated with an artifact like Gungnir. Most ponies are unable to achieve true harmonization without an artifact of power in any case. This method can be turned against a pony, however. By using your friends as a conduit for for the Soul Theft, your magic thinks it is the power of your friendship, that it is your friends it is feeding.” Loki laughed as he flew back to his throne, turning to Thor and holding out a hoof. “When in reality... it is delivering to Loki the Magnificent the means to conquer ALL OF EQUESTRIA!”
Thor felt himself shrinking, felt the power of Mjolnir leaving him as the cords binding it to his hoof came loose. He felt his godly power leaving him, felt Thor leaving him, leaving only Macintosh Apple behind. Mjolnir came loose, leaving nothing but a bright-red earth pony behind as it flew across the room to bind itself to Loki’s hoof.
“AT LAST! MJOLNIR IS MINE!” Loki roared, his voice losing its’ jovial edge in favor of a godly echo. He floated into the air, sickly green lightning radiating from his mane and horn. Mjolnir itself took on his signature green glow, casting the entire room in green light. “NOW, ALL OF EQUESTRIA SHALL BOW TO ITS’ NEW KING; ITS’ NEW GOD! ALL HAIL LOKI THE MAGNIFICENT!”
“Hail hail!” Trixie echoed, glee evident in her own face. She might not like second place on general principle, but there were worse jobs than being second to the absolute god-ruler of all Equestria. “Shall I obliterate what is left of these pathetic fools, Master?” she gestured to the remains of the Avengers, all too weak to stand, as well as Big Mac and Pinkie, who lay stunned on the floor as well.
Loki considered, lowering himself to the floor as his voice returned to normal. “No, I don’t think so. The Soul Theft took whatever magic the Singularity bestowed upon them when it took Mjolnir. Without my brother’s hammer,” he brandished the mighty weapon, grinning broadly at it. “They are less then helpless. Let them wallow in their failure. Let them know that they never stood a chance against me, that their every move only brought my victory closer.” He let loose a cruel laugh. “Let them feel the sting of failure, and tell all of Equestria the futility of standing against Loki!”
“As you wish, Master.” Trixie said with a cackle. Humiliating one’s enemies was something Trixie understood very well; for quite some time, Trixie had made a hefty living off that very practice, though never quite on this scale. “I suppose our next stop is the Canterlot Castle, then?”
“Precisely, my Apprentice.” Loki was still grinning as he approached his apprentice. “It is time to claim what is rightfully mine. Gungnir should allow your teleport to pierce the castle wards easily. It is time for all of Equestria to meet its’ new master!” His voice rose to a gleeful shout. “So ends the reign of friendship, as did Asgard’s reign of might before it. With the demise of the Princesses, I shall usher in a new age! AN AGE RULED BY MAGIC AND THE MIND, AN AGE WHERE LOKI IS SUPREME!” The pair vanished with a cackle and a flash of green magic.
Silence reigned in the mansion. Few ponies had the strength to move. The only one with the energy to stand was Big Macintosh, who struggled to his hooves. Slowly, though his hooves felt like they were filled with lead, he slowly turned and left his friends behind, walking slowly from the mansion, his head hung in shame.
He should have known it would end like this.
He was no hero. He was just a farmpony.
He used to be proud of that. Now he was just ashamed.
-----------------
The walk from Canterlot to Ponyville wasn’t awful, but it was at least a twenty-four hour trip on hoof. Big Mac couldn’t make himself care, even though the trip only took moments as Thor. Even when he had to go slow to allow for a passenger, the trip was only about an hour. Going by hoof felt so slow. Big Mac didn’t care. Couldn’t care.
If he let himself care, his failure would just hurt all the more.
Failure. It was a new sensation for him. He’d never really had to cope with any major failure before. Oh, sure, he’d lost a few games of horseshoes with his sister, sometimes they’d lose a few trees to a harsh winter, but that was all little stuff.
All of Equestria had been counting on him. Everypony had trusted Thor to save the day, and now Thor was gone. He’d let everypony down, and it hurt.
“Pardon me, son.” Big Mac was startled out of his introspection by a voice from behind him. Who else would be traveling to Ponyville on a day like today? He turned to see an elderly earth pony stallion, with a light brown coat and a thinning black mane. He wore a pair of sunglasses, and his cutie mark was a red circle with a white, blocky ‘M’ in it. Big Mac wondered idly what that could mean. “Sorry to bother you, but you looked down in the dumps. I thought maybe you’d want somepony to talk to.”
“Not really,” Big Mac said quietly, turning to face forward again. “Ah’m not really in the mood ta talk ta anypony.”
“I see,” said the elderly pony, trotting next to Big Mac. “It’s just, day like today, I’d expect a hero like you to be leapin’ into action. Save the day, that kinda thing.”
Big Macintosh laughed bitterly. “Ah think ya’ll ‘ve got the wrong pony, mister. Ah ain’t no hero. Not any more, at least.” He muttered he last part quietly.
“See, now, that’s up to you, ain’t it?” the stallion said casually. “I mean, nopony can tell you ‘oh, you can’t be a hero anymore’. That’s your choice.”
“Ah don’t think so. Ah tried bein’ a hero. Ah failed, and now everypony else is gonna pay for it. Ah don’t have the power to save ‘em, not anymore.” Big Mac sighed deeply. “Ah’m gonna go home. Work the farm. S’all Ah ever wanted, anyhow.”
“Well, no real hero asks for it. They wouldn’t be a hero otherwise, now would they?” The older pony’s persistence was starting to get a bit irritating, but Big Mac tolerated it. Whatever else he said, he did appreciate the company. “As for failing... everypony fails, sometimes. Even heroes. Thing is, heroes dust themselves off and get back up. That’s all a hero is; someone who gets back up. They don’t need power, or gadgets, or a fancy base, or any of that. They just need the courage to get back up.”
“What’s the point?” Big Mac asked. “Why get back up if ya’ll just get knocked back down? Loki’s too strong... Ah can’t win.”
“Maybe not. But can you live with yourself if you don’t try?” Big Mac turned to face the older stallion; the elderly pony had fixed him with a hard glare. It was like facing his sister in one of her stubborn moods.
“Ah... Ah...” Big Mac felt himself at a loss for words, before the answer came to him. “No,” He sighed deeply. “Ah guess Ah’d never forgive mahself, would Ah? But what can Ah do? Ah’m just an farmpony.”
“No, you’re not.” The stallion said, laying a kindly hoof on his shoulder. “You’re a farmpony with friends. Good friends, just as heroic as you. But like you, they’ve fallen down and they’ve forgotten how to get back up. You need to go and remind them. They think they’re powerless, like you do. But you... you can give them back their power. Excelsior!”
“Pardon?” Big Mac gave the stallion an odd look.
“It’s an old family saying. It means ‘Ever Upwards’. So long as you never forget to get back up, there’s no limit to how high you can climb.” The old stallion tapped a hoof against Big Mac’s forehead, sending a strange tingle down his spine. Something shifted inside him... and suddenly, Big Mac felt Thor in his mind again. His memories, his personality... everything Thor was, was still in him. Just... buried. Waiting to dust off and get back up.
Big Mac looked up to thank the older pony, but somehow, he’d vanished while Big Mac was recovering from his surprise. “Who was that?” he wondered quietly to himself. He didn’t let himself wonder for long, though. He turned back around and began galloping for Canterlot. He had to find his friends, and fast.
-----------------
“Thank you soooo much!” Pinkie said, hugging the elderly stallion enthusiastically. Despite his apparent frailty, he had little difficulty hugging her back. “I wanted to help Mac-pack so much but I didn’t know how because I didn’t think he wanted a party and I didn’t know what else to do!”
“No problem, Pinkie,” he said with a laugh. “I love making cameos, and it’s my pleasure to help out a budding hero. Besides, it’s not every day a pink pony comes crashing through the Fourth Wall to ask for help from the One Above All. After all that trouble you went through, how could I say ‘no’ to such a simple request?”
“Well, thanks anyway, Mr. Lee!” Pinkie said cheerfully. “I really really appreciate it!”
“Don’t mention it, Ms. Pie,” the elderly pony said with a chuckle. “Now you’d best hurry along. I have a feeling Mr. Macintosh is going to need your help.”
“Okie-dokie-lok... er, okie-dokie!” Pinkie said, hopping back towards Canterlot. “Thanks again, Stan!”
The strange pony waved to Pinkie until she was out of sight. “What a nice girl.” He said to himself. Then he looked around. “A world full of ponies. How interesting... Nice work.” He nodded in a strange direction that wasn’t really a direction, but... outward. Towards a dimension a normal pony couldn’t see. “See you all later!” he said to nopony. “‘Nuff said!”
And suddenly he was gone.
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Ok, that ending is just plain awesome.
I knew Mister Lee would make a ponified cameo somewhere in here. Nice to see it was to give the 'Excelsior' talk.
Of course stan woould make a cameo, its tradition! Now, its Thor time
Stan Lee cameo?
I came. Multiple times.
WHOOT!!! Stan Lee!
STAN LEE CAMEO!!!
Nerdgasm
stan the man lee aw yeah!
So basically Loki is saying is:
or this...
media.tumblr.com/tumblr_marz5vmeHj1rw2gyh.gif
Stan Lee
!!!
aw ya I met Stan Lee.
Okay, I've just upgraded Pinkie in this fanon to alicorn power levels. If she can contact the essence of Mr Lee through the veil of worlds and create an avatar for him to interact with the locals, then she's probably more powerful than Twilight. A frightening thought, is it not?
A Stan Lee cameo. AWESOME.
oh.mine.GOTT!! STAN F***ING LEE!!!!! WHOO BABY!!!! THAT IS AWESOME!! THANK YOU PINKIE I LOVE YOU!!!
That was just perfect! I was expecting a cameo but not like that! Brilliant! AWESOME!!!
STAN LEE HAS NO NEED FOR YOUR PUNY FORTH WALL!
Magnificent use of the Stan Lee cameo...! /)
Aw, shit... we gots these motherfuckers some STAN LEE!
Stan Lee Cameo!!!!
I love seeing Stan show up in anything marvel related. Mainl because he is one o the ew old guard left.
-Re-reads the Stan Lee part- Wut?
Seriously, Pinkie? You love confusing people, don't you?
Well, I think it's funny to a point! 
Hehe!
Arg, wtf?!?
NOPE! -teleports to some other dimension-
Stan... Lee?
Hi Stan!
I have to say that every time he shows his mug in a movie. Seeing him in a crossover doc with ponies? Possibly even better.
*gasp* HOLY FRIKKIN HECK I JUST MET STAN LEE
Obligatory Stan Lee cameo. *DING*
It's Stan Lee! As a pony!
Oh wait, it ain't a marvel story without a Stan Lee cameo appearance.
ROTFLH! KOOLERKID IT'S OFFICIAL! YOU HAVE MADE A PONIFIED VERSION OF THE MCU WITH THAT CAMEO.
<takes a few breaths to calm down>
Though I think it would've been better if the spirit
of Odin was the one to help Macintosh/Thor, but Stan Lee was great.
Anyhow, I might as well give a review of the story so far. And here goes.
THOR: Your writing him is perfect and him loosing to Loki is a great homage to the movie.
Iron pony: Your using Prince Blueblood was perfect. The spoiled noble becoming a philanthropist/engineer/inventor after a piece of sharpness gets lodged dangerously near his heart genius. I especially like the Pepper Potts/Tony Stark dynamic going with Rarity and Blueblood.
FIREBIRD: I haven't figured which Marvel character you modeled on but she's good.
CAPTAIN EQUESTRIA: I like how you took Caramel who was alot like Steve Rodgers. Giving him the G5 earth pony ability to grow plants gives the first avenger an MLP flavor.
I'm thinking that this fist defeat is because the Avengers are under strength. I'm hoping you're going to add the HULK & Hawkeye to the team.