Chapter 15
Princess Luna anxiously looked up at the clock. She’d been waiting in the Canterlot Castle throne room for nearly an hour and a half, now. Thor wasn’t the kind of pony to be late, especially by such an egregious margin. He should have been back in Canterlot some time ago, and he’d agreed to come give her a progress report on the Avengers at five o’clock sharp.
A knock finally came on the door, and she broke out into a relieved smile. “Please come in, Thor,” she said, her horn lighting up to open the grand double doors for the Avenger’s leader. “I was beginning to think you weren’t... coming...” She trailed off as an alicorn she didn’t recognize appeared in the doorway. It wasn’t until she recognized Trixie at his side that it clicked in her mind who it was.
“I’m afraid my brother won’t be attending,” Loki said with a polite smile. “So I have come in his stead... to request you turn over the throne to me!”
Luna leapt to her hooves, her eyes ablaze. In her anger, her voice reverted to the Traditional Royal Canterlot Speaking voice, booming throughout the grand hall. “HOW DARE YOU COME HERE? YOU FOOL, DID YOU THINK YOU COULD MERELY WALTZ INTO MY CASTLE? GUARDS!”
The impressive concussive force of her voice failed to do anything more then ruffle the mane of Loki and his apprentice. Trixie laughed arrogantly. “Foolish mare,” she said condescendingly, relishing the chance to prove herself superior to a goddess. “Did you really think your pathetic guards stood a chance against the Great and Powerful Trixie? Trixie has already dealt with them. Your weakened sister, too. You needn’t worry, though; Trixie merely sent them to sleep. We wouldn’t want you to do anything rash.”
Loki gave his apprentice an approving smile. “Clever, isn’t she? Now, surrender the throne to me, or I shall return you to your old home on the moon. What will it be, Princess?”
Princess Luna snarled at the acid-green Alicorn. “YOU ARE A FOOL TO THINK THE PRINCESS SO EASILY COWED, LOKI!” Her horn lit up with a powerful, dark blue glow, and the entire chamber darkened as she gathered power.
Loki merely shook his head. “Trixie, deal with her,” he ordered tiredly.
“Of course, Lord Loki,” Trixie said, striding forward as she levitated Gungnir before her. Its’ crystalline blade lit up as Luna launched her spell, a thousand fragments of deadly, razor-sharp magic zooming towards the pair of villains.
With a casual wave of Gungnir, Trixie banished each and every shard with ease. “Pathetic,” she sneered. “Is even an Alicorn beneath the power of the Great and Powerful Trixie?” Gungnir lit up again, firing an orb of bright green magic at the Princess. In a panic, Luna erected a powerful, seven-layered barrier of magic to block the spell, but the sphere tore through them like a rock through tissue paper.
Luna screamed as the orb enveloped her, only to be abruptly cut off as the orb vanished. The throne room fell eerily quiet. Loki grinned. “Where did you send her, Apprentice?”
“To the moon, as you threatened, Master,” Trixie said with a wide grin. Her heart was pounding widely. She’d defeated an Alicorn, and hadn’t even broken a sweat! “Trixie would have killed her, but killing an Alicorn is difficult and Trixie wished to conserve her strength.”
Loki raised an eyebrow. “For what? We have nothing else to fear, now. All our enemies have been dealt with. Unless you wish revenge on Celestia’s student, still...”
“In due time,” Trixie said. Suddenly, Gungnir spun, and pointed itself at Loki. “But first, Trixie thinks she shall send you to join Luna and take the throne for herself... Master.”
Loki blinked as he realized what was happening. Then he smiled. His smile grew to a grin. Finally, he erupted into laughter. “Oh, how magnificent! So the student thinks she can turn on her master? Do you really think a mere unicorn could oppose me?”
“You said yourself you should not underestimate unicorns, Master,” Trixie reminded him, Gungnir lighting up with a bright blue glow - with Trixie’s true allegiance revealed, her magic reverted to its’ natural color. “Trixie has defeated two Alicorns today, she sees no reason she cannot defeat a third.”
“Nor can I.” Loki agreed, his own horn lighting up. “Unless that Alicorn happens to be me. I had hoped it wouldn’t come to this... but just in case, I did plan for it. Did you think I’d just hand you the second most powerful weapon in Equestria?”
“What... what do you...” Trixie tried to launch her spell, but Gungnir failed to respond. It began to twist in her magic’s grasp like an angry snake, rebelling against her control.
Loki raised Mjolnir and leveled it at Trixie, his voice echoing with power. “By the sacred hammer Mjolnir, I proclaim myself Heir of Asgard and all her treasures. As the successor of Odin Allfather, I declare the great spear Gungnir to be mine and mine alone, and command it now to obey my will! TURN AGAINST YOUR MASTER!”
Trixie fought valiantly, but Gungnir began to slowly spin about, the glowing blade turning towards her. “No... no!” She tried to release the weapon, to run away or teleport, but Loki was far ahead of her. An arcane energy like a great fist fell upon her, pinning her to the spot. She tried desperately to turn Gungnir away, but she wasn’t strong enough. The blade loomed closer... and closer...
And it touched.
The searing pain of Trixie’s own most powerful spell coursed through her as the magic discharged, point-blank, into her own face. She let loose an earsplitting scream, a sound no pony should be able to make as the magic burned into her face. It was like nothing she ever felt before.
However, the magic that surged through her was her own magic, and she could still use it. She took hold of it, bent it to her will, and forced it into her horn. With her power thus reinforced, she tore through Loki’s barrier and vanished in a cloud of sparkling blue magic.
Loki sighed with disappointment. “Ah well. She’s no longer a threat. Such a shame.” He turned towards the throne. “What’s worse, it seems she took Gungnir with her.” He glanced down at his own hoof and grinned. “Not that I have any more need of it.” He trotted down the hall and seated himself on the throne. “Long live the king.” He chuckled, as his horn glowed.
Time to address the peasants.
-----------------
In every home, on every street, in every building, in every town and city in Equestria, ponies were suddenly startled by the appearance of an illusionary Alicorn they did not recognize.
In particular, a large image appeared in front of Canterlot Castle, stopping a pair of earth ponies - one big and red, the other bouncy and pink - in their tracks.
“ATTENTION EQUESTRIA. I AM LOKI. NO DOUBT YOU HAVE ALREADY HEARD OF ME. I AM THE ONE RESPONSIBLE FOR THE APPEARANCE OF ALL THE MUTANTS AND MONSTERS THAT HAVE RECENTLY APPEARED IN THE CANTERLOT AREA.
“I HAVE APPEARED BEFORE YOU ALL TO ANNOUNCE THAT THE PRINCESS CELESTIA AND LUNA HAVE BEEN CAPTURED, UNTIL SUCH TIME AS I CAN PREPARE THE SPELL FOR THEIR EXECUTION. I AM NOW IN CONTROL OF CANTERLOT CASTLE. I AM YOUR NEW KING.
“STARTING TOMORROW, I WILL BE VISITING EACH CITY AND TOWN UNDER MY RULE TO BE FORMALLY ACKNOWLEDGED AS YOUR RULER. ALL THOSE WHO RESIST SHALL BE EXECUTED IMMEDIATELY. ALL THOSE CAUGHT MENTIONING THE NAMES OF EQUESTRIA FORMER RULERS SHALL BE EXECUTED. THOSE SEEN TO BE AIDING THE CRIMINALS FORMERLY KNOWN AS THE AVENGERS, OR ATTEMPTING THE RESCUE OF THE FORMER PRINCESSES, WILL BE EXECUTED.
“ALL HAIL LOKI THE MAGNIFICENT, THE NEW GOD OF EQUESTRIA!”
Big Mac and Pinkie glanced at each other briefly. Then, they broke into a gallop. There was no time to waste.
-----------------
“Ya’ll sure everypony stayed here?” Big Mac asked as he and Pinkie approached the Avengers mansion for the second time that day. Was it really just a few hours ago that he and Pinkie had come back from a joyful visit at the farm? It seemed like so much longer.
“Yep! Spitfire locked herself in her room, Rarity took Blue to the infirmary, and I think Caramel went down to the Danger Field.” Pinkie frowned suddenly. “I hope he doesn’t hurt himself...”
“Ah’m sure he’s fine,” Big Mac said. “He’s a sensible stallion. It’s Spitfire Ah’m worried ‘bout. Ah don’t know ‘er too well yet, but Ah have a feelin’ she’s taken this awful hard.” He pushed the mansion’s front door open. Nopony was inside; the mansion seemed deserted. “Come on, Pinkie. Ah figger we’ll talk to Spitfire first; Ah’m closest ta her outta the rest. Than we’ll go talk ta Blue, than Carmel.”
“Oki dokie!” Pinkie said, leading the way up the stairs with her usual energetic bounce. Big Mac shook his head as he followed. The world could be ending, and Pinkie would still be Pinkie.
Come to think of it, Big Mac thought, the world really might be ending.
-----------------
“Heeey Spitfire! You in there?” Pinkie called through the locked door of the room Spitfire had been staying in while at the mansion. She and Big Mac waited patiently for several seconds, but no reply was forthcoming. Pinkie frowned. “She’s not answering,” Pinkie said plaintively.
“Here, lemme try,” Big Mac said, approaching the door. “Howdy, ‘Fire. Ya’ll awake in there?”
There was a sound of shuffling from inside. “Big Mac? Izzat you?” Spitfire’s voice sounded drowsy and slurred. Had she been drinking?
“Yeah, ‘Fire. ‘S me. Ya’ll wanna lemme in? We need ta’ talk.”
There was a sound of glass crashing against the door, and Big Mac jumped back a step. “Yer damn right we needa talk!” Spitfire snapped, her vehemence shocking Big Mac. Pinkie looked concerned, as well. “I trusted you, ya lying sack’a horseapples!”
Big Mac gave Pinkie a confused look; Pinkie just shrugged at him. “‘Fire, Ah dunno what yer talkin’ ‘bout, but if ya’ll let us in, maybe Ah c’n...”
“You don’t know?” Spitfire sounded even more incensed by this admission. “You don’t know?! Why didn’t you tell me you were Thor, you idiot? I thought we were friends; friends don’t hide things from each other like that!”
Pinkie’s eyes went wide as she muttered something about losing a friend’s trust. Big Mac winced. “Ah. Yeah. Should’a realized ya’ll’d be mad ‘bout that.”
“You’re damn right you should’ve!” Spitfire snarled. “Why the hay you back here, anyway? I figured without that magic hammer’a yours you’d be high-tailing it outta here.”
“Believe me, Ah almost did. But Ah came back.” Big Mac leaned against the door and spoke quietly. “Cause Ah can’t let Loki win, even if Ah’m powerless. And more ‘portantly, Ah can’t leave mah friends behind. And yer one ‘a mah friends, ‘Fire. Even if yer mad at me, Ah still wanna be yer friend.” Spitfire didn’t answer, which Big Mac took as a good sign. He continued. “Ah know Ah screwed up, Spitfire. Ah should’a told ya’ll Ah was Thor right from the get-go. But Ah was scared. Ah’m jus’ a farm pony, ‘Fire. Ah didn’t want ponies ta start thinking Thor was... was worth less somehow just ‘cause he was really just an earth pony outta Ponyville. And... and Ah was afraid things goin’ the other way ‘round, too. Ah didn’t want ponies to start treatin’ me like.. some kinda god, like they do for th’ Princesses. Ah’m just... me. Does that make any sense?”
There was silence for a minute, broken only by some sniffling from the other side of the door. Finally, Spitfire spoke. “You know... I think it does. Ponies... they treat me different sometimes. ‘Cause of the Wonderbolts, you know? They treat me like some kind of superpony, even before I was one.” She gave a short laugh. “I can’t go anywhere without ponies asking for my autograph or something... I guess I kinda understand.” There was a clicking sound as the door unlocked, and opened to reveal Spitfire’s tearstained face. “You still coulda told me, you big lug,” she said, but she was smiling.
“Ah know. And Ah’m sorry.” Big Mac said. He held out his hooves to Spitfire. “Friends?”
Spitfire grinned and flew at him, tackling him in a big hug. “Of course, you big moron.” She chuckled. Then she let go and hovered back a bit. “But how’re we gonna fight Loki? You lost your hammer, remember? And I haven’t been able to make so much as a spark since he hit us with weird green spell.”
“Ah think Ah can fix that.” Big Mac said, a sly grin creeping along his face. “Loki mighta took Mjolnir, but he couldn’t take away everything. Ya’ll remember what he said ‘bout friendship? How it lets ponies share magic?”
Spitfire furrowed her brow in thought. “Well... I think so... I wasn’t really listening.”
“Neither was Ah, truth be told.” Big Mac said with a smile. “But Ah got a good memory. He said somethin’ about normally needing an artifact ta do it, but Ah figger a bit of Alicorn magic’ll do th’ trick. Now just lemme concentrate...” He closed his eyes and focused.
He could feel Thor inside him. It was like a bright spark of lightning, floating deep inside his heart. Mjolnir had done more than cause a physical change when it bound itself to him, he understood that now. It was connected to him on a deeper level, like a unicorn’s horn or a pegasus’ wings. Mjolnir itself might be gone, but a bit of Thor remained behind, engrained in his soul. It was just a bit, but it was all he needed.
He reached out and touched Spitfire on the shoulder, concentrating hard on that spark inside him. Help her, he whispered to Thor. Please. Help mah friend.
Spitfire gave a start, yelping as she leapt backwards. Startled, Big Mac backed up, worried he’d done something wrong. Spitfire looked panicked for a moment, as her mane began to shimmer and glow... and suddenly, it burst into flames. It took Spitfire a moment to register it, but once she did her face lit up like a foal who’d just gotten their favorite treat.
“It’s back!” she exclaimed, spinning about. Her burning mane left flaming circles behind her. “My fire’s back!”
Big Mac grinned at his overjoyed friend. He felt a little tired from the exertion, but the look on Spitfire’s face made it worth the effort. “Now, let’s go get th’ others.”
-----------------
The trio headed to the infirmary, where Pinkie believed Blueblood was resting. As they neared the entrance, Big Mac stopped. “Ya’ll hear that?” he asked quietly. The group stopped to listen.
“Blue... oh, Blue...” It was Rarity’s voice, coming from inside the infirmary. It sounded like she was crying.
“Is that... Rarity?” Pinkie asked softly, uncharacteristically quiet.
“Ah think so.” Big Mac said slowly. “Ya’ll better stay here. Ah think it’s better if’n we don’t crowd ‘em. Ah’ll be right back.” Leaving Spitfire and Pinkie outside, Big Mac walked in.
The infirmary was actually just a bedroom that Blueblood had decided to convert. After all, protecting all of Equestria was not the safest career, and they would occasionally need medical attention. Due to this, it was quite a small room, with only a few beds.
Rarity sat next to one of these beds, her head in her hooves as she sobbed softly. The bed was clearly occupied, but whoever was in it was obscured behind Rarity.
“Rare? Ya’ll okay?” Big Mac asked hesitantly, slowly approaching the crying unicorn.
At the sound of his voice, Rarity spun about, her eyes bred from crying. What caught Big Mac off guard, though, was the anger radiating from her gaze. It was so intense, Big Mac could practically feel the temperature in the room rise as she glared at him. “YOU!” she yelled furiously. “This is all your fault! You and that stupid hammer! If it wasn’t for you, Blue would be... would be...” Her words choked off as another sob escaped her lips.
“Rarity?” Big Mac asked, feeling the beginnings of panic. He and Blueblood had never been terribly close, as he was the only pony on the team he never met outside of Thor, but he was important to Rarity and that was enough. “What happened ta Blue?”
Rarity opened her mouth, looking as though she was ready to let loose another tirade, but she was interrupted by a voice so quiet, Big Mac wasn’t sure he heard it. “Let him see, Rarity. I’d like to speak with him.” Rarity looked hesitant, before finally stepping aside and letting Big Mac approach the bed.
Blueblood lay there, covered by the warm blue blanket. The first thing Big Mac noticed was how frail he looked. It was as though he’d aged years in the hour since Big Mac had last seen him. His face was stretched tight across his face, and his forelegs looked like spindly sticks. “Hello, Mr. Macintosh,” the sickly unicorn said quietly. “A pleasure to officially meet you.”
“Jus’ call me Mac, Blue.” Big Mac said as he seated himself beside the bed. “No need ta’ be all formal. We’re teammates, remember?”
“Ah, yes.” Blue said with a laugh. “The earth pony with the powers of an Alicorn. You know, it’s funny. I was brought up on the belief that unicorns are naturally superior to all other ponies, for our magic meant we were closest to divinity. My family was especially divine, being descended from the royal family themselves. And yet here you are, a so-called ‘lowly’ earth pony, who has come closer to true godhood than any unicorn.” He shook his head slowly. “If only my parents could see this... I’m sure they’d appreciate the irony.”
Big Mac watched as Blueblood’s laughter degenerated into a coughing fit. When the prince was done, Mac leaned forward slightly. “What happened to ya, Blue? Ah thought that fancy diamond in yer chest was supposed ta’ fix ya’ll up, good as new!”
“Indeed, my rustic friend.” Blue said with a sigh. He pulled away the blanket to reveal his Core Diamond, normally glowing softly with magic, now grown dim. “But I am afraid it is no longer functioning as intended. You see, my lovely Rarity designed this diamond.” He gave his unicorn companion a small smile, but she didn’t respond. “It was designed to draw on my own, inherent magic for power, so it would be self-sustaining. It was quite a clever enchantment, honestly... but now it is killing me.”
Big Mac blinked. “Killing... Ah don’t follow.”
“Neither did I, at first,” Blueblood admitted. “Magic was never my forte. Whatever Loki did to us, it damaged the enchantment on the Core Diamond. It can’t store magic anymore. It keeps drawing on me for power, but than that magic merely leaks away.” He sighed deeply. “We did our jobs too well. The diamond cannot be disenchanted; we made quite certain to place powerful abjurations on it for that very reason. Those same abjurations, sadly, prevent us from repairing the enchantment, something we did not consider. And taking it out, I’m afraid, is simply impossible.”
Big Mac struggled to keep up. “So... th’ diamond... it’s sucking ya’ll dry? Like that Soul Seal spell’a Loki’s?”
“I’m afraid so,” Blueblood said, laying back on the bed and closing his eyes. “As far as Rarity and I can tell, I have about twenty-four hours to live at the most. We’ve already tried contacting my family, but we couldn’t reach them. Too busy preparing to kiss up to our new ruler, I suppose.”
“Blue... Ah’m so sorry.” Big Mac said softly, placing a hoof on Blue’s shoulder. “Ah’ll make this right, Ah promise.”
Blue just smiled sadly at the larger pony. “You needn’t trouble yourself, my friend. I’ve made my peace. I doubt my brief redemption was time enough to redeem myself fully, but I have hope that whatever power presides over the afterlife will judge me on my heart and not my actions.”
“Don’t you dare!” Big Mac and Blueblood both started as Rarity suddenly appeared at Blue’s bedside. “Don’t you dare die, you disgraceful brute! How dare you even consider it, when you have so much left to answer for here?”
Blueblood visibly withered under the verbal assault, a remarkable feat given his current state. “Rarity, my dear, please-”
“Don’t you ‘my dear’ me, you... you...” Rarity visibly struggled to find an insult that fit what she thought of Blueblood just then. “You promised to make up for everything you’ve done, and you barely started! Is this your way of being noble? Is that it? Because this isn’t noble, Blue. This is being lazy! This is taking the easy way out! This isn’t the gentlecolt I’ve come to know - this is more like something the old Blueblood would do!”
Blueblood blinked at the final insult. “Rarity...” he whispered, but the angry unicorn had already stormed from the room.
Neither Big Mac nor Blueblood spoke for several long moments. Finally, Blueblood spoke. “I’m sorry you had to see that.”
Big Mac shook his head. “Nah, ‘s mah fault. ‘Sides, every couple fights every now’n then.”
“I’m not entirely certain Rarity and I are a ‘couple’,” Blueblood said with a sigh. He fell silent again briefly, before he looked up at Big Mac again. “Is she right, do you think? Am I just resigning myself because it’s easier then fighting?”
“Ah dunno.” Big Mac said, shrugging. “Ah think only you c’n answer that.”
“I’m not certain...” Blueblood said, shifting restlessly. “I want to fight... but what can a dying stallion like myself do? I can barely walk, much less fight, and with the Core Diamond damaged I can hardly pilot the Iron Pony armor.” He gestured to the pile of red and gold armor in the corner of the room. “I don’t see how I have much choice.”
“Well...” Big Mac said slowly. “Ah may be able ta fix that. If’n yer willin’ ta trust me.”
-----------------
Rarity’s anger had only carried her as far as the door; the moment she left the room, she had broken down crying again. Spitfire and Pinkie did their best to console her, but they had little luck.
“Oh, why must life be so cruel?” Rarity moaned. “I finally meet the stallion of my dreams, only to have him taken from me! I never even got to confess my true feelings; why, we never even went on a date!” She hung her head. “He was always so busy...”
“I promise to make more time in the future, beloved Rarity,” came a familiar, synthesized voice from the infirmary. Rarity froze, her eyes going wide, hardly daring to believe her ears. “However, I hope you’ll forgive me if I postpone our romantic evening for a later date. I’m afraid I have a prior engagement.”
Rarity turned around slowly, to behold Iron Pony standing their in all his glory. The faceplate flipped open, allowing Rarity to see Blueblood’s grinning, healthy face. “But... but how... how did...?” Rarity stammered out, relief and confusion flooding her body.
“Ah dun really unnerstand it mahself.” Blueblood stepped aside to let Big Mac through as the earth pony explained. “But when Loki took Mjolnir from me, he left a lil’ something behind. Like... a lil’ spark of Thor’s magic.” He smiled fondly at his teammates. “Loki tried ta’ take us down by usin’ our friendship against us, but Ah was able ta’ use our friendship to share that spark’a Thor with mah friends. It ain’t much, a’course, but it’s enough to give them back what they had.”
“And I cannot ever thank you enough, my friend.” Blueblood laid a armored hoof on Big Mac’s shoulder. “Macintosh Apple, you have my eternal gratitude. Anything you ever need, you can rely on Prince Blueblood.”
“Thanks, Blue.” Big Mac said with a smile. “But right now, all Ah need is to get Caramel so’s we c’n take the fight to Loki!”
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A friend giving everyone else back their magic to fight the ultimate evil?
Rewatches Season 2 Episode 2
Oh, Isee what you did there! You're awesome!
And all I can think of is this quote:
1396021
Really? All I can think of is:
I want to see hulk smash loki. That scne was so funny in the movie.
1396021
Yeah...No.
Yeah, keep bragging Loki. on't realize this is the part where the hero gets his secon win to start kicking ass?
I really liked how both Loki and Thor are using the power of friendship here. One, is using it as mistrust and lies, while the other is using it as the opposite. Big mac is using his connections to help his friens and bring them back. I love how it was done, through kind words with a touch of love an care for each. Stan's cameo also helped to put things in perspective, allowing us to remember what it means to be a hero