Chapter 17
The Ghost Flyer liked the dungeons. They were quiet, and dark. Nopony bothered him there, which was good as he could hardly stand to be around anypony anymore. He could hear their sins calling to him, crying out for punishment. Everypony had sins, even the most innocent of civilian, he’d always known that. But now? Now he heard it, could feel it around him like a suffocating cloak, and the ponies he worked with were the worst of all. So he spent his time away from them, in the dungeons.
He lay on the hard stone floor, ignoring the cold and damp. The flame of vengeance that burned in his tail and around his skull kept him warm, though it merely simmered now, with no sinful ponies around to stoke its fury. He spent his time in a half-asleep state, unable to truly rest anymore and not really minding. He found himself not caring about much, anymore.
Suddenly, his burning mane flickered, and his head shot up. “INTRUDER,” he hissed. “SOMEPONY IS HERE.” The Ghost Flyer got to his hooves, turning towards the stairs that lead down from the main castle. “IT IS YOU, ISN’T IT, SPITFIRE? COME TO EXACT VENGEANCE UPON ME?” He laughed, an unearthly cackle that chilled the soul.
“Not exactly,” spoke a masculine voice, as a silhouette appeared at the top of the stairs, descending rapidly. It was an earth pony, and it bore a shield.
If the Ghost Flier was still capable, he would have frowned. “THE EARTH PONY? BUT YOU ARE THE RED ONE’S FOE, NOT MINE!”
Captain Equestria stepped into the dim light, his shield gleaming proudly. “Change of plans, demon,” he said, his face hard. “You hurt my fri... my fillyfriend. So I decided to come make you pay.”
The Ghost’s skull leered. “SO, YOU AND THE TRAITOR, HMM? TAKE CARE SHE DOESN’T STAB YOU IN THE BACK AS SHE DID ME, FOOLISH CAPTAIN.”
The Captain’s expression didn’t change. “Spitfire would never do that. She told me what you tried to do. You wanted to cover yourself in fire like a comet and use the heat for extra speed to try and preform a Sonic Rainboom. You could’ve killed somepony, especially yourself.”
The Ghost’s flame roared higher. “IT WOULD HAVE WORKED!” he screamed. “FLAME NEVER HARMED ME, I COULD HAVE TAMED IT! IT WOULD HAVE BEEN THE MOST SPECTACULAR THING PONYKIND HAD EVER SEEN, AND SHE RUINED IT!” Fire erupted from the angry pony-turned-monster, roaring towards the Captain in a furious torrent.
Captain Equestria never flinched. He dug in his hooves, feeling the strength from the earth flow up his legs. He braced himself and raised his shield. The flames washed up against it harmlessly, and though the Captain felt the heat, the enchantments on the shield kept him from being burnt. The torrent lasted a full minute before finally dying down.
“If you surrender now, things will be much easier on you,” the Captain commented, lowering his shield. The dungeon had filled with smoke, making it difficult to see the Ghost Flier. “We might be able to reverse what’s been done to you. Get you some counseling. After you do your time, you might even be able to fly in shows again.”
An angry hiss sounded from within the cloud. Captain Equestria’s sensitive ears began pinpointing the location as his foe spoke. “AND LIVE THE REST OF MY LIFE AS A PARIAH? NO, I HAVE BEEN AN OUTCAST TOO LONG. UNDER LOKI, I SHALL BE GREAT AGAIN!”
Here, amongst the stonework and within the earth, Caramel could feel things so much more keenly than before. The Ghost has left the ground, but his earth-sense was so sensitive now he could feel the downbeat from his impossible, skeletal wings. He could hear the clacking of bones, the sound of a beating heart. He began moving towards his enemy. “Loki’s already lost, Ghost. Big Macintosh is taking care of him as we speak. Your new world is doomed.”
“LIES! YOU ARE LYING!” The voice came at an angle from where Caramel expected it; the Ghost had moved without his noticing. He barely raised his shield in time to parry the flame, but rather than stand his ground this time, he leapt towards the flame’s source, pushing through it. He saw the glowing red embers the creature had in place of eyes, and he swung with the edge of his shield.
The shield landed a solid hit, and the Captain felt more then saw the Ghost Flier hit the ground. The smoke was clearing now, though, so Caramel could see his foe as he approached him slowly. “You can’t hurt me, Ghost Flier,” Captain Equestria stated. “Surrender now, please. I really don’t want to have to hurt you.”
A ghostly cackle emerged from the skull. “THEN YOU ARE WEAK. MY FLAMES MAY BE UNABLE TO BURN YOU, BUT I HAVE ONE WEAPON LEFT.” The Ghost Flier lifted his skeletal head, his burning ember-like eyes meeting Caramel’s. “BURN IN THE FIRES OF YOUR OWN SINS, CAPTAIN! BURN UNDER MY PENANCE STARE!”
Spitfire had warned him of this, but even knowing what was coming, Caramel found himself unable to prepare himself. A torrent of images washed over him. Every secret shame, all his buried guilt, came washing over him like a tidal wave - and there was a lot. Every pony he ever failed, every problem he’d ever caused, every single screw-up that he’d made in the course of a long life full of nothing but mistakes. It was every disappointment and failure, all at once, from when he’d failed his father by not becoming an athlete to his mother who wanted a unicorn foal like her to Big Mac who hired him out of pity to Spitfire who deserved better to his team he’d let down and everything he’d ever done had failed and he should just curl up in a ball and die stupid useless worthless failure never amount to anything doesn’t deserve what he’s got...
“NO!” he screamed. He forced himself to his hooves, fighting back with his own images.
“I will not give up!” An image of Spitfire, hovering over him, kissing him, caring about him.
“I will not give in!” Big Mac, smiling at him, telling him how proud he was.
“I am not a failure!” His team, all working with him to take down the Juggernaut. Him slamming the Juggernaut in the face, bringing her to the ground.
“I am Captain bucking Equestria!” An older image, him as a young colt on a mountaintop, exhausted but triumphant, plucking the flowers that only grew at the very peak. Looking back at his trail, thinking how he’d made it with his own hooves, never once looking back or giving up.
Giving those flowers to the filly of his dreams, and earning a kiss in return.
His Cutie Mark appearing. Three horseshoes. Three, because as long as he still had one hoof left he’d never give up.
“And you! ARE UNDER! ARREST!”
Like a demon from a storybook, Captain Equestria rose form the crumpled heap he’d fallen into, bellowing like a madpony, his eyes wide. The embers from the Penance Stare still hovered about him, making his eyes look as though they were alight with unholy flame.
“I-IMPOSSIBLE!” The fearsome Ghost Flyer began to retreat, uncomprehending of the oncoming terror. “NOPONY CAN RESIST THE PENANCE STARE!”
“Call me nopony then.” Captain Equestria growled, springing forward. His shield impacted with the Ghost’s skull, causing a sickening crack sound to fill the air. The Ghost Flier hit the floor, and the Captain went after him, driving the shield in his face again. “Because I never give up. No matter what. Even if I know I’ll just screw up again, I keep trying. Because every once in a while...” He grinned savagely. “I get a day like today. A day when I win.”
Thud.
-----------------
“Where are the guards?” Obsidian Shade raged. “Where did they all go?” He stomped a hoof angrily. He’d liked having those constructs at his command. He’d had run of the city; for once, he’d been the top dog, looking down on everypony else. It was intoxicating.
Now? Now he was cut off, and he hated it. “Somepony is going to pay.”
“Aw, and me without my bits.” The jet-black unicorn spun about as a feminine voice came from the doorway of his well-furnished personal chambers. His eyes narrowed as he saw the pegasus filly with the burning mane standing there with a smirk on her face.
“I should have known that power drain wouldn’t stick,” he grumbled. “But what they hay are you doin’ here? You’re supposed to be that bone-headed freak’s problem. My job was to handle the spoiled brat.”
“What, did you think we’d just mindlessly follow your game plan?” Spitfire chuckled. “We decided to mix things up a bit. What’s wrong? A big, strong stallion like you doesn’t think he can handle little ole’ me?”
Obsidian glowered at her as his horn lit up. “Oh, I can handle you alright.” His armor came flying from a hidden cupboard and came over him. Spitfire loosed a burst of flame, realizing she’d lost the element of surprise, but she was too late. The Iron Monger armor assembled much faster than the Iron Pony armor, and Obsidian was already raising his shields. “You’re just another jumped up pony who thinks she’s better than the rest of us. Celebrities are no better than nobles; they get everything they want while everypony else has to work for it.” The primary emitter cannons on his shoulders lit up with a fearsome power. “But now, I get to be on top.” Twin beams of bright blue energy erupted from the cannons, towards Spitfire - or rather, where Spitfire had been a moment ago.
“Gotta work on your aim there,” Spitfire remarked casually from behind the hulking armored pony. Obsidian spun about and fired again, but Spitfire was faster; all Obsidian destroyed was his 5,000 bit oakwood desk.
“Hold still, you annoying pest!” Obsidian yelled, firing another volley which destroyed the lovely armoire he’d found in the antique shop.
“No thanks,” Spitfire said lazily. Her hooves glowed as she lit a pair of flames on them. “And for the record? My mom worked as a weatherpony in Stalliongrad, and my dad was a farmer. My family was probably a helluva lot poorer than yours. But instead of blaming everything that went wrong on the ponies with more money, I went and made something of myself. And I did it without walking all over everypony else and making a hypocrite of myself.”
Obsidian’s angry, exhausted panting was filled with harsh static from his suit’s speakers. “You.. I’m gonna... kill you...”
“No. You won’t,” Spitfire said, deadly calm replacing her earlier lazy detachment. The flames in her hooves roared higher. “You remember Rarity? I like her. And you hurt her coltfriend. She’s not around to get revenge for it, though, so I’ll have to do it instead. Now, you hold still.”
Flame exploded from the costumed pegasus like water from a burst dam, filling the room. Obsidian tried to throw up shields, but they lasted mere moments as the incredible heat from the flames overloaded them. The stone walls turned cherry-red as the fire reached the Iron Monger suit. Obsidian’s screams filled the air as the heat transferred through the metal armor.
The suit’s protective measures should save him from any permanent harm, Spitfire thought as she turned up the heat. It would just hurt a helluva lot, until he passed out or surrendered.
That was fine with her. Obsidian was a bastard.
-----------------
The Red Skull stood in the royal gardens, soaking in the energy of nature - literally. All around him, the garden had withered and died as he drew in the natural energy of the earth. He stood stock-still among the desolation, his eyes closed in bliss. Apparently, stealing life-force from nature was a euphoric experience.
His eyes opened slowly. “You know, I can hear you approaching. I can feel your footzteps upon ze ground. That armor, iz not very good for subtle, mein freund.”
“That’s okay,” Iron Pony said from behind Red Skull. “I wasn’t really trying to surprise you. I wanted to talk to you for a bit first.”
Red Skull turned about slowly, a bemused expression on his face. “Really? I vould have thought you vould vant to attack me, bang bang, for ze insult I gave to your friend.”
“Oh, I do,” Iron Pony said, his face hidden behind his mask as always. “I just wanted to give you a chance to fully understand why. Caramel told me about that philosophy of yours. About destiny. How some ponies are just born better than others. Is that about right?”
“Ja.” The grotesque face nodded in agreement. “I vas born for great things, and thoze who vere not vill serve me. This is only common sense. Surely, as a prince you understand my meaning.”
“Oh, yes. I understand,” Iron Pony replied hotly. “I believed the same thing, not long ago. I believed that I was born to be great, and that everypony else was nothing more than my hoofstool. But tell me this, Red Skull. What exactly makes you so great? What do you plan to do that will change the world? Why are you here?”
Red Skull scoffed. “Vy do you ask me such silly questions? I am here to enlighten those below me! To bring zem to a new age of greatness, by vay of imitation ov mine grand image! All shall look upon me and -”
“Stop.” Iron Pony shook his head. “That’s not greatness. That’s just vanity. I got the two mixed up before. But let me tell you something.” He stepped closer to the deformed pony. “I never did anything. All I ever did was sit around lazily, devour food, complain, and treat everypony like dirt. That was my destiny. To be a burden until the day I died, and then forgotten by everypony save those who hated me. And had I clung to that stupid, selfish destiny, I’d be dead now. Pierced through the heart by a piece of masonry, my entire life bereft of meaning.”
Red Skull said nothing.
Iron Pony continued. “But I cast aside that destiny. I cast aside my idiotic ‘superiority’. I got down on my knees and begged a pony I had once thought beneath me, not even worthy of my notice, to help me. And now? I’m here.” The emitter crystals on Iron Pony shoulders began to glow. “So I’ve decided. If destiny means being a selfish bully, blind to the needs of those around me...” The air before him almost seemed to ignite as beams of blue light exploded from him. “I want no part in it!”
Red Skull leapt over the beams, landing behind Iron Pony. “Fool! You do not believe in my greatness?” His hind legs lashed out, sending Iron Pony sprawling before he could turn around. “Then I vill prove it to you! I haf been drawing upon ve power ov nature all day. I am fueled by ze power of Equestria herself! Who are you?” he asked the armored pony struggling to his feet. “Take avay your armor, and vat is left?”
“Well...” Iron Pony began, righting himself. “A royal billionaire super genius who is dating one of the most successful and beautiful mares in all of Equestria, and has been voted most eligible stallion by Playcolt three years running.” His grin was nearly audible through his mask. “What about you? You claim to be great, but so far all you’ve done is use powers you stole from somepony else. Take away your powers, and what are you?”
Red Skull gave an inarticulate scream of rage and, rather than respond, charged at Iron Pony. The Prince inside the armor didn’t so much as flinch, spreading his fore-hooves wide to meet the larger pony’s charge.
There was a loud clang as Red Skull’s hooves met with Iron Pony’s armored one. The grotesquely deformed head leered at his armored foe as the armor’s servos creaked and whined audibly. “You cannot defeat me! I am great! Glory iz mine birthright! I deserve to be great!”
Blueblood’s forelegs hurt terribly as he struggled against Red Skull’s monstrous strength. Warnings and error messages appeared in his helmet’s heads-up display. He had little hope of maintaining this grapple for more than a few seconds.
However, beneath his mask, Blueblood grinned. A few seconds was all he needed. “All you deserve is to be sent to jail as the criminal you are.” He said through clenched teeth. The Core Diamond on his chest began to glow brighter, reaching an almost painful intensity as the focusing ring deployed. “And now, you’ll get exactly what you deserve. Uni-Beam, fire!”
The primary issue with the Uni-Beam was the range. Its power bled off rapidly. Luckily, some ponies were stupid enough to get within point-blank range.
Red Skull went flying like a rag doll, smashing into the wall of the castle. He left a small crater in the heavy stone before tumbling to the ground, unconscious. Blueblood limped over, favoring his front legs. “And that,” he told his defeated foe, though he couldn’t hear. “Was for Caramel. Nopony may lay a hoof on a friend of Prince Blueblood without consequence.”
-----------------
In the throne room of Canterlot Castle, Loki glared hatefully at his brother from his perch on the raised dais where the throne sat. “I killed you,” he spat. “You should be dead! Why are you back?”
The God of Thunder shook his head slowly. “Ya’ll really don’t get it, do you?” Loki blinked as his foe spoke, not in the commanding tones of Thor, but with the broad accent of his host, Macintosh Apple. “Thor’s been dead fer a long time, Loki. All that’s left’a him is an echo, memory n’ magic, wrapped up in a hammer. And me. Ya’ll didn’t kill me, ya’ll let me walk away.”
“...No,” Loki said, disbelief in his voice. “No, no! You... you can’t be... You are Thor! Macintosh Apple is just... just an earth pony farmer! Nothing but a vessel! You can’t... you can’t!”
“Ah used t’think like that too,” Big Mac agreed. “Ah thought me’n Thor were separate. Like he was some alien that got himself stuck in mah noggin. But it don’t work that way, Loki. Ah am Thor. Thor and Big Mac, we’re the same pony, now.” He paused for a minute. “That thought would’a scared me, once. I was afraid’a losin’ mahself. But now Ah know Ah won’t. Cause Thor’s just me, not some other pony tryin’ t’take me over. And if Ah ever ferget it.... well, that’s what mah friends are for.”
“You... you...” Loki visably struggled to regain control over himself. All this time, his foe hadn’t been the great god he’d called a brother, his eternal foe, but a mere earth pony! An unworthy mortal, hidden behind his brother’s face! The sheer audacity staggered him, but Loki controlled himself. “No, it doesn’t matter.” His horn began to cackle with sickly green energy. “Thor Odinson... Macintosh Apple... it doesn’t matter who you are! I am LOKI the MAGNIFICENT! I felled the CITY OF THE GODS THEMSELVES!” He beat his stunted wings, floating off the floor. “I’LL FRY YOU TO A CRISP AND SORT IT ALL OUT LATER!”
“Nay, Loki.” Thor said, and Loki grinned upon hearing his brother’s familiar voice return. “Today is the day when I finally send thee to thy eternal rest in Helheim.”
“You are certainly welcome to try, brother,” Loki growled ominously. Magic exploded from his horn, a roaring torrent of flame in the shape of an angry dragon, snapping its jaws at Thor.
Thor shot forward like an arrow, Mjolnir raised high. A single swipe of his hammer banished the flaming maw as he charged Loki. With a snarl and a flash of magic, Loki’s flesh began to twist and warp; by the time his brother arrived he was facing not an Alicorn, but a wolf the size of an Ursa Minor. The great beast that was Loki leapt at the charging god, pinning him to the floor with one great paw.
“I WILL DESTROY YOU, BROTHER,” growled Loki, he voice twisted by his new guise. “I WILL REND THE FLESH FROM YOUR BONES AND SCATTER YOUR REMAINS TO THE WINDS! [SIZE="4"]HOW DARE YOU DEFY ME?”
Thor’s own horn began to crackle with power. “DEFY THEE?” Lightning exploded from Thor’s body, throwing Loki across the throne room, his body returning to its former shape. Thor floated up into the air, his mane alive with lightning. “THOU ART THE ONE WHO KILLED THE GODS THEMSELVES! THOU DESTROYED OUR HOME AND OUR FAMILY! THOU HAST CAPTURED THE SOVEREIGNS OF THIS LAND, USURPED THEIR POWER, AND THREATENED ITS INHABITANTS, [SIZE="4"]AND YOU DARE ACCUSE ME OF DEFIANCE?”
Loki gave an inarticulate snarl, and suddenly his body lurched forward, an enormous snake exploding from where he’d stood. Massive jaws large enough to swallow Thor whole opened wide, attempting to seize the thunder god in their grip. With a fearsome cry, Thor swung his hammer, bashing the side of the snake’s head. Once again, Loki fell to the floor, pain dispelling his shapeshifting magic.
“Surrender, Loki,” Thor said in a quieter tone. “The age of the Asgardians has gone, and by thy hoof, no less. The ponies will not merely lay on their bellies and grovel before thee as they once did. Even if thou wert to defeat me this day, they will never surrender to thee. Thine own machinations have given them the strength to defy thee; surrender now, and I can promise thee a far kinder fate then those who shall come after me shall be inclined to offer.”
Loki slowly stood up, shakily. His eyes burned with hatred, but his posture was that of a defeated stallion. “Very well, brother,” he whispered. “You win.”
Thor glared at his brother for several long moments, before slowly lowering himself to the ground. “Very wise, Loki.” His hammer made contact with the ground, and once more Big Macintosh stood in the god’s place. “Very wise,” he repeated.
Loki’s defeated frown became a triumphant grin as his horn ignited, lifting Big Mac from the ground. “HAH!” he laughed. “It is you who lacks in wisdom, mortal! You should have stayed in my brother’s guise; it would’ve saved you from this!” The familiar green Soul Seal spell launched itself from Loki’s horn...
Only to meet Mjolnir head on. The mighty hammer absorbed the green energy as Loki looked on, dumbfounded.
Thor floated in the air, his hammer thrumming with the stolen power of the Soul Seal, his eyes glowing. Loki stepped backwards a few steps. “H-how? You... you need to hit the ground to transform! I know you do, I watched you do it!”
Thor slowly shook his head. “I am Macintosh Apple. I am Thor Odinson. We are the same pony. Before, when I thought thought myself to be separate, I used the hammer to tell the difference. I need no such crutch now.” He raised the crackling Mjolnir and leveled it straight at Loki. “I offered thee mercy, and thou spat in my face. I am sorry, brother, but this is all thou deserves.”
The spell launched from his hammer, amplified by the power of a thousand thunderstorms. Enough to kill a god.
It hit Loki square in the horn, and the trickster god collapsed like a puppet with his strings cut. Weakly, the smaller Alicorn looked up as his brother approached, towering over him.
“I truly am sorry,” he whispered down to his brother.
Loki grinned. “I’m not,” he said weakly. “For even though I die, my death will cause a Singularity strong enough to give magic to ponies all over Equestria, even the non-pony races. In a few generations, the mutant will be the only species left.” He began to laugh a raspy, wheezing laugh. “A world ruled by magic... just what I always wanted!” His mane, horn, eyes and even his Cutie Mark began to glow with a deep, emerald light. “Look after my world, Thor... even if it will never be truly mine. Look after the mutants. As the last request from your brother.”
Thor looked on, quietly. “I will, brother.”
Loki smiled. “Good.” He staggered to his feet. “Goodbye, Thor.”
“Rest well, Loki.”
Loki closed his eyes, and the world turned white.
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Sorry to have to bring up an error but there are some parts where size="3" and size="4" are visible.
373291
THE size 3 parts are the best part it delivers powerful emotion to the sentence!!!! Switching archnemesis such a clasic well done good sir 
Expecting same opponents?
TOO BAD! WALUIGI TIME!
Awesome. Five out of five mustaches!
Made me think of this:
cdn.motinetwork.net/demotivationalposters.net/image/demotivational-poster/0907/superman-at-earths-end-superman-linkara-at-earth-s-end-i-am-demotivational-poster-1248270552.jpg
WAT! Loki my unbelvibly great grandpa is dead! NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!! but at the same time YAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAY!!!
It's ironic but, despite all his evil, Thor still loved Loki. Even though he hated his crimes and the creature he had become he still loved the colt who had played alongside him throughout their foalhood. This day was inevitable - Loki had chosen his path that had one of only two destinations may aeons ago. That doesn't mean that Thor does not feel grief at his brother's death. It is that fact that marks him up as a truly good being - as a hero.
2328085reminds me of their relationship from the thor and avengêrs movie
[SIZE="4"]HOW DARE YOU DEFY ME?” Not sure if they should be part of the sentence lol.
eertyul;
Nice chapter
Greatest. One-liner. IN ALL OF EQUESTRIA!
Y'know guys, you reaaaaaaalllllly should've thought that they coul change their opponents when you formed your little 'dark avengers'. Just saying.