• Published 14th Oct 2015
  • 10,915 Views, 1,421 Comments

Oh Captain, My Captain - Onomonopia



And there came a day unlike any other. A day when Equestria needed to be avenged.

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Folly of Man

"At times like this, ah pity somepony like ya in a hot uniform like that," Applebloom panted slightly as the heat bombarded both her and the Captain while they raced across the lava caked area. Rogers sweat heavily as he ran, but intense heat was nothing new to him and he pushed himself just enough to keep up with Applebloom's enhanced strength, while saving all of his real power for when the battle began.

"Same goes for you. I bet that metal's getting really hot right about now," Rogers teased back as he flipped over a bubbling pool of magma. The pair spent a moment under cover behind a pair of boulders while three changelings flew overhead, telling the pair that they were heading in the right direction.

"Are ya sure that yer prepared fer this?" Applebloom asked with some concern in her voice. "Ah mean, ya might be resistant to lesser magic now, but the changelings are all able to perform advanced magic. Yer pretty badly outmatched in a fight like this, so if ya want-"

"Bloom, I fought Thor in a bareknuckle boxing match and held off the Hulk without my shield. Some people call it brave and others suicidal. But both times the job needed to be done, even if I was horribly outmatched. This is nothing new to me," Rogers stated with a nod forward, getting Applebloom to glance ahead at the large structure that resided on the top of a hillside at the base of the volcano. The factory had multiple smoke stacks, was far taller than even the prison in which Rogers had found himself when he first arrived in Equestria, and was surrounded by a moat of magma that gave them only one entrance. "Besides, you've greatly underestimated me if you believe that I wouldn't come up with some countermeasures for magic wielders. Don't worry about me, focus on finding your sister."

"Speaking of the Avengers...are ya sure ya want to do this without waiting for them?" Applebloom asked, getting Rogers to glance at her. "Ah mean, maybe we could wait fer them. Ya have already been here a long time and they're sure to notice yer gone, so maybe they'll come looking fer. If we wait a little longer..."

"Believe me Bloom, I would prefer to have my team here. But they're not and wishing for them to show up won't do any good," Cap said before his legs tensed. "And every minute we wait is a minute lost to the four. So yes, I would like the Avengers. But sometimes you need to make do with what your given and I was given the Crusade. Sometimes you need to count your blessings."

After the last bit of advice, Rogers then sprinted forward at full speed, Applebloom keeping with his stride thanks to her exosuit. Spying two guards standing near the front doors, Rogers cocked the shield back while taking precise aim. He then let his shield fly the moment the two spotted the pair, the first guard getting knocked out as the vibranium diet took its toll. The shield showed no mercy to the second guard either, lunging straight for him after it was finished with his friend.

"Scootaloo was right, that is impressive," Applebloom awed as Rogers caught his shield on its return bounce, the pair running straight past the unconscious duo as they reached the front doors. Rogers knelt down and began to examine the lock, striking it once with his shield before shaking his head at Applebloom.

"Looks like that lock's a bit too tough for the old gal. Think that fancy suit of yours can do better?" Applebloom cocked an eyebrow at the challenge before she walked forward and drove one of her armored hooves into the gate, smashing through the lock in one blow.

"What kind of man are ya, making a dainty lady such as mahself open this door?" Applebloom teased back as the doors swung open, revealing the inner workings of the factory...as well as every guard that had been standing near the front doors.

"If you're dainty, then I'd hate to run into one of the meaner mares in a dark alley," Rogers shot back before the guards started shooting at them, forcing Steve behind his shield while Applebloom pulled one of the doors in front of her for a shield. With his shield being more mobile than AB's, Rogers pushed forward as spells and bolts bounced off his vibranium friend.

He introduced his shield to the face of one of the guards before picking up the pony with his free hand and hurling him into his friends. With the momentary lack of death raining down, Captain America took the chance to hurl his shield down the corridor. It bounced off multiple guards before getting caught in a door that had just opened, leaving the Captain without his defense as more soldiers poured into the room and fired.

"Bloom! Could be using some help from you and that incredible suit of yours!" Rogers called out as he dove down to the floor, rolling as shots just barely missed where he had been moments before. He felt both the eyes and weapons lock onto him before a massive, metal door hurtled down the hallway and crushed every guard that had the misfortune of standing in its path.

"Go ahead, tell me its incredible," Bloom asked as she flexed once, but all Rogers did was reclaim his shield before checking on the guards under the door. Some of them were lucky to be alive, while others weren't so fortunate. "So, do ya have any idea where yer going or are we just running in circles?"

"We're heading towards the center," Rogers replied as he kicked open the doors out of the hallway. Another set of guards awaited them on the other side, but with the shield and the suit they went down within moments. "From what little I know about this land, nearly every building keeps its most important room in the center. So if my hunch is correct..."

"How many missions do you base solely on a hunch?" Applebloom asked as the two ran deeper into the factory.

"Far more than I'd care to admit." The next door led to a catwalk that overlooked a massive chamber filled with hundreds of conveyer belts, pools of magma and the cauldrons that moved across the ceiling on chains with burning liquid within. "Well, it seems we finally made it to where the crystal showed. So if I was going to spring a trap, it would be-"

The catwalk fell out from under the pair the moment Rogers thoughts were spoken aloud, sending the pair tumbling down onto one of the conveyer belts. Rogers was the first to recover and he shot up just in time to see dozens of black, insect-like creatures wearing armor diving down from above towards the pair.

"Nap time's over Bloom, time to get to work!" Captain America called over to Bloom before rewarding the most eager of the changelings to reach him with a shield to the face. Applebloom rose to her hooves and slammed one of her hooves into one of the changelings, hurling them into the side of a cauldron before they fell into the magma below.

Captain America kicked one in the teeth before one wrapped its hooves around his shoulders. Its death lock was remedied by the Captain diving onto his back and crushing the insect with his weight. He kicked up in time to see a massive piston slam down on the conveyer belt before him, telling him it was time to bail.

"Applebloom! I spy an island in the center of the room! I have a feeling that's where we'll find your sister!" America called over to Bloom before he leapt to the next conveyer belt, landing shield first on the changeling that had been waiting for him. Applebloom leapt after him with super-powered jumps, while the Captain cleared the way by beating down most of the changelings that stepped up to challenge him.

With one last leap, the Captain made it to the large island in the center of the factory, which turned out to be a large square piece of metal that led into a room far off in the back. Yet the moment he glanced around at the new area, he was met by the wide stares of dozens of ponies that were all huddled together with fear. Applebloom landed beside the Captain as he realized the mission had just gotten a lot harder, not helped by the fact that more changelings were descending upon them.

"Mah sister!" Applebloom cried with such delight that Captain America's attention was drawn away from the changelings for a moment to glance at where she was pointing. As the mare had said, sitting in the middle of all of the ponies was an orange mare trapped within a bluish crystal that levitated off of the ground, stuck above some sort of strange machine that generated electricity. Applebloom rushed over to her sister's side while the Captain fought off as many of the changelings as he could.

"Alright, no need to rush," Captain America said to the changelings as they swarmed him, punching one in the jaw before driving his knee into another's gut. "It's not first come first serve. Each of you will get a chance to taste vibranium by the time I'm done!" To cement his words he slammed his shield into the face of a changeling, but with his defense momentarily being used as offense he wasn't able to deflect a spell that caught him in the leg.

Captain America snarled before swinging his fist around to punch the changeling in the face, but his extended arm was bitten by another changeling. America shook him off before two more tackled him from behind. Captain America had just begun to shake them off before Applebloom grabbed hold of them and hurled them into their comrades.

"Wow Cap, what kind of hero can't handle an entire army?" Applebloom asked as she and Rogers stood back to back, eyes glancing around at the numerous changelings that still surrounded them. "So, got any plans to get us out of this one or are we going off another hunch?"

"Cut the jokes for now, this hostage situation just got a lot worse. Right now we need to-" When the Captain stopped talking Applebloom glanced behind him to see him staring up at something. She followed the Captain's gaze to one of the catwalks, where her jaw dropped by what she saw.

"So, you are the one they call Captain America. It is so interesting to finally meet you," Queen Chrysalis said with a sinister smile on her face, one that was countered with a glare of fury that spread across Applebloom's. "Yes, I have heard of you and your magic shield, but I must say that you look far more ridiculous than I ever believed possible. What are you even wearing?"

"Stripes. And stars. Which is what you'll be seeing by the time I'm done with you!" Captain America shot back as he brought back the shield to hurl at the queen...before something leapt onto his arm and prevented him from throwing. He brought a fist back as he prepared to punch off whatever was on his arm...only to be struck dumb when he discovered that it was one of the ponies that had grabbed hold of him. The Captain was just about to ask the pony what they were doing before a circle of green fire erupted from the pony, who revealed to be a pony no longer.

"Surprise, Captain," the armored changeling snickered. Cap was stunned for just a second before he threw his punch, but in that second three more changelings had tackled him to the ground. He tried to shake them off as more and more swarmed him, but even with the serum coursing through his veins there were too many. The situation turned worse when one of the changelings wrestled his shield away from him and flew to Chrysalis with it, who took hold of the disc with a smile.

"Truly a remarkable weapon. Do not worry Captain, it shall be in good hooves after you die," Chrysalis promised before making a disgusted face at the colors. "After I have painted over it, of course."

Captain America didn't have time to respond as he struggled against the changelings, freeing himself from one of them with a well placed kick to the face. He then slammed the back of his skull into the nose of another one before grabbing that same changeling and hurling it into the others. He then spun around to punch the armored changeling in the nose...before his fist came to a stop in front of a pony.

For a brief moment the Captain wasn't sure what to think and that moment cost him. Rogers had just decided to turn his attention back to the battle when another changeling drove its horn right through his side. Rogers cried in pain as he fell to one knee, holding his bleeding side with gritted teeth.

"Aw, what's the matter Captain America? Don't know what to do? Let me make it a little easier for you!" Chrysalis then laughed like a mad pony as she began to fire bolts of magic into the ponies, getting screams out of them as they began to run around the battlefield. The few that were smart enough to run towards the exit were blasted by Chrysalis' magic, telling the others with their deaths that escape was not an option.

"STEVE!" Applebloom cried out as she tore the changelings off of the Captain, practically punching one's head off when it refused to let go. She then slammed both of her hooves into the ground to create a shock wave of such power that all changelings were blasted back. "Steve, are ya alright? Yer bleeding pretty bad."

"Forget about me. Focus instead on the mission," Rogers panted out as he forced himself back to his feet. Both he and Applebloom glanced around at the panicking ponies and the smiling changelings, each trying to figure out what to do.

"You heroes are so easy to beat Captain, did you know that?" Chrysalis asked as Rogers caught a surprise attack and hurled the changeling over the side. "See, I knew that you would come here to rescue Applejack. So I took the liberty of gathering some more ponies that could be used as shields or distractions should the situation arise. Because you heroes wouldn't dare endanger the lives of the innocent, even if it meant saving your own."

Steve once again found himself unable to respond, having to focus all of his attention on the battle at hand. 'I'm losing a lot of blood. That changeling got me good,' Rogers admitted before driving his knee into a changeling's face. 'And there's so many of these things. But I can handle this. I've got to handle this. More than my life is on the line.'

"Ah, there it is. The spark of hope that I see in your eyes," Chrysalis smiled with victory. "That thought that you'll win, that you'll save the day and everypony here will make it out alive. That's when you heroes are at your best...and also at your most vulnerable. Oh boys."

The moment the order left Chrysalis' lips, the changelings all erupted into green fire. To the Captain's horror, he found that every single changeling had turned into a pony with a wicked smile upon their face. Then those smiles turned to looks of horror and they began to race around with the other running ponies, causing Captain America to quickly lose track of them.

"What now, hero? You can't tell friend apart from foe?" Chrysalis snickered with laughter as Cap's head swiveled around while he tried to discern where the changelings had gone. A pony sucker punched him in the side of the head when it was turned, but when he lifted a fist to retaliate he found that the pony had already blended back in with the crowd again.

Another pony bucked him in the back of his knees, making him drop to all fours. He lifted his arms just in time to catch another strike by a different changeling. Rogers responded with a punch of his own that sent the changeling spinning back into the ponies. But to the Captain's shock, the changeling shape-shifted into a different pony and then raced along with the others. Cap noticed it changed two more times before he lost track of it.

"Steve...what do we do?!" Applebloom cried out before a blast of magic caught her in the back, making her scream in pain as sparks flew from her exoskeleton. Sensing the desperation of the situation, Rogers threw a blind punch at one of the ponies, cracking his jaw and knocking him flat. But as the pony held a hoof to his jaw with tears streaming down his face, Rogers realized his mistake right before a blast of magic sent him reeling.

'Can't...keep this up...' Rogers thought as he pushed himself back up to take a pair of hooves to the jaw, sending him crashing down once more. 'I can't...figure out who is innocent and who's one of the changelings.' Rogers pushed himself to the vertical with one burst of strength and raced over to Bloom, only to be blasted in the knee by a burst of magic. He fell over once more, coughing up blood as he struggled to look around.

Bloom was barely able to stand, her exoskeleton smoking violently as blood poured from her mouth. Rogers then glanced up at Chrysalis, who wore a smile of victory as she stare down at the wounded hero. But worst of all, the changelings were still shooting at the ponies, forcing them to continue to run around and act as cover for the real changelings.

"So tell me, hero, what will you do now?" Chrysalis taunted, shield on her hoof. "You're wounded, your friend can barely stand, you can't tell changeling from pony and I've got your shield. What can you possibly do now?"

'I...don't know,' Rogers silently admitted as he forced himself back up, gazing around before ducking under a burst of magic. 'I didn't believe the shapeshifters could be so hard to tell apart or that Chrysalis would know how to tie my hands. All because I didn't believe her to be as big a threat as my villains. And now we may die, all because I underestimated her. And now...everypony here is going to pay for my pride. I don't know how to get us out of this one.' But one last spark ignited within Rogers, and he forced himself to bring up his hands, eyes on the alert for any sign of attack despite the blood loss.

'But at the very least, I'll go down fighting. I'll give Applebloom and the ponies a chance to escape, no matter how small it is,' he roared within his mind. 'For freedom doesn't fall that easily...and neither do I!'