//------------------------------// // Baron Crystal Part I // Story: Spiders and Magic: Avengers Assemble // by Masterob //------------------------------// The Crystal Empire, a place of visual wonders. It is the home to The Crystal Ponies, a species thought to be lost to Equestria forever. After being liberated from the tyranny of King Sombra, the citizens were now free and happy, especially under the benevolent rule of Princess Cadance and her husband, Prince Shining Armor. Their sole purpose in leading The Crystal Empire is to protect the Crystal Heart, the same heart that King Sombra once tried hiding from the world of Equestria, and the same heart that was nearly destroyed by their daughter Flurry Heart when she was but an infant. That is a story for another time however. Things seemed safe for now, no real danger, nothing for any of the ponies to fear. But that will all be in danger of falling apart within a few moments. A portal formed at the edge of town, with a figure stepping out, a human figure that within a few seconds, had shifted into a pony. That human turned pony of course was the villainous Sorcerer, Baron Mordo, a sworn adversary of Doctor Strange. "So, this is Equestria, such an interesting place," Mordo said, checking his hooves. "I can feel magical energy circulating through my very being. Yes, this place makes me feel much stronger than before." Mordo made his way through the Crystal Empire, taking note of all the ponies in the Kingdom. "Such fascinating looking creatures," Mordo commented. "What breed of pony would this be?" "Those would be Crystal ponies," He heard a voice say. "Who is there?" Mordo asked. "Is that you Discord?" "Why yes it is," Discord replied, while not in physical form, his voice could still be heard, at least in Mordo's head. "Now listen carefully, right in the center of the Crystal Empire is where The Crystal Heart resides, it is a powerful magical item. If you can harness it's magic, it will give you power beyond even that of Doctor Stephen Strange. Now make your way through town until you encounter a castle where the Prince and Princess of this Empire live, that's where you'll find the Crystal Heart." "I take it that the Heart is well guarded?" Mordo asked. "Why yes, so you're gonna have to be either very cautious or blow them all away," Discord said. "Crystal Ponies naturally don't have magic, but there are a few Unicorns living in The Crystal Empire, I hear even a former student of Princess Celestia resides there, though his glory days are behind him." "I doubt even the Unicorns of this world would be any match for me," Mordo said. "Soon I will harness that power for myself." "Way to be ambitious Mr. Mordo," Discord said. "Now go for it, prove why it is you who should be known as The Sorcerer Supreme." Mordo did not need to be told twice, he started making his way toward the center of town, ready to enact his mission. As he passed through, he did a great job so far of not drawing attention to himself, though barely anypony even noticed him, and it's not like they would know who he is anyway. He made his way through town, briefly gazing upon the statue of Spike. "Is that a Dragon? Perhaps he is a mascot of this town, nothing more than a symbol," Mordo said. "Perhaps once I take over, I'll have that statue replaced with one of my own." As Mordo reached the center of town, he could finally see the castle, and he knew that the Crystal Heart would be right below it, that is if Discord's word was accurate. "What a marvelous looking castle," Mordo commented. "Now, where to find that Crystal Heart..." "Oh, hello," Mordo heard. He turned around to see Princess Cadance standing nearby. "I don't believe I've seen you in town before, are you new?" Mordo looked slightly concerned, this strange pony actually approached him. Fortunately she doesn't seem to have any malicious intent, nor does she suspect him of anything. "Uh, yes, I am new to town," Mordo answered. "I am simply a wanderer." "Oh, that's great!" Cadance said. "Well, I am Princess Cadance, who might you be?" "...Karl," Mordo figured it'd be best to be vague with his identity for now. "Well Karl, it's a pleasure to make your acquaintance," Cadance said. "You seemed quite interested in my castle, and I think I heard you mentioning something about the Crystal Heart." Mordo started to sweat a bit, but did his best to maintain his calm demeanor, "Why yes, I am from out of town and I have heard tale of The Crystal Empire and it's heart, so I desired to see both with my own eyes." "Oh, so you wandered in from out of town, I hope you didn't walk through the snowstorm that surrounds the Kingdom," Cadance said. "Uh...not exactly, I had ways of travel," Mordo said. "Oh good, the snowstorms are bad, thank goodness for the Crystal Heart, without it, this whole place would be covered in snow," Cadance said. "We definitely wouldn't want to go through that again." "It's happened once before?" Mordo asked. "When my daughter was born, I mean thankfully we were able to fix it with help from my sister-in-law Twilight Sparkle, and her husband Peter, who you might know as Spider-Mane," Cadance said. Of course Mordo recognized the name, sort of. Basically just the Equestrian variation, "Yes, I know of, Spider-Mane." "Well who wouldn't, he's a great guy who does a marvelous job of protecting Equestria, but I'm sure you know that, just about everypony in this world knows about Spider-Mane," Cadance said. "I hear he is an outsiders, from another world," Mordo said. "Well, yeah," Cadance sheepishly admitted. "That's no problem is it? I mean it doesn't take away how nice he is." "I have objections, I am merely a stallion who has an interest in alternate worlds," Mordo insisted. "Oh, then you'd probably get along well with Sunset Shimmer," Cadance said. "Anyway since you're new here, why don't I show you around?" "You do not need to burden yourself with that task," Mordo said. "I merely just wish to observe." "Don't worry, I insist, I can even take you to see The Crystal Heart, it's not hard to find, we keep it on display at times for the ponies of this Kingdom, it gives them a sense of hope," Cadance said. Mordo wasn't too sure about having this pony with him, but she seemed rather insistent on coming along, and it would be too suspicious if he continuously denied her. So he relented and allowed her to join him. "Very well, if the Princess of this Kingdom wishes to assist me, well I won't deny your kindness," Mordo said. "Very well, come along, there is much to discuss," Cadance said. "Question, did you happen to see a statue on your way through town?" "Is it the one of the dragon creature?" Mordo asked, getting a nod from Cadance. "The very same," Cadance eagerly stated. "Just wait til I tell you the story of what happened, you'll see that Equestria truly has it's own brand of heroes." Elsewhere in Canterlot, Cap is seen training many of the Royal Guards, getting them active in their duty. He had a few running laps, some flying laps, some doing push-ups, wing-ups and sit-ups. He had a few practice in their sparring as well, wanting them to be in tip-top shape. "Come on, put some muscle into it! Think about the safety of this world!" Cap encouraged. "Your Princesses need you! Your families need you! I know you all have it in you to do your best!" Many of the ponies were seen panting and sweating, but powered through out of Cap's orders. He was definitely more strict than Shining Armor, thankfully not overbearing. He definitely has the charisma of a leader, as expected from a man who has constantly led The Avengers to victory. Celestia observed from her tower, seeing this brave stallion trying to bring the best out of her soliders. She couldn't help but be enamored with his demeanor, showing a tough and stern attitude yet also providing the men with motivation, encouraging them to believe in themselves. Despite the latest mishaps, Celestia still wanted to have hope that things were gonna be fine. At the very least the heroes were quick to stop them before they got worst, but she could feel it reaching that level. But she had to have faith in the heroes, she's always believed in Peter, why shouldn't she believe in the others, especially heroes like Cap and Stark, two men that Peter looks up to. They were two of Peter's inspirations to becoming a hero, surely that means they have to be above him in skill, and Peter is already quite talented, she could only imagine what these men could do. That's not even accounting others like Thor, someone who has also taken quite an interest in Equestria, if he didn't need to check in on Asgard every now and then, as well as Earth, he'd be living just peacefully in this world. "Alright, break time men, you've earned it!" Cap said, the soldiers stopping their activities. None of them bothered mentioning to Cap that they're technically not men, for risk of annoying him. Fair as he is, he will drop the nice guy act if any of them step out of line. The soldiers all went to find someplace to relax and take breather, some hoping to get something to eat. Cap had sat back and grabbed a bottle of water, drinking a little and then drenching his head and rubbing the water across his face. "That was quite a workout you gave my soldiers," Celestia said, descending upon Cap. "Greetings Celestia," Cap said, placing the bottle down. "Did you just arrive?" "I was already observing from nearby, you're quite the motivational leader," Celestia said. "Your years as the Leader of The Avengers has really been quite beneficial to your new task." "I've received training like that myself, and have observed other instructors," Cap said. "Try imagining them being instructed by Nick Fury, knowing him he wouldn't have even given them a break." "Peter has told me stories of Nick Fury, Twilight has mentioned meeting him as well," Celestia said. "He sounds like a tough man." "He is, I give him a lot of credit, he's very brave and is willing to head into the same danger as the rest of us, despite not having any superpowers," Cap said. "Though the only downside to his strategic mind is that he is very paranoid, it almost makes it hard to trust him, because you don't know what he's going to do next. One minute he's happy to have allies like us, the next he starts to wonder if men and women with our powers should be freely walking the planet." "That, does sound rather unfortunate," Celestia said. "A good leader should not give in to paranoia," Cap said, somewhat eyeing Celestia. "Thankfully he hasn't gotten too carried away yet, aside from him trying to start some Registration act for the heroes." "Registration?" Celestia asked. "Basically the heroes have to sign up and give their information to the world government in order to continue being heroes, while I understand where he's coming from, there should not be that many restrictions on heroism," Cap said. "A good hero should always be readily available to protect, and never be bound to any restrictions." "Well..." Celestia said. "Not to agree with Nick Fury, but I'm sure there is some good intention with his Registration idea, I mean, maybe there can be a nice little compromise." "Hard to do so," Cap said. "Besides if you try enforcing that, it will cause a rebellion, I've seen it before." Cap turned his attention to Celestia, "You have to trust the heroes of this world and others, they have the best intentions, and if they make a mistake, trust that they'll learn from it." Celestia could tell that Cap was really trying to talk directly to her, rather than at her. Perhaps he has sensed her own worries and doubts, probably a leader's and hero's instinct. "I can understand your perspective," Celestia said. Now she turned to fully face him, "I really appreciate all you do for me Steve." "It's no trouble Celestia, all in a day's work for a solider and a hero," Cap said, saluting to the Sun Princess. "You're such an ideal stallion Steve," Celestia said, gently stroking his mane, much to his confusion, though not displeasure. "Amazing no woman has picked you out yet." "I've had my fair share of women," Steve admitted. "But if there's one thing most heroes have in common, is that love life is hard to maintain. Perhaps Equestria has given them a second chance, most of them at least. Me, still no luck." "You'd be surprised how many mares find you attractive," Celestia said, a tint of a blush on her face. "Maybe you should take a break from seeking out danger and focus on that observation." "Telling me not to keep an eye out for danger is an impossible task," Cap said. "Well, what if you were on break?" Celestia suggested. "Peter had a vacation not too long ago, maybe you deserve one, when's the last time you enjoyed yourself?" "I still enjoy myself, I don't need a vacation to do that," Cap said. "I can't ignore the call of those who need me, it's my duty as a solider and a hero." "Even they need breaks," Celestia said, gazing into Cap's eyes. "Even if it's for a day? You don't have to go far, you can even stay here in Canterlot, that way you can be ready to go back into action, but you probably won't need to." Cap became slightly suspicious, and somewhat flustered from how close she got, "Why are you so adamant about this Princess?" "Just trying to be a good friend, friends do care about other friends after all," Celestia said, rubbing his chin, almost flirty like. Before Cap could respond, they heard a familiar booming voice, "Good day to you both!" The two turned to see Thor flying in from the distance. "Hello good Captain! Hello Princess of the Sun! Tis a lovely day, is it not!?" "Oh, hello Thor," Celestia said, slightly annoyed at the moment being ruined. "It's nice to see you as well." "Done checking up on Asgard?" Cap asked. "Why yes, all is well there," Thor said. "My father Odin continues to manage his throne well, and the faithful knights do a magnificent job of protecting Asgard! Especially Lady Sif!" "That's great to hear, so will you be in Equestria for long?" Cap asked. "Why yes, many of Asgard also wish to view Equestria someday, especially the Valkyries," Thor said. "The Valkyries? Wait don't they ride on Pegasus ponies?" Cap asked. "They're not thinking of doing that here are they? Or taking a Pegasus for themselves, because those Pegusai will turn human if they go to Asgard, hopefully they know that." "I assure you it is not to take a Pegasus, nor ride one," Thor asked. "Though the latter might change if one of the Valkyries finds a proper statllion, if you know what I mean..." Cap furrowed his brow in annoyance, "Not in front of the Princess." "Ha, always as stiff as a rock, eh Captain?" Thor said, patting Steve's back. "But to answer your question, the Valkyries just wish to communicate with the Pegasus ponies of this world, see how things are here, perhaps become Pegusai themselves, that would be an ideal turn of events for them." "Yes, well, that is not a guarantee, hopefully they would be accepting of that," Cap said. "I'm sure they will be," Thor said. "Though, question, if a Pegasus from our world were to come to Equestria, would they still be a Pegasus? Or would they turn human?" Cap was gonna answer, but then realized he himself didn't really know, "Uh...that's actually a good question." He turned to Celestia, "Any idea?" "I honestly can't say," Celestia said. "I've never seen such an occurrence." "Well perhaps we'll find out soon enough," Thor said. "Well I should be off, I'll let you two get back to the mood you were in before I arrived." "Mood, what mood?" Cap asked. "You know, the flirty eyes, the affectionate stroking, I bet she was talking softly to you, eh Captain?" Thor asked. "Uh, Thor, perhaps you're envisioning things?" Celestia said, trying to hide the embarrassment. "Oh nonsense, I could see it in your eyes," Thor said. "There is no shame, why Captain America here is a fine man, or now, a fine stallion. Many have even complimented his perfect posterior!" "Wh-what!? Who!?" Cap asked. "Oh I can never say," Thor said, smirking a bit. "Just some talk I've heard from some mares, maybe a few stallions, everyone has their preferences after all." Thor turned to Celestia, "You seem to have those same admirers yourself Princess." "Excuse me?" Celestia said, briefly glancing towards her flank. "Why yes, don't worry, I am not among them, nothing personal against you, but I do not have time to worry about finding my queen just yet, I'm sure the day will come, it's just not today," Thor said. "That and, I find your sister slightly more attractive, so it'd just be awkward if we got together. Good day." Thor flew off, leaving a blushing Celestia and an annoyed Cap behind. Neither expected this turn of events. "So...that happened," Cap said. "Yes...I should be going now," Celestia said, turning to fly away, desperately trying to hide her blushing face from view, especially Cap's. "Thor...you're a great man, and I'm happy to have you as an ally," Cap said to himself, then angrily frowned. "But sometimes, you can be such a moron." Back at The Crystal Empire, Cadance had just explained their town's past to Mordo, from rescuing it from King Sombra, twice in fact, to it hosting the Equestria Games, it's various Wonderbolt events, and was now explaining snowstorm that almost destroyed the town. "So my daughter, Flurry Heart, when she was just a baby, she once cried so loudly that she accidentally destroyed the Crystal Heart," Cadance said. "Thankfully we found a spell that could fix it, or rather Twilight did. With a little teamwork from Twilight, Peter and our friends, we were able to fix the broken heart." "I see, so they had saved the Kingdom from destruction?" Mordo asked. "That's correct, Twilight's spell nearly didn't work, so Peter took it upon himself to see if there were any other Unicorns in town, which there just happened to be," Cadance said. "A former student of Princess Celestia, Sunburst." "Princess Celestia, the Ruler of this world?" Mordo asked. "Yes, he attended her school when he was young," Cadance said. "We thought he was a Wizard, but he actually flunked out of Celestia's school, which was a shame, he seemed to be a child prodigy. I think he lost his motivation after a while." "That's a shame, what could have caused that?" Mordo asked. "Well he didn't really talk much, but according to Peter, he just felt lonely, he was all alone in Celestia's school, having made no friends," Cadance said. "He had one friend long ago, but he hasn't seen her since, so Peter had promised him that he would keep an eye out." "What is the friend's name?" Mordo asked. "I don't remember honestly, Starshine or something," Cadance said. "But it's been years, Peter has seen no sign of her, hopefully he can find her someday, then maybe Sunburst won't be such an introvert. The poor stallion barely leaves his house." "Hm...quite unfortunate," Mordo said. "If Twilight Sparkle is Princess of Friendship, how come she hasn't tried finding him a new friend, or befriending him herself?" "She has, we all have," Cadance said. "Even Flurry tries to, but he's just somewhat depressed. I mean sometimes he makes an effort, I think he really wants to get out more. Maybe you can help with that, if you'd like." "I am not one for friends," Mordo said. "I had friends, but that was long ago. Quite honestly, I felt betrayed by them, I refuse to go through that again." "Come now, that's no way to think Karl," Cadance said. "Friendship is Magic, it's something Twilight taught, and she's doing so right now. She's helping a young mutant girl from Peter's world, I think her name is Wanda. She sent me a letter about it recently." "Wanda?" Mordo said, recognizing the name. "How interesting, what's this girl like?" "Twilight hasn't mentioned much, just that she's the daughter of a really powerful mutant named Magneto, and that she along with his Brotherhood are trying to learn Friendship," Cadance said. Mordo wasn't sure what to make of this, the idea that Magneto might be in this world somewhere, he already has his Brotherhood here, what could the old mutant be planning he had to wonder. He doubts Magneto cares that much about making friends, he must have an ulterior motive. "This is interesting, how many others from Spider-Mane's world exist here?" Mordo asked. "Several, heroes like The Timber-Wolverine, The Equine Torch, Gambit, Icemane, The Wasp, Deadpool, even Avengers like Captain Equestria and Iron Stallion," Cadance said. "I mean, those are their Equestrian names, if you'd like I can give you their Earth names." "It's fine, I do not require that," Mordo said, having an idea of who she meant. "Are any of them sorcerers? Just curious, I am quite fascinated with magic." "Well no, I mean I think Wanda has magic powers, but magic is just really rare on Earth," Cadance said. "They do have that one Sorcerer, Doctor Strange, who comes here quite frequently. He's a nice man, very wise too." "I'm sure he is," Mordo said, trying to hide his discontempt. "But if you're interested in magic, I should take you to see Twilight," Cadance said. "Between Friendship and Magic, Twilight has it covered. I'm sure right now she's doing an excellent job of teaching Wanda." Back in Ponyville. "Hey I deserve the most cookies, not Parker!" Scott argued. "Hey I'm a superhero, I earned those cookies!" Peter argued back. "I'm a hero too dumbass! An Avenger level hero!" Scott said. "I outrank you in the hero department!" "And I outrank you in Equestria!" Peter said. "I am a Prince after all." "Prince of Nerds," Scott said. "Stop calling me that, peasant!" Peter taunted. "Um, why can't I get the most cookies, I'm the most adorable," Mayday said. Twilight was quite annoyed that her simple Friendship/Math Lesson was going terribly wrong. "At this rate Wanda is not going to make any progress!" She used her magic to levitate the two arguing stallions. "Now, neither of you get cookies, in fact, you two are dismissed!" "Dismissed!?" Peter asked. "What are you-" Scott couldn't finish his question as he and Peter were teleported away, landing outside the house. "Ow..." "Ugh, boys, I swear," Twilight said. "No kidding," Trixie said, rolling her eyes. "Tell me about it," Wanda added, showing her sass. Mayday looked confused, "Um...is that a bad thing?" "No, just very annoying," Trixie explained. "Oh, good, because I don't want to stop loving them, even if they are boys," Mayday said. "I swear she's just too pure," Wanda commented, happily observing the kind smile of Mayday. Oh how she wishes she could have her as a little sister. Back in The Crystal Empire, Cadance had finally led Mordo to the Crystal Heart. "There it is, the pride of The Crystal Empire." "Magnificant," Mordo said, observing closely. "All that power that lies within this one artifact." "It is impressive isn't it?" Cadance said. "Highly dangerous too, this is the very life of our Empire, without it, we'd be nothing." "I see, that's quite unfortunate," Mordo said. "Well, Princess Cadance, I thank you greatly for this tour." "Oh there can still be more, I can show you our castle," Cadance suggested. "Maybe you can even meet my husband and daughter." "That will not be necessary," Mordo said, charging up some power. "Hey, what's going-" Cadance was asking, then in an instant, Mordo had blasted her against a wall, completely taking her by surprise. "My apologies Princess, but I have a goal to complete. But I do thank you for all you've done for me." Mordo then turned his attention to the Crystal Heart and grabbed it from it's spot, relishing in the pwer he could feel from it. "Yes...YES! Such power! And it's all mine!" Cadance slowly stood up, "Karl? What's going on!?" "It's not Karl," Mordo replied, turning to Cadance as he slowly levitated into the air. "You may call me, Baron Mordo! Sworn enemy of Doctor Strange!" "An enemy of...oh no!" Cadance said, realizing she had been tricked. She attempted to retrieve the Crystal Heart but she was blasted again, this time with a stronger blast as Mordo levitated her in electricity. "I could end you right here, but in honor of the kindness you showed me, I will spare you," Mordo said, tossing Cadance aside. "Even I maintain a sense of honor." Mordo flew up into the sky with the Crystal Heart in possession and used the magic to destroy the barrier surrounding the Crystal Empire, the snow clouds starting form above the skies. "This will help reduce the Empire's numbers." Shining Armor had run outside the moment he heard some commotion, then saw his wife injured on the floor. "Cadance!" He rushed to her side, trying to hep her up. "What's going on!?" "B-baron Mordo," Cadance said, gesturing to the sky. "He's got the Crystal Heart!" "Baron Mordo?" Shining Armor said, looking up. "Who is he? How did he get the heart!? Where did he come from!?" "Worry about that later, we're gonna need some assistance," Cadance said. "From who? Peter? Twiley? The Avengers?" Shining Armor asked. "Not just them...we have to find Doctor Strange," Cadance declared, the race to stop Baron Mordo taking it's start.