Chapter Seventeen
Magnus could only give one order, the only thing he could do. “Get behind me, everyone! Do not engage them, fall back!” He yelled, the Legionnaires retreating behind their lord. “I’m the only one that can fend them off!”
“But, my love, there are seven of them! There is only one of you!” Celestia argued, a Terminator preventing her from approaching him.
“I know, beloved…” Magnus’ hands began to glow, the Lords of Change making their way to the groups. “I can’t allow any more harm to befall any of you, so I shall face them alone.”
The snake began to laugh. “Foolish, Magnus! Shouldering everything on your own!” He called out, his mouth wide. “Fine, face them alone! You shall fall, with none to save those you love!”
“That is where you are wrong, Tzeentch!” A voice boomed, everyone suddenly stopping at the declaration. “My son… Foolish his actions may seem, at times, but he shall never stand alone!”
A new flash of golden light appeared around Magnus, eighteen beams shooting down from the heavens. The snakes eyes were wide, shocked at what he was seeing. “I-It can’t be… Impossible! I made sure you wouldn’t know!”
A man, standing far taller than Magnus and wearing golden armor, stood with seventeen powerful looking warriors. “Have you forgotten who I am, Tzeentch? I know all.” He said, Magnus having a look of disbelief on his face.
“F-Father…? B-Brothers?” Magnus managed to say, the Legionnaires all kneeling, yelling ‘My Emperor!’
Twilight looked up at Celestia, who had placed both hands over her mouth. “M-Mother? Who are they?” She asked, looking at the eighteen beings, each giving glares and confident looks towards the Lords of Change. “Their power, especially the tallest one speaking, are enormously powerful.”
Celestia looked down at her, then back at the scene. “W-well, it is surprising that they are here, making today quite the reunion.” She looked back down at Twilight. “Those seventeen warriors, are your father’s brothers, you uncles… The man, in the golden armor and holding the blazing sword, however?” Celestia was kind of shocked at the development, not expecting him to appear. “He is Magnus’ father, your grandfather…. The Emperor of Mankind.” Twilight’s jaw dropped, even Peter was shocked at what he heard. Everyone could sense the sheer power from the Emperor, while only a few could sense Magnus’.
Tzeentch snapped out of his trance, and hissed at the Lords of Change. “What are you all waiting for!? Attack them! I will deal with the Anathema!” He ordered, the Lords resuming their charge, while Tzeentch began to fly up, building up his own attack.
The Emperor glared at the snake. “Everyone, at least two per Lord of Change. Magnus, protect the others. You all have done enough.” The Primarchs nodded, and charged at the Lords, while the Emperor prepared a counter for Tzeentch’s attack.
Corax, Konrad, and Sanguinus; flew towards a Lord that took flight, the airborne Primarchs forcing it to halt. Vulkan, Perturabo, and Ferrus Manus; suddenly unleashed powerful strikes against another. Lion El’ Johnson, Rogal Dorn, and Leman Russ; did not waste any time to challenge their foe. Mortarion and Angron were enough for one Lord, their precise and savage blows ripping it down. The twins, Alpharius and Omegon combined their skills with Guilliman, leaving a Lord completely out matched. The last one was forced to deal with the speed of Jaghatai Khan, upon his warbike, and the grace of Fulgrim.
The Lords of Change proved to be powerful, even for the Primarchs. This caused the exchange between teams and opponents, which ended with one Lord towering over Magnus, Peter, and the girls. “Get behind me!” Magnus yelled, charging his power in an attempt to ward off the Lord. When it reached for them, a thin flash of light appeared, freezing it, followed by a few more. To Twilight’s surprise, another Primarch was standing in front of the Lord. His armor was purple, a golden wing on his left shoulder, his sword was beautifully crafted, and he had silver-white hair. Despite having a Lord of Change behind him, the Primarch was casually smelling a rose.” Fulgrim!” Her father yelled, happily.
Fulgrim turned his attention to Magnus, and smiled. “Dearest brother, Magnus!” He yelled, opening both arms and walked over to him. “It has been far too long, my heart ached from not seeing one of my beloved brothers!” The two embraced each other, as the Lord of Change suddenly fell apart, and turned to ash. Fulgrim pulled back, holding his smile. “Well? Let me see her! The battle can wait, I simply must meet my dear niece.” He asked.
Magnus laughed, moving out of his way and motioning to Twilight. “Well, brother, there she is. Princess Twilight Sparkle. With her lovely mother, Princess Celestia.” Celestia blushed, smiling at Magnus’ compliment.
Fulgrim’s features lit up, the moment his eyes laid upon Twilight, who just smiled and waved. “Let me see you! Let. Me. See. You. Dearest child!” He called out, arms open wide, and walking over to Twilight.
“H-Hello, m-my lord.” Twilight stuttered, shaking, before bowing her head. She twitched the moment Fulgrim’s hands touched her shoulders, then looked up at him.
“Oh, no, no, no! To you, my dearest niece, I am Uncle Fulgrim, or Fulgrim!” He stated, running some of his fingers through her hair. “By Holy Terra, you are gorgeous! Your hair, your eyes, even the lovely tone of your skin!” Fulgrim placed a hand over his chest. “Whenever we get the chance, I must paint an image of your beauty! Oh, and we must have your Uncle Perturabo create a sculpture.”
Twilight’s face grew flushed, redder than a tomato, at the compliments. “P-Please, Uncle F-Fulgrim… There are far prettier g-girls than me.” She said, unable to stop smiling.
“Modest, too! Oh, I couldn’t ask for a better niece!” Fulgrim added, before his gaze went to Twilight’s torn costume. “A shame about your attire though.” He was in deep thought, before snapping his fingers. “Ah, I’ll be sure to have the finest dresses prepared for you!” Twilight’s eyes went wide, smiling at how generous her uncle was, as his attention went to Celestia. “And Princess Celestia! I can tell her magical ability came from both of you, but she gained her breath taking beauty from your own! Please, tell me how many suitors have you thrown out, for the two of you?”
Celestia giggled at the Primarch’s compliment, smiling at him. “It is an honor to finally meet you, Lord Fulgrim. My beloved has spoken highly of you.” She allowed Fulgrim to take her hand, and place a kiss on it. “I, myself, haven’t allowed any suitors. Twilight, however, seems to have a blooming romance with young Peter Parker over there.” She motioned to Spider-Man, who tried to stand, despite his injuries.
“Hm… He is somewhat small, but one should not judge a book by its cover.” Fulgrim said, cupping his chin in thought.
When a Lord of Change fell to the ground, a bulky Primarch firing his wrist mounted bolters into the back of the Daemon’s skull, following with a hammer blow to the top of said skull. “Fulgrim! Enough talk, let us finish the battle first!” He yelled, the Lord of Change being reduced to ash.
“Apologies, Perturabo! I couldn’t help but meet our gorgeous niece!” Fulgrim replied, following with a bow to the girls. “Please, excuse me. Seems I must handle some business before we continue.” They nodded, as the Primarch, gracefully, rejoined the battle.
“Um…” The girls looked at Spider-Man. “Did I just get called scrawny, by the smallest, seemingly, brother?” He asked, the two giggling at his observation.
-With the Emperor and Tzeentch-
The snake was preparing his attack, an aura of blue energy discharging around him. “I don’t know how you found out, Anathema, but not even you will stop me from claiming my prize!” Tzeentch roared, unleashing the chaotic energy straight for the Emperor.
The Emperor, whose face remained passive, met the attack with his own, golden, psykic blast! The two energies collided with one another, actually causing the energy to discharge around its focal point. “That will not happen, Tzeentch. I’ve lost two of my sons to the Ruinous Powers. I swore, over Horus’ broken body, that I would not allow the four to take any more of my family!” The Emperor replied, maintaining the stalemate.
“Don’t you get it, Anathema? This world, there was a reason why I choose it!” The snake grinned, his power slowly pushing the Emperor back. “Here, change is constant and nonstop, there are thousands of magical fissures here! I am the Changer of Ways, the Sorcerer God! Here, my power only grows more with each passing second!”
The Emperor started to slide back, his armor digging up the ground while his power began to falter. Twilight placed a hand over her mouth at the sight… If someone did not do anything, and soon, the Emperor will actually lose. “There has to be something we can do… I mean, he won’t be able to fight that thing on his own.” She thought, looking around, to see that no one can give him any assistance.
“You are powerful, Twilight.” A voice rang through her mind, prompting Twilight to look around. “The powers of both your mother and father dwell within you… And you brought it out multiple times, because of one thing.”
Twilight knew the voice, her eyes going to the fallen Captain, who was smiling in his unconscious state. “A-Azhek?” She whispered, wondering if he was awake. When no response came, she shook her head. “How can I bring it out? My friends aren’t here… There’s no way I can use the Elements of Harmony…”
The Emperor’s voice rang through her mind, what he had said, before appearing with the Primarchs. “He shall never be alone!” That was when it hit Twilight… The answer she needed.
Her friends were close to her, they were like family to her. Looking around, she smiled at what she had now, just that. Her mother, Celestia, and her father, Magnus. Petr, the boy who stole her heart. The Emperor, her grandfather, and the Primarchs, her uncles. Both Shining Armor, and Azhek, her older brothers-… Scratch that… Every Thousand Sons Legionnaire was her older brother. Strangely enough, the young princess even felt connected to the Photep, somehow. Yes, like many times before, Twilight was surrounded by her loved ones. She smiled, knowing what to do.
The Emperor fell to one knee, Tzeentch was starting to overpower him. “I cannot fail, I must not falter.” He grunted, trying to force back the opposing energy.
“You won’t!” A voice yelled, as a beam of lavender energy slammed into the Emperor’s, helping it push some of the blue, chaotic, energy back. When he turned, to see who was aiding him, and saw young Twilight... Struggling with the amount of energy. “I met my actual father, and his family, after finding out I am Celestia’s daughter… I will not lose it all, in one day, because of some monster!” Her power started to grow, surprising the Emperor. “I will always protect. My. Loved ones!”
Twilight’s power spiked! The lavender beam turning into a stream of rainbow colors, pushing Tzeentch’s attack back to the middle and allowed the Emperor to stand. “You are truly Magnus’ daughter… Along with my granddaughter.” He said, giving her a soft smile before glaring at the snake. “Let us banish this Daemon, for good, together!”
“Even with her help, you will no-what!?” A blast of sky blue and gold energy suddenly joined in on the Emperor’s side! Tzeentch looked down, only to see Magnus and Celestia had joined in!
“Twilight is our daughter… We will not stand by and let her shoulder such things alone!” Celestia declared, using her power while Magnus held her up with his free hand.
“I’ve missed out on much of her life, because of you… So, to make up for it, I shall aid her, and father, banish you!” Magnus roared, his power doubling. “My daughter will know, her father shall always stand by her side!”
“And us!” The Primarchs yelled, all using some form of ranged power against Tzeentch.
“We shall stand by our sister’s side!” The Legionnaires yelled, all either using psykic abilities or ranged weapons against the Daemon God.
“T-This can’t… Be happening!” Tzeentch yelled, watching his power be pushed back while his body was being torn apart. “How can this be!?”
“Something you’ll never learn, monster… A family’s bond!” Twilight answered, the output of her magic causing images of her friends to appear with them. “Now, be banished from which you came, forever!” Their end suddenly shot forward, violently ripping through Tzeentch’s own energy.
Tzeentch’s eyes began to widen, as the blinding light quickly approached him. “N-No! I cannot lose! I am Tzeentch! Changer of Ways, he who will continu-AGH!” The blast struck him, mid-sentence, as his entire frame was engulfed within an orb of light. His body spasmed in agony, he was enduring, as the orb collapsed on to him…. The snake disappearing from sight.
“We did it…” Twilight said, smiling at the fact. “We defeated him!” She hugged both Celestia and Magnus, tried to at least, as everyone began to cheer. Though, the celebration wasn’t going to occur like they thought. “W-What is happening?” She asked, her body glowing lavender and started to float up.
“It seems, with Tzeentch banished, what he used to counter your return spell… Has lifted.” Magnus said, watching what is occurring. “Seems like you’re going home, my child.”
“B-But, I don’t want to go just yet!” Twilight said, her eyes filling with tears, even more so when Peter walked up. “T-There’s so much I want to ask…”
Magnus smiled at her, placing a hand on Peter’s shoulder. “We will all meet again, someday, Twilight.” He said, a tar forming under his eye.
Before she could say anything else, Peter spoke up. “Don’t argue with him, a father knows best…. If he said we’ll meet again, you better believe it!” She nodded, before the spell caused her to vanish from sight.
“My love, you better go, as well… She will need you for comforting.” Magnus said,
Celestia kissed the side of his cheek. “I am glad to see you again, beloved… Don’t worry, I will take care of her.” She said, her body suddenly engulfed in a gold glow. Her eyes glowing white. “Equestria!” Celestia whispered, the Equestrians disappearing from sight.
Magnus let out a pained sigh, as a hand was placed on to his own shoulder. “You seem as if you will never visit them, my son.” The Emperor said, raising an eyebrow.
“The link between our worlds has been broken, father. It would be dangerous to jump from dimension to dimension too quickly.” Magnus said, noticing a sly smirk on the immortal’s face.
“Something broken, can be repaired with time.” He simply said, before moving to face Peter, the other Primarchs joining him. “So… You are Peter Parker, Twilight’s blooming lover, huh?”
Peter felt like he was the size of an ant at the moment. All of their eyes were on him, now. Magnus leaned over, smirking. “Run. I’ll try to hold them off.” He joked, earning a nervous laugh from Peter.