Marvel Mares

by neorenamon

Loki paced about his room as he glanced into his scrying pool on occasion. It urked him to no end that his half-sister was getting so close to Princess Celestia who was supposed to be punishing her. Yet the way the Princess was spooning Rainbow in bed was surely a sign of her growing affections.

"First the Frost Giant-Horses fail me," he cussed aloud (as Loki was want to do when he was alone), "And now the Dark Changelings fail me as well?!" He paused before he muttered, "It's so hard to find competent evil lackies these days." Then he scowled before he announced, "It is most fortunate I can get around the realms without using the Rainbow Bridge. It seems it's time for me to do personally what my lackies have failed to do on their own."

He returned to scry around the palace to see where he may open a portal without being noticed by any of the residents within. Finally, he came across a broom closet that was both large enough to take him and quite unused at the time. Loki began casting the portal spell causing a blue tear to open in time/space from his location directly to the closet.

"I must act quickly in case Odin tries to summon me," he mused, "but first a disguise spell in case that doddering old foal should be using his own scrying pool as well."

A quick enchantment changed Loki into a rather hot looking maid mare before stepping through the portal. He chose a unicorn form as their use of magic basically went unchallenged by the Earth ponies and pegasi.

"Now to do what I do best," mused maid-Loki, "Plot the demise of my half-witted half-sister..."

...

"Wake up sleepy head," said a voice in Rainbow's ear, "It's almost time to raise the sun and I want you by my side."

Rainbow almost panicked when she awoke with Celestia's forelegs about her barrel, but then she calmed herself quickly. It was not good when she acted rashly, and certainly badly when she was in a state of rage or panic. So she took a deep breath, let it out slowly, and said, "Good morning to you, Princess Celestia."

"I know you must be hungry," she whispered as her hood rubbed Rainbow's belly, "since we both missed dinner last night, but I promise I shall have you fed well as soon as I lower the moon and raise the sun for the day."

Rainbow slipped from her grip as she got out of bed. She looked about for her armor and her hammer. Celestia got out of the other side of the bed and tugged on a cord hanging nearby. About a half a dozen maid-mares rushed in to attend her within a matter of seconds.

"Dress me for the sun raising ceremony," she said as she waited at the bedside, "And dress Rainbow in her special attire as well."

"Special attire?" asked Rainbow suspiciously.

"Yes," she replied evenly, "It is less than a week away from the Summer Sun Celebration, so the ponies are expecting us to dress in line with the coming longest day of the year."

Rainbow sighed a long and heavy sigh.

"I promise it won't be so bad," she said once she heard Rainbow's protest.

"I can wear armor this time?" asked Rainbow with growing anticipation.

"No," she replied, "But it's more in line with your appearances."

While Celestia was placed into a bright white dress with golden trim, a wide corset and several layers of skits, the outermost showing her sun cutie mark quite largely and rather visibly, Rainbow was placed into a similar flame red dress. She was distraught that she could hardly breath deeply let alone fight in those several layers of skirts. And she truly could see no practical function for all the small rubies scattered all about it.

"The sooner I can get out of this and back into reasonable armor," she replied, "The better I shall like this."

"Well you certainly are a beauty," sighed Celestia as the finishing touches were added to Rainbow outfit.

"I am no beauty," she huffed, "I am a warrior of Asgard and the All-Father."

"Then let us go," replied the Princess, "Ponies of the world are eager to see the new day rising."

"You seem to have a great number of responsibilities," commented Rainbow.

"How so?" she asked.

"Well in Asgard, there are numerous more gods and goddesses to handle the daily matters of various realms. For example, we have Sunna to manage the sun and Mani to manage the moon. You seem to do that all by yourself."

"At one time, I had a sister to aid me..." she replied, "but there's no need to go over it all now. We shall speak of that... another time." With that, she began walking towards the door which the mare-maids were holding open for her.

"As you wish," she answered as she followed Celestia from the room. But while Celestia looked away, she used her mind to call Mjolnir to her so that she might hide it under a few layers of skirts. It seemed that every hallway was lined with Guards, maids, butlers and the like all there simply to pay their respects to the Princess as she made her way to raise the sun.

Rainbow wondered against for the eighth or ninth time why the ponies would make such a fuss over the simple dawn. It wasn't like there was such a fuss over Sunna or Mani performing their daily tasks. She once again came out to the the two platforms: The larger golden one bearing the crest of the sun and the smaller blacker one bearing the crest of the moon.

On each side was a line of Guards and beyond them, a vast crowd of Canterlot ponies. The nobles clustered around the platforms while those of lower standing had to stand closer to the palace doors. Even the walls themselves had a line of Guards upon it spaced evenly around.

Celestia climbed up onto the smaller platform. Her horn glowed as she floated into the air as the moon came down to vanish beneath the horizon and take the night sky with it. But as the night faded, a strange feeling came over Rainbow. She turned to look about for the source of the feelings and saw that Fire Giant-Bulls were now on the castle walls surrounding them all. But right ahead of her was the worst of them all: Their king known as Surtur. A true monster who knew only of death and destruction from his realm in Muspelheim.

"Foals!!" called Surtur, "This shall be your last day!! I shall purge this world with my flames of hatred until it is all ash!!"

But Rainbow flapped her wings once and shot into the sky as she replied, "Not on this day nor any other, monster!"

"Try to smite me, knave!" he retorted, "See how puny you are to me!"

She spun her hammer and hurled it right at Surtur's head, but it passed through his flaming aura without harming him in the least. But nothing kept her mallet from flying back to her hoof.

"So you have bewitched yourself against the wrath of Mjolnir?!" she asked, "No matter, I shall still stop you no matter what the cost!"

Had Rainbow been in her right mind, she would have noticed that no pony was looking at the walls, but all eyes were fixed on her. They appeared to be scared of the Norse storm pony goddess. A powerful storm was quickly gathering overhead and surely would have blotted out the sun if Celestia had managed to raise it first.

Somepony was screaming something at her, but she couldn't understand the words. But there was no need for words. Only a monster that had to be stopped. A massive lightning bolt struck down on Surtur, but much to her surprise, a magic shield appeared over his head to deflect the bolt back up into the clouds.

"So you have protected yourself from my lightning as well?!" she cried, "I shall still find a way to smite you!!"

She began spinning the hammer over her head faster and faster as the clouds began spawning a super tornado. But the next thing she knew, Loki was behind her grabbing her about her barrel with both forelegs.

"LOKI?!" she called as her half-brother growled in her ear, "You DARE show yourself now?!"

Much to her surprise, Loki licked her ear... just as the Princess had done the night before. Or was it still the same night? Her head ached more when suddenly Loki's voice changed.

"STOP IT!!" said the voice of the Princess, "Whatever monsters you think are here, they are not!!"

"Now you seek to bedevil me with the voice of the Princess?!"

"You have to believe me!" pleaded the voice, "I'm Princess Celestia! Not the one called Loki!"

The tornado came closer and closer to the wall of the castle, yet none of the Fire Giant-Bulls seemed to notice or care about it.

Rainbow began casting her eyes about the courtyard as she said, "If this be the work of my half-brother Loki, than he would surely be someplace close by. He can appear as anypony."

"I beg you to stop the storm before my subjects are harmed!"

So the storm and the tornado began to dissipate quickly. But as she did so, she flung her hammer at one of the maids. The mallet struck in the center of her chest driving her into the ground as she was pushed several yards back. She felt that if it was Loki's spell, he would have to be totally focused on the spell and not defending himself.

In deed, the Fire Giant-Bulls vanished to be replaced by panicked Guards. And the fair maid turned into Loki. The hammer flew back to her hoof as she looked down on her stunned half-brother. Every pony was now staring at the pony trickster god that seemed to appear in their midst from nowhere. She reared her hoof back to throw the hammer again when a massive voice boomed from everywhere, "STAY THEY HAMMER, RAINBOW THOR ODINDOTA!"

"ALL-FATHER?!" she asked as she looked about.

"It seems that Loki has been tricking us all," said Odin.

"That's not true!" complained Loki.

"I have proof that you tricked Rainbow into attacking the Frost Giant-Horses," he replied, "How you tried to get me to strip away her godhood and her magical hammer! Now you send Frost Giant Horses and Dark Changelings to do your dirty work! Then you have the nerve to sneak her in person and try to disgrace the Odindota!"

"Because my half-sister is a weakling and foal!"

"We shall set your punishment in Asgard!" he called as Loki vanished in a burst of light.

There was a deafening quite for a moment.

"As for you, Odindota, I grant you permission to return to the halls of Asgard with full honors."

"All-Father?" she asked.

"Yes?"

"I beg your leave to stay here and study the ways of mortals," she replied, "You are right that I still need to learn more of humility."

"Very well," he replied, "Stay as long as you please. You can come home at any time."

"I swear that should Asgard need me, I shall come at your call All-Father!"

"I am very proud of you this day Odindota." There was a pause before he added, "I shall grant you the power to summon the rainbow bridge to you at any time."

"Thank you," she replied as she floated down to the ground with Celestia.

With that, the voice and its presence seemed to vanish without a trace.

Celestia turned Rainbow about as she said, "I'm glad that you chose to remain with us."

"Tis my pleasure," she replied, "The ponies of your land are surely as valiant as any warrior in Asgard. I wish to truly learn more of their ways. I wish to remain here to protect the land, Canterlot... and you."

"Then I shall officially end your punishment now," she sighed, "and you shall take your place among my most honored of Royal Guards. You may wear your armor, bear the hammer and act without having to wait for my orders."

"Must I still bathe once a week?" she asked hopefully.

"Yes," she replied, "and you shall bathe with me until you get it right." Much to the amusement of the crowd, Celestia suddenly kissed Rainbow on the lips.

...

Meanwhile, a dark figure watches the proceedings from their own palace in the Dream Realm.

"It's almost too easy," she hissed, "A simple matter to use the Princess' dreams to mold her opinion of Rainbow Dash Odindota. Soon I shall use all of them as my unwitting pawns! Soon I shall invade Equestria with my Nightmare Forces!!" <-- Insert Evil Laugh here.