[DOTA 2 Crossover]
Takes place at the very beginning of Season 3
The Undying is an ancient, once-human, undead general of endless armies. The main conductor of the Song of Death, written so painstakingly by his Dead God. Not even a stitch in space and a slip in gravity can stop his devoted crusade. Finding himself in a new grave and a new world, he continues his quest. With new power and ancient resolve, the towering abomination sets out for the new, ripe land. What can possibly stop him? Can Equestria truly fight back such a damning assault?
One thing is for sure - with the newcomers' arrival, their world is most certainly turning into a Nightmare.
Originally written in collaboration with Rinderin. I have now assumed control due to circumstances.
Cover art HERE. That is Undying.
Alternative cover art HERE. That is our hidden friend, Atropos, the Bane Elemental. Shhh, don't tell anyone.
Marked Alternate Universe due to the drastic difference in how the Griffons are organized between the show and the story.
Well, this is going to go swimmingly. And I assume Discord's still in stone, though I wonder how Tirek will react to the zombie apocalypse taking place; he may just end up hurrying up his magic drain and being the big damn hero.
Because as fun as he is to play, Undying is bad fucking news.
5034433
Excellent, a comment!
Indeed, Undying is quite a terrifying bastard.
5034452 The good news is that the tombstone is a shitload of money if you can kill it.
Finally
A another Dota 2 crossover and it seems interesting.
(I was personally expecting Ck but this is even better.)
5034484 Ck in Equestria would be weird. He's a fundamental of the universe, the physical embodiment of all things random, at least 13 billion years old with an awareness the size of the universe. It'd hard to imagine why he'd be interested in Equestria; the only reason he's interested in the Dota world is that another fundamental, Kotl, is there, and that two other fundamentals, Radiant and Dire, are fighting on it.
5034484
Heh, thank-you.
Hopefully you'll enjoy it!
5034484 Actually, during the very very VERY genesis of the story, CK and his fundamental co. were considered. Eventually we realized that it's just not that interesting.
5034488 First off, thanks for the interest in the fic (I'm the co-writer if you don't want to go check why a random person is thanking you for this). Second, a very early concept had KoTL accidentally ass himself into Equestria as well - with logical hilarities to ensue. That got thrown out the window quickly, though.
Also, yes, as an auxiliary author's note: the canon for why the heroes are doing all... that in the intro is that it's a 1200 MMR game. I mean, come on. Abaddon, Medusa, Kunkka, Enigma and Axe versus Undying, Lycan, Sniper, Huskar and Bane (who was farming the jungle). Should be obvious from the start. Lycan just read a guide and decided that he should totally push the tower while the rest are teamfighting, without even having his ultimate on.
It says a lot about the opposing team that he SUCCEEDED.
5034549 Motherfucking Bane was farming the jungle?! Bwa? Huh? WHAT?!
Also, I kinda want to see Kotl and Io go to Equestria now. My headcanon is that Io's beeps and blips are actually the fundamental language, which it stubbornly sticks to. I can picture Kotl translating.
Io: Beep boop beep bop.
Kotl: Yes, thank you Celestia for your hospitality -
Io:Beor beepery booo uop!
Kotl:Well if you don't want me to translate then speak mortal
Io:BEEP BOP BOOP BEEP!
5034555
1200 MMR. He read in a guide that supports should be able to farm well, and that the jungle is the best place to gain gold and XP without stealing from your carry.
Too bad it's like 55 minutes in, but hey - he's trying. Or was. I'm pretty sure he DC'd after getting hit by a Black Hole (Enigma is a smurf account).
That was part of the idea, actually. The idea lived for approximately six minutes, but yeah, it was.
Do consider the fact that both writers of this story can sometimes intentionally say things that are untrue, so you don't necessarily know if the Fundamental Four are out of the picture, even though they weren't picked.
5034562 Ha, well I imagine if any one of the Fundamentals arrive in Equestria, then Dirge's reign of terror will come to a very swift, very unceremonious end. Even Phoenix, who's a seething inferno a million times larger than the planet - he's a star! - would just vaporize him.
OHHH MY FAVORITE HERO EVER (besides omni)!!!
Welp...Equestia is in big trouble now.
5104439 Well, it gets better sometime around this week. Chapter 2 is in production, even if it switched hands.
5104441
Still they're going to fight one of the worst possible opponents for them to fight. They still have a chance at winning but if they don't play their cards right then it's game over.
5104450 Oh, for the record, I mean "better" sarcastically. Though... maybe not fully.
In any case, at least Broodmother or Doom Bringer aren't in on it.
Wait wait wait, Atropos the Bane Elemental got over too? Damn it Enigma, what have you done? Wonder if anyone else got through? Sniper and Huskar maybe?
I do find it kind of hard to believe that Atropos would be able to beat Luna in a dream-fight, after all. He's the god of Nightmares, while Luna controls Dreams as a whole. Though I suppose I can understand it if Bane needed to use his Ultimate to disable Luna.
Kinda hoping this doesn't become a story of the uber-powerful dota characters coming to Equestria, and the wittle ponies can't defend themselves at all without their aid. They do have the Elements, don't they? If Luna were smart - which she is - then the moment she awoke she'd bring the Bearers to Canterlot and have them fire the Orbital Friendship Cannon.
Also, Bane vs Undying? That's a very lopsided battle. After all, for all of Undying's strength and the power of him clapping, he's still just a glorified zombie, while Atropos is a deity in his own right, he who brings nightmares to Zeus himself. You're gonna need to give Undying some real strength if you don't want both the Elements and the Fear God to just WTFBBQ him.
5113179 5113179
Yeah. He was there in the first chapter, too - Twilight saw Bane in her nightmare. He was in the jungle, and then... solo blackhole for the win. Enigma wanted to try the Aghs upgrade out.
For minor spoilers, these two (Undy and Bane) are going to be pretty much the only ones. Equestria's on its own now. Enigma has farmed his Aghanim's Scepter up and the Dire ancient is probably falling soon. Who knows what happens afterwards.
But I'm definitely keeping the focus on these two. And things are going to get a little unusual with time. A change of diet can do various things. In any case, Equestria isn't having fun. But, well, it's got means to protect itself.
Well, magic got amplified big time for the Heroes we know - Undying already has abilities he did not have before (old-school veterans can look forward to some references to his previous version).
Also, Bane ATE the GODDESS of DREAMS. ATE HER. SHE'S STILL BLEEDING. Luna is just a pony who controls them the best she can. Personally, I find it admirable that she fought at all. Sure, Bane has his... issues, being now present in this world, but yyyyeah he's a problem.
Hmmm, yes, they can. They can charge the Elements and all will be fine. The Elements that require the Bearers to be operational and ready. All the coughing, vomiting, being missing and other minor inconveniences the M6 are experiencing are certainly not going to be a factor, hmmm?
Oh, and little PP, who had spent two days having HOLY DICKENS WHO KNOWS WHAT done to her, is probably not going to laugh in a very long time. The original version of this chapter had her describe what exactly Bane did to her.
I did not want to admit that I was writing Mature-Sex-Gore, and decided to omit it.
Well, Undying also more or less has no brain. Or, well, he does, but it's nothing Bane wants to have much to do with.
Also, it's very heavily implied (and since I'm the author, well...) that the already overly powerful Tombstone is what his in-game Tombstone is like here. This thing, that gives him permanent zombies, and does more than that, too (that's to be unveiled), is an EMERGENCY TOMBSTONE FOR QUICK SKIRMISH USE. And normally he uses much more sophisticated models. It is not going to end well, that much is for sure. He is more than a glorified zombie by this point. This thing is going to withstand multiple blasts from the aforementioned cannon— oh wait.
Besides, things aren't all sunshine and rainbows for Atropos himself, either. Not only is he going to have to somehow instill fear into a vastly overpowered zombie army (autoattacks are unlikely to work that well), but... you'll see. Poor thing may have... indigestion, of a sort. If he eats too fast.
Didn't expect to see Atropos here as well nor him actually helpingthem in his own way and it seems that Undying got his first meal. Poor Ditzy(At least I think its Ditzy)
You do bring a good point about Undying and his overpowered army, not to mention the whole spell immunity they have going on.
I eagerly await the next chapter.
5113681
Yep, it's her. She's even referred to (later on) by that name, because Derpy makes me throw up.
I hope to deliver.
5113246 Ah, I see. I'd argue that Bane's attack on Nyala... however the hell you pronounce her name was a sneak attack while she was unawares, but it's never established so meh, it becomes my headcanon vs yours.
In any case, I'd love to see something from Bane's PoV.
5113884 Nyctasha. And, well, my estimation was based primarily on how she was a GODEDESS. Lulu is a few pegs down. Besides, it's... assumed, that Bane took on her mantle after that.
So yeah, he's some help.
And... maybe. See next week.
5113899 Hmm, it would be interesting to see how Atropos's power would team up with the ponies. The potential for that, I believe ponies would see a lot of Sombra in him for his fear magic, and a lot of windigo and changeling for feeding off fear.
Yeah, he doesn't have many AoE, does he? If he wants to end the Dirge, he's gonna have to go straight to the source, which brings to mind if he even knows where Undying is. That... could be a problem.
Plus on a more humourous, totally want to see Undying meet up with Twilight and mistake her for 'Carl' ala his Invoker-Ally response. "Carl? Is that you?"
Dead ahead. I see what you did there.
Oh no, Zecora! And now he has Tombstones that basically radiate Heartstopper Aura. Luna, Celestia, Atropos, FUCKING HURRY!
I really hope he doesn't do something like turn Canterlot Castle into a tombstone, that would be Game Over. Unless it's one of those buildings that 'aren't suitable'.
Well, at least Bane's there and probably gonna evacuate them... while they scream. Oh, Pinkie's gonna have some fun. And the funny thing is, Atropos probably does consider Pinkie a friend for the fear, as twisted as he is.
5161125
I always liked the old Undying more. Well, it's time for the Equestrian nation to suffer for it. I'll... probably stray away from explaining how at the moment, Necro has this skill.
As for that... well, he won't be able to do that right away. It's a large building, and even a hut had him performing the national dance of the zombie people for an unspecified amount of time. So first, he'd need to get rid of those pesky ponies shooting fireballs (and in general) at him. Many, many fireballs. Many, many ponies.
5161175
This needs to become a real thing.
AND THE PLOT THICKENS! PUN INTENDED!
In a more serious note, it appears that Undying is literally eating Everfree, in a spiritual sense at least, and that he already gotten a small army. So list of named characters dead?
Zecora
Ditzy
Time Turner
Any chance of a main character joining the dance line of death and what are Equestria's chances of beating him now?
5167538
Can't tell. I'm pretty sure that an interested force is going to do their best to keep them alive, though.
Chances... well, they tend to have superweapons. Of some sort. And now they even have outside help. Who knows? It's a battle of wits.
5167605 And let's face it, for all the minds he's eaten, Undying isn't the first thing that pops to mind when you think of 'battle of wits'.
5168265
Well, maybe. Or maybe he can surprise you. His mind may be rotten, he may be a bloody zombie, but the way it flows... Besides, he is a strategist, after all - how many nations has he reduced to ash, again? Not all of that was with just a zerg rush of zombies. He may not have much general knowledge (that's why we eat minds, kids), but he definitely knows how to act in a war. Unless his enemies have something to surprise him with. Calling in reinforcements from each corner, no matter how much they differ, might not be so much... but an ace up a sleeve? Who knows.
One thing's for sure - he'll DESTROY them in a rap/dance battle. Bugger's got talent. I'm sure you've noticed. Valve do not put much emphasis on that, but I can tell that he has a very musical heart. And these flexible joints? He can pull off any move as long as it doesn't pull off his limbs.
And no, I am not writing a rap battle into this.
5034433
He just wants some gummy vitamins.
5034609
Depends. If its before 20 minutes, Dirge can enter 1v3 me mode and have a reasonable chance of winning. After 20 minutes though...
Am I the only one who wants to see more undead join Dirge? Like Pudge, Necrophos, or YOUR KING?
5179883
Well, I'll drop a spoiler and say that this isn't happening... Not directly, at least.
5168265
Undying has the 2nd highest int growth among strength heroes (2.5), and a starting int of 27. For comparison, Invoker has an int gain of 2.5 and a starting int of 22, and Rubick has a starting int of 27 and an int growth of 2.4.
Bane has a starting int of 21 and an int gain of 2.1.
Any questions?
5113179
"Also, Bane vs Undying? That's a very lopsided battle. After all, for all of Undying's strength and the power of him clapping, he's still just a glorified zombie, while Atropos is a deity in his own right, he who brings nightmares to Zeus himself. You're gonna need to give Undying some real strength if you don't want both the Elements and the Fear God to just WTFBBQ him."
I agree about it being a lopsided battle... in Undying's favor. Bane is a godly disabler, but all of his spells are single target, making him useless against hoards. Even with the zombie's arbitrary magic immunity removed, Bane would be unable to do anything about them, since he lacks area of effect. Bane's only hope would be to quickly kill undying, but the "glorified zombie" is tanky enough to survive the damage from Fiend's Grip, Brain Sap, and Nightmare, after which he can quickly heal himself with a soul rip and tear Bane apart.
5182993 You're thinking too much in game mechanics.
5183008
5182993
Consider both the fact that the transfer to Equestria is effectively the release of 7.00. Neither of them work in QUITE the same way they used to. I mean, you've already seen that Undying has a skill that was removed a while ago - and that's with how we haven't even touched what happened to Flesh Golem (something did). And while it's still true that Bane can't help against a zombie army... he doesn't need to.
He has an entirely different area of expertise, and his own... agents to help him. For the moment, though, consider this - as far as I remember, Nightmared heroes don't get targeted by zombies.
Very, very fortunate. Very, very terrifying. I hope. Because that's going to go on for a while.
5183095 And that just reminded me of the potential for dear Atropos to take control of a Nightmare Moon cult. No clue if you plan that or not, but the daydreams will be so entertaining.
5183008
And you are relying on Dota2's lore, which has ridiculous power differences.
On one end of the scale, you have a midget with a gun.
On the other end of the scale, you have a bug that can manipulate space-time.
Also, Dota 2 lore for heroes is not very well written. You either have Copouts (like Puck and Enigma), Lone Wolves (Sniper, Clockwerk, Lycan), God(s) did it (Omniknight, Undying), or wizard battle (Rubick, Phantom Lancer).
5183106
I think I'll leave you with that comforting thought while I point out something I haven't before - I do, in fact, remember that Bane's name is Atropos. He'll use it. Eventually.
5183130 Yes, I am relying on Dota 2 Lore, because so far this story looks like it goes off of that lore.
5183130
The backstories in Dota 2 are somewhat heavily implied to be of different matters. The in-game mechanics are only closely connected. Finally, there's the fact that most of the supposedly overpowered ones are most likely equalized by having to restrain themselves to the battlefield. The Ancients probably don't want to take away the options of entities like Wisp or Enigma from themselves, but they do need to assign pressure to them in case the other Ancient ends up enthralling them instead. Which results in these supposedly cosmic beings having more or less mortal bodies. It's an equalized fighting field.
Not anymore.
Also, artistic freedom (and the fact that basing plot events off variable in-game mechanics solely because someone holds the opinion that some of the Dota 2 lore is subpar is stupid) kind of keep the Bane/Undying rivalry a possibility. This is, after all, a story. Not a VOD. I am using some game-mechanic-relevant things as plot points, yes, but that is for flavor - not because I HAVE to.
e.g., the previously mentioned example of Nightmare avoiding a second of damage - it does end up implemented in a way; Undying having had Heartstopper Aura is already in - because I needed to make him a bigger threat and rationalize the fact that he isn't immediately sought out by lazers; Decay growing his strength (because otherwise he's just not terrifying enough in close combat); Bane feeding off fear (because it's creepy) ... the list goes on, and yes, I have no idea how to use the semicolon.
Before even reading the new chapter: Ooh, coverart change
'Dead air'? I c wat u did there.
Really liking Undying's constant references to 'songs', sour notes and all that. It drives home just how alien his mind is.
As for the power discrepancy between Atropos and Luna... eh, not a big fan of that. I write the alicorn sisters as non-omnipotent gods, sort of like if Athena or Demeter were to run for office. I understand you don't, and that's perfectly fine, but still the massive power difference leaves some to be desired. Look at Twilight vs Tirek: If even a fraction of that power was Luna's, she can pack a serious punch. She could probably obliterate a really long line of the lesser zombies casually.
And given how in the NMM flashback Celestia was just briefly stunned by magic that could carve craters in stone, they're really durable, and the lesser infected will probably break their teeth trying to bite them.
Really like your description of Atropos 'tunneling' to Ponyville through the dream realm, and using Nightmares to steer the Mane 6 free, trying his best to make a 'good' dream.
And... Rainbow's down. Fuck, no more elements. Hopefully her supersonic speed will be crippled by being undead.
5229154
Yeah, I'll pretend that was intentional. It never occured to me before you pointed it out, but now that you did... nothing wrong with it,
Here's the thing about it that I haven't explained yet - if Atropos was to show his shaky, purple, sneaky butt in the real world, she would deprave him of said shaky, purple, sneaky butt right away (assuming she never stops to listen to him and has no dire need of an advantage). The problem is that he keeps hiding in the dream plane, where his power is incomparable to anything else. Lulu may be the world's guardian, but she's got other things to worry about in life; Bane hasn't.
Oh, and of course they can mow down a line of zombies, the two princesses. Normal zombies are rather easily killed one dozen at a time.
If only they had this much time to waste and if only there were only normal zombies.
5229240 Ah, so Bane's got the dream-superiority. Kinda reminds me of one fic - can't find it - where Luna's power wanes and waxes with the moon, shifting between S2 Luna, powerful in the real world but weak in dreams, with the Full Moon and S1 Luna, weak in the real world but powerful in dreams, with the New Moon.
Well anything that's gonna stand up to their firepower's gonna need to be tougher than stone. Earth ponies come to mind; no matter how strong Maud was, her legs would have shattered unless they were harder than rock.
Also gonna be roflhilarious to see Fluttershy thanking Atropos for getting them out alive... mostly. Atropos getting thanked, that's gonna throw him for a Blink DagaaaaaAAAAAAAAAAAA loop.
5229258 Well, okay, I can't spoil too much of what's to come in the chapters to follow, but let's just say that some are going to be an issue to kill, and some are going to be an issue not to get killed by (or by whatever follows them).
And then, well, even if you do manage to take them down... who knows how well that is going to go.
Haha!
I'm so happy that RD got off'd.
Huh,a Dota fic that's actually somewhat interesting and not just tripe/bland tried concept.
Keep doing the Omniscient One's work.
Nice mechanic and lore references btw,I especially liked that touch of the very old Undying and playing Dirge as a Musician is...kind of interesting.
Though kinda annoyed by the constant deaths of likeable characters,you have to raise the stakes somehow and have to show how insignificant some are in the long run to show that yes,the Dirge is srs buisness.
5231762 Well, that's the whole point of the deaths. That, and the fact that I really don't like (writing) Rainbow Dash and many others. It's two in one.
So Dash is dead meaning that the EoH is now useless. I'll be disappointed if Celestia or Luna didn't have back up plans for this kind of thing because relying on a weapon that absolutely requires six users with certain traits is something I've always seen as dumb and dangerous.
That is like buying the world's most powerful gun but getting only one clip of ammunition for it.
5269181
Of course they didn't just limit themselves to a single mag of the best gun in the world.
The reason they liked it so much, though... The rest of their weaponry either has far too big a recoil, or is dangerously melee.
Although who knows.