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The God Squad is a fanfiction on Fimfiction.net written by defender2222 (aka Mr. Chaos) and is the spiritual sequel/spinoff of The Many Secret Origins of Scootaloo. The story focuses on Luna, who decides that she wants to hunt down the changelings for their attack on Canterlot. She convinces her brother (Oceanic Creature/sea god Tydal) to come along for the ride, only for Celestia to decide to make the trip a family adventure. Shining Armor and Cadence also tag along for the insanity.

The story reads like a road trip movie, with the gods traveling Equestria and getting sucked into crazy side adventures.

Every chapter begins with a cold open that reveals what is happening elsewhere while the gods are traveling, including Blueblood taking control and Angel Bunny hunting down Templars.

A sequel/second season, The God Squad: Equestria's Most Wanted has Chrysalis joining the main cast, and features the group on a 'world tour' to get back to Equestria and prevent the capricorn race from enacting a 'Doomsday Scenario'. After this the Squad decides to make themselves an official group that hunts down threats in the world that are too powerful (or insane) for Twilight and her friends. This saw Discord promoted to part-time member of the squad and later Sunset Shimmer as the seventh full time member while serving as Tydal's new student. The second sequel/third season The God Squad: Equestria's Mightiest Immortals follows up on the promise of the Squad becoming a team to take out the most insane threats to Equestria and sees Discord and Sunset added to the cast photo.

After going on hiatus for over a year defender2222 has announced the story's return in late August. The first two seasons, however, are complete.


This My Little Pony: Friendship Is Magic fanfic contains examples of:

  • A Boy and His X: Subverted. Tydal thinks King Sombra is a dog and decides to adopt him as a pet.
  • Adrenaline Time: It is revealed that this is how Tydal fights: in a split second he figures out how his opponents will react and comes up with a counterattack.
    • To further explain: Luna and Celestia are leading opposite sides of a Prance Civil War. Just as the battle between the sisters is getting heated, Tydal slams down and in 1 second figures out how to take out both sides AND physically dominate the sisters (both goddesses in their own right). By the end he has Luna and Celestia crying and promising to be good. There is a reason Tydal is called the Best OC Ever.
  • Asshole Victim: Flasher, a prisoner in APPLELOOSA! who apparently does something so vile sexually (in front of children) that Cadence, a Sex God, throws up. Tydal proceeds to spend the entire chapter brutally murdering him. His family even uses the sounds of Tydal's assault to convince others to help them out.
  • Aw, Look! They Really Do Love Each Other: Tydal and Shining. While both insult each other, several times it is made clear that they do care for each other and the fighting is merely two soldiers engaging in banter. Some examples include:
    • Tydal telling Shining that if any capricorn insults him Tydal will personally ensure they are taught a lesson.
    • When Shining is caught in a magical vortex, Tydal is the first to grab him. When Shining tells Tydal to save himself, the war god merely states "Into the breach" and draws Shining and the alicorns into a hug as they are sucked into the vortex.
    • Even though he acts like he doesn't care when Chrysalis kidnaps Shining, Tydal ends up rescuing him by assuming his 40% form.
    • Tydal sponsors Shining for godhood and actually helps Shining out when he is injured.
    • In Chapter 20 Zeena, Tydal's older sister and goddess of the earth threatens Shining and calls him a mere mortal. Tydal points out that Shining is Captain of the Royal Guard, Prince of the Crystal Empire, the God of the Dawn, and... Tydal's friend and family. Even Shining is shocked at Tydal stepping up and getting his back.
    • During the Equestria Games Discord and Tydal have fun drinking and making fun of the dignitaries.
  • Badass Adorable: Derpy Hooves. Loves muffins and muffins, hates socks... and can snap a pony's neck without losing her smile.
    • Dinky Hooves takes after her mama and is a bit too happy about getting a shovel to bury River Song's body
  • Beware the Nice Ones: Cadence looks like a girly girl and the weakest of the group. However, it has been shown that Cadence is one of the most dangerous fighters and can create horrors that leave even Celestia and Luna trembling
    • Tydal the capricorn with a Berserk Button, has used Cadence to fight battles. The two of them together are... frightening.
      • When Zeena, the Lady of Zebrica, threatens to kill Shining, Cadence warns that if anything happens to her husband she will steralize every zebra on the planet, thus making the race go extinct. All the zebras think at the same time Beware the Nice Ones
    • When Stickin Damud insults Shining Armor at the Nightmare Moon fan convention, he evolves into Rapidash and orders the others to leave none alive. Even Tydal is terrified when this happens.
  • Berserk Button: There are several:
    • Tydal: Hurting foals (physically or mentally) and attacking his family.
      • The entire Squad as this. When a zebra filly is hurt by a servant, Shining nearly strangles her to death, Cadence threatens to wipe out an entire race, Luna, Celestia and Chrysalis express their disgust and Tydal threatens to sink the continent under the waves.
    • Cadence: "Lovers" fighting (it doesn't matter if they really are lovers or not)
    • Shining Armor: Claiming that he sucks
    • Celestia: Saying the name 'Thunder Thighes' (a nickname she was teased with during her teens).
  • Big Brother Instinct: Tydal all the way. When Commander Hurricane (a legendary Pegasus general) attempted to take filly Celestia and foal Luna, Tydal called out his entire army and revealed that he'd already killed the Earth Pony and Unicorn armies that had come to do the same thing. He then tells his soldiers to kill any of Hurricane's stallions that stop running away even for a second.
  • Big Damn Heroes: During the Prance Arc, Rarity and Sweetie Belle are attacked by a gang of rapists. Luna lands and tells the ponies to back off. When they claim it is just her against all of them, Celestia, Cadence, Chrysalis, Shining Armor and Tydal land. Shining erects a barrier around Rarity and her sister, Chrysalis, Luna, Cadence and Celestia circle the barrier, and Tydal stands on top and lets out a savage roar. Needless to say, they end the battle quite easily.
    • Another one from the Changeling Hive Arc. After Shining is kidnapped, Tydal disappears while Luna, Celestia and Cadence mount a rescue. This isn't the Big Damn Heroes moment. No... when Tydal rips off the roof of the hive, revealing is 100 foot tall 50% Power Form, Chrysalis and the changelings instantly surrender.
  • Big "NO!": When Braeburn thinks Luna has killed herself, he does this. When she reveals that all she did was hit herself with a pie, Braeburn assumes she is a witch and does another big no.
  • Bread, Eggs, Milk, Squick: This exchange, which hilariously subverts the usual "Wait, what?" response:
    Luna But now that I've been to Ponyville, I decided that I need to see all of Equestria! I want to see the mountains and the plains and the Changeling hive so I can beat their Queen up and the great cities and the tiny hamlets-
    Shining Armor: Wait... what was that last part?
    Luna: Changeling hive?
    Shining Armor: No, the... (blinks, surprised that Luna didn't play dumb)
  • Breaking the Fourth Wall: Wall Breaker the 4th, one of Celestia's guards, is clearly the Abed of story, as he continually points out the tropes the story is using.
  • Brick Joke: The entire first season basically leads to this. The entire main plot is that Tydal and Luna are going to find Queen Chrysalis and 'hoof punch her in the flank'. Turns out Tydal meant that quite literally; he smacks her several times then gives Chrysalis a hug, revealing she is his baby sister (and thus Celestia, Luna and Cadence's as well) and the whole trip was just to tell her she was bad for invading.
  • The Caligula: Prince Blueblood, when he acts as Celestia's replacement.
    • Derpy, when she replaces him, being of royal blood herself.
  • The Cameo: The Bandit and Butane T. Justice
    • Many readers believe Tydal's wife (a fiery red head who was once human and was a princess) is Merida from Brave.
    • Confirmed when Tydal said she had a bow and arrow and her mother was a bear at one point
  • Catchphrase: "Permission Denied" from Shining and "Move Hooves!" from any of cast when they want to run away.
  • Cerebus Syndrome: The finale of Season 1 had: Tydal retreat to his keep, Luna move out, Celestia all alone, and Shining and Cadence get a divorce.
    • The season premiere mocks it: Because of the dark ending, Luna is now a drunk, Celestia is clingy/creepy, Tydal is a pacifist, Shining is a beatnik, and Cadence has gained 200 pounds and talks like Jabba the Hutt. Chrysalis asks if they have Cerebus Syndrome.
  • The Chessmaster: Celestia, naturally though the last few chapters of Season One make it clear why it's not a good thing to take it too far.
  • Commonality Connection: Shining Armor and Tydal bond over being married, putting aside their dislike of each other.
  • Continuity Nod: Twilight shows up in chapter 15, along with Rollypolly (a baby Dalek).
  • Cold Open: Every chapter opens with this. Some reader say they stick with the story more to find out about the cold open stories (which are becoming arcs by themselves).
  • Cute Is Evil: When Shining Armor finally snaps (due to Cadence going on her meds and no longer acting likes like the loveable nympho we have all come to know), his negative feels manifest... into a small muffin with goggly eyes and bat wings. The muffin happily tells Shining to murder his wife and even Shining admits it would be cute if it weren't evil.
  • Curb-Stomp Battle: The Prance Rapists vs. The God Squad. Cadence and Tydal so brutally attack them that when the dust settles Steve Magnet is standing there in their place. No one is quite sure how that happened.
    • Darkwater Abyss vs. Human Sombra. When the Squad ends up in the Equestria Girls' universe Human Sombra mortally wounds Tydal, causing the War God to unleash his Nightmare Moon-form: Darkwater Abyss, the dark Lord of the Storm, The Sea, and War. He proceeds to brutally take apart Sombra's forces and would have destroyed the world if Sunset hadn't talked him down.
  • Downer Cliffhanger: The God Squad ends on one of these, to set up the sequel. Lampshaded by Discord at the end of it.
  • Enfante Terrible: Tydal loved killing and butchering from a very early age, as his elder siblings found out the hard way.
  • Eternal Love: Tydal and Merida. Originally she was Merida from Film/Brave but after they fell in love Tydal's mother made Merida into a goddess so they could always be together.
    • Also has an element of I Will Wait for You. When Tydal was turned to stone stopping Tydal, Merida and the entire capricorn nation had Celestia and Luna turn them to stone as well, so that they could wait till Tydal was cured and be reunited.
  • Family Relationship Switcheroo: Apparently most of the immortal beings in the story are related; Discord, Tydal, Celestia, Luna and Cadence are all brothers and sisters.
    • Zecora has been established as Celestia and Luna's niece.
    • Cadence, as per The Many Secret Origins of Scootaloo, is really Celestia and Luna's baby sister.
    • And now, to add to the list, Queen Chrysalis and Mary Sue (the red mane, black coat alicorn) are also Tydal and Co's sisters.
    • The Many Secret Origins of Scootaloo established the rumor that Twilight is Luna's daughter (a rumor everyone believes despite it making no logical sense). Now Sunset Shimmer is rumored to be Celestia's daughter.
    • Derpy Hooves is confirmed to be Celestia's granddaughter and that her father is the leader of Prance Thieves' Guild.
      • And Dinky is Derpy and the Doctor's child.
    • A strange one: Apparently the author is Discord's father, as Discord has made reference to the fact that defender2222 is his dad.
  • Flat "What": This tends to be the reaction the cast has when they run into characters even crazier than them (usually Luna is the one to deliver it, though her variation is a flat "what... the... (censored)."
  • For Want Of A Nail: Discord's first defeat played out differently: Tydal rushed to Celestia and Luna's aid and helped them create the Elements of Harmony. Then he sacrificed himself to buy they time to power up the Elements.
    • Luna becoming Nightmare Moon. According to Celestia, Luna actually became Nightmare Moon several times but god distracted so often that she forgot why she was dressed up in her armor.
  • Giver of Lame Names: Celestia once named a series of towns Ponyville, Ponytown, Ponyberg and Ponyslum. Thankfully, she now has someone to do the naming for her.
  • Happily Adopted: Tydal raised Celestia and Luna since they were fillies and it has been stated that he is the only father they ever knew. The reason the sisters are so goofy in the story is that, with Tydal's return, they can act like children again (as his 'death' forced them to grow up).
    • Tydal has a habit of this, actually. He adopts a baby zebra foal and later adopts Sunset Shimmer as his granddaughter and brings her back to Equestria so she can live with him. Sunset utterly loves the old goat, seeing him as the first being to truly care about her.
  • Heroic Sacrifice: Tydal
  • Heroof Another Story: The basic premise of this story (showing what the godly characters are up to between seasons) but played straight during the final chapters of the first season.
    • Tydal is shown to be the one that helped King Sombra get to the Crystal Empire.
    • The cold openings are a rare case of a Heroof Another Story appearing in a Heroof Another Story fic. The two prime examples are the Princess Twilight/Fluttershy openings and the Doctor/Derpy/Mary Sue openings.
  • Hidden Depths: Tydal and Luna reveal they went to college.
    • Subverted by Celestia, who spent all her time partying.
  • Humanity Ensues: Happens to Tydal and Shining Armor When they go to the world of Equestria Girls. Apparently, this has happened to Tydal before.
    • Tydal has stated that he ended up in the human world years ago and, finding himself a naked human, attempted to rob a woman. She fought him and the proceed to have a series of fights... before falling in love and deciding to return to Equestria together.
  • Hybrid Monster: Tydal is a capricorn, which is already half goat/half fish. Turns out the fishy part of him is actually a shark; that means Tydal is a Great White that can walk on land, use magic, and is as big as Princess Celestia. Oh, and he has a violent temper. Pleasant Dreams.
  • Kid with the Leash: Celestia gets Tydal under control by decreeing that he can't kill anyone unless Shining Armor gives him permission. Given that Tydal's first response to any problem tends to be incredibly violent murder and Shining is the Only Sane Man this works.
  • Killer Rabbit: Angelo Bunnitorie de Ponyville
    • Also, Rolly-Polly, a baby Dalek whom Twilight and Doctor Hooves kidnapped/adopted. He rolls around in a miniature tank, complete with a cannon.
  • Lampshade Hanging: Wall Breaker does this often, natually.
  • Myth Arc: The titular squad's misadventures will eventually lead to Queen Chrysalis's changeling hive.
  • Mood Whiplash: Chapter 39. Starts just like all the other chapters, with Fluttershy trying to sleep with Twilight and Tydal getting a pet lobster. But when Celestia decides to free Discord, Tydal and her have a huge fight which ends with her snapping that Tydal isn't her father. The OC responds by kicking Celestia and Luna (who is unfairly grouped with Celestia) out of his Keep and sinking it below the waves. Luna then flies off, angry at her sister.
    • Chapter 20 of Equestria's Most Wanted started off with a funny scene involving Twilight then a cute scene with Tydal and a zebra filly. It went dark when it was revealed the filly was being abused by her herd and Shining nearly kills a zebra who struck the filly. Cue the doors bursting open and Captain Mood Whiplash, the dreaded pirate, storms in and holds the entire cast hostage.
  • Nice Job Breaking It, Hero: Tydal almost gets one of these when he runs thinks King Sombra is a dog (due to the character's inability to talk and strange looks) and suggests they go to the Crystal Empire and prove to Shining he is responsible. It is only because the Evil Muffin convinced Shining to throw Cadence off a balcony that Sombra is stopped.
  • No Dead Body Poops: Subverted. When King Sombra dies, Tydal is sure that the King is still alive, even though all that is left of him is his horn, due to the fact that Sombra didn't crap himself. Cue the horn taking a dump right then and there.
  • Oh, Crap!: Pretty much every characters reaction during the 'Equestria Boys 2' arc when Tydal, gravely injured taps into the raw magic of the Equestria Girls universe and takes on his Nightmare Moon form Darkwater Abyss. Even DISCORD is frightened when he realizes his little brother has snapped.
  • Only Sane Pony: Shining Armor, who repeatedly questions the insanity of the situation and asks why the group does what it does.
    • The gods themselves when dealing with anyone outside their group... apparently everyone in Equestria is insane.
  • Original Character: Lord Tydal is an OC (Oceanic Creature) who is an OC (Original Character), first appearing in defender2222's Castle crossover How Do You Shoot a Gun with Hooves?.
    • Mary Sue, the red maned, black coated alicorn from her own series of stories, appears in the cold opens now.
      • And now with the second season, Mary Sue is now one of the Doctor's companions. Not bad for a character who tends to be the Woobie her in main stories (Word of God has stated that he made Mary Sue Tydal, Celestia, Luna and Cadence's sister because her main stories are so sad he wanted to give her a win).
  • Our Griffins Are Different: Almost every MLP story has griffins portrayed as barbarian warriors who love battle. The griffins here were like that...900 years ago. Now they are all wimpy and high brow creatures that have fly by disagreements. Needless to say, Tydal and Luna are not thrilled.
  • Our Capricorns Are Different: Unlike most depictions of capricorns, the God Squad capricorns have four legs (with the back set being like a goat's but with green scales), slit-eyes, and their tails end in fan blades that they use as their main attack weapon.
  • Papa Wolf: Tydal. He raised Celestia and Luna and does not take kindly to threats. The story starts because Chrysalis attacked Celestia.
    • In a flashback, Commander Hurricane comes to claim baby Celestia and Luna. Tydal responds by parting the ocean to reveal hundreds of dead ponies from two other armies that came for the alicorn sisters. He then lays out, in cold detail, how he will bring about the end of days and make the pony race extinct if another pony tries to take his little sisters. For good measure he sends his royal guard to chase after the retreating forces with commands to murder any that don't stop. 1,800 years later Tydal is STILL upset that Hurricane made Luna and Celestia cry and the sisters have to comfort him.
    • Second season gives us a wonderful example of this: Tydal, because of a falling out between him and Celestia, has become a pacifist. He is just about to reach spiritual enlightenment when Celestia, who is being mauled by Rick Astley, cries out for help... and for the first time ever calls him 'daddy'. Tydal instantly snaps out of it, brutally murders Rick, and tells the mob that had gathered that he will kill them all if they come near his girls.
  • Rhymes on a Dime: Subverted. It is revealed that Zecora does not have to rhyme but only does so because it is tradition for royalty in her country to rhyme.
  • Physical God: Well, yeah.
    • Specifically, the Gods have varying 'power levels' ranging from 1% to 100%. 1% is the 'normal' form, and each 10% increase changes their appearance and increases the strength of their magic. It also exaggerates their inherent mental and emotional traits based on what they're gods of. Luna, for instance, is the goddess of the moon and becomes cold and vindictive when in her "10% form" (AKA Nightmare Moon). Celestia, goddess of the sun, becomes hot-tempered and spiteful.
  • Roaring Rampage of Revenge: Tydal tends to do this when his family/foals are in danger. He has:
    • Brutally murdered two armies that made Foal Luna and Filly Celestia cry
    • Torn apart a child predator so viciously that the entire town could hear it
    • Gave up spiritual enlightenment to save Celestia
    • Beat up a gang that threatened Sweetie Belle so badly they... turned into Steve Magnet
  • Royally Screwed Up: Being completely deranged is apparently a requirement for royalty.
  • Running Gag: Tydal will ask permission from Shining Armor to brutally murder a pony. Shining has only three times said yes.
    • Noodle Incident: What the victim did. Whatever it was squicked Cadance, the nymphomaniac goddess of sex and love.
    • The Migratory Flights of Swallows (Equestrian and Zebrican) routinely come up.
  • Sequel Hook: Parodied. The first season ends with Discord pointing out that the ending is purely to get people to read the sequel. It then cuts to The Doctor, Dinky, and Mary Sue, who meet Derpedus of the Borg.
  • Sex God: Princess Cadence. In a fit of rage she made two STALLIONS impregnate each other.
  • Shout-Out: To the various properties that the squad comes across in its travels.
  • Self-Deprecation: The opening narration of chapter 1. 'Oh, and if any pony tries to tell you that some jerk with metal wings named Doubt was involved... they're lying.'
    • It happens again when the Evil Muffin shows up and seeing that Shining isn't impressed, asks if he'd prefer the muffin to be a black alicorn with mirror wings. Shining states that is the dumbest thing he's ever heard.
  • The Song Before the Storm: Parodied in the Prance Arc where the entire cast sings an alternate version of 'One Day More'.
  • Take That!: The Cult of the Moon arc is one giant one to fan conventions.
    • Take That, Audience!: Stickin Damud, who complains about Tydal's existence and the way the three princesses are acting. He gets horribly killed, along with the rest of the cult, when he says Shining Armor still sucks.
      • One could argue that Stickin Damud is also Self-Deprecation as some of his complains such as saying Shining sucks seem to be a Take That! at the author and his own opinion on the character.
  • Temporary Bulk Change: Cadence in the opening of Season 2. Because she is off her meds and divorced from Shining, she begins to binge eat and after a few weeks has gained 200 pounds.
  • What the Hell, Hero?: Tydal delivers one to Celestia in chapter 39 when she decides to free Discord. Since Discord was the reason Tydal was encased in stone for 1,500 years and threatened to kill Tydal, his people, and the alicorn sisters, he is rightfully justified and wondering why bringing the chaos god back would be a good idea.
  • Willfully Weak: Early in the story Celestia issues a decree that Tydal can't kill anyone unless Shining Armor approves it. This trope comes into play by merit of the fact that Tydal could easily overpower Celestia and Shining to do what he wants but cares about Celestia enough to comply.
    • It's revealed that the Alicorns and Tydal are far more powerful than they look, with their current appearance being them at 1% power. They have to bring it down as they possess enough natural power that existence would break down otherwise, with 40% being the maximum safe power output they are capable of.
      • Even DISCORD remains in his 10%.

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