Equus
Canterlot, Equestria
Canterlot Castle
6:52 p.m.
They talked about Rainbow Dash as they walked the halls of Canterlot Castle. She was with them, hanging on every word.
Things had gone swimmingly the moment they made it back home. While others, mostly Rarity and Spike, took the time to let their packages fall from their backs and let out a much-needed sigh of relief, Twilight walked right towards Friday, who had been awaiting their arrival ever since the portal began to reawaken. She gave the AI a hug, telling her that Tony Stark said hi. She appreciated that.
Then, Twilight took it all in. A fresh breath in, a great exhale out. For the longest time, she forgot what her library smelled like, and it felt so good to be breathing in the thousands upon thousands of pages that lined the walls of her library. The next thing she wanted to do, as well as everypony else, was to sleep and earn some much-deserved rest. But she knew they couldn’t. She wrote a letter to Celestia right away, Spike sending it off, informing her of their soon-to-be arrival. Even with the whining, everypony eventually agreed, leaving their backpacks and packages in Twilight’s castle as they made their way to the train station.
To inform Celestia and Luna of everything that’s happened on their journey.
Discord had a party in all of Ponyville. That’s what they came home to, at least. The streets were filled with party utensils, an abandoned DJ station and stage resting in the center of town. Ponies lied in a bunch, strewn out from one another, others cuddling under the shade. Everypony had at least a party hat and a horn on, the seven mares and baby dragon moving through the near-dead town. Then they saw him, the Spirit of Chaos and Disharmony himself lying on a lamppost wearing heavy shades and a bent party hat. He looked absolutely filthy, cider stains and dried nacho dip on his face and body. His tail swung gently back and forth as it hung limply down the lamppost. He was surrounded by a pile of garbage and ponies.
But not one piece of garbage or a single pony came within one hundred yards of Twilight’s castle. He kept his promise after all. But he did find a way to trash Twilight’s home, anyway.
He didn’t notice the ponies and dragon below. As they passed him, Applejack bucked the lamppost and sent Discord crashing into the pile of garbage and ponies below, earning several surprised yelps. He didn’t even get up, just groaned and fell back asleep.
After they got on the train, the rest of their trip was silent. Unnaturally silent. Starlight sat with Twilight, Applejack with Rarity, Pinkie with Spike, and Fluttershy with Rainbow Dash. Pinkie did most of the talking for Spike, telling him all about the possibilities of Celestia’s and Luna’s reaction when they hear about Scott Lang turning into a giant, or when they almost died when Crossbones attacked them. Spike calmed her down, telling her that maybe Twilight should give Celestia and Luna the rundown on everything.
Rarity was spouting off about something having to do with tidying up and getting back to her business in Canterlot, but Applejack wasn’t listening. She stared out the window, forehead pressed to the glass, watching as the world ran away from her. Starlight and Twilight, on the other hoof, were both silent. Twilight didn’t stare out to the window to her right. She just kept her head down, eyes on her hooves, feeling the softness on her shoulder.
She met Starlight’s gaze, smiling softly as the unicorn told her everything would be okay. Celestia and Luna won’t be mad at her or any of them for what’s happened on Earth. The terrorist attacks, at least. The conflict within the Avengers… that would be much more difficult to explain.
Especially with…
The two mares seemed to share the same thoughts, swiveling their heads over to the two Pegasi sitting across. Fluttershy was quiet, as per the norm, and Rainbow Dash sat by the window right next to her, head low, jaws apart, a growing sense of fear and unease in her blank stare as the train grew closer and closer to Canterlot.
Twilight wanted to believe the princesses would understand. She prayed they would. Considering Rainbow’s position, Twilight didn’t blame her for feeling so nervous. Heck, she was nervous, too. But that didn’t mean they should back down and try to hide it away, believing it never even happened, which is what Twilight really wanted to do. But she couldn’t. Against her better judgement, she would face the princesses and tell them what happened. From beginning to end. The whole story. Every story. Leaving nothing out.
Even Rainbow’s fate.
What happens next, Twilight didn’t know. At first, Twilight believed she would be punished accordingly by the two sisters for breaking several of Earth’s laws and aiding a wanted criminal. But after discovering Bucky’s innocence, after learning what he did and that he really had no control, perhaps Rainbow shouldn’t even be punished. She was in the right all along. Still, she did go against the law. If that made the Captain a wanted fugitive, then what did that make Rainbow?
Twilight didn’t know. That’s why they discussed the topic as they strode through the halls of Canterlot Castle, slowly but surely making their way to the throne room.
“What do you suppose we even tell ‘er?” Applejack drawled, coming up next to Twilight. Rainbow sunk back behind the rest of the group, dragging her hooves, shivering slightly. Twilight saw it, ears falling flat, a sad sigh leaving her.
“We just tell her what happened. Both of them. The whole story. If I know Celestia, she’ll be quick to forgive. Luna on the other hoof…”
“I’m sure Luna would understand, too, Twilight,” Starlight added, walking by the Alicorn’s left.
Twilight just stared at the floor, ignoring the large tapestries that lined the hallways. She sighed again, nodding to Starlight’s rebuttal at last. “Yeah… you’re right. Rainbow has nothing to worry about.”
“You hear that, Dashie?!” Pinkie shouted, hopping in the air and spinning around to stare at the sullen Pegasus. She blew confetti in every direction, waving two streamers as she practically floated down the hall. “You’re off the hook!”
Quickly grabbing the pink mare, Rarity yanked her back to the ground, a soft frown on her face. “We don’t know that, Pinkie!” Rarity shushed, her uneasy eyes shifting back to Rainbow.
The Pegasus heard every word, only growing more uneasy as the throne room doors kept getting bigger and bigger. Fluttershy gently laid her hoof on Rainbow’s shoulder, gripping her tightly in an assuring manner. Rainbow looked to her right, seeing the comforting smile on the pony’s lips.
“It’s okay, Rainbow,” Fluttershy whispered. She raised her voice only slightly, but everypony else heard her. “Celestia and Luna will understand. They’ll know what you did was because you were representing your element, trying to help your friends even when everyone else were against and doubted you. You don’t have to be nervous. And hey, if it means anything, I also helped Bucky. So, if you get in trouble… I guess I get in trouble, too.”
While it hardly eased her fears over the princesses, Rainbow Dash still smiled, admiring Fluttershy’s kindness and loyalty. Just like her when she was still helping Steve and Buck through thick and thin. Just like that. She was hardly kind, though. “Thanks, Flutters,” Dash said, immediately flinching back as Pinkie gasped in mid-air, freezing there and spinning her neck back.
“Wait, does that mean I get in trouble, too?!” she screamed.
“I really doubt it, everypony,” Twilight exclaimed, earning their attention, their eyes rising to the large doors that separated them from the throne room. Pinkie hit the ground. Twilight laid her hoof on the crack between the doors, ready to push her way through. But not before she said, “Once we explain ourselves, Princess Celestia and Princess Luna will see where we’re coming from. Where all of us are coming from. Once we do that, I’m certain the princesses won’t find it too shock—”
The doors opened, smacking against Twilight’s face. The Alicorn yelped, backing away quickly along with the rest of her friends. Rubbing her cheek, Twilight and the others brought their gazes forward, expecting guards but seeing something much, much different. Spike’s jaw nearly hit the floor with how wide open it was. The others refrained themselves, but found speaking to be completely alien to them, just like the five individuals exiting the throne room and blocking their way.
They stopped moving, too. Their eyes landed on the group of seven mares and the baby dragon.
And they didn’t have a word to say.
The Guardians of the Galaxy didn’t have a single word to say. None of them did.
The two forces stood separated, a wall of confusion, wonder, concern, and whatever the hell else built between them and only getting higher as the seconds of silence ticked away. The ponies and dragon observed the five individuals carefully, granted with no form of communication between them, they took whatever time they had to take in every single detail.
The one in the center, the one that looked more human than all of them, stood with his lips barely apart, eyes wide with uncertainty. He had curly, auburn hair and a small scruff on his face and neck, a slightly bigger line of hair on his upper lip. A pair of orange headphones sat snugly around his neck, a trail of wires leading to a small box that rested on his hip. He wore a red jacket covering a light gray T-shirt underneath, strange writing on the front cover. His long pants were an even darker shade of red, covering all the way down to his pair of filthy boots. He tracked in mud.
The one to the human’s right was a green woman. Literally green. Her face, her arms, her skin, anything that wasn’t concealed by the deep black and red outfit she wore was green. Except her hair, which also flowed black with red highlights. Her face seemed surprised, like the human’s, but it held still, a certain expression that seemed to burn with a growing distrust the longer the ponies and dragon remained silent.
Right below her, rising up only to her knees, was one of the strangest sights the ponies and dragon ever saw. Even Fluttershy, a pony who had been with animals her whole life. She just couldn’t seem to wrap her head around the fact that a raccoon was sneering at them. It made even less sense that he wore clothes, similar clothes to that of the others. The fact that he also stood on two legs kept her mind jarring, eyes wide and staring at him only.
The last two stood by the human’s left side. He was large, the biggest of the group. Having gray skin and red tattoos was just the start of it. It was his eyes that were the most interesting of all. They practically glowed bright blue, holding a sense of wonder as he gazed at the unicorns. They frowned when he spotted Rainbow Dash in the back of the group. His pants were also blue, but a much duller shade of it. They would have recognized him as just one individual had the smaller one not have shown himself and stand on his shoulder.
Scratch that, the raccoon wasn’t the strangest of all. The small wooden creature definitely was. His oversized head looked like it could barely fit on his miniature body. He gripped the larger one’s ear, smiled and cooed adorably to the mares and dragon.
And that’s all they heard for another thirty seconds of silence. Just a gentle and adorable sound from the wooden creature. None of the ponies, not even the dragon, nor the Guardians could seem to find the right words to use. The growing unease between them only worsened, the rising awkwardness of the situation making its presence well known. The human smacked his lips, looking away to the glass window and punching his fist against his palm. Twilight cleared her throat, her hoof rising to rub the back of her head, her eyes falling to the floor as an awkward smile grew across her lips.
She wished for anything to break the awkward tension that kept on building.
In that moment, Drax leaned right, smacking Star-Lord’s shoulder and saying to him, “I don’t like the rainbow one.”
The first form of actual communication, and it was a sign of hostility. The mares and dragon all perked up, Rainbow Dash’s frown slowly growing into a look of confusion. He didn’t necessarily make the comment quiet by any means. He just kind of said it, his voice clearly loud enough for everyone to hear.
Peter Quill’s brow furrowed, the man blinking a couple times before he turned to Drax. “Dude,” he said, “you just don’t… say that kind of stuff out loud.”
Drax blinked only once, quickly looking back to the ponies and dragon. He leaned forward just a tad more, closer to Quill. “How else would they have known?” he asked, still loud as before.
“You know what? We should leave,” Star-Lord said, taking the first steps forward. He cringed as the mares backed away from him, gazing at him like the giant he was to them. “Make a hole. Sorry.”
They strangely obeyed, stepping aside to make room for the five individuals. Drax followed shortly behind Star-Lord, his mistrusting glare held Rainbow’s way with every step. The others shortly followed, the raccoon meeting Starlight’s curious gaze, spotting it from a mile away.
Rocket saw the unicorn stare at him funny. He bared his teeth, growling, “What are you lookin’ at, horse?”
Taken aback, Starlight shook her head, blinking twice. She scoffed, her snout wrinkling in a sneer. “What are you looking at, raccoon?” she stated.
That got him. “What?!” Rocket yelled, reaching for the large rifle resting on his back. His furry arm was caught by a green one, the raccoon practically ripped off the ground. He yelped, saying “ouch” over and over again, and swearing to the woman that held him back. Of course he cursed, too. What else couldn’t he do? Fluttershy whimpered at the harsh words.
They didn’t affect Gamora by any means. She just gripped his arm tighter, his other hand clawing at her fist. “Don’t start anything!” she snarled, quickly turning her eyes to Starlight. They seemed to calm only slightly, a certain apologetic look appearing for a brief second. “Sorry! Now go!” She tossed Rocket forward, the raccoon stumbling but eventually following behind Drax.
But not before he said, “Why do people always keep calling me that?! It’s pissing me off!”
Gamora shook her head, managing a short but sweet smile to the ponies and dragon before she, too, followed the rest of her group. But that wasn’t all. As the ponies watched them leave, they somehow managed to miss the small wooden creature hop off of Drax’s shoulder, landing on Fluttershy’s back. The Pegasus yelped, spinning her neck back just far enough to see what the small creature would do. Everypony else watched, too, unsure of whether to get him off or just… wait.
They realized quickly that they made the right choice. Baby Groot smiled to the Pegasus, holding out his minuscule hand to her. And Fluttershy, already quite nervous, had grown completely awestruck when she saw a small flower rise and begin to bud right out of his palm. He plucked it off, approaching her face and placing the flower right over her ear. He finished with a smile, hopping off of her and taking off as fast as his little legs could carry him. He tripped and fell, grunting adorably but getting back up and running to the rest of his team.
They saw as the little creature hopped on the raccoon’s back, choosing to sit and sway on his furry shoulder. They watched until the group of five eventually vanished down the hall, taking a turn to the exit and leaving. When they were finally left alone in the hall, all eyes suddenly turned to one another, then to Twilight, as if she had the explanation for what exactly just happened.
Except she didn’t. She just turned around and entered the throne room. The others followed without a word. All except for Fluttershy, who prodded at the flower and giggled to herself.
That giggling ceased when she and her friends entered the throne room, where Princess Celestia and Princess Luna rested on their thrones, rather humorous smiles on their lips. A pair of guards remained at their sides, spears in their hooves, faces as strong and frozen as ever. They stood in attention, saluting to the presence of Princess Twilight.
She bowed near the very bottom of their thrones, everypony and dragon behind her doing the same. “Princess Celestia,” Twilight greeted, eyes closed. “Princess Luna. We’re here to report on our journey to Earth.”
She was surprised, to say the least, to hear the two sisters snickering to themselves.
Rising rather slowly, Twilight’s somewhat startled eyes landed on Celestia and Luna, seeing the two laugh to one another, hooves barely managing to cover the giggles leaving them. Stamping her hooves quietly, shuffling back and forth where she stood, Twilight asked, “Um… Celestia?”
“Oh, s-sorry, Twilight!” Princess Celestia apologized, clearing her throat and ceasing the laughter between the two. Luna’s smile was still there, even Celestia’s managing to slip through. “Please, forgive us! We were just recalling our… very interesting discussion with our previous visitors.”
Luna nodded. “But with that aside, how was your journey, Twilight Sparkle and friends?” she asked, leaning forward only slightly. Her sister did the same, rather interested to hear of Twilight’s encounters while on Earth. They wanted to know everything, from the boring politics, to the current state between the worlds, and even the Avengers.
Twilight managed a sad smile. That smile quickly faded the longer she stared into the giddy expressions of the two sisters, almost like foals ready to hear a bedtime story. Exhaling softly, Twilight shook her head, approaching the thrones. “Well, I think we all want to know just who those interesting characters were back there.”
Everypony else seemed to agree, nodding to one another and finally returning their gazes back to the two sisters. Rarity, unlike everypony else, remained silent, her eyes staring at nothing. Gazing at the floor, pupils as small as needle-tips, her heart racing and blood pumping. She didn’t hide her external emotions too well, possibly due to the fact that her internal emotions were out of control. Broken, infected, replaying horrible memories of the five individuals she had seen before.
Instead of her friends, all she saw were the bodies.
The five Rarity were greeted to were three that appeared human—holding obvious traits that she hadn’t seen so far—and one that was… a raccoon? The other was even stranger, just a bipedal pile of logs and wood, but having somewhat of a face she could barely identify as having facial features.
She remained silent. Not wishing to cause a stir, but wishing to forget.
Nopony else caught on. They were too focused on Twilight, the Alicorn stepping forward with that smile of hers. She recalled to Luna’s previous question, about how their experience on Earth really was. She thought to the war, to the blood, to the chaos and the broken. Instead, she just shook her head and laughed a breathless laugh. “Besides, you two wouldn’t believe half of the stuff we’ll say.”
Both Celestia and Luna smirked knowingly. To each other. “Try us,” Celestia said.
It was Twilight’s turn to smile. The first real one for what felt like forever.
“All right… you first.”