Harmony is not the natural state of things. Stability, although vital to us, is against the very nature of reality itself. Yet we need it to build, to grow and even survive. We need it to live. Our enemies are legion, both natural and unnatural, and against the infinite forces that oppose us, within and without, great and small, we have been given a single, impossible task:
To endure.
So I ask you, how do we reconcile eternity? How does one stop unstoppable opposition? Simple, sister: with another unstoppable force. The unstoppable force and the immovable object. Create this paradox and the loop closes itself, creating the eternal harmony we desire. Do you not see, sister? They will never give up, never stop, never rest until all we have is taken from us. They will never stop fighting. And neither will he.
You searched for the perfect defense for Equestria. Sister, you've found it.
Spike had his own ways of getting what he wanted. One of them was to ask politely. Another was to physically drag someone by the ear, in this case Dan, until they decided to come with him. He had to do the latter this time. Kent was still with them, as was, surprisingly still, Discord.
"You're going to be the new mayor?"
"Provisionary regent, is the title Celestia came up with," Discord said. "Had to rush all the way out to Windspur Castle near Trottingham for the ceremony. Rushed, but still an official appointment."
"Oh. Well, I'm so happy Celestia and Luna could find the time to see you and give you a promotion while on vacation," Dan said.
"They had a summit in Trottingham," Spike reminded Dan. "After we all got back? Remember?"
"I remember not being invited," Dan muttered.
The Kingdom of Equestria was still ruled by the royal family, at which Princess Celestia and Princess Luna sat as dual monarchs. The land was owned by the royal family and its members but individual towns and communities were given self-autonomy. The Royal Family of Equestria was established in Trottingham, which made it a culturally important location to ponies. It was there Celestia and Luna, the ponies of prophecy, were adopted into the lineage of Starswirl the Bearded, thus establishing their hegemony over Equestria. It was more of a formality, and one not one everypony agreed with.
There were some, like former Chancellor Rice Puddinghead, who believe the unicorns of the royal family over-exert themselves. Over time, Celestia herself proposed a compromise that allowed cities to run themselves. Some cities were democratic like Ponyville, Appleloosa and larger cities like Phillydelphia but others were less organized, like the nomadic hippies. Cloudsdale was still a military dictatorship, just without(officially, at least) the military since the position of General was changed to General Manager. As Dan knew by now, there was a lot more going on than just what was on the surface.
Since Dan came back, ponies were beginning to look up to him more than the princesses. The Enclave, the Royal Guard, ponies that had sacrificed their time, effort, energy, even their lives to restore Equestria, now were beginning to realize how flawed the system was. It had not been the prophesized Elements of Harmony or the princesses that came to their rescue, it had been aliens. It had been Dan.
"Okay. OKAY! I'm ready to walk now," announced Dan. Spike dropped his heel, by which he'd been dragging the human, and Dan got up. "Let's go to the stupid, friggin' grocery store."
The sun went down fairly quickly. A popular myth in Equestria held that Celestia sometimes made sunsets last a bit longer on special days, or that sometimes she delayed the sunrise when she wanted to sleep in. These rumors were mostly unfounded, however, and day and night were as regular as clockwork for the kingdom.
The streetlamps came on and the temperature dropped. The four made their way to the supermarket in downtown Ponyville. Located behind Town Square and including Sugar Cube Corner, downtown Ponyville was not the largest commercial sector of Equestria's cities, but it was renowned for its charm. Sugar Cube Corner actually occupied the space where the four corners of the town's districts intersected, one of the reasons for its name. Also in the downtown plaza were the bowling alley, the Ponyville Theater, Hayburger, the skating rink, the dance hall and other fun spots.
The supermarket was in the middle of this busy thoroughfare, located opposite Sugar Cube Corner and still on Sweet Street. Both a farmer's market and a traditional market, the Ponyville grocery store was a truly super market, having evolved from the very first general store built in the town. The original general store was still located right next to it in the neighboring lot, and still had its own clientele. Fluttershy preferred shopping there because it wasn't usually crowded.
"Why does this place have a parking lot?" Dan asked. Like supermarkets on Earth, there was a large expansive parking lot in front of the store. There were stacks of shopping carts ready to be retrieved, but no cars. No automotive vehicles whatsoever, as could be expected.
"For wagons," Spike replied.
Dan waited for a moment, as if expecting a more complicated answer, but none came. The simple answer was all that was provided, for that was all there was.
"Oh... alright."
"You can rent or borrow a wagon if you need to. You can even hire somepony to help you if you need extra help," Spike explained. "Sometimes, I-"
"That's- that's fine. Let's just go," Dan said, picking up the pace again.
"Okay," Spike said, shrugging. "Do you want to rent a wagon?"
"No, let's just- let's go," Dan said.
Kent stopped. "This is where we part ways."
Dan spun around. "What?"
"I'll be going now. Farewell."
"Just like that?" Dan protested. He walked up to the armored ally who'd been assisting him. "That's not how this is supposed to work. Aren't you like... assigned to me now?"
"I don't recall signing a contract," Kent replied. His voice was still even and gruff, at the edge of annoyance, at the edge of anger.
"What's the matter, Dan?" Spike asked.
But oddly, Kent didn't let him answer. "Look, I don't know what you expect from me. I don't know what you think this is, but those were assassins that nearly ended us. And now, you're going shopping like this insanity is pretty much routine for you."
"Pretty much," Dan said. "And what's wrong with that? You don't ever get used to it, but it does get easier."
"THAT SUPERMARKET could basically come to life, grow mechanical legs and go on a rampage through town," Kent shouted. "And the PROBLEM is that it wouldn't be surprising."
"No," Dan said. "It would still be surprising- Spike, stop watching the grocery store."
"But he said it! Now I'm wondering..."
"Don't. Just don't," Kent said. He then took a deep breath. "There is no emotion, there is peace."
"That some kinda mantra?" Dan asked.
Kent looked up. "Of sorts."
"What the hell is your deal, Iron Man?" Dan demanded.
Kent looked away for a moment. "I suppose it's the same as yours. Myself, Rals, Barro, we didn't come to Equestria like you did. We were sent here. As punishment."
"Punishment?!" Dan repeated. "Why would... that doesn't make any sense!"
"Being sent to Equestria was not the punishment. Being banished from everywhere else was. We're exiles," Kent said. "All of us. Like you, we couldn't let something go. Now... I'm afraid you're following that same path. I'm not joining you for it."
"But this isn't how this is supposed to happen!" Dan continued. "You should be like... my companion now, or something! And live in our house and go out with me, kill things I don't like and make quippy one-liners and jokes!"
Silence.
"What was the thing Rals couldn't let go?" Spike asked. "The green guy, what did he-"
"His wife." Kent turned his back on them. "I have a room at the inn if you need to reach me. If you find any information about the source of these attacks, let me know." He walked away, disappearing into the night.
"Can you at least help me kill Vice Grip?!" Dan yelled after him.
"If he's behind the assassins, you have my word he will be stopped," Kent said back. The other three men were left in silence.
Dan missed Cap and Chris in that moment. It was something of a trope of people joining the hero on a major quest. Unknowingly, Dan had fallen into it, and he hadn't even really seen himself as that much of a hero. He missed Tuxley and Reginald, he missed the stormtroopers and random soldiers, he missed all those who had joined him, even the foodimals and the sagely wisdom of Gary Busey and Marksaline. He missed them all, even though most of them had annoyed him at the time. He even missed that annoyance, just a little bit for a moment.
"That's just great! That's PERFECT," Dan sarcastically yelled. "We meet a new, ultra-violent, kickass, armored tough guy and just like that, he's gone!"
Discord put his paw on Dan's back. "I'm sure you'll find new friends to play with. With even fancier toys and gadgets."
Dan looked at him. "Toys... that's what the Director called us. She also called us survivors."
"Hmm-hmmm-hmmm-hmmm," Discord chuckled. "Dan..."
"What are you going to say? Spout some platitude about chaos, and people wanting to make sense of things? How maybe things are connected in multiple ways we can't see and that just maybe, those connections exist out of both desire and necessity? WERE YOU GOING TO SAY THAT?!!"
Discord recoiled. "No, actually. I was going to say there's a sale on pancake mix. We should have pancakes tomorrow."
"AAAAGGH!" Dan stormed off, then stormed back, then stormed around in a circle, not knowing where to storm to.
"You know what, I'm going to head out myself. Got a lot of business to tend to," Discord said. He looked over at Dan and leaned down to Spike as he said, "Take care of him, won't you?"
"Heaven knows I'm trying. Do I have to drag you again, Dan?"
"NO! Dragon... draggin'... I'm coming, I'm coming." They entered the supermarket together, now just purple dragon and Dan.
Dan waited for the tiny dragon to get a shopping cart. How Spike managed to do this without any assistance was impressive; he used a broom and guided the cart from the basket in front of the handlebar. Rowing the cart like a canoe of sorts, he was off with surprising speed. Dan's sourness was broken only for a moment with how impressed he was. At the end of the day, it was still just shopping.