This War of Ours

by JDPrime22


Chapter 7 - Never Letting Go

Upstate New York

New Avengers Facility, Living Room

9:58 p.m.



The credits to Star Wars: Return of the Jedi began to roll, starting with Director Richard Marquand and continuing from there.

In front of the bright, flickering letters appearing on screen, the living room of the New Avengers Facility had met its match to the likes of, not only the Avengers, but their extraterrestrial equine allies, as well. Board games, snacks, chips, empty plates and cups lay strewn across the table and carpeted floors. Across the three oversized couches surrounding the table, the group finally eased themselves.

On the couch to the far right sat Twilight, Spike, Rainbow, Stark, and Rhodes. On the couch to the far left were Natasha, Pinkie, Applejack, Starlight, and Sam. And sitting on the couch right in-between the two others sat Steve, Fluttershy, Rarity, Wanda, and Vision.

Mostly everyone present were still awake. Others had fallen asleep during the movie, Pinkie and Fluttershy being the only two. The pink mare was curled up right on Natasha’s lap, almost like a cat would. She even purred like one. Fluttershy, on the other hand, laid her head upon Rogers’ lap, snoring ever so softly.

Twilight watched the closing credits of the film closely, reading all the names she could never recognize. Beside her, Tony Stark let out a big yawn, his arms stretched over his head.

“So, Twi, initial thoughts?” he asked, looking down to the mare on his left. “Greatest trilogy of all time, huh?”

Twilight’s expression still seemed quite puzzled, but she eventually shrugged and smiled. “Well, the special effects are definitely top-notch. I really did enjoy the overall story, especially in the previous film.”

Empire Strikes Back?” Stark asked, Twilight nodding after thinking back to the title. “Oh, yeah, that’s a classic.”

She rubbed her chin. “But I don’t really know any other trilogies other than the one we just watched,” Twilight admitted.

“We can maybe watch the Indiana Jones movies in a few days,” Sam suggested, Stark pleased to the idea. “Those are always great.”

Steve said, “Hey, we can always watch the prequel trilogy next week. I haven’t seen those yet.”

Tony shot out his arms, nearly shouting, “Whoa, Cap, let’s not get crazy now!”

Rhodes chuckled, each of the mares staring at each other, rather confused. “How ‘bout the rest of you, huh?” James asked, eyes prompted to the other mares present and awake. “Did you all like the movies?”

Rainbow Dash sat up, stretching. “I don’t know. It was cool and all, it just got kinda weird in the third one with those little furry guys,” Dash answered, scratching her neck.

“Oh, those critters were absolutely adorable!” Rarity declared. “I, as well. The films were quite the treat. I especially loved the designs of the dresses and costumes.”

Starlight chuckled, turning to James and Tony. “They were really good films. I enjoyed them.”

“Bland, boring response, but acceptable,” Stark commented, Glimmer frowning.

“I’m with Starlight!” Spike said, standing up on the couch. “I especially liked the part with the laser sword—”

“Lightsaber,” Stark corrected.

“Lightsaber fights! They were all like whoosh,” Spike shouted, pretending to wield a lightsaber in his claws. He jammed the imaginary saber forward, then swung his arms back and forth and up and down. He performed several other sound effects similar to the films. Spike leaped upward, but wasn’t intending on where exactly to land. As he fell to the carpet, yelping as he did so, Twilight’s magical grip surrounded his body, bringing him back safely next to her.

“Yeah, they were pretty neat,” Applejack drawled, securing her hat. As she hopped off the couch, she yawned, “Alright, Ah guess Ah’ll be seeing y’all in the mornin’. Ah’m gonna hit the hay. Heck, this is probably the latest Ah’ve been up in years.”

She tipped her hat to the group, turning around. “G’night, everypony… er… everyone.”

“Goodnight, Applejack!” Twilight called to Applejack’s retreating form, yawning to herself. “In fact, it is getting pretty late, and I still got the rest of that big speech to write for tomorrow. I think I might call it a night, as well. Come on, Spike.”

Spike, still pretending to be a brave Jedi Knight battling the forces of the dark side, suddenly paused, staring at Twilight as if she had muttered a curse at him. “Oh, come on, Twilight!” he complained.

“It’s way past your bedtime, mister,” Twilight said, her tone now serious and motherly.

“It’s only a little past ten!”

The sudden outburst caused Pinkie and Fluttershy to shift in their sleep, everyone watching their movements carefully. They, however, did not wake, instead curling tighter, adjusting themselves to a more comfortable position. Twilight sighed, turning her frown back to the uncooperative dragon.

“I’m not asking you again, Spike,” Twilight ordered, narrowing her eyes on the unresponsive dragon. “You know you’ll feel grumpy in the morning if you don’t get your sleep.”

“Yeah, Spike,” Sam joked, trying to hold his chuckles. He didn’t try very hard. “It’d be a shame if you got a little grumpy wumpy for tomorrow’s big day.”

Several of the Avengers chuckled at that, the poor dragon growing crimson at the unwanted attention. He quickly gave in, groaning and hopping off the couch. As he pushed by Twilight, the Alicorn quickly caught up to him, saying, “I’ll tuck you in just like back at home.”

“Twilight!” Spike yelled, covering his heated face. “You’re so embarrassing!”

Sam laughed again, several others doing the same. A moment of silence followed, the only sound being that of the continued credits of the film and Fluttershy’s and Pinkie’s silent breaths. Tony instinctively looked to his watch, mumbling, “Is it really past ten?”

“Looks like it, Tony,” James muttered, groaning as he pushed himself off the couch. “We should all be getting some rest. Tomorrow’s a pretty big day for all of us, but mostly for the girls.”

“Well, if that’s the case,” Starlight stated, plopping herself onto the carpet and yawning as she did so, “I guess I’ll be hitting the sack, too. You comin’, Rarity?”

“Yes, yes, dear, I’m coming,” Rarity said, joining Starlight on the carpet. She cleared her throat, twisting her neck back. “Fluttershy, care to join us?”

The two unicorns noticed the slumbering Pegasus resting her head in the Captain’s lap, her chest rising and falling, small smile on her lips. Steve chuckled at the sight, smiling to the two. “I think she’s gonna be just fine,” he whispered.

Rarity cooed at the adorable sight, waving her hoof. “Very well, Captain,” she whispered back, she and Starlight making their escape to their respective guest rooms. James turned back to his friend, offering his hand. Tony pushed it away.

“No, no, I’m not that old yet,” Stark told him, standing up and off the couch. He pressed down on his wristwatch, the TV screen and the Blu-ray player shutting off. “Night, everyone. Meet back here at six tomorrow?” he asked, turning to the Captain and the others.

Steve nodded. “That’s the plan.”

“Right.” Both Stark and Rhodes disappeared into the shadows of the New Avengers Facility, returning to their rooms for the night. Wanda Maximoff stretched a tad and yawned, a few of the only sounds she had made that night. Vision turned to her, watched as she arose.

“Goodnight, everybody,” she whispered, gently tiptoeing over the crushed chips hidden in the carpet. Vision shot up rather quickly to the woman’s left, prompting Wanda’s eyes to shift his way.

Vision said, “I can accompany you, if you would wish, that is.”

Wanda’s reluctant stare held for a moment, slowly melting into a warm smile. “Sure thing, Vis,” she told him, both the woman and the android entering the dark hall. Sam watched them leave, his own yawn catching him off-guard.

Sam stretched out, bumping the table with his foot. “I’m callin’ it quits, Steve,” he told the Captain as he arose from the couch. He shifted his eyes over to the couch directly ahead of him, motioning his head in his direction. “You comin’ too, hotshot?”

Dash only smirked at the name. “Yeah, I’ll be in bed pretty soon.”

“You have to wake up on your own this time. I ain’t waking your lazy ass again like I did this morning,” Sam warned. Steve chuckled.

Rainbow only rolled her eyes, waving him off. “Calm down! I’ll wake up early if it’s that important!” she assured him.

“It is,” Sam said, shifting his eyes to Steve, before returning to the Pegasus. “I better see you here ten minutes before I walk in.”

“We’ll see,” Dash admitted, giggling at Sam’s expression.

Wilson just shook his head, saluting to the rainbow mare. “Goodnight, Dash.”

“Night, Sam.”

He turned and made his exit into the dark, dark halls. Rainbow fell back into the soft couch cushions, sighing in content. The sharp chip debris and popcorn kernels beneath her were a pain, but she ignored them for the moment, letting her weary body relax and slowly drift. When she opened her eyes, she could see Steve smiling at her.

“What?” she asked, almost laughing.

“Pretty fun night?” he asked.

“Oh, yeah,” Dash moaned, leaning back even further into the cushion and closing her eyes.

Steve chuckled, looking down to the board games resting on the table. Several were open, cards strewn about, but hardly touched. He shook his head, murmuring, “Pretty fun night, yeah. It’s times like these where… I really come to appreciate all that we have, all who we’re with. We don’t get much more of these times anymore.”

Rainbow peeked out, one eye barely opening.

The Captain sighed. “But we enjoy it. I enjoy it. I can only wish for more moments like these, not just with my team… but my friends.”

He shot his eyes over to Natasha. She smiled to him, her eyes drifting down to Pinkie Pie still fast asleep, curled on her lap. Romanoff exhaled softly through her nose, smile still held as her head fell back, her own mind drifting off to sleep.

Steve watched her carefully, his attention brought back to the rainbow mare punching his shoulder softly. “Hey, Cap, don’t worry about it too much,” she said, hovering just ahead of him. Her expression softened, eyes warm. Her voice felt even calmer than usual, a drastic change to the confident daredevil that defined her personality.

She told him, “You don’t have to be chilling on a couch, watching a few movies to hang out with your friends.” Her head shot off from side to side, and then she leaned in, almost in a whispering manner, and said, “A thing I learned from Twi, and don’t tell her that I did, but even if you don’t know it… you’re always surrounded by friends… no matter what.”

Dash finished with a strong smile. A confident one. An assuring one. One that defined her.

And Steve finally gave in, smiling back. “Yeah… I guess I am.”

Her own grin faltered as a yawn built deep within her. Dash yawned carnivorously. “G’night, Cap,” she told him, saluting once. “See ya in the morning.”

He nodded, and watched as Rainbow dashed off to her guest room, deep through the halls of the New Avengers Facility. And soon enough, it was just the four of them left, yet it only felt like one. Just him. Oily darkness covering pieces of the living room, the moon’s ghostly glow breaking in through the various windows lining the walls, and him sitting on the empty couch, staring at the black screen.

He thought back. “You’re always surrounded by friends…” he heard himself whisper.

Steve Rogers looked down to his lap, the still-resting Fluttershy breathing softly onto his pant leg. Her gentle exhales, delicate and free, like the pony that defined her. He noticed the sliver of a smile gracing her features, her long, pink mane covering his lap. He placed his palm gently on her head and rubbed her ear.

Her smile widened, a little sigh escaping her as she moved her body closer to his. Fast asleep.

“… and I’m not letting go this time.”