//------------------------------//
// Chapter 22: Avengers Assemble 
// Story: From the Ashes 
// by Boltstrike58 
//------------------------------//

Equis, Ponyville

As she silently laid back on the guest bed, Princess Celestia felt nothing. Not the bruises, not the cuts scattered across her body, nothing. Her brain wasn't even generating its own thoughts anymore, merely playing Sombra's taunts to her over and over and over again like a broken record. If she were forced to describe this feeling, she'd say it felt like death. Or the punishment that came after death, but she wasn't particularly poetic at the moment. Thor, currently sitting at the foot of the bed, had attempted to talk her down, but he might as well have been talking to the crystal walls.

There was a knock at the door. Celestia's will was nonexistent, but thankfully, she had no need to roll over in order to see the door. Standing in the open portal was a familiar (and expected) purple alicorn, her wounds still untreated from the battle. Even worse was Twilight's face, which wore an expression of grief. Twilight looked up at Thor, who shook his head sadly. Twilight responded with a determined stare, and Thor nodded. He picked up his hammer and walked out.

"I'm guessing we have a lot to talk about," she said, magically closing the door. She trotted over to the bedside, pulling up a crystal chair so she could sit right next to Celestia's head.

"Luna told me about what Sombra said to you," Twilight continued. "And...well, I think we've been putting off this conversation for too long."

Celestia could barely bring herself to look at Twilight through her guilt and shame, but forced herself to do so anyway. The sight of her student, her violet eyes filled with empathy, terrified the alicorn. She felt the weight pile onto her heart even further, and she couldn't stop her eyes from watering up.

Twilight swallowed apprehensively. "Look, I—" But Celestia cut her off.

"I have been a terrible, terrible teacher to you," Celestia sobbed, her chest trembling. "You were so scared of me that you thought I'd send you back to Magic Kindergarten just because you didn't send me a friendship report. You worst fear...when Sombra hit you with the spell in the Crystal Empire, it was disappointing me, me throwing you aside like garbage. How cruel was I, that, to you, losing me was the end of everything? The end of your world?"

"No!" Twilight insisted, shaking her head. "You know I get anxious, that my brain goes to the worst case scenario! That wasn't your fault! Don't say you were cruel to me!"

"How wasn't I cruel?" Celestia responded. "I sent you to the Empire, filled with the idea that it was just a test, without telling you Sombra might've returned. I made you so focused on the idea of some academic nonsense that you almost died. I forced you to go against Tirek on your own. I didn't tell you anything about Nightmare Moon. I—"

"Oh, come on, you know that's invalid!" Twilight threw back. "You know that the Elements of Harmony wouldn't have worked if the friendships I'd forged weren't genuine!"

"Yes, but I could've done something! I could've told you I knew, told you where to find them—"

"Maybe you could've handled the Crystal Empire test better," Twilight admitted, cutting her teacher off, "but the fact that Sombra came after us had nothing to do with you. I would've gone down there to help even if you hadn't assigned me to it. I'm not made at you for giving me your magic to fight Tirek, you didn't have any other choice. If you'd kept your magic separate, he'd have just hunted you down one by one and drained you, since you couldn't fight back."

Celestia trembled as she tried to face Twilight. Now came the worst sins, the ones she was certain Twilight couldn't refute. And in a way, she didn't want the younger princess to do so. Celestia wanted to be punished.

"But I created Nightmare Moon in the first place," she wailed. "And I forced you to clean up my mess. I dismissed you at your brother's wedding. I turned you into an alicorn without even asking you. I—"

Celestia tried to continue, but her sobs cut her off. She let a few tears fall, then looked up at Twilight, expecting to see resignation to the fact that Celestia truly was despicable. Twilight probably couldn't bring herself to look at Celestia with hate, but she'd turn away from her, finally.

What she saw was completely at odds with the vision in her head. Twilight's face was still miserable, but more out of concern than anguish. The empathic look in her eyes hadn't diminished at all since the beginning of the conversation. If anything, she looked like she pitied Celestia even more.

She finally began to speak. "I know that Nightmare Moon wasn't your fault. Luna doesn't blame you at all. And you needed somepony else to use the Elements of Harmony, you couldn't wield their full power on your own. That's why you had to banish Luna to the moon the first time, and after that, they turned to stone, and became useless to you.

"I forgave you for the wedding a long time ago. You and everypony else. Yes, I wish you'd believed me, but I handled it poorly, I know. I should've come to you in private or something.

"I'm not mad at you for making me an alicorn. Since I became a princess, I've had a happier life than I ever could've dreamed of. I get to help ponies all around Equestria, with my best friends. I get to make a real difference. I wouldn't trade my life for anything."

She looked deep into Celestia's eyes. "I know Sombra's been invading your dreams. Making you have focus on these thoughts. But I forgave you for all the mistakes you made, and you have to forgive yourself, or you'll never progress. And if you forgive and learn, you can repair your friendships. The Avengers-no, my friends-proved that today.

"A-and I never want you to think you hurt me. Or failed me. Because to me..." ahe grasped Celestia's front hoof, "...you're like my second mom."

This final feather broke the camel's back.

Celestia threw herself into Twilight, wrapping her front legs around her former student's shoulders. Twilight hugged her back, feeling the cold liquid of Celestia's tears drop onto her wings. The release of emotions overwhelmed both her, as the solar alicorn released every painful thought she'd been burying for so long.

Just the like the Avengers, Celestia wouldn't move past this in one day, of course. They'd have to talk about this more frequently, maybe through letters if they couldn't meet face-to-face. But the healing process had begun, and no matter how long it took, Twilight would stand by Celestia, just as she'd stand by any of her friends. Including a group of extraordinary humans.





Equis, Somewhere

The Monolith itself was a deceptively simple looking object. To the world at large, it resembled a massive column of black marble, carved impossibly smooth, with only two small indentations marring its otherwise pure surface. One sat directly in the center of the circular surface on the top, and one, more shallow, sat on the midline of the body, facing outward. Of course, anybody knowing the Monolith's contents would be appropriately afraid of it.

Sombra's devilish grin spread to unnatural lengths as he walked up to the object. In his magic, he held the small, stone cylinder, the key to the Monolith. Off in the corner, Phobos, Deimos, and Grogar watched their master quietly, wisely not speaking. Reaching the front of the Monolith, Sombra's face was bathed in the glow of Tony's arc reactor, set in the center of the pillar.

"A bit of a crude fusion of Equestrian magic and Earth science," Sombra noted, running his hoof over the surface of the arc reactor. "But it will suffice to jump start the Monolith."

Sombra enveloped himself in his own telekinesis, and rose to the top of the Monolith, landing flat on all four hooves on the circular surface. Raising the key, Sombra slotted it into the hole on the top, and pushed. The arc reactor ignited with white light, and began to hum as it prompted the dark magic to begin flowing once more.

At first, nothing happened. Then, as Sombra lowered the key further and further, trails of black magic, almost like liquid, began to leak out of the top, flowing across the Monolith. Sombra had a quiet chuckle to himself as tiny bolts of black lightning zapped outward, and the Monolith began to vibrate. The dark magic circulated through the air, causing it to grow thin and cold.

Then the floodgates broke.

A blob of solid darkness ripped its way out of the top of the Monolith, engulfing Sombra's entire body and eclipsing him from view. Unlike his amorphous form, even Sombra's eyes were concealed in this darkness. But Grogar and the others could still hear him laughing, even as the darkness began to collapse, and the Monolith pulled the blob back into itself. A few seconds passed in complete silence.

Then the Monolith erupted once more, darkness ripping out from every visible surface on the shadowy artifact. The pure black energy surrounded the entire cylinder, and the Monolith itself rose, to the point where it sat cleanly in the center of the mass of darkness. Two massive tendrils stuck out on either side of it, forming arms, tipped with curved black claws. At the top, a long, pointed projection stuck out, and the darkness pealed away again to reveal Sombra's blood red horn. Two circles of the same color grew outward, giving the thing eyes.

"Grogar," the unholy mass hissed, in Sombra's voice, "call forth your soldiers."

"Y-yes Master," Grogar stumbled, already terrified. He rang his bell once, beckoning forth several shadow ponies that stood in the corners of the cavern.

The darkness stretched, showing what looked like Sombra's fangs in a menacing grin. His claws waved over the shadow ponies, and the familiar black, ugly crystals sprouted from the earth beneath them. The crystals grew, stretching over the shadow ponies, covering them like a thick coat of armor. Edges sharpened around the hooves and wings, giving them crude cutting weapons. Armored horns grew even sharper. Beneath the cragged stone, their white eyes still shone brightly.

"Yeeeeesss," Sombra cackled. "Equestria is mine..."





Equis, Ponyville

All around Twilight's castle, Cadence, Sunburst, and various Canterlot mages channeled their magic into the wounds of the team. Cuts were forcefully sealed shut, cracked bones made whole once more, bruises disappeared into the skin, and even Wanda's black eye was restored.

"These aren't permanent," Celestia reminded everybody. "It's possible that these wounds could reopen if you're not careful. You'll still need rest and time to fully repair everything."

"Doesn't matter," Tony replied, getting to his feet. "Sombra has to be stopped. And we have to go after him again."

"We'll need to take chariots again," said Twilight. "He's going for the Crystal Empire, I'm certain."

Cadence had worry displayed all over her face, but she forced it down. "Shining Armor will be starting the evacuations," she announced, "but they'll have to charge the Crystal Heart to full power, to ensure that the barrier remains stable. We need to hurry."

"So it's time to suit up. Steve?" Tony called, attracting the Captain's attention. Tony pulled out one of the silver briefcases he'd brought from Earth, laying it down on the crystal table. "I didn't know whether my ego would ever let me give this to you, but I figured it couldn't hurt to bring it." He pressed a button on the outside of the case, popping it open to reveal two objects. One was a brightly colored battle suit, an upgraded version of Steve's old uniforms, complete with the chest star, the A forehead insignia, and the stripes on the chest. The other was a familiar red, white, and blue shield. Tony picked up the shield.

"Oh, no, Tony," Steve started, "you don't have to—"

"Yes," Tony insisted. "My dad made this for you. He would've wanted you to have it." He held out the disk.

Steve stared briefly at the tool that had been his for so long, looking as pristine as ever. His current, unpainted shield was just as good, but this was irreplaceable. He took it, feeling his arm slot into the handles in the familiar fashion.

Applejack smiled. "You look good, Cap."

"I say!" Rarity gasped, pointing at the suit. "Such design! Such colors! Darling, this is such an improvement from your current, drab look!"

"Well," Steve said fondly, picking up the suit. "I didn't think I'd be wearing these colors again so soon."

Bucky clapped him on the shoulder. "Good to have you back, Captain America," he declared, giving a rare, genuine smile.

"Uh, not to spoil the mood here," Rhodey interrupted, "but Tony, you don't have a suit. The Mark XLVII's basically scrap metal at this point."

"Funny, I remember telling you something similar before we left," Tony retorted, but he was clearly laughing. At the same time, he shared knowing glances with Bruce and Twilight.

"Oh, yes! Yes!" exclaimed the purple alicorn, jumping up and down. "We're gonna bring it out! We're gonna bring it out!"

"What?" asked Starlight, surprised.

Twilight didn't answer, merely rushing into another room without speaking. She came back a few moments later, and the item she carried made nearly everyone's jaws drop. Encased in Twilight's magical aura was a completely new Iron Man suit, freshly built. The design resembled most of Tony's previous suits, keeping the red and gold color scheme. The biggest difference in this one, at first glance, was that the reactor was now in the shape of Twilight's Cutie Mark, a six pointed star.

"Ladies and gentlecolts, Iron Man Mark XLVIII!" proclaimed Twilight, proudly.

"So, that's what you've been working on," said Steve, studying the new suit.

"I brought the equipment over from Earth," Tony replied. "Wanted to see what technology combined with Equestrian magic could create. Twilight and Bruce jumped at the opportunity. Haven't had the chance to really test it, but this time is as good as any." He gave a thumbs-up to his coworkers. Stepping up the the suit, it opened up, allowing Tony to step inside, as the suit fitted itself to his body. The eyes and arc reactor lit up, glowing with the familiar white light. In addition, a few small purple lights ignited on the biceps, thighs, and abs. "Friday, you make it in okay?"

"Loud and clear, boss," reported the A.I.

"Excellent," said Tony. "We added a couple of magic batteries to give it extra power, as well as fuel some new weapons systems I've been thinking about." He raised his right arm. Panels slide to the side, revealing a short, gun barrel-like device, with glowing purple lines around the body. Tony aimed at a crystal chair and fired, releasing a bubble of magenta energy, resembling Twilight's magical aura. The bubble enveloped the chair, levitating if off the floor for a couple of seconds, before it dropped back down with a clunk.

"Not bad at all," Bruce commented.

"It works! It works!" Twilight squealed, bouncing up and down like a hyperactive filly. In the corner, Spider-Man was taking a keen interest in the suit as well.

"Alright," said Bruce, as he stood up. "I put on the, y'know, none-tearing pants, so—"

"Wait, Banner?" Thor cut him off, "I thought you weren't here for combat."

"Yeah," Tony continued. "Bruce, you don't have to worry about—"

"Yes I do," Bruce insisted. "You'll need all the back up you can get. And if the other guy can save your hides during this fight...well, it'd be irresponsible of me not to."

He gave Fluttershy a knowing wink. Off to the side, Spider-Man smiled under his mask.

Tony turned to the costumed teenager. "I don't suppose I could convince you to stay behind, could I?"

"I'd hope not," answered Peter.

Captain America took over. "You're strong, Spidey, but you need to know something. This won't be like the fight at the airport. My team held back, because we didn't want to hurt you. Sombra and his guys won't. They will kill you without a second thought. Do you understand?"

Spider-Man nodded.

"Then you follow our lead," Tony said. "You stick close to us. You obey our orders. If we tell you to get outta there, you get outta there."

"I will," Peter replied. In his mind, he was terrified of the battle to come, but he wouldn't show that fear, and he wouldn't let it force him out. He would hold up his responsibility, no matter what.

"I've still got the chest," said Twilight, holding up the object in her magic. "This time, we won't hesitate to use it. It might be our only chance against the Monolith." She looked over her friends, but froze when her eyes fell on Spike.

The small dragon looked his adoptive sister in the eyes. "Twilight, please..."

"Spike, you helped when the Spider-Man and the others came, but..." She couldn't bring herself to say it.

"If I may, Princess Sparkle?" said T'Challa, removing his helmet briefly. "Spike merely wants to aid you in any way he can. And seeing how he's helped save the Crystal Empire once before..."

"I know, I know," said Twilight, reluctantly. She made a decision, praying she wouldn't regret it later on. "Please stay away from the front lines of battle. Follow our orders. Just try to stay safe, please?"

"Of course," Spike replied, giving an affirmative salute. Celestia looked proudly at him.

"Oh, this is marvelous," came a hoarse voice. Everybody turned to the doorway, where Discord, leaning on a crutch, had staggered into the room, "Everypony's getting together for the big, super team up, and I can't be part of it!"

"Discord!" exclaimed Fluttershy, flying over to him. "Are you okay?! You shouldn't be out of bed this early!"

"I'll be fine," insisted the chaos spirit. "My powers just haven't restored themselves enough for me to help. I thought the least I could do was send you off."

"Thanks, Discord," said Thor, with a little more than a hint of sarcasm.

"I love you, too, Thor," Discord joked back, causing Thor to glare at him.

With no further questions, Steve looked at the assembled team. Twilight, Rainbow, Applejack, Rarity, Fluttershy, Pinkie, Starlight, Spike, Tony, Rhodey, Vision, Natasha, T'Challa, Peter, Bruce, Thor, Bucky, Sam, Wanda, Clint, Scott, Celestia, and Luna.

"Avengers..." he announced, "assemble."