//------------------------------// // Chapter 89 – Tentative Allies // Story: Infinity Era // by JDPrime22 //------------------------------// 89 Castle of the Two Sisters The Great Hall 11:56 a.m. After finding her footing once more, Sunset Shimmer followed Twilight and Celestia out of the reading room and through the winding hallways. All to reach the Great Hall. Some ponies managed to push away trauma, seeing it as a moment of their lives where they were at their weakest, something they had no control over, or something they did have control over and still failed all the same. Some ponies had better, easier lives. But not Sunset. Not her. She had been absent from Equestria, all of her family for fifteen years. For her, it didn’t feel that way. Life at Canterlot High, through all four years of high school, it may have seemed like a blur, but it was real to her. It was real to Sunset because she experienced all of it. There was nothing she could do to ever experience the torment she put her parents through for fifteen years, leaving them with nothing but a tearful explanation from Princess Celestia. Sunset felt horrible, lower than she ever had in her life. Even lower than the times she broke away from Celestia, from Equestria. Lower than when she tried to steal Twilight’s crown, fall from that, and have the entire school turn against her. Lower than when all of her best friends’ memories wiped Sunset clean from them. What she heard from Celestia, that dreaded revelation was worse on every scale. And she carried that with her, too. Just like all the others. When the time came, she would truly make amends. With her parents. With everyone. But not now. Now… they had other matters to focus on. Other matters that needed them to push their emotions aside and lead with their minds, the strongest part of themselves. Sunset tried to convince herself of that. The hallways were so long. When they finally made it to the Great Hall, the first thing all three of them noticed was Tony Stark confronting the suit of armor that he instantly recognized. The reunion was massive, far more so than Celestia or Sunset ever even imagined. Certainly, the idea of all the Avengers returning to Equestria within the Castle of the Two Sisters was sure to be a large event. Celestia was even starting to question if the Great Hall would have been large enough for ponies and Avengers alike. But before Twilight could even explain, they walked onto the balcony overlooking the Great Hall and saw nothing but bodies. No floor any longer. The Great Hall was practically filled to the brim with ponies, Crystal Guards, Crystal Ponies, Hippogriffs, dragons, griffons, changelings, Storm Creatures, Avengers, Guardians, Defenders, agents of S.H.I.E.L.D., and humanity alike. The fact that none of it was pure chaos and just an intermingling of separate species struck Celestia the most. She, Twilight, and Sunset stared from above on the balcony, jaws unhinged, eyes wide, and watching as none other than Queen Novo, Dragon Lord Ember, King Thorax, and numerous griffon generals flew towards them, meeting the Princess of the Sun with courteous bows. And a few warm, tearful hugs to go with it. Mainly from Novo. While the rest of the room was already mixing and fraternizing, Tony Stark was confronted by the bulking suit of armor from days past, a blast of nostalgia that nearly took the breath right out of him. Amidst the large, furry and scaly bodies Stark weaved and dodged between, he was struck frozen when a certain suit of armor hovered down in his line of sight, blocking his path. Meeting his eyes. The Iron Man Mark 45 stared down her creator, both of them somehow losing their voices. An AI like Friday knew very little emotion, yet just seeing the man that made her who she was, standing before her in a freshly polished, smooth and vivid, new set of armor struck the AI. A glitch maybe, surprising considering whose hand made her. As the bodies flowed around them, leaving the two alone within a stream of voices, hugs and tears, bodies and flyers, all that Tony Stark and Friday could do was stare at each other. Until it was Stark who finally pursed his lips and nodded once her way. “Friday.” Friday’s neck bent downwards, the eyes of the machine observing Stark from toe to head, making the appropriate sounds to the wiring of the suit’s joints. “New suit?” she asked, her Irish accent still as heavy as Stark had programmed it. Tony nodded, tapping on his temple. “New voice in my head.” “It’s a pleasure to meet a true veteran, designation F.R.I.D.A.Y.,” Homer chimed in. “Friday is just fine,” the AI responded with a raised palm. Already showing more human qualities. Out of all his suits, all the AIs and the voices he put into his head, from Jarvis, to her, and finally Homer… Stark was glad to see another had succeeded in that regard, in the best possible way. Now if he could just get working on Homer again. Putting that in the back of his mind, Tony laid his palm encompassed with the Mark 50 and Friday’s shoulder, patting it softly. “Damn good to see you’re still burning bright.” “You too, Tony,” Friday stated with a firm nod. Stark could have sworn he saw a smile meet his own. Or he was just going insane. Either was possible. It wasn’t truly chaos within the Great Hall until the Guardians of the Galaxy stepped in. And when they did, they made sure everyone knew it. But only three ponies truly did realize it, three ponies that pushed through the crowd to meet them face to face. Once again after so long. Derpy was the first, practically crashing into Rocket with a bone-crushing hug. The raccoon objected at first, tried to fight her off, but realized it was useless and just stood there, waiting for her to break it herself. The Guardians, although somewhat surprised, regained that sense of ease when they realized who it was. The butter mane and gray coat were easily identifiable, but when her crossed eyes popped open, each of them wore a smile on their faces once again. Once again after so long. It was Peter Quill who fell to one knee to meet Trixie for a galloping hug, the unicorn glad to see her family. Somewhat family. It was hard to explain. She didn’t care and hugged Quill, Gamora, Drax, Mantis, everyone. Everyone except Nebula. She was approached solely by Maud, the two observing one another, neither one truly taking the next step that was necessary. The only thing either one did was nod to each other. Then it was Maud who said, “Hey.” Nebula followed. “Hey.” Rather quietly. Rather not to be heard. Thankfully, no one other than Maud did. The rest of the Great Hall was already too massive, too loud for anyone to have caught Nebula’s voice amongst the masses. As if that was her only concern anymore, but Nebula and Maud turned appropriately when they all heard the simultaneous and unmistakable squawk of a parrot. Of several. “Well, well, well… what have we here?” the voice called out, every Guardian turning appropriately. They were almost shocked to see a crowd of parrot pirates walking towards them, stopping just short and leaning against one another, crossing their arms, and smirking their way. The largest among them—at least the one with the largest hat—whistled their way, smiling with her arms crossed. “Buncha ragtag group of outlaws, unlikely bunch dreaming of something better out of their lives… Yeah, I can tell. Pinkie Pie told us all about the Guardians of the Galaxy.” They all watched as the parrot held out her claw to them. No one specifically, just to them. And she smiled when she stated firmly, “Name’s Captain Celaeno. I’m the leader of this… particular pirate crew.” “Greatest group of treasure hunters the skies had ever known!” Mullet declared, cheering and jamming his sword high in the air. He was met with resounding cheers from his fellow pirates, all except for Celaeno, her claw still extended, smile still held towards the Guardians of the Galaxy. It was Quill who was most shocked to see a bunch of parrots walking upwards and actually talking to them, but he quickly realized what planet he was on again and returned to that insane reality. He made an attempt to meet Captain Celaeno’s claw with his hand—perhaps state firmly of his own role amongst the Guardians, being captain among them and all—but was late to the party. Gamora met Celaeno’s claw for a firm handshake, ultimately bringing the two teams together. “Gamora,” she stated, shaking Celaeno’s claw. She began addressing the rest of her team, ignoring the frown on Quill’s face. Not only for stealing his thunder, but not referring to his right name when confronting strangers. “This is Peter Quill, Drax, Rocket, Groot, Mantis, and my sister… Nebula.” Celaeno pulled her claw back after Gamora released her hand. She tipped her pirate hat to the rest of the Guardians, winking their way. “A hardy pleasure to all of you,” she declared with a smile on her beak. Quill was wondering just how a beak could form a smile in the first place, his brow furrowed on that thought. But it was Rocket who was truly baffled, turning from Celaeno to Gamora, to the parrot and to the Zehoberei. Again and again, only one thing burning on his mind. “Why do you two sound exactly alike?” Both Captain Celaeno and Gamora turned Rocket’s way, both of their eyebrows rising pretty much simultaneously, like either one was standing in front of a mirror. “What are you talking about, Rocket?” Gamora asked. Celaeno chuckled heartily. “The raccoon is the funny one! Guess Pinkie was right again!” Gamora chuckled at that, as well, joining Celaeno’s. While the parrots shared a hearty, pirate laugh amongst them, Rocket gripped the sides of his head, an exasperated expression filling his facial features as he clawed at his own ears. “Holy crap! Is no one hearing this but me?!” he cried, looking to his remaining Guardians for support. None of them seemed particularly interested in his near-mental breakdown. Quill picked his nose and flicked it. “I thought I was the funny one,” Drax whispered sadly to himself, Mantis laying her hand on his shoulder comfortingly. It took some time before the rest of the Great Hall came together. Lots of tearful reunions, plenty of hugs, even more apprehensive confrontations from the likes of Tempest and her crew meeting the Avengers for the first time. Led by Twilight, of course. Having seen almost nothing like the kind of species the Avengers were, Tempest was rightfully uncertain with their extraterrestrial visitors. By the end of the day, she ended up shaking Steve Rogers’ hand. A victory in Twilight’s book. A victory that was short-lived when Doctor Strange cleared his throat. It was somehow loud enough to silence the entire room. Even Twilight was impressed with that one. She watched as he took center stage, the spotlight literally on him as the light from the sun spilled in from the glass windows resting against the balcony’s wall. He stood straight and tall even with every eye on him, every breath held for the Sorcerer Supreme. And he was the only one breathing. The only one to take a deep breath before… “Thank you all for… being so accepting,” Doctor Strange announced. His eyes washed over the entire crowd, pleased to see so many familiar faces mixed within the crowds, so many odd species standing together, seeing nothing but one race. He hoped for that, at least. He held out his shivering palm towards the light, constantly moving his head on a swivel and turning as he did so. “There are dark days ahead of us. Whether we choose to ignore it… face it… run away… or run towards… we all need to acknowledge that what happened was out of our control! No power on this planet… or ours… is enough to take down the one who has afflicted our worlds.” He had their complete, undivided attention. The Cutie Mark Crusaders gazed with wonder-filled eyes to the all-powerful wizard, the three fillies hanging by Big Mac and Sugar Belle’s hooves. Tempest Shadow and Queen Novo listened carefully, intrigued by the human’s words, his knowledge. He spoke of the one responsible for the pain brought upon Equus. They listened even closer. “His name is Thanos!” Strange continued. “He invaded our worlds with his alien armada! The power he wields is that of the very universe itself! He holds four Infinity Stones at the moment… and beneath the nation of Wakanda the sixth Stone lies in wait! If he acquires it… he can be that much closer to achieve his destiny of wiping out half of all living organisms within this universe! Half of everything we know… we love… everything and everyone! But we have a plan to stop this!” Nick Fury took the stage, arms behind his back as he declared, “Earth has recently been visited by an extraterrestrial beast! This dragon… of which I assume your rulers are very familiar with… came to Wakanda, burned it to its core, and remains there as we speak! Thanos’ forces are gathering around the entire nation of Wakanda, waiting for the right moment to strike! No matter what happens, we cannot allow Thanos to get his hands on that Infinity Stone! As for the Titan’s current location… we’re a little bit blind on that!” Princess Cadance stepped forward, her voice surprising many. Even more so when they saw the filly cradled in her free foreleg. Both Fury and Strange spun accordingly to the pink Alicorn when she stated loudly, “The Titan of which you speak of attacked the Crystal Empire! We did our best to hold him back, but he walked right through us and destroyed the Heart! Our power was nothing compared to his own…” “As well as Canterlot,” Twilight added, heads and eyes swiveling her way. She met Fury’s eye and ignored everyone else’s, pursing her lips and staring with a hardened gaze. “The beast that came to Earth from Equus… from the Badlands… His name is Typhon. He… he destroyed my home. Like Thanos did.” The utterance of her voice, the way in she worded it spelt so much unfathomable dread that it struck everypony where it mattered. Everypony and everyone. Tempest was silent on that, but not for reasons many would have suspected. She was silent because Twilight already knew about the monster from the Badlands. Everyone knew about Typhon apparently, everyone else so obscenely shaken by a beast they probably never even witnessed. Her whole purpose for trying to find Twilight in the first place was to inform her of the devastation in the Badlands, but now she was out of the loop. She never felt more out of place than right there. “And Vision.” Perhaps there was somepony else who felt worse than her. The entire room turned to the voice belonging to none other than the Princess of the Sun. It felt even more dreaded than Twilight’s, filled with even more pain and regret than the Princess of Friendship. The burden Celestia carried weighed more than even that of the sun itself, knowing the grave circumstances that awaited her failure to stop Thanos from entering Canterlot. From reaching the castle. From… She knew every eye was on her. So she closed her own. “When… my sister and I faced him… he had already acquired the Mind Stone from…” There was no power on Equus, Earth, or the entire universe that could force Celestia to finish that sentence. She didn’t need to, the grave tone of her voice followed by the defeated posture, the low-hanging head, it all spelled one thing as clear as day. The Avengers were deathly silent on that. Canterlot was gone… along with Vision. Their worst fears—some of Stark’s worst fears—came to fruition in the inevitable end. Thanos found Vision in that inevitable end. He took from him the fifth Infinity Stone needed to complete the set. All of Canterlot was swept away in the process if Twilight’s words were to be taken as fact. As for Wanda… she was nowhere in sight. They could only assume the worst, as if there was any other choice in their circumstances. “He just needs one more,” Steve Rogers uttered with horror on his tongue. Fluttershy shivered at that, many other ponies and even some members of the Defenders, Guardians, and agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. sensing that fear and feeling it for themselves. But not Thor. He stepped forth, and with a mighty shake of his fist, declared, “Then we make our last stand at Wakanda! We will take the strongest among you all! Who is with us?!” Nopony made a move. With his fist still jutted in the air, Thor awaited the moment an army of Equestrians surrounded him ponies young and old wishing to take up the mantle and save the universe from Thanos’ wrath. The only sound he heard was his own, ragged breathing. The only movement he spotted was Loki laying his palm on Thor’s right shoulder. “There’s a thing called… subtlety, brother,” Loki whispered aloud. “You seem to still lack that.” “Well, I’m game!” Rainbow Dash declared, flying over to hover near Thor’s left shoulder. The God of Thunder was proud to see none other than his favorite pony be the first to join him. Yet his smile soon fell when Rainbow opened her eyes and sent those twin daggers over to his brother, jamming her hoof in his direction. “And we definitely don’t need any lip from you, especially after what you’ve done!” The Great Hall seemed to fall silent to that statement alone. Thor held his breath, his one good eye widening. Loki’s smile completely fell apart, the God of Mischief surprisingly silent alongside the rest of the world. Not even a retort. “What did Loki do this time?” Fury groaned. Rainbow turned directly towards Fury and the others who stood with him, wild ferocity in her eyes. “It’s because of him that all of this is happening in the first place! Thor told us all about it, told us that Loki was the one who spilled the beans about Equestria to Thanos! We wouldn’t even be in this mess if it wasn’t for him!” Nobody objected. Everyone looked at Loki. Absolutely everyone. From the accusing glares of Cadance’s Crystal Guard, Pharynx, Gilda and many of her fellow griffons, and especially from Tempest Shadow and Grubber. Ember snorted hot flames from her nostrils, gripping her Bloodstone Scepter even tighter, slowly unfurling her wings. The dragons by her sides slowly did the same. Then there were others who remained indifferent, shocked, or just confused over Rainbow’s accusations. Thor didn’t object to them, so they assumed it to be true. They were Princess Cadance, Thorax, Novo and her Hippogriffs, several Crystal Ponies, Celaeno and her pirate crew, and especially from Twilight and her closest friends. While the Princess of Friendship wasn’t particularly angry with Loki, she was more so turning that aggression towards Rainbow Dash. She was trying to make enemies when they needed allies more so than ever before! Typical Rainbow, to hold a grudge. Twilight was just about to open her mouth, defend Loki even for his unholy actions, and bring Rainbow Dash back to the reality of their situation… But it was Celestia who beat her to that. Celestia, having already lost Luna because of Thanos, almost lost a clear motive. A clear train of thought processing and mental capability. She had no doubt to trust the word of one of the Elements of Harmony, but even if that word pointed to the one responsible for such destruction, such desolation, so much pain and suffering… and not even by his own hand. It was because of the brother of Thor… was Luna taken from her. There was no easy solution, no clear sense of togetherness for Princess Celestia. For a moment—a brief millisecond—she only saw red. She only imagined what type of hellfire she would rain down from the heavens when she met Thanos again… only to turn that aggression to the one truly deserving of the blame. It was but a flicker, a spark of raw and fatal emotion within her… and then it was gone. She took a calming breath, held back what burned from within, and tried to collect herself. Now was not the time to blame. Now was the time to come together. Now was the time for action. In the end—even if it hurt like hell—it was Celestia who held up her hoof and declared, “No.” Twilight’s jaw promptly fell. As did Rainbow and Loki’s. All at the same time. “‘No’?” Ember questioned, jamming her scepter towards the hovering mare and staring harshly at Princess Celestia. “What do you mean ‘no’?! You heard it from Applejack!” “My name’s Rainbow Da—” “He’s the cause of all this!” Ember shouted, interrupting Rainbow and jamming her scepter directly towards the God of Mischief. “If this ‘Thanos’ guy is responsible for sending the invasion on our world, and the guy responsible for telling Thanos about our world in the first place is standing right here, then I say we—!” “No.” Ember’s fire burning deep within her was not quenched, not even for a bit. Not like Celestia’s had, where a thousand years of keeping that calming sense of peace from within was so far from Ember’s being. She turned her red-hot eyes over to Queen Novo, the Hippogriff responsible for interrupting her. She came up by Celestia’s right side, meeting Ember’s feral glare with an equally-powerful one. “We don’t have time for this… Ember,” Novo stated. “Fighting amongst ourselves… after everything we’ve been through… you want to destroy all that for something we can’t change?” Ember felt a presence on her shoulder, turning to it and almost feeling the fire die when she stared into Thorax’s assuring gaze and calming smile. “There’s so much more on the line than this, Ember,” Thorax told her, hoof gently resting on her shoulder. Warmly. Comfortingly. Somehow, someway calming her down. “If we don’t focus our efforts where it truly matters… then we’ve already lost.” Such powerful words for such a weak leader. Well... not weak anymore, it seemed. She taught him how to be that leader, that sense of strength within his voice all originating from her. Ember groaned at that, knowing it was true, stamping the butt of her scepter onto the stone floor. Ultimately asserting her stance to remain as neutral as the rest of the room on the touchy subject. “Thank you, Ember,” Celestia said with a soft bow of her head. Ember generously replied with a snort of smoke pointed in nobody’s direction, refusing to meet the princess in the eye. Regardless, Celestia turned her attention to the rest of the room once more. “What has occurred… we cannot change. So much worse will befall our two worlds if we refuse to do nothing. Novo, Thorax, Fury, a word please?” Thorax practically dragged Ember into their private discussion. Coulson trailed behind Fury, meeting the numerous leaders into a private, almost whispering discussion. Ponies leaned forward to catch just a word of what they were saying. It was pointless, their discussion already ending in less than a minute. After a soft break from their group, they all stood side by side, facing the larger crowds and awaiting breaths. Celestia softened their worries by declaring, “As Nicholas Fury has stated prior, the invasions on our worlds have ended, and all alien warships remain over Wakanda.” Gamora stepped in. “If he has the Mind Stone, then all he needs is the last Infinity Stone. The Soul Stone. No doubt Thanos is heading to Wakanda as we speak.” “Twilight,” Doctor Strange said, surprising everyone when he addressed her, stepped forward to her, and spoke clearly and only to her. Twilight almost didn’t expect it, but accepted it nonetheless. “We have a plan. If we can ambush Thanos somewhere he’s not expecting it, do everything in our conjoined power to get that Gauntlet off his hand, then we can end all of this. Is there anywhere on Equus we can go that’s far from any local population?” Twilight opened her mouth, raised her hoof… then promptly shot down both at the same time. Several disappointed expressions filled the room after witnessing Twilight’s actions, a dreaded shadow of doubt covering Twilight’s heart when she saw them all. Her first thought was the Badlands, but they were already destroyed. No stable ground there. Pretty much all of Equus was devastated and trying to pick up the pieces. No place really safe from harm. As she contemplated these thoughts, it was Stygian who stepped forth to the Sorcerer Supreme, pointing his hoof accusingly to him. “You would wish to bring that monster onto our world yet again?! He’s taken both of our worlds and molded them like clay. There’s nothing more we can do!” Stygian declared. Strange opened his mouth to offer his retort… “How ‘bout the Dragon Lands?” Spike suggested, the entire room facing the young dragon. Stephen, Stygian, and Twilight all turned to him at the same time, eyes wide and breaths held. He didn’t even look nervous. He just shrugged his shoulders and said, “I mean, come on, there’s enough open space and deserted landscapes there since the last time I’ve visited. And since the dragons can migrate pretty fast, the entire area would be empty of life!” It was probably a stupid idea. Spike should have just kept his mouth shut and let the older, more experienced individuals try and figure out how they were going to save the universe. But to his surprise, to the surprise of pretty much everyone present, they agreed. Starting with Princess Celestia and only growing from there. Ember was not too keen on that idea, but after seeing several nods of approval and satisfaction fill the Great Hall, she obligated herself to fall in line, too. “Ugh, fine!” Ember groaned. “We’ll clear out the Dragon Lands for you guys! As long as we get first hits on that Thanos freak!” “Get in line,” Gilda growled, smirking Ember’s way as the griffons behind her shot up their spears and swords, shouting with thunderous approval. Ember, after feeling rather demonized as of late, was finally glad to have a smile find its way back on her lips. The rest of the Great Hall joined in on that thunderous approval, smiles and cheers and chants filling the silence with rejuvenated life once again. As if Spike’s smile couldn’t get any bigger. “That was a great idea, Spike!” Twilight congratulated, nuzzling the dragon’s cheek with her own. Blushing at that, Spike pushed her off and waved his hands, admitting it just came off the top of his head. No big deal. It was a much bigger deal to everyone else, pretty much the entire room in shared comradery and roaring approval of Spike’s suggestion. Even the leaders of each nation nodded to one another, settling their eyes on Spike, smiling his way. Especially Thorax. It all ended when he met the silence, the stillness from the Sorcerer Supreme. Spike’s smile fell when he turned to Doctor Stephen Strange. Something in his eyes spelled uncertainty, but held a certain strength, a solidity to the shared conclusion on their next course of action. He nodded the dragon’s way. Not a smile. Not a sound. Not a word. Spike somehow felt a chill enter his heart from that icy stare alone. As the room began to settle, Fury stepped forth and took command, saying, “So, it’s settled. We bring Thanos to Equus, to the ‘Dragon Lands’, and ambush him there and take off the Gauntlet… or kill him. Whichever is fine by me. What’s say you, Princess Twilight?” “I…” Twilight began, the wide smile on her face slowly deflating when she realized just exactly what she was agreeing to. Ambushing Thanos, trying to take off the Infinity Gauntlet… vivid flashes of what happened the last time she tried that resurfaced, nearly taking her breath away. “I’m… I’m not… sure. Knowing what happened last time we tried to take on Thanos in the Badlands… I don’t know how we’re gonna be able to stop him now… especially when he has five Infinity Stones as compared to the three when we fought him.” The silence that followed from the Princess of Friendship spread like an infectious disease, slowly consuming the rising spirit and hope within a blanket of darkness, several Hippogriffs and dragons, griffons and ponies, everyone falling silent and joining the princess within it. Especially Twilight’s closest friends, each mare turning to one another, each one seeing and experiencing every horrifying detail that Twilight described. Their failure to stop Thanos the first time, the shadow of doubt clouding their vision and leading to nothing. No hope. Rainbow Dash hovered in mid-air before finally settling herself next to Fluttershy, the Pegasus sighing rather heavily. A few heads sparked to life and turned her way. Rainbow shrugged, murmuring, “Well… things have never really been in our favor, have they?” And she was absolutely right. They never were. Since the beginning, every foe they had faced could have taken Equestria ten times over, but it was their bond, their friendship that in the end… saved the day. Despite every overwhelming odd, the magic of friendship, the love that they shared as best friends led them to victory every single time. But even Rainbow didn’t seem too hopeful on that, her downtrodden expression facing the floor and frowning at it. Frowning because even she didn’t know how they were going to get out of the chaos. “Friendship is what makes us strong,” Sunset Shimmer declared, every head turning her way. Every head. Especially Twilight and Rainbow’s, the unicorn turning specifically to Twilight Sparkle and pointing her way. “You taught me that. We’ll fight by that.” Rainbow scoffed. “Against him? We’ll die trying.” “Then we’ll die with that,” Sunset replied, no humor and no fear of death in her eyes. Not many of the mares shared her input or her way of thought. Many like Rarity, Fluttershy, Pinkie Pie, and even Applejack remained uncertain. Starlight Glimmer shook her head and glared at nothing, maybe at herself. At what she was feeling. “I’m not ready to face this, Twilight,” Fluttershy whispered shakily, being the only pony brave enough to say what everypony else was feeling. Some deep down… some even deeper, but all of them feeling it eat away at their hearts all the same. Meeting Fluttershy’s terrified expression, Twilight Sparkle let her gaze fall momentarily. The light of the sun fell on her, the silence of the room centering solely on her. Waiting for her. “Neither am I,” Twilight finally replied, lifting her eyes and bringing that newfound spirit, strength, and hope into every inch of her expression. Of her smile. Of her nod when she declared, “So we’ll do it together.” She turned to the massive group of remarkable people and smiled. They all smiled back. Avengers, Defenders, Guardians, sorcerers, agents, Hippogriffs, griffons, dragons, changelings, and ponies alike. All for one, noble purpose in the end. “Today, we don’t fight for just one life. We fight for all of them!” T’Challa shouted, jamming his fist in the air. And everyone cheered, knowing that this, this fight was what they were born for. That all of them were born for this. The final nail had been struck. The final torch had been lit. The final cry had been given. The Great Hall erupted into furious roars from even more furious saints. Rarity made not a sound and stared at the rejuvenated life before her, seeing nothing but death awaiting them. Out of the corner of her vision, she never did see Doctor Strange remaining just as silent and staring only at her.