Earth, Latveria
In the hall of Dr. Doom's castle, the mood was almost uniformly cheerful. After all, Doom's team had basically defeated Avengers in their initial battle, even if they had managed to escape. The Sphinx, in particular, was just about a jolly as any of them had ever seen her, considering Somnambula was now a frozen statue, along with the rest of the Pillars of Old Equestria. She was almost bouncing off the walls (though not literally, as that would've resulted in her crushing all of the others). Others, like Amora, were content to just smile and relax while basking in their victory. All in all, everybody was happy.
Of course, there were exceptions.
"Idiots!" screamed Scorpion, swinging his tail around like a deadly wrecking ball, smashing into walls, forcing everybody to duck under the mad flailing. "We didn't get one friggin' Avenger! That spider kid got away! How can you all be celebrating?!"
From his position at the computer chair, Dr. Octavius gave a small shrug of his tentacles towards Gargan. "I loathe to admit it, but I somewhat agree with him," he said, matter-of-factly. "What was the point of the attack if we didn't eliminate any of the Avengers? Or the bearers of the Elements of Harmony? Sure, we got Discord and Heimdall out of the way, along with most of the tribe leaders, but the fact remains our enemies are still on the loose."
"Yeah! And I didn't get the chance to grind that little dragon punk into dust!" Garble complained, punching his fist into his palm. "Come on, you promised I'd get to smash him!"
"Oh, quit your whining," Wind Rider retorted. "You don't need to kill somepony to get revenge. Now, Rainbow Dash will know what it's like to have her life uprooted. It's just too bad the Wonderbolts weren't there to get frozen at the same time."
"And we managed to freeze all those vile creatures that have polluted Equestria, scheming to steal our secrets," said Neighsay. "All that remains is to free Princess Celestia and Princess Luna from the grip of Twilight Sparkle and her infernal friends."
Scorpion thrust his claws to the sky. "I don't believe this!" he screamed again. "We screwed up, and you morons are cheering like we just won the war!" He rounded on Dr. Doom, who'd been sitting on his throne, listening to the entire conversation. "Your big plan failed, tin can! How does the great 'Doom' expect to rebound from this?!"
"Yeah!" Shocker chimed in. "I didn't even get a chance to take on Spider—"
He suddenly froze, shutting his mouth as Doom turned his glare onto him. Scorpion just kept ranting, unaware, even Doom rose from his throne, taking a few short steps towards Scorpion. Everybody in the room except for Gargan was silent as the metal-clad king stared down the Scorpion. Taking notice of the silence, Scorpion quieted down and glanced around him, finally noticing just how close Doom had gotten to him. Beneath his green armor, beads of sweat began to drip down the back of his neck.
Finally, Doom broke the silence. "Failed?" he asked, in a quiet, even voice, as bolts of green electricity crackled around his fingertips. It was somehow more terrifying than if he'd screamed the words. Everybody in the room reflexively started to hold their breath out of sheer terror.
Gargan started to open his mouth, perhaps to apologize, to plead for mercy, to do anything, but before he could utter a word, Doom snapped his arm towards him, sending a line of green eldritch magic towards him, and attaching it to Gargan's neck. With one small gesture, Doom sent a current of lightning down the magical tether.
Scorpion screamed. It was the worst pain he'd ever experienced in his life. It was as though burning hot knives were piercing through his skin, down to the bone, sawing away at everything that made up his body. His brain was boiling inside his skull, his eyes felt like they were melting, and his heart was kicking into overdrive, punching his chest from within with each and every beat. The agony only lasted for a few seconds, but to Gargan, it might as well have been days. With another wave of his arm, Doom released Gargan from the magic tether, letting him drop to the floor with a thump.
"Dr. Doom does not fail," Doom sneered. "That is a simple fact of life, and you would do well to learn it. Does anyone else question Doom's authority? Or will this demonstration suffice?"
Everyone in the room hurriedly shook their heads, terrified that the slightest hesitation would result in them receiving the same punishment. Amora in particular was shivering in panic, like she'd experienced this before. Fortunately for them, this seemed to satisfy Doom, who returned to his seat on his throne.
"I had anticipated that the Avengers may survive our initial attack," Doom stated, calmly, as though he hadn't just tortured one of his underlings for talking back to him. "At the moment, however, thanks to my plan, they are now scattered across two planets, divided, and weakened. In addition, many of their allies have been frozen by my windigos. My plan is going along at a perfect pace, as only Doom's plan may."
"Er, if I may, Lord Doom?" said Titanium Man weakly, raising his hand. "What about the magicians who interfered in the attack?"
Doom shot him a glare, causing him to flinch in fear, but made no move to punish him. "Dr. Strange was not part of my original plan," Doom admitted, "but as a sorcerer, he is a children's entertainer compared to the powers of Doom. He will be dealt with in time."
"Excellent, my master," said Amora, her voice still shaking from the earlier fright. "What shall be our next move?"
"Take some of our soldiers to Canterlot," Doom instructed. "Retrieve the items I planned to acquire. Chrysalis, you remain here. I have much to discuss with you. Everyone else, disperse until Doom summons you again."
The orders were swiftly obeyed, Amora taking Abomination and Titanium Man through a portal, while the rest departed to other areas of the castle. Chrysalis, rightly terrified, meekly approached Doom's throne.
"I would assume you are frustrated," Doom began. "After all, I did not allow you to join the battle in Canterlot."
"N-no, of course not, Lord—" Chrysalis began, only to slam her mouth shut as Doom leaned forward in his throne.
"Do not mock Doom with your lies," he insisted.
"W-well, perhaps a bit, master," Chrysalis admitted, her voice shaking with every syllable."I-I just w-want a chance at T-Twilight Sparkle, and St-Starlight Glimmer, b-but if you—"
"And you shall have it," Doom promised. "For now, I have two tasks for you. First, it is finally time for you to show me the location of the Tree of Harmony. You are aware of how it figures into my plans?" Chrysalis nodded. "Excellent. As for the second, you desire your revenge?"
"More than anything," Chrysalis replied, her confidence returning a bit. The prospect of revenge, was pretty much the entire reason she'd joined this team, after all. Sure, Thorax was now encased in ice, but it wasn't the same as taking down the ponies who'd ruined everything she'd struggled to build over the years.
"Good," replied Doom. "I have no doubt that the Avengers on Equis will be making their way towards Ponyville as soon as they are able. If you were to lie in wait for them..."
Chrysalis' fear suddenly morphed into malicious glee, seeing exactly where Doom was going with this. "Oh, I would be delighted, master."
"But first, take Doom to the Tree."
Neighsay, Cinch, and Cozy Glow all scurried as far away as they could from Doom's throne room, not wanting to irritate him anymore than he already was. The three ponies felt like they'd known what they were signing up for when they agreed to work for Doom, but this was on another level entirely. Neighsay in particular was rather struck by just how cold Doom was, and for the simple crime of questioning him. The unicorn hesitated even to imagine what the doctor would do if they tried to leave his employment.
Not that he ever would try, of course. Neighsay had the welfare of Equestria to think about, as well as Princess Celestia and Princess Luna, who still needed to be freed from the corruption of Twilight Sparkle. That was his ultimate goal...right?
"Well," said Cinch, breaking the silence, finally, "I suppose today could've gone better, but it could've gone far worse as well. We stopped that ridiculous Friendship Conference, and now we have only to hunt down Twilight Sparkle and the others, and order will be restored to Equestria soon enough."
"All I need to do is wait for them to show up to Ponyville," said Cozy Glow, with a wicked smile on her face. "Doom gave me a shiny new toy to test out on them."
"Yes," Neighsay agreed, but it came out more half-hearted than he would've like. He cursed quietly as the other two ponies looked at him quizzically.
"Neighsay, don't tell me you're getting cold hooves?" Cinch asked. "Especially now, when we're so close."
"No, no no!" Neighsay insisted, waving his front hooves frantically, afraid they would go to Doom and call him a traitor. "I'm just a little lost in thought, is all. Didn't you see how Celestia looked at us? It was like we'd betrayed her and Equestria. How deep can Twilight Sparkle have corrupted her?"
Cinch opened her mouth to shoot back a reply, but froze as she actually stopped for a moment to think about it. It was true, Celestia had looked upon the two of them with what resembled disappointment more than anything. It was rather sad, actually, considering they were only trying to help. Of course, Celestia couldn't realize that, not under Twilight Sparkle's influence.
"Well, I suppose," she finally said, "it did hurt a little. After all, I love Equestria, and I love the Princesses. And we did get a lot of ponies frozen in the attack on Canterlot—"
"Oooooh, do I sense somepony getting doubts?" squawked Cozy Glow, grinning maliciously. "Do I need to go tell Doom that somepony's a weak link?"
Neighsay's gaze hardened, and his face dropped into an irritated sneer. "There will be no need for that, child," he growled. "We understand that there must be necessary sacrifices for the greater good. You would do well to remember that, too. Now stay out of our affairs."
Cozy Glow sighed dramatically. "You stuffy old ponies are no fun," she complained. "At least I won't have to deal with you when I'm running the School of Friendship." With that, she flapped her small wings, taking off and leaving the two unicorns alone.
Cinch turned back to Neighsay. "She does have a small point, you know," she whispered, glancing around them, looking for sources of surveillance. "We don't know if Doom's watching us, so keep the dissenting words on the quiet side."
"I'm aware of that, I'm no fool," Neighsay snapped. "Now if you'll excuse me, I have things to do."
He turned on his hoof, stomping off into the depths of the castle, but those small doubts continued to gnaw away at his brain, like a tumor that's taken hold, and refuses to let go.
Equis, Everfree Forest
Getting back to the tree was the easy part. Chrysalis just held the memory of the location in her mind, and Doom channeled his magic through her, creating a portal to the location taken from her thoughts, taking them to the tree instantly. Chrysalis actually shivered as she walked up to the familiar crystal structure, remembering what had happened the last time she was here. She herself hadn't touched the tree, and she had no desire to find out what would happen if she did.
Doom, of course, had no such fear, walking right up to the tree's base.
"Master, I wouldn't recommend making contact—" Chrysalis began, but Doom shot her down with a simple look.
With a few sparks of eldritch magic, Doom formed a Tao Mandela in one hand, placing it palm flat against the crystal surface of the tree. He closed his eyes as the magic flowed from his hand into the tree, focusing his magical probe. A blur of golden light appeared beneath the crystal surface of the tree, advancing slowly up the trunk, making contact with the Element of Magic, before phasing out completely.
"It's true," Doom noted, more to himself than to Chrysalis. "The tree is aware, to an extant. It resists my attempts at reaching into its depths. With the Elements of Harmony inside, my magic isn't strong enough to penetrate its defenses. And there's no way to remove them without setting off the tree's defenses. We'd need the Bearers just to safely remove the Elements."
"And it repulses dark magic entirely," said Chrysalis. "My clones of Twilight Sparkle and her friends couldn't even get close to the damned thing. What do we do now?"
"It changes nothing," Doom proclaimed, turning away from the tree. "We need merely to gather the artifacts I have already planned for. Combined, their power should suffice to challenge it."
"W-what about the Everfree Forest?" asked Chrysalis. "Without the Elements, the tree isn't strong enough to prevent it from growing over Equestria. How will we deal with—"
"Leave that to me," Doom snapped. "Doom plans for everything. Once I'm done, the power of the Everfree Forest will be meaningless. Now return to your appointed task, Chrysalis. I must study the tree further, to be absolutely certain."
"Y-yes, Master," Chrysalis shakily replied, bowing in haste as she scurried backwards.
Her membranous wings began to buzz, lifting Chrysalis off the ground and taking her away from her master. As much as she hated to serve under another, Doom had more than proven he could overpower her. Not to mention his actions today, which terrified her. As she flew, Chrysalis uttered a silent prayer to whatever deities that were out there that, no matter how this affair ended, she wouldn't do anything to incur Doom's wrath.
Equis, Canterlot
Amora, Abomination, and Titanium Man strolled through what remained of Canterlot. In the aftermath of their attack, the city was more like a ghost town, albeit a ghost town encased in ice. Everywhere one looked were frozen solid creatures, from ponies to Asgardians to kirin to dragons to hippogriffs. It was rather morbid to look at, considering how scared all the imprisoned creatures looked. The one small mercy was that the windigos weren't around to suck the life out of their captives. After all, Doom had no intention to murder all of his future subjects.
Amora directed her two massive henchmen over to two particular frozen victims. "Here they are," she noted, pointing. "Remember, Doom wants them intact. Break them at your own peril."
"We are not mindless buffoons," snapped Bullski. "We will deal with it."
The two giants walked over to where Discord and Heimdall lay in their icy prisons. The terror on their faces was evident, particularly on Discord, as he'd just begun to realize his chaos powers were ineffective against the magic of the windigos. His face was literally frozen in an expression of shock and fear, paralyzed in an eternal scream. Heimdall, on the other hand, had at least gone down with a measure of dignity, his sword raised with both hands and his brown eyes filled with fury. Amora smirked as she watched Abomination lift the ice chunk that contained Asgard's former gatekeeper. She'd always despised him, making this a rare pleasure.
"Well, I believe I have business in the castle," she stated. "Bring those two to Doom, and don't mess it up." With that, she turned on her heel, walking into Canterlot Castle.
Abomination groaned quietly. "I'm really beginning to hate that woman," he grumbled under his breath.
From inside his cell, the former King Sombra had heard everything that had gone on during the Friendship Conference, or what was supposed to have been the Friendship Conference. It wasn't like he had many other things to do besides listen, anyway. While he didn't understand everything, he clearly heard the Avengers, along with those insufferable Element Bearers battling against some unknown enemy. It was really quite obnoxious, but also somewhat satisfying. After all, it didn't sound like the Avengers had won the battle. And after he heard the screech of the windigos, he figured maybe they'd all ended up as icy statues. It was almost enough to bring a smile to the unicorn's face.
A traitorous thought wandered into his head, wondering if that was really the best thing to hope for. After all, Celestia had promised she'd let him out of this cell eventually. While the prospect of surrendering to the ponies' 'redemption' still sickened him, he'd still rather be out there than rotting in here. However, he pushed those thoughts away angrily. He'd never give in to Celestia, no matter what it cost him.
The creaking of the dungeon door opening attracted his attention. Sombra turned to the dungeon hallway, where a human female was walking towards him. In her hand, she held a long wooden staff with a crystal at the tip. The Staff of Sacanas, used previously by the Storm King in his conquest of Canterlot, however brief it was. Sombra smirked.
"Come to finally free me from this pit?" he asked.
"Not really," Amora admitted, a sadistic smile making its way onto her face, "but you have a purpose you will serve for my master, Sombra."
Her magic quickly ripped out the bars, and with a wave of her hand, she'd entrapped Sombra in a massive bubble of green magic. Then she exited the dungeon, staff and unicorn in tow. Sombra, for his part, raised no complaints about the situation. He figured that, wherever he was going, it had to be better than rotting in Celestia's dungeon.
He would come to regret that decision.