//------------------------------//
// Ultimatum 
// Story: Tomorrow War 
// by Battwell 
//------------------------------//

The tension felt inside of Stark Tower could be cut with a knife, and there was good reason for there to be tension. After all, one of the most dangerous individuals on the planet was currently in their midst. 

But Doom cared not for what they thought of him. 

Nearly every hero was glaring daggers at the ruler of Latveria while he just stood there with his arms crossed. Once the Mane 6 heard what Doom had done to Discord and Fluttershy, to say that they weren't happy would be an understatement. Discord was currently recovering in the Med Bay with Fluttershy sleeping next to him, refusing to leave his side. 

Once Tony has explained why Doom was here, although unhappy about it, everyone accepted it reluctantly. 

The silence was broken as Nick Fury stepped into the room with Maria Hill trailing behind him. As Fury walked over to him, Tony folded his arms and had a smug look plastered on his face, which was known to annoy the hell out of Fury. 

"Stark," Fury addressed the Armored Avenger, "Where are we with recovering the Infinity Stones?" 

"Take a look for yourself." Tony replied as he gestured towards the group of heroes behind him. 

Fury turned and saw the six Infinity Stones in the possession of Dr. Strange, Reed Richards, Captain America, and Spider-Man. With those four Stones, their collection was now at a total of six. 

They had all of the Stones. 

Fury found that a small smile had made its way onto his face, he was truly impressed. He turned to Stark and extended his gratitude, "Not bad, Stark. Now comes the hard part." Fury turned away from Tony and faced the group of heroes behind him, "How are we going to make sure that Thanos can never use them?" 

Reed Richards sighed as he placed the Stone in a tiny capsule in his pocket, "That is where the problem lies, Director Fury." 

Twilight quirked an eyebrow in confusion, "Why? Did you not say that we had a way to neutralize the Infinity Stones?" She asked in confusion, they had them all, so what was the problem? 

It was then that Doom finally decided to speak, "While the Draconequus was in Latveria, he was very adamant in keeping the key to neutralizing the Infinity Stones to himself. But his will was nothing compared to Doom's, he eventually relayed the information I desired." 

Rainbow snarled as she flew up and got right in Doom's face, "AT THE COST OF THREATENING FLUTTERSHY!!!" Before she could get another word in, Doom backhanded her away, causing everyone to ready themselves. 

Doom cleared his throat as AJ helped Rainbow to her hooves, "The Draconequus informed me of a way to neutralize the Stones before the Titan can get his hands on them." 

Sonic was growing curious now, "And how do we do that?" 

"By destroying them." 

The room fell dead silent. 

Not a sound was made. 

"D-DESTROY THEM?!" Amy shouted frantically. 

Charles Xavier rolled forward slightly as he added, "But if the Stones are destroyed-" 

"Then the Convergence cannot be undone." 

Fury gaze hardened, "That is not an option." 

"There must be another way," Celestia suggested as she took a step forward towards Doom, "Some solution we are not seeing." 

"There's not." Mr. Fantastic shut her down almost immediately, "We've had J.A.R.V.I.S run through every possible solution he could think of. The only way we stop Thanos and save everyone is if the Infinity Stones are destroyed." 

Logan puffed his cigar before asking, "Bub, even if it's the only goddamned way, how would we blow them Stones to hell anyway?" 

Doom responded by pointing towards the Equestrians, "With them." To say that the Equestrians were confused wouldn't do it justice. 

"U-Us?" Rarity asked, wanting clarification. 

"Specifically the ones with horns." Doom then walked forward towards them as he continued, "With the combined magic of the four Alicorns, and any other Unicorns, it will be enough to overload the Infinity Stones' power." 

"Therefore destroying them completely." Strange finished for the tyrant. 

Doom folded his arms over his chest, "Some victories require sacrifice." 

"But none as big as this." Gamora said grimly. 

Beast looked skeptical, "If you wouldn't mind, I would like to run some tests of my own." 

Doom shrugged, "Run all the tests you want, it doesn't change what needs to be done." 

McCoy frowned at the monarch, "I appreciate the concern, but I'll be running them anyway." He replied in a smart tone. 

Peter Quill leaned over slightly and whispered into Drax's ear, "And I thought MY plans sucked." 

"They do." Drax replied without missing a beat. 

This was all starting to become too much for Twilight, it was an impossible choice to make. She needed time to think, so she turned away from the group and walked out of the room. 

"Twilight." Celestia said in a worrisome tone before walking after her... Only to be stopped by Sonic, who turned and gave her a serious look. 

"I got this." Sonic said before rushing out of the room, hoping to find Twilight and give her the comfort she desperately needed right now. 



 

Twilight stared outside the window overlooking the city, just thinking to herself. 

Just her and her thoughts. 

And they were running wild. On one hoof, if the Stones were destroyed then Thanos would never get his hands on them. But on the other hoof, they would never be able to undo what's been done. They wouldn't be able to find a way to reverse the Convergence. They wouldn't be able to find a way to undo whatever Sombra did to the Soul Stone and retrieve Starlight's soul. 

They would win the day, but they would also lose so much. 

Her thoughts were broken by a familiar voice, "Thought I'd find you here." She turned and saw Sonic walking towards her. 

She gave the Hedgehog a small smile before replying, "Sorry about... Storming off like that. I just needed to think." 

Sonic folded his arms and gave Twilight a look of understanding, "Hey, I get it. I do that to, except I just-" 

"Go for a run?" Twilight finished for him with a smug look on her face. Sonic chuckled as he moved to stand beside her, Twilight giggling as well. 

Sonic's chuckling dies down as he stood beside the Alicorn, "Yeah, pretty much." The two fell into silence as they both gazed out the window, looking down at the city below. The two just stood there, no words spoken, just enjoying each others company. The silence was broken as Sonic turned to Twilight, "Hard choice to make, right?" He asked, already knowing the answer. 

Twilight sighed as she looked down at the floor, "That's an understatement. I mean, if we do this, we win. But then we'll never be able to undo what Robotnik and A.I.M did. Starlight's soul would be lost forever, I mean, we could find a way to free her soul, but we don't have that kind of time." 

Sonic nodded in understanding before replying, "I think the choice is obvious." 

Twilight raised her head and turned to the Hedgehog with a confused look on her face, "Really? Well... What do you think we should do?" 

"I think the Stones need to go kaput." Sonic didn't even hesitate his answer. 

Twilight was shocked beyond belief before finding the right words, "Y-You're serious? You think we should destroy the Stones?" 

Sonic nodded, "I know we'll lose a lot if we do this, but we'll also gain so much if the Stones are gone." 

Twilight was shook, but she understood what he meant, "T-That's true. But I don't think we should. There are too many unknown variables at play." 

Sonic shrugged, "Hey, whatever choice is made, I'll go along with it." Sonic then cupped Twilight's chin with his hand, "Besides, whatever choice we make doesn't change the way I feel about you." 

The two closed their eyes as their faces drew closer to one another. It wasn't long until their lips met with one another. Sonic stroked Twilight's mane with his hand as they kissed passionately while Twilight's wings fluttered excitedly. 

It seemed like all of Twilight's worries faded away as soon as she and Sonic kissed. 

Like a weight was lifted off of her shoulders. 

They eventually broke apart due to lack of oxygen. The stared into each others eyes and smiled at one another. 

"Feel better?" Sonic asked with a coy look on his face. 

Twilight gave the Hedgehog a coy look of her own, "You bet." She replied in a sly tone. 

"Ahem." 

They both turned their heads to see Peter Parker standing there, leaning against the wall with his arms folded over his chest. Twilight's cheeks turned a bright red as she blushed immensely while Sonic simply laughed at the situation. 

"How long were you standing there, Pete?" Sonic asked as soon as he stopped laughing. 

Peter smiled as he stopped leaning against the wall, "Long enough to know that I can say that it's about damn time." 

Twilight laughed nervously before asking, "S-So what did you need, Peter?" 

"I just came to tell you that we've finally come to realize that we are severely out gunned. So while Tony and Cap get in contact with Wakanda, I came to ask if either of you two know anyone who could help out?" 

Twilight tapped her chin with her hoof before replying, "I suppose I could rally all the forces of Equestria, if they're willing. I won't force them to enter a situation where they could possibly die, not unless it's their choice." 

They both waited for Sonic to answer, but he just stood there with a stoic expression on his face. He was thinking, but was it worth it? 

"Yo, Blue, you alright?" Peter asked in worry. 

Sonic shook his head to clear his mind before replying, "Yeah, I'm fine. Just thinking, that's all." 

"About what?" Twilight asked, wanting further clarification. 

Sonic folded his arms as he looked down in thought, "Well, I know someone who could help, in fact, you both do as well. But I don't know if they would be willing to help." 

"Who're you talking about?" Peter asked. 

"Well, let's just say that I'd have to take a trip to the Triskelion," He turned to Twilight, "You'd have to go to Tartarus," He then turned to Peter, "And you'd have to go to The Raft." 

After a moment, they both gave the Hedgehog looks as if he were a crazy person. 

"You can't be serious?" Peter replied in a tone of disbelief. 

"How do we know they would even help?" Twilight added. 

Sonic shrugged, "We just have to hope the situation is dire enough for them to join the frontlines." Sonic unfolded his arms before continuing, "All I know is that I'm going to the Triskelion, what about you two?" 

Peter crossed his arms as a look of uncertainty found its way onto his face, "We'd have to run it by the team first, but I suppose I could give it a try." 

Twilight, although skeptical, sighed as she nodded in agreement, "We do need all the help we can get." 

Sonic nodded before starting to make his way out back into the room where everyone else was in, "Alright then, I gotta go talk to Fury. It's time Egghead and I had a little chat."