Cold, the oh so familiar cold surrounded Nightmare. It was like the embrace of an old friend for her. Like before, when she had been sent to the moon, just before entering the portal, she had cast a spell which allowed her to breathe even through the absence of air. But her senses were not focused on these things. No, they were focused on aiming the nuke at the warship in front of her. Nightmare's eyes were wide as she stared at it. It was utterly massive from what she could tell. The leviathan coming from it looked like mere slugs compared to its immense size.
With how many could be stored on the warship… Earth didn't stand a chance. No world did. If that warship came to Equestria… it would actually be easier, as her sister could just throw the sun at it, or herself her moon. But Earth, it had no such defensive measures that wouldn't mean mutual destruction. She hadn't realized she had let go of the nuke until she was staring back at the portal. Her magic surrounded her body, and propelled her towards the portal. A few seconds later, light appeared at the corners of her vision. Turning her head, she watched the rapidly growing explosion. The light was intense, almost like staring at another sun. She tried to propel herself faster. "Close it!" She yelled, not knowing if the others could even hear her. As she passed through, the portal began to close.
Turning as she felt affected by gravity once more, she watched as the portal closed. The blast was dangerously close to reaching the portal before it closed however. It had been close… but they had won. However she had a feeling… This was only the beginning.
Loki struggled to move, his body wracked with pain. How dare that filthy monster lay a hand on him! Much less through him around like a marionette! As he tried to get up the stairs to the elevator, he felt many stares on the back of his head as shadows fell over him. Turning, he came face to face with those that had ruined his plan. "If it's all the same to you." Loki paused to take a few breaths. "I think I'll have that drink now."
Nightmare snorted, and slugged Loki across the face, leaving a large gash and him knocking out. Hulk grinned at the pony, liking her style of things. "Alright, someone pick him up. We can stand around posing up a storm later." Tony said as he went towards his mini bar to get a drink. "By the way, feel free to clean up." He added as a quip.
"Pour me one too. Really need it after today." Clint said as he followed Tony to the mini bar.
"So who gets the magic wand?" Romanoff asked, hefting the gold spear.
"I shall take it. There are still many layers of Loki's magic around it, and other magics, that I will need to untangle from it before anyone can wield it safely."
"Other magic? You mean magic other than Loki's?" Thor asked, surprised.
"Yes, I can't identify it right now, as whoever placed these spells knew to hide their tracks expertly. It will take me many days to identify the spell which has been put upon this weapon, weeks before I can possibly identify the magic signature, and months more to remove the magic surrounding it." Nightmare said as she levitated the spear out of Natasha's hands.
"That sounds like hacking. Magical, maybe, but hacking nonetheless. I might be able to help." Tony said, looking over the spear, no longer as some kind of old, very powerful, alien weaponry, but as a mystery to unwrap. The jewel was one thing, but if he could figure out how to do magic, combining it with his tech would be invaluable. The possibilities were infinite!
"Hmm, if this 'hacking' is how you use your technology, then maybe you could be of some assistance." Just then, there was a ding. The elevator opened, several people came out with cases, and began packing things away. But when one tried to take the scepter, Nightmare moved it out of reach. "This artifact shall be staying with me until further notice. It is too dangerous in anyone else's hooves." Nightmare paused, then looked at their hands. "Or hands."
The Shield agent faintly sneered but knew he wouldn't be able to do anything against something as powerful as this horse. He knew his true superiors weren't going to like this.
A while later, the Avengers got together once more to see off Thor, Loki, and the Tesseract. While Nightmare understood it was simply too dangerous an artifact to be left on Earth, she still wished she could have used it to figure out a way to her world. Maybe Thor's father might be able help her if he is that merciful. At least she was entrusted with Loki's staff, as Thor pointed out earlier that with magic that surpassed any he had seen, it was best left in her possession.
Eric Selvig pulled a capsule-like device from his van, and handed it to Thor as Loki looked at it with small glare. Though the glare seemed to be there regardless, as ever since he had woken up, he had been glaring, as a metal device had been put around his mouth at Nightmare's request. She didn't want to hear the angry or taunting spiels of 'a foal denied their dessert'. While the terminology was weird to Thor, as well as the rest of them, he had understood the basic idea. Tony kneeled down, and opened a metal case which housed the Tesseract. Carefully Bruce picked it up with a pair of tongs, and carried it over to Selvig who had opened the capsule.
Bruce gently set the cube inside, and Selvig closed the capsule. Bruce stepped away as Steve looked suspiciously at the cube. He had not forgotten the first time the cube's real purpose had been used by accident. Thor stepped up to Selvig, a sad smile on his face as he clapped the smaller man on the shoulder. "It has been good seeing you my friend, though I wish it had been under better circumstances. Tell Lady Jane I wished I could have seen her." Selvig nodded as Thor stepped back, now holding the capsule.
Natasha leaned back, and whispered something into Barton's ear which made him smirk at the angry half-frost giant. Thor turned, one hand around a handle of the capsule, the other handle pointed to Loki. Thor looked to his new friends, and bade them a farewell.
"Farewell my friends. It has been an honor to fight by your sides. And Lady Moon, do not forget, you still owe me a sparring match." Nightmare grinned, and gave him a nod.
"See ya Point Break." Tony quipped.
"Keep an eye on that cube, don't let it fall into any wrong hands." Steve said, to which Thor nodded.
"Make sure to tell me all about Loki's punishment when you get back." Barton said, the smirk not having left his face. Thor chuckled, and gave him a nod.
Natasha just nodded in Thor's direction, to which he returned, same for Bruce. Thor then looked to his brother with a look of resignation, and turned his side of the capsule. The Tesseract glowed with power, which spread to both Thor and Loki. Then with a sound of displaced air, they were gone. With that, they all began to go their separate ways. Steve rode off on a motorcycle, a smile on his face from a job well done by his standards. Bruce left with Tony in one of Tony's many sports cars. Barton, Natasha, and Nightmare made their way back to S.H.I.E.L.D. HQ in a government sanctioned vehicle, two ready for their next assignment, and one ready to begin helping Fury research the magical side of humanity.
"Hmm, not the ending I anticipated, but I'm sure things will get crazier later on." Discord said, snapping his fingers to clean up the mess he had made.
Uatu nodded. "Indeed. Almost never have I seen a universe in this multiverse in which Stark had not taken the Nuke through that portal, except for a select few. This Alicorn is truly making this universe a wildcard, and I must admit, I'm excited to see what comes next."
"I'm just wondering when the hell the Ancient One will snatch her up. Though maybe she's just waiting for the right time, like she did with me." Strange Supreme said as he rubbed his goatee in thought.
"Yes, but poor Tia is getting worse everyday." Discord said as he made the view pass by, millions of light years away. Then it suddenly stopped on the planet of Equus. The Sun burned brightly and yet the moon… had been completely destroyed. All leftover chunks of it just fell into the sun, turning them into molten rock. "Seems like the moon was too painful for her to look at any longer."
"Why don't you intervene Discord?" Strange Supreme asked.
"One, this chaos is simply too good to pass up, and two, she has obtained an artifact that could strip me of my powers. I dare not let her obtain them." The other two nodded, and continued to watch as the solar monarch continued her descent into madness.