Bruce Banner opened his eyes, finding the bed he laid in to be far too comfortable.
He shot upwards, eyes slowly adjusting to the dark atmosphere he was enveloped within. Luckily, his breathing began to simmer down, as did his heart rate. Thank God. He blinked once, twice, three times and finally took in the nearly pitch black room.
With what little light cracked in through the slightly ajar doorway directly ahead of him, Banner could make out what appeared to be a wall shimmering against the light, acting as a sort of crystal-like substance. Curious, Banner pushed the blanket off of him, adjusted his feet to the side of the bed, and prepared to make his exit.
However, an object resting near the crystal table stand caught his sight, a peculiar, white object that appeared to be clothing sitting folded and neat. A letter was on top of the shirt, as he currently identified. He plucked it off, squinted, and silently read to himself.
“Had this saved after the battle just for you. And even though public nudity is accepted in this world, it’d be best if you showed some decency. After all, you nearly destroyed the town…and you’re sleeping in a princess’ bed.”
Banner sighed, lowering the letter.
“Stark,” he finished with a groan, lifting up his opposite palm to rub his temples. His groaning increased once the message came back to him, building up inside to create a terrible headache, something Banner did not need at the moment.
This world? That’s where the dark vortex had banished them to in the midst of the fall of Novi Grad, a world where public nudity was perfectly normal and princesses ruled? Dear Lord. There were even crystal castles, he presumed, judging by the letter’s mention of a princess. Then again, Stark wrote it.
His ears perked upwards at the sound of voices, possibly coming from behind the door and down the hall, if there even was a hall. He’d have to explore. Standing up, Banner reached for the white shirt and quickly placed it over his bare chest, straightening out the wrinkles as he did so. Just one more thing…
He looked down and made sure he still had pants. Yep. The special microfiber fabric sure came in handy. No shoes, though. Or socks.
Despite the thought of needing shoes, especially since his deductions of a crystal castle were right, he moved on towards the door, pulling it open and exiting the bedroom. Turns out, he was right again! Long, empty hallways, crystal walls that stretched for several yards, and well-designed curtains that flowed every now and then. There must’ve been some kind of draft, but he didn’t feel it.
Just like how he didn’t feel the sharp edges of crystal on the floor. In fact, the floor was like any other type of floor he’d walk on. The coolness of the crystal beneath his toes felt comforting, especially after visions from earlier began to resurface.
He closed his eyes and focused on the voices down the hall. He approached them, making sure to keep his eyes open for any signs of movement. After all, he still didn’t know if the others were with him. For all he knew, he could be stumbling in on some kind of delegation meeting or summit treaty. It was a princess’ castle.
But then he heard it. Tony Stark’s unforgettable voice. Banner groaned and entered to the room on his left.
The exact moment he pushed open that door and entered what appeared to be a library on first glance, every single voice fell silent, and every single eye turned to him. Banner stood awkwardly at the door frame, his hand slowly cascading down the knob until it fell to his side. They were all surprised to see him, just as surprised as he was to see them.
Going green didn’t really mean he had a clear memory. Most of it was all just fuzz or darkness. That’s why he needed his team, the Avengers, to tell him everything he did while he went green, because he needed to know how much damage he caused, how much destruction there was, and how many lives he…
God…
He just tried to focus on the group of watchers in front of him, and he’ll think about that thought later on.
A large table sat in the middle of the library, holding numerous chairs with several bodies. The Iron Man suit lay in shambles across the table while Mjølnir rested near the side. He could already call out his team. Tony Stark, Steve Rogers, Thor, Clint Barton, and Natasha Romanoff were all there. Thor and Steve were standing while Tony, Barton, and Natasha rested on the chairs alongside…multicolored horses.
Maybe he did remember a few things…before he went green. At the hospital, his hand clasped tightly around the throat of what appeared to be a small horse. But he had already lost control then. He had no time to make sense of the situation when it surely would’ve taken a turn for the worst at any given second. But here, now of all times, he could see them.
A violet horse with wings and a horn—an Alicorn, he believed it was called—sat next to Stark, her curious and somewhat worried stare landing onto him. He presumed it to be female, as the numerous, feminine gasps shed some light on that topic. He believed all of them to be female; the white unicorn and the yellow Pegasus sitting on Natasha’s sides, the orange and pink ones sitting together, their backs once faced to Banner, and the rainbow Pegasus hovering a few feet off the ground.
All of their eyes trained on him, all of them worried, suspicious, and angry, especially from the rainbow Pegasus. Oh, and there was a small, reptilian creature sitting next to the Alicorn’s side.
Yeah, he was definitely on another world.
Good God.
Their troubled and judging stares continued on for several seconds. Banner turned to his fellow Avengers for assistance, but they remained silent, possibly to see if he could handle the situation. Hell, he didn’t blame them. If anyone made the biggest first impression, it was him.
Unfortunately, that wasn’t the impression he wanted to make on these…horses? That could be a good icebreaker.
Closing the door behind him, Banner slowly entered the room, cautious on the cold stares he received from some of the equines. He stopped when he felt it was a good enough distance, enough between him and the frightened Pegasus currently cowering in her seat. He cleared his throat, looking around to the group.
And he spoke to them.
“Uh…this is a very beautiful castle. I just woke up no more than a few minutes ago and the interior design was enough to make me pass out again.”
None of them reacted. Stark rested his forehead against his palm.
Stupid.
Banner gave a dry chuckle and licked his lips, turning his attention to the Alicorn. He asked, “So, can I assume that you’re the princess here?”
She nodded, though somewhat unsure of his presence just yet.
Banner nodded in response. “Okay, so…this might come off as a bit awkward, but I can assume you’re all pretty used to that from me by now?” No response, just silence. “Yeah…well… What can I uh…call you?”
After noticing some of the odd looks he received, he quickly clarified, “I mean, what species are you? Are you all horses or—?”
“We’re ‘ponies’ for your information,” the Pegasus with the rainbow mane barked, the venom on her tongue clearly evident as was the fire in her eyes. Banner got the hint, nodding and shifting his eyes down to the small, bipedal reptile.
His eyes grew wide. “Oh! Well, um, I’m Spike, and I’m a dragon!”
Banner forced a smile. He looked to each one of the ponies, and the young dragon. Still no help from the others. He expected that.
“I can take a hint, especially from your Pegasus friend up there,” Banner said, pointing to Rainbow Dash, who only snorted in response, “that you all don’t trust me as of now. Let me just clarify that I have a…condition…that makes me turn into the…what you saw out there whenever I get stressed or angry. I just want to apologize, first of all, for any and all damages I may have caused, and I find myself clearly responsible for those injured by my actions.”
He turned to Twilight. “I don’t expect it, but…it would mean the world to me if you and your friends forgave me, Your Highness.”
Twilight smiled. Those smiles shifted over to some of the other mares, earning a few nods from Applejack and Rarity. Even Fluttershy began to feel a little bit more comfortable, quickly growing accustomed to the man’s calm behavior, just like Barton explained to her. She smiled. It quickly shattered once Rainbow Dash rejoined the conversation.
“You’re right. You shouldn’t expect it because you don’t deserve it!”
Rarity, Twilight, and Pinkie all gasped. Applejack and Fluttershy both turned the Pegasus’ way with questioning stares. Twilight nearly stood up from her seat.
“Rainbow Dash—!” the Alicorn began, but was quickly shut out by Rainbow Dash.
She flew closer, pointing her hoof accusingly at Banner. “How do we know he’s not gonna turn all big and evil again?!”
“I’m not evil.”
Rainbow suddenly turned on Banner, hovering closer every second. Banner stepped away just as she began. “Are you sure? It sure didn’t seem that way when you were hurting and probably killing innocent ponies!”
Banner inevitably dropped his gaze from her, his breathing increasing and heart rate amplifying at the mention of those words. Kill. Innocent. He shook his head, still not meeting her eyes. “No… No, I would never…do that. I just…lost con… I lost control.”
Rainbow snorted, blowing her breath right into Banner’s sweating face. He appeared to be on the edge of tears, but Rainbow didn’t care. Not now. Not for a monster like him.
She shouted, “Losing control doesn’t cut it here, bub! With what you just did, I can expect Princess Celestia and Princess Luna to give you a one-way ticket straight to the pits of—!”
A fist was slammed down onto the crystal table, silencing everything.
“Enough!”
The voice was so strong that Fluttershy shrieked and flew underneath the table, her tail seen quivering beneath the shadow. The ponies, minus Fluttershy, and Spike all turned their eyes over to the source of the disruption. Stark, Rogers, Thor, Barton, and even Banner brought their attention to the black latex fist practically indented within the crystal and the Widow it belonged to.
Making sure to keep the look of surprise etched into Rainbow’s face, Natasha turned her way, brow furrowing in clear anger. “You don’t know him,” she began, causing Dash’s eyes to widen. “You’ve never known him like we do, like I do. You don’t know about his condition, the state he was in, the state we were all in when we nearly fell to our deaths.”
She continued, the eyes of the ponies and Avengers boring into her. “How are you willing to give him the benefit of the doubt after one accident, an accident he had no control over? He said he was sorry, and that he’ll take full responsibility for all the damages, but what from Twilight told me,” Natasha confirmed, riding onto Twilight for agreement, but only receiving a blank stare, “not a single pony was killed.”
Banner let loose one of the biggest breaths of his life. Rainbow Dash seemed to do the same, but still held her conflicting stare to Natasha and Banner.
Natasha, having finally released her anger, turned to Twilight and asked, “Now then, I believe Doctor Banner was expecting a response from you and your friends, Princess?”
Having quickly shaken her head, Twilight nodded and smiled. She said, “Oh, well, yes, of course. Doctor Banner,” she looked over to the scrawny human, who somehow managed to bring his shaking eyes over to her. For a moment, Twilight couldn’t believe this was the same monster that had attacked Ponyville a couple hours ago. The differences between the two were incredible! Yet, for someone who held a green demon inside, Banner still managed to smile when she said it.
“If what Miss Romanoff here said was true, then we really don’t have any more of a reason to be angry or distrustful with you. As long as you’re able to keep control of your anger and that…ahem…‘Hulk’…then I forgive you for all that you’ve caused.”
Twilight coughed into her hoof, blushing a bit. “And I’ll admit…Ponyville’s sort of used to being attacked by a raging monster every now and again. So you crashing in just felt a bit…expected, if you know what I mean.”
Banner sighed happily, chuckling, “I’m just glad to be expected for once. Thank you…for forgiving me.”
Twilight nodded with a gracious smile, her head swiveling over to her friends. Fluttershy slowly rejoined the group, calming her nerves just a tad for what Twilight was expecting out of each and every one of them.
One by one, each mare forgave Banner for his wrongdoings, Pinkie actually hopping up and hugging the man, much to everyone’s surprise. Spike was the last to forgive him before all remaining eyes turned to Rainbow Dash, all of them sharing the same feelings.
Rainbow gritted her teeth and looked the other way, any other way besides where Banner was standing. She bit her lip, closed her eyes tight, and thought of anything except admitting she was wrong. But she couldn’t. Not when she knew Natasha was right. She was right. She didn’t know anything about Banner other than he held something deep down inside of him, something she never really wanted to encounter again.
But Natasha was right. And she was wrong.
With a grumble, Rainbow flew to the ground and muttered, “Yeah…whatever.”
For some reason, Banner found her pouting to be incredibly adorable, but he refrained from saying that out loud lest he get a hoof to the face and she get her skull crushed.
“This is awesome.”
All eyes immediately turned over to Stark leaning back into his chair, an amused grin on his face. He continued, holding out his hand to Banner. “Just…accepting Banner as someone you can trust, especially after everything he’s done, that you’re all willing to give him another chance…it’s touching, really. This sort of thing would’ve never happened on Earth, at least not this easily.”
“Speaking of Earth…” Twilight’s voice countered, earning a groan from Stark, “we have several topics to discuss with all of you.”
Her eyes shifted to each human…and Asgardian, a smile only belonging to Twilight adorning her features. She watched as Banner approached, already beginning to back away once he noticed there were no chairs left. Pinkie, of course, shot out of her chair, offering it to him. He tried to tell her he was fine, but she wouldn’t have any of it, and told him she was fine just standing and that he must be exhausted after his little episode earlier that day. Reluctantly, Banner smiled and thanked her. He sat down, sitting in-between Applejack and Barton. As Pinkie came up between Barton and Banner, Twilight cleared her throat. She expected all eyes to be on her at that point, and was glad that it was so. Some interested, some…not so interested. Mostly Stark.
She started anyways.
“Doctor Banner, I believe a few introductions are in order,” she addressed, pointing to herself and then the rest of her friends. “My name is Twilight Sparkle, but I’m sure you’ve already heard Miss Romanoff say it earlier. These are my closest friends…”
Banner turned to his left. The orange pony tipped her hat to him, smiling as she did so.
“Name’s Applejack, partner,” she held out her hoof, to which Banner shook it with a strong grip. She chuckled, “Ah gotta say, you got one heck of a special power there! Nearly broke mah jaws just tryin’ ta hold ya down!”
Banner gave off a weak laugh, looking down to his interlocking fingers. “Yeah, sorry about that,” he mumbled, to which the mare replied with a soft punch to his shoulder.
“I’m Pinkie Pie!” the pink pony squealed, popping up between both Barton and Banner. Clint nearly fell out of his chair, gripping onto the arrow he held as his gaze settled on her and how uncomfortably close she got to Bruce.
Banner shot over to his right, his neck craning backwards as the mare moved in closer. An awkward grin grew across his lips. She just kept staring, kept smiling, her eyelashes still fluttering. Banner coughed into his palm.
“Um…nice to meet you, Miss Pie,” he held out his hand to her, to which she replied with a powerful hug, one that nearly crushed the man’s spine.
“Pinkie, darling, let the man breathe for Celestia’s sake!” Rarity said, though she couldn’t help but chuckle at Banner’s uncomfortable features. With one more squeeze, Pinkie fell back on her haunches, silently staring up at both Banner and Clint like an obedient dog. Banner, still struggling to feel his backbone, couldn’t help but smile at the adorable scene. Barton tried to figure out how to make his one arrow more visually appealing.
A polite cough caught Bruce’s attention. He looked across the table, noticing the white unicorn that had just practically saved him a trip to spinal therapy.
“Forgive our friend Pinkie Pie. She is certainly a special one,” the unicorn chuckled, to which Pinkie just stared at her blankly across the table. “But where are my manners? My name is Rarity, Mr. Banner. It is a pleasure.”
Banner smiled at her, turning his head over to the yellow Pegasus between Natasha and Barton. Her eyes caught his, a terrified squeak escaping her mouth before she tried to disappear behind her long, pink mane.
Slowly and very quietly, she began, “…Uh…my name’s… Oh, my…um…my name is…is…”
Natasha reached over, gently placing her palm on the Pegasus’ shoulder, to which she flinched at first but quickly began to calm down, her rising chest recovering to average speed. Gulping with one eye visible, the Pegasus looked up to Banner and said, “M-my name’s F-Fluttershy.”
Banner offered her tiny grin. She replied with her own.
“It’s very nice to meet you,” Bruce addressed, turning his eyes over to the near wall. Rainbow Dash was looking at him, but quickly shot her head away, her nose turned up to the air. Banner only chuckled, pointing at her. “I can assume you’re Rainbow Dash…from when I heard your friends yelling your name?”
She only rolled her eyes, nodding once.
Banner then looked back to Twilight, where the young dragon was standing by her chairside. He pointed to him, snapping his fingers. “And you’re…Spike, right?”
Spike nodded in confirmation.
“As you can see, we have all already been acquainted with each other while you were resting, Doctor Banner. So, now we can get down to business. Mr. Stark has…informed me earlier today how he arrived here. Then again, I didn’t know he was part of a team, so is there any other type of details you might have left out…?”
“No, none that I can think of,” Tony mumbled, studying his fingernails.
“Stark,” a voice called out from behind, earning the attention of all the occupants. It was Steve Rogers, his left palm placed over his right with his eyes trained on Tony Stark. He shook his head, saying, “There’s no use hiding it anymore. We’re going to be here a while…and I think it’s best if we don’t keep any secrets from those who were kind enough to take us in.”
Sighing, Tony shook his head and sat forward. But in the end he nodded.
“Fine,” he began, earning a gracious smile from the Alicorn sitting next to him. “But what I told Twilight technically was the truth. I just left out a lot of unimportant details.”
“What exactly did you tell her?” Banner asked, his brow furrowing.
“We all fought over the safety of the world, a world I mentioned as being Earth, and the next thing you know we’re all here in screwed up horsey land,” Tony answered as if it was most obvious thing in the world.
From behind, everyone could hear Thor groan.
Barton looked up from his arrow. “Yeah, you sure did leave out a lot of ‘unimportant’ details.”
“Details like what, if I may ask?” Rarity added in.
Thor shot forward from behind Tony, easily towering over the smaller man while he was sitting down. Tony already tried to interrupt him, but he was drowned out by Thor’s powerful voice.
“We fought for the safety of mankind, so that our actions would determine if they may live in prosperity and peace…or die in a single, earth-shattering event,” Odinson addressed quickly, the falling silence shared amongst all.
“We were so close to failure, so close to losing everything we sought to protect. With my hammer,” he reached forward and plucked Mjølnir off the crystal table, holding out for all to see, “I destroyed the device that would have proved to be the destruction of Earth, and in that aftermath there was…”
“A dark portal,” nearly every Avenger said.
The ponies shot glances from one another, to the humans around them, and finally returned to the mighty Asgardian. The color in his eyes seemed to darken, his gaze falling. He said, “I remember falling to a forest beneath me. I rescued Barton,” Clint turned his way, “and I also managed to save Rogers before he could hit the ground.”
Thor shook his head, placing his hammer down on the table.
“I do not understand how it could have happened, but it did, and we suffered from its consequences. But I have a plan on getting back to Earth, and it requires—”
“We’re not leaving here without Ultron,” Steve declared. “And the twins, and Vision.”
The silence that followed was even worse than before. Twilight’s ears perked higher at the mention of new names, possibly more team members that they haven’t told her about. She drew her gaze over to Captain Rogers, the man still eyeing Thor with darkness in his vision, something Twilight wasn’t really expecting.
Thor sighed, catching everypony’s attention.
“There were numerous casualties, and Ultron could possibly have been one of them.”
“He’s not dead,” Clint Barton mentioned, catching the attention he really didn’t want at the moment. Tony Stark surprisingly nodded in agreement, holding out his hands to Barton.
He said, “Yeah, I mean, come on, if Barton survived then Ultron definitely survived!”
“Dick,” Clint retorted.
Several of the mares flinched, Fluttershy blushing profusely. “Hey!” Stark warned, pointing over to Rogers. “Watch your language…”
The Hawk shook his head, reaching back to place his arrow back in his quiver. He leaned forward and said, “Look, when Fluttershy brought me into her cottage she was immediately attacked afterwards by five Ultron Sentries, each of which contained Ultron’s conscience at one point.”
“That doesn’t mean Ultron is still alive. He could’ve well been using one of those sentries as a last resort,” Banner told him.
“Yeah, but why would he?” Barton argued, turning towards Banner. “Think about it. If he lost his strongest form, then he wouldn’t be trying to attack me with his weaker bodies, and losing in the process. He would’ve most likely hid away in the forest somewhere.”
“Whoa, whoa, whoa! Hold up a sec’! Let’s backtrack here a bit,” Rainbow Dash interrupted, flying over to hover between Barton and Banner. She asked, “Who the hay is Ultron?”
Tony pointed right at her, snapping his fingers. “Yep! Important question! I only answer the important questions, remember?” he said, turning his head over to Twilight who only groaned in response.
“Now then,” he announced, turning his eyes so he faced all in front of him, “Ultron was a peacekeeping program I had in mind after a devastating event back on Earth. Banner over here helped me design, flourish, and kick start the program so that it would be suitable enough to replace the Avengers at one point.”
He paused.
“But…” Natasha egged on, almost expecting the word to fall from Stark’s mouth.
Tony nodded, his face downcast. “But…we misinterpreted the effects of Loki’s scepter and what it had on the level and design the Ultron Program was embedded with. With the added artificial intelligence, we, as mad scientists, created, in essence, a…”
He looked over to Banner, who only sighed when he caught his gaze.
“A murder-bot,” Banner muttered.
“A murder-bot hell-bent on the extinction of humanity,” Steve Rogers added in, stepping closer to the table. He looked towards the equines, noting the worried looks on their faces. He sighed, “Whatever Ultron saw out of humanity, he saw it as something that would destroy itself as time progressed. We’ve been living as a stable race for thousands of years, and while we did have conflicts and wars…we lived on. In peace.”
“That is exactly what Ultron seeks to commandeer, his own twisted version of peace,” Thor commented, his fists clenching in clear anger and frustration. “If what Barton has said is the truth, then Ultron is still a threat, and we must certainly bring him down before this world feels his wrath.”
The Avengers remained silent, having explained all that was needed to say. Rainbow Dash, being speechless, lowered herself to sit next to Pinkie, the pink mare surprisingly quiet. Applejack kept a straight face, Rarity doing the same. Fluttershy quivered at the thought of such a terrifying figure such as Ultron, a monster that was capable of so much damage and destruction.
Twilight, who was still processing all of the acquired information, seemed to not just address Thor, but all of them, all of the Avengers.
“How are you going to stop him?”
Steve Rogers was the one to answer that. It was the best and most logical answer he could’ve thought of, the only one that truly made sense. The only answer they really needed.
“Together.”
“And when he is brought down from our combined strength we shall return to Earth,” Thor told them, catching Twilight’s attention.
The Alicorn began stuttering, and then said, “Well, s-surely we won’t be hearing from Ultron for quite some time, considering how Mr. Barton suggested that he might be in hiding. So, it would be best in all our interests to travel to Canterlot and meet with the Princesses. I’m sure they would love to meet you all. I mean, aliens don’t come by very often—”
“Wait, stop,” Tony interjected, halting Twilight’s sentence and earning a curious gaze from the young princess. “Did you just say…‘Canterlot’?” he pointed out.
Twilight raised a brow. “Y-yes? Is something wrong?”
At that moment Tony Stark began to chuckle, only intensifying Twilight’s confusion. No one fared any better, the ponies, that is. Stark’s team just looked annoyed, driving their heads away from the giggling man.
“Somethin’ wrong with that, partner?” Applejack questioned.
“What?” Tony asked, still chuckling a bit. “Oh! No, it’s nothing.”
And then he said it.
“I was just wondering if Sir…Lancetrot would be greeting us.”
He really said it.
While Tony was struggling to contain a smile, his team didn’t share the same feelings. Steve shook his head. Banner groaned and rubbed his temples. Barton looked away, trying not to smile. Natasha just stared at him. Just stared. Some of the ponies did the same things, Spike included.
“Who?” the mares, Spike, and Thor all asked in unison.
Tony slammed his hand on the table, frightening Fluttershy. “You see? This is why we can’t have fun!” he practically yelled.
“Look, your strange references will have to be saved for later,” Thor said, quickly returning to their earlier conversation before the mention of Ultron. “What is important is that I may have a way to return to Earth after we have detained Ultron, found the twins, as well as Vision.”
Shaking her head, Twilight lifted her head so she could stare into Thor’s facial features.
“How?”
Thor looked down at the Alicorn, smirking.
“Let me show you,” he said with a smile, shifting his eyes over to Mjølnir. His gaze caught Twilight’s attention quite easily, as well as the rest of her friends. Her pondering eyes shifted over to the hammer. With a giddy smile, she looked up at the Asgardian, offering her nervous smile.
Thor caught the smile. “Unless, of course, you would like to show me?”
“May I?”
Thor smirked even greater, gesturing towards the weapon. “By all means,” he offered.
Nodding in return, Twilight brought her focus towards the large hammer, determination burning in her violet irises. With a smile, she reared forward, wrapping her teeth around the hammer’s grip. She yanked upwards, only to nearly snap her neck in the process.
Twilight broke away. “What the…?” she questioned, nearly standing on top of her chair as she planted both hooves into the table, her jaw gripping the handle once more. And once more she pulled with all her might, and once more she failed.
Behind her, Thor chuckled amusingly.
Gritting her teeth in rage, Twilight backed off, her horn charging up to its full extent. The entirety of the weapon was encased in Twilight’s purple aura the moment the Alicorn whipped her neck back, forehead pointed towards the ceiling. She grunted, groaned, and even yelped at times, but the hammer would not move. No matter what she did.
Soon enough, Twilight surrendered, falling back into her chair in defeat.
A rainbow blur stood on top of the table, eyeing the hammer with a new shining glimmer in her eyes. Rainbow Dash smirked, biting down on the handle.
“I wouldn’t expect an egghead like Twilight to lift this thing,” Rainbow mumbled, voice muffled by the handle between her teeth, “but for the strongest mare in Ponyville…it only takes a good…hard…pull!”
She flapped her wings, floating above the table but moving nowhere. Sweat streamed down her forehead, across her clenched eyelids, and fell to the hammer below. She yanked back too hard, causing the Pegasus to fly back and land directly onto Barton’s chest, pushing both of them to the floor in a crumpled heap.
Applejack gave a hearty chuckle. Fluttershy, Rarity and Pinkie didn’t even consider the challenge, just sitting back and watching the others try their work at the weapon.
As Rainbow Dash pushed herself up and off of Barton, she rubbed her forehead, groaning a bit as she stood fully upwards. At that moment, both Rainbow and Twilight’s jaws dropped simultaneously. Applejack merely raised a curious brow, a smile tugging at her lips.
Thor reached forward, plucked Mjølnir off the table like it was nothing, and smiled at them.
“Now, then, let me show you.”
In just a short moment, everyone was outside Twilight’s castle. Everyone. Twilight, Spike, Rarity, Applejack, Rainbow Dash, Pinkie Pie, and Fluttershy all stood next to one another, all of them standing in front of their taller visitors.
Thor led the way, stomping towards the dead road ahead while the others stopped several yards behind him. Tony and Bruce stood side by side, Steve and Natasha standing in-between Clint, all of them with their arms crossed, minus Banner and Rogers. Together, they all stood in silence, pony, dragon, and human.
That silence didn’t last very long.
Thor stopped twenty or so feet in front of the group, his squinted vision glaring up into the bright, afternoon sunlight. Without much hesitation, Thor yelled loud enough for everyone to hear, though it didn’t seem that he addressed them.
“Heimdall, open the Bifrost Bridge now!”
Twilight squinted upwards, struggling to notice what she presumed they were waiting for. The seconds ticked on, Tony looking at a nonexistent watch on his wrist. Backing off a few feet, the Asgardian looked to the ground, and then quickly shot back up, his hammer raised.
“Heimdall! Open the Bifrost!”
Nothing.
Birds were still singing and ponies were still working to rebuild their town.
As time ticked away, Thor lowered his hammer to his side, almost letting gravity take it down to the earth beneath him. His head fell, as did his spirit, as did the hope for finding a way back to the world he swore to protect. Back to…Jane.
He brought up his head once he heard footsteps. He wasn’t surprised to see Stark approach him.
But when he stopped, he gazed up to the bright skylines, gazed up to the withering clouds with his eyes squinted. He shook his head, turning to Thor.
“All-seeing eye, huh?”
He spun around and walked back into the castle. One by one they all joined him, their own hopes falling apart. Misery struck their faces with their shoulders slumped once the realization hit them all. They were trapped there, on another world, while theirs held an unknown fate.
The mares followed suit, Spike as well. Soon, it was just Thor and Twilight, the only two still questioning the situation. Twilight furrowed her brow, turning her curious eyes over to the towering Asgardian, his red cape blowing in the slight breeze.
She approached him, and she could already hear him start to question it.
“I…I-I do not understand,” Thor muttered miserably, shifting his eyes from the sky to his hammer. “How could he not…?”
Twilight stood next to him, resting her hoof on his thigh.
“Well, you look like you could use some answers,” the Princess began, a hopeful glimmer in her stare. “Maybe…we can share something in common…?”
Odinson brought his head down to her, noticing the innocent and hopeful expression as she smiled up at him. Shaking his head, Thor spun around, his cape flicking her nose as he made his way back to the castle, trudging the entire journey.
Twilight rubbed her nose. She watched as he escaped behind the twin castle doors, leaving her all alone outside. She could’ve sworn she saw a pile of dirt resting by the side of her castle, presumably from Spike, but her attention wasn’t fully on that.
She sat there, eyes glistened with confusion.
“What?”