//------------------------------// // Chapter 5 // Story: My Little Avengers: Equestria's Mightiest Heroes // by Starkvenger //------------------------------// ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ The sun had begun to set in Ponyville, the sky becoming a vividly warm orange that was peppered with fluffy pink and golden clouds. The sight was beautiful, true, but the Avengers had no time to reflect on this beauty, what with more urgent matters at hoof. The sunset meant they had limited amount of light left to search for the god that had escaped their grasp, and the disgruntled group had no clue where to begin. Not to mention the fact that around them civilian ponies were injured and most of the buildings that made up the small town had been completely or partially destroyed in the fires. "Tony, you and Thor go look around for Loki. The rest of us can't fly, so do an aerial sweep of the town and report back to me. Clint, Natasha, myself and Banner will remain here and assist in helping the wounded. Avengers....Go!" Steve commanded, taking his shield off his forearm with his mouth and putting it on his back. Stark and Thor nodded in agreement, and, after a moment, took off to the skies to search for the missing god. "I'll take north, you go south," Tony said, his wings flapping gracefully as Thor did the same beside him. The blonde nodded and flew in the opposite direction of Tony. The billionaire adjusted himself and turned the other way, eyes carefully scanning the ground for any glint of gold or jade green fabric. The light was fading quickly, and Ponyville was surprisingly large when viewed overhead. He'd spent at least forty minutes scanning the ground before he could barely see his muzzle in from of his face. "Damnit..." he muttered, making a sharp turn and heading back to the fountain where they had grouped at. He landed with a thud on the soft earth near a pile of blackened wooden beams and ash, coughing as the dust was kicked up into the air. Thor landed shortly after, walking up to him with a confused look on his face. "I was unsuccessful in searching the entire village, but perhaps you have had better luck than I, friend Stark?" he asked. Tony shook his head, looking around for their teammates. "No, but- hey, where is everybody?" he asked aloud. The thunder god furrowed his brow, looking around himself. "I am not sure. Perhaps they have retreated back to Lady Twilight's home?" The billionaire signed, and if he were able to, would have pinched the bridge of his nose. "Yea, probably. Let's check there first," he said, starting off in the direction of the massive oak tree-turned-living space. When the pair arrived, Tony noticed that light poured out of the windows of the trunk, and bodies would be seen moving inside. "Thor, I think they're in there." the genius said with a sigh, his hooves aching after walking for so long. He put his hoof up to open the door when a loud crash could be heard, putting the colt on alert. "What the hell..." he muttered to himself, Thor 's figure going rigid as well. Tony stepped back, nudging his head towards the backyard. The Asgardian took the hint and moved quietly towards the back fence while Tony got down low and close to the side window. He poked his head up a small bit, only enough to see part of the living room, which was a complete mess by the way. From what he could see, there was a light purple pony lying on the ground which he knew was Clint, and kneeling (crouching, really) beside him was a mare with a faded red coat, Natasha. She had been checking him for wounds, fury burning in her eyes as she looked up as something Tony couldn't see. Then he saw a navy blue blur run by the window, His mind instantly recognizing it as Rogers. His forearm was bruised and he had blood trickling down his cheek, but his jaw was set as he too glared at something Tony couldn't see. Bruce was nowhere to be found, as was Twilight, so the billionaire hoped the scientist was with her at least. Tony found this was as good a time as ever to attack, his curiosity getting the better of him. He flapped his wings and hovered in front to the door, opening it suddenly and launching himself at the thing his friends had been facing. Tony crashed into a mess of fur, sending both him and whoever he'd barreled into the farthest wall. The pegasus groaned, landing on the ground with a thud. "Remind...." he muttered, shaking his head. "Remind me never to do that again..." The billionaire lifted his head to get a look at what exactly he'd managed to attack, eyes widening at the tall, gray creature, his brow furrowing in confusion. Tony had no clue what this thing was because it looked like a lot of things smushed into one. At first glance, Tony saw that the creature had a long, slender body that curled to make an 'S' shape. It was male, based on the muscle structure, and he stood on two crooked legs, one, a light green scaley lizard's leg that hooked into claws at the heel and toes, and the other, a tan, course hair-covered goat's leg. The brown fur that the legs connected to changed to scales as the tail went on, and curled into a furry tip. If Tony didn't know any better, he'd have said it was a snake's tail. The creature's slender body rose to about 4 and a half feet, at which two arms, one side, an eagle's sharp talons coming out to a point as sharp as razors, and on the other side, a massive furry lion's paw, it's claws barely hiding beneath the surface. On the back of the creature were a pair of wings, one, light blue feathered pegasus wing, and the other, a dark, almost midnight blue shade, bat's wing. Tony continued looking up, the fur at about 5 feet changing to a softer, less coarse gray color. It snaked up a bit and curved into what looked like a pony's head, with a long trail of jet black hair that ran down his neck to make a mane. Two horns protruded out of the creature's head, one which was a bleached white buck antler, while the other was a curved goat's horn. The creature had his arms crossed and was staring at him with an incredulous look, his mismatched yellowed eyes narrowed at the colts. "Now, if you're finished?" the creature, a draconicus Tony guessed, asked, and took a seat in the air. He snapped his fingers-- er, claws, and the wounds on Clint and Steve disappeared. "Looks like I've come at a bad time. Tell Twilight that I met a new friend today and he seems to get my....style." the creature said, a small toothless crocodile appearing out of thin air and scraped across the animal's claws. "Hold on a second!" Steve interjected, holding his shield defensively. "Just who are you, exactly?" he asked. The draconicus paused, snapping his claws again and making the crocodile disappear once again. "Right. The name is Discord, Lord of chaos!" the creature said, lightning flashing in the background, despite it being a clear night outside. "And I-" he said, disappearing only to re-appear next to Natasha and pick up Clint. "--simply came to talk to Ponyville's resident Princess." Discord raised a furry white brow and plucked the archer's bow off his back. "This is a strange bow, how do you..." he plucked the weapon, shrugging and tossing it back to the unicorn. Clint glared at him, hugging the item protectively. Steve took a step forward, his face set. "If you simply came to chat like you say, then why did you attack us?" Discord's head went back for a moment, before his disappeared again and appeared in the same spot, only with Steve's shield in his hands. "Interesting..." he muttered, staring at the weapon. He eyed it, then licked it, making Steve's eyes go wide. "HEY!!" he growled, launching himslef at the draconicus. "Give that back!" he yelled angrily. Discord floated a bit higher, just out of the blue colt's reach. "Now now, patience is a virtue, haven't you ever heard that saying?" he asked with a crooked smile. "Anywho..." the creature started, dropping the disk on the floor. "You barbarians attacked me first, so it's not my fault," he said simply. "Well." Discord said, clapping his paws together and rubbing them, "I've got to go, but tell Twilight my message, Thanks!!" And with that, the draconicus disappeared in a puff of pink smoke, leaving the room smelling of green apples. The colts, (and Natasha) coughed, waving the smoke away from their muzzles. "This place just keeps getting stranger each minute..." Clint muttered, slinging his bow over his shoulder. "Wait, why did that thing call Twilight a princess?" Tony asked, picking himself up off the floor. "I mean, judging by what we've seen so far, Royalty is measured by whether or not you got both wings and a horn, like Point-break." As he said this, the god chose that moment to come in the back door. "Did Twi have wings?" he asked, trying to think back to when he'd see the purple mare. The group had confused faces, some shaking their heads. "Huh." Tony said, picking up Steve's shield and handing it to him. "Well, let's go see then." the pegasus concluded, turning to face where he believed Twilight and Bruce were hiding out. To Be Continued....