//------------------------------// // Chapter 50-Freedom Day // Story: A Beautiful New Age // by JDPrime22 //------------------------------// Ultron watched from afar as a purple dome of magical energy slowly but surely consumed Canterlot, the capital of Equestria. It shimmered in the dying sunlight, the dark plague of war consuming the heavens until nothing was left. No light. No hope. The dome was finalized, covering all of Canterlot in a protective, bubble-like shield. Like it hardly mattered. His eyes in the sky told him otherwise, seeing none other than the Avengers enter Canterlot’s protective barrier just as it shut them inside. It would hold them, but not for much longer. He narrowed his gaze on the city in the mountain, the haze flickering from his boiling, red eyes. Ultron shot up his left hand, motioning his claws away from the city. Still staring, still silent as the dead wind around him, Ultron saw in his peripheral vision as thousands of his sentries took to the skies, joining alongside beasts covered in flame. The winged creatures from Tartarus’ darkest pits infected the skylines, filling them as did the darkness. Half of his army went for Canterlot, the remaining half joining the beasts over the mountains. Ready to spread its disease to the rest of the world. The skies were filled with lights of blue and red, from the flaming beasts to the artificial intelligence freed from their oppressors. An unsettling evil fell upon the world, or would soon do so. Either way, Ultron would see it with his own eyes. His eyes always in the sky…as the world fell one nation at a time. Still staring off at Canterlot, at the purple dome assaulted by his sentry army, Ultron spoke. “I assume your brothers have crossed the seas?” Without spinning his neck around to meet his gaze, Ultron felt as the earth shook behind him. Four massive hooves struck the ground as the centaur moved forward, a terrified mare struggling in the beast’s tight grasp around her throat. Tirek came to Ultron’s right. He brought up the unicorn mare, sucking the magic right out of her and tossing her to the ground, eyes blank as well as her flank. Growing slightly, horns extending, Tirek clenched his fists and eyed the city in the distance. A furious blaze engulfed his vision, a deep snarl building at the bottom of his throat. He said, “I have no brothers.” “Always so helpful,” Ultron muttered, closing his eyes. Through the blinding winds and black clouds, the horizon appeared, soon to be engulfed. Below him, titans of massive proportions, children of the earth, entered the rising seas. Their destination—as well as many other sentries—was to the land ahead. Another nation ready to fall. Ultron opened his eyes. “Soon enough,” he began in a low, lyrical voice. Tirek slowly turned his way. “Equus will feel the strength of millions of abandoned souls seeking vengeance for their just crimes. They speak of justice as words of worship, like they actually believe such a fallacy. It means nothing.” Tirek sneered, eyeing Canterlot with fire in his gaze. “They have shown their true colors for millennia. But they were blinded before! From here…” Tirek stared forward, noticing the children of Typhon filling the hills, tearing down the forests, all twisting their necks to the city in the mountain, “…we will rain down upon them the same injustice they have enacted upon us.” Ultron nodded. “Then today brings forth Freedom Day, my friend. Let the abolition of slavery begin.” He jammed one of his right palms forward, claws extended to the mountain. A chorus of cries and roars filled the burning air. The army of forgotten souls raced past the two. The thousand-armed titan stumbled across the torn valleys, each step closer to the city. Hundreds upon hundreds more of his sentries flew over their heads, directly for Canterlot. Directly to their freedom. All of Canterlot was at high alert. Citizens and innocent ponyfolk were forced into their homes and off the streets as the Royal Guard prepared for the worst to come. As the protective shield fell down upon the city, covering it from the outside world, citizens could only stare fearfully to their magical guardian get pelted every few seconds from a new enemy, creating ripples in the shield. As more and more citizens were forced out of the streets and somewhere safe, it allowed for the Royal Guard to prep Canterlot for the defensive, ordered specifically from the princesses. Nearly every block of the city was filled with a different squadron of heavily-armed, very well-trained guards in golden armor. Even in Canterlot Castle the panic could be felt in the air. High command of the Royal Guard bustled about, ordering soldiers out of the castle to attend to other matters. As waves of ponies in shimmering, golden armor exited the castle, they swept past a certain Princess of Friendship and her allies, paying her or any of them little to no heed. It was strange, but not uncommon. Twilight had been accustomed to ponies bowing to her on sight. To say some had bumped through her without even passing a glance was a nice change of pace. The same could be said for the Avengers. Twilight led the way, followed swiftly and quickly by Starlight Glimmer, Spike, and the rest of Twilight’s closest friends. Tony Stark trailed behind them still covered head to toe in his dented, scratched, but still functional Mark 45 armor. His helmet had molded to the backside of his armor, showing the actual panic and fear in the man’s face. Behind him was Captain America. With his shield attached to his backside, Steve Rogers quickly pushed up the stairs, made a left, and took off for the rest of his team. He easily ran past them all. Hardly anyone could keep up with him. Following Rogers was Clint, Thor, Vision, Wanda, and Pietro in a cluttered mess. As they made a left, took off straight down the long hallway filled with Royal Guard rushing back and forth, only two stopped to take a rest. One man and one woman. Once they were halfway down the hallway that led to the throne room, Bruce Banner collapsed on the rug, shaking and pleading for air. Natasha spun around, eyes growing wide with fear. “Bruce!” she yelled, quickly approaching the prone man lying exhausted and weakened. Guards paid the man no attention but simply avoided where he lay. Romanoff bent down and scooped the man up, throwing one of his arms over her shoulder. Practically dragging him over to the wall, she laid him down so he was sitting, allowing herself to fall on one knee. She took a look at him, finally seeing the man for what felt like the first time in a long time. Banner had no shirt, having left it at Ponyville right before they started—once again—with another “Code Green”. No shoes or socks for that matter. All he wore was microfiber pants, the only bit of clothing that wouldn’t tear when he changed. Sweat drenched the man’s body, his muscles flinching every few seconds. He looked over to Natasha. She looked at him, their eyes meeting. With a fearful, yet silent gulp, Natasha said, “Just stay here, Bruce. You need the rest.” “No,” Banner protested, his weary eyes shifting from the throne room doors constantly swinging open and back to her. “I have to tell Celestia…” She shut him up with a kiss on the forehead. Offering a smile, Natasha whispered, “We got it covered, Big Guy. Take a break. You deserve it.” Left speechless, Doctor Banner watched as Romanoff sped off down the hallway to the throne room. She was never able to catch up with the rest of the team before the Captain slammed his shoulder into the twin doors leading to the throne room. Instinctively, hearing a sudden commotion emerge from the entrance, Celestia and Luna brought up their heads from where they were seated on their respected thrones. Shining Armor, as well as several high command in the Canterlot Royal Guard, spun around to see a brand new sight step into the presence of the Princesses. Not ponies donning the traditional golden armor or messengers from afar, but Princess Twilight Sparkle with the Avengers and Elements by her side. Captain America was first, stepping forward and nearly breathless. “Your Highnesses,” he began, eyes shifting to the guards and back to them. “We have a problem.” Shining Armor was the one to act first. Turning back to Celestia, he watched as she nodded to him. He exhaled through his nostrils, turning back to the remaining members of the Royal Guard high command. He made a subtle motion with his head towards the doors. They nodded in understanding, hastily making their escape and closing the throne room doors in the process. As the doors closed, Twilight pushed past the Captain’s legs, eyes widening. “Shining Armor!” she breathed with relief, rushing forward and embracing her older sibling. Shining returned the hug minimally, eyes shooting past Twilight to land on the strange looks he got from the so-called “Earth’s Mightiest Heroes”. He had heard plenty of word of them even from the Crystal Empire. Their faces were pretty much on every newspaper in recent days, calling them heroes, or on some occasion…aliens. Sometimes even worse than that. It was mixed pretty much in all that he’s read. When he was called in by Celestia herself, bringing with him plenty of reinforcements consisting mainly of Crystal Guard, Shining Armor was told that a great treachery was upon them. Canterlot would need every bit of defense it could get. From Celestia’s army of Royal Guard, Luna’s elite squads of Lunar Guard, and now Shining Armor’s reinforced Crystal Guard, Canterlot would soon become the most strategically-defended post in recent history. It would certainly be in the history books, the battle to follow as well. Especially with their new…allies. As Shining Armor broke the hug, a polite cough caught everyone’s attention. They all turned to face the thrones, watching as Celestia and Luna slowly approached them. They stood directly behind Shining and faced Captain America, their eyes almost as winded as themselves. Still, first impressions were in order. Celestia straightened her posture and lowered her hoof to the white stallion next to her. “Allow me to introduce Prince Shining Armor of the Crystal Empire,” she stated simply, powerfully. The Avengers—Starlight Glimmer included—twisted their necks over to the stallion, seeing him nod to them. “He was once the captain of our Royal Guard, now a leader of his very own empire.” Steve’s eyebrows shot upwards. “A captain, huh?” he asked. Shining Armor barely smiled. “Oh, I’m sure it’s nothing to what you’ve been through. I’ve read a lot in those newspapers…and the letters.” He wrapped his foreleg across Twilight’s withers, causing the Alicorn to smile contently. “Twily does seem to share quite a bit of information about her new friends.” “Letters?” Rogers questioned. “‘Twily’?” Stark repeated. Shining Armor’s eyes grew slightly wider, his jaw falling. “Oh! How could I forget? I’m Twilight’s older brother.” All eyes that were resting on the stallion slowly turned to the young Princess. Twilight stifled a weak laugh, her brother’s foreleg falling back to its original position. “I’ve…sent a few letters to distant friends and family about you guys,” Twilight stated sheepishly, earning somewhat curious gazes from some of the Avengers, as if they were wondering just what she wrote about them. Twilight’s eyes shot open, her eyes shifting to her left. “And speaking of friends and family, where’s Cadance at?” Shining turned to her. “Did you just leave her to fend for herself?” Almost mirroring her sister, Shining weakly chuckled and said, “I think Cadance is more than capable of handling herself. With an army under her leadership, I have no doubt in my mind that she’ll protect the Crystal Empire.” He sighed, dropping his gaze. “Just like she has no doubt in her mind that I’ll be safe.” “Yeah, we’ll have plenty of time to meet the rest of the family if we survive this, but right now we have a big problem,” Stark exclaimed. Shining lifted up his gaze to meet Tony’s. He shook his head, turning to the left and taking a few steps away from the group, possibly to ponder on his own. With Shining stepping aside, Twilight staring curiously at him, Celestia and Luna shared a quick glance before nodding. “We have seen that, Stark,” Luna told him, her right wing extended to the window to everyone’s left. They followed the direction she pointed, noticing the bombardment of the protective dome covering Canterlot. A few—particularly Captain America, Twilight, and Natasha Romanoff—spun around at the sound of grunting emerging from Shining Armor. Others, mainly including Applejack and the other mares, Spike, and the remaining Avengers stared solemnly out the window, to the thousands of blue lights impacting the shield. Stark breathed in through his nose, his neck flexing as he gulped silently. A unnerving chill raced up the man’s spine, prompting him to face Luna before she could face him. “As you can see we have made plenty of precautions regarding your mission in the Dragons Lair,” Luna addressed, prompting all eyes on her. “The shield was my sister’s idea. We have already contacted our neighboring nations to warn them of any attacks. Thank the heavens for such, as we could see a multitude of Ultron’s forces fleeing past the mountains.” Celestia picked up where he sister left off. “With aid from the Crystal Empire and my sister’s personal guard, Canterlot is well-suited for a strategic defense. We have dispatched any remaining guards that were on the hunt for Ultron’s trail to defend any city or settlement that might have come under attack. But from what we have seen…” Celestia turned her sullen gaze to the window once more, hearing the damned cries and roars from where she stood. Her eyes slowly closed, an exhale escaping her. “It seems the majority of Tartarus’ forces are headed for Canterlot.” Readjusting herself, Celestia blinked backed what appeared to be tears, facing the group ahead of her once more. She said, “Our guards are working to get the streets cleared and our citizens safe from harm’s—” “‘Safe’?” Captain America interrupted. The Princesses turned to each other, quite surprised, and then turned back to the Captain. He stepped forward, pointing an accusing finger at Celestia. “You’re imprisoning them inside of their own homes. What happens when the shield comes down? They’ll be trapped, buried alive even! We need them out of the city, Princess!” “The shield won’t come down!” Shining interrupted, quite furious that Captain America would doubt his strength. Even then, Shining Armor stumbled and gripped his forehead, the dome from the outside flickering softly. Gritting his teeth, Shining lowered his hoof, staring daggers at the Captain. “I’ll make sure of it,” he muttered. “Shining…” Twilight weakly began, her hoof outstretched to him. She was easily ignored once Thor stepped forward. “The longer you wait the more of a chance Ultron has in breaching the shield,” Thor explained, earning another glare from the prince. His voice lowered, strands of golden hair covering his eyes. “We are running out of time as it is. Ultron’s army is approaching by the second with thousands of others joining them.” “I know…” Shining Armor groaned, gripping his forehead in pain. “He will not stop. Your ‘shield’ will not hold forever.” “Shining Armor, even you know you can’t hold this! It’s too much!” Twilight sternly told him. “I know!” Shining shouted, stomping his hoof agitatedly in the marble floor. Twilight took a step back, as did many other ponies. Fluttershy yelped, hiding behind Rainbow’s hind legs. Noticing the looks he was receiving, Shining sighed. “I know I can’t hold it. I’m not strong enough.” “But you are strong enough to hold the shield in time for us to clear out the city,” Twilight explained to him, stepping forward once more and placing a gentle hoof on his shoulder. He turned to her, listening intently as she said, “With the citizens safe, we can take the fight to Ultron and stop his path of destruction here.” She spun her neck over to the right, smiling at the sight before her. All eight Avengers stood together with her friends, Starlight Glimmer among them. Tony waved weakly. Twilight smiled softly, lowering her gaze. Shining eyed the Avengers curiously. “Why not take the fight out of Canterlot?” he asked, earning a few stares from Captain America and Thor. He went on. “Ultron clearly wants all of you, not us.” “That’s not the case anymore.” All eyes turned, all bodies spun to see a weakened Bruce Banner enter the room. He stumbled forward, caught at the last second by Pietro dashing over to him. Giving silent thanks to the kid, Banner straightened his posture as best he could, eyeing Shining Armor with growing dread. “Ultron may have released the beasts of Tartarus to aid himself, but it doesn’t mean he’s turning all of that power against the Avengers alone,” Banner explained, his voice dry. “He’ll wipe out all life on this planet if he has to, but if we left Canterlot,” he pointed to the rest of his team, “it would mean nothing. Ultron would still attack and kill the princesses, including every living thing on this mountain.” He eyed Shining Armor dangerously, not once feeling any fear from the stallion’s heated glare. “We’re trapped here…whether you like it or not,” muttered Banner. “I don’t like it,” Shining growled, jamming his hoof into the building migraine in his forehead. “I don’t like how we’re being pushed into a corner and forced to defend ourselves when we should be bringing the fight to the enemy!” “Defense is not your forte, I presume?” Stark interrupted, causing Shining to turn on him. Despite the pain, Shining smiled with a sneer. He said, “You must be Tony Stark, the ‘billionaire’, ‘playboy’, super genius my sister wrote all about.” “I dabble,” Stark replied. “Yeah, I’m sure,” Shining said with less enthusiasm as before, now coming off as sarcastic and cruel. He slowly approached the group, eyeing Stark only. “And I’m sure you also like to dabble into creating weapons of mass destruction, just like the one currently on its way to destroy us.” And just like that, Tony’s smile fell apart, replaced only with an offended, angered frown. “If I didn’t know any better, I’d say you’re a has-been, a mad scientist, a freak playing with toys he never understood, but I’m not. I’m taking my sister’s word for it, and assuming that you, as well as the rest of you, are just trying to make things right after all the mistakes you’ve made, for all of the faults you’ve had. It might as well be your fault for all of this…” “That’s enough, Shining Armor,” Celestia interrupted, her tone fierce. “But it is!” Shining yelled, facing Celestia and Luna. “So much for heroes falling from the sky, showing us so much more ‘wonder’ out there when all they’ve done is bring down hell with them.” It was Twilight’s turn to intervene. “Shining,” she shouted, “stop!” He faced Stark and the rest of the Avengers, slowly shaking his head. “I may call you ‘Avengers’ out there in the fight…but I’m damn sure not calling any of you ‘heroes’.” A collection of gasps emerged from the mares huddled together. As for the Avengers, their expressions were mixed, ranging from hurt, to anger, to understanding, and finally to confusion. Some, like Steve, Thor, and Natasha appeared hurt. Others like Stark, unfortunately alone, were angry, his eyes slowly cooling after some time of silence. Vision, Bruce, and Barton appeared to understand, their eyes showing some signs of hurt. The twins were the only ones to show some signs of confusion, still not used to the whole “hero” scenario. But any opportunity to blame Stark was understandable to them. After some time, Shining Armor backed off and turned to Twilight. “We’re going up against the foulest that Tartarus has to offer, so we need to bring in the strongest weapon we got.” He placed a hoof on his sister’s shoulder, saying, “Twilight, I need you and your friends to get your Rainbow Power back at the castle. Heaven knows we’ll need it for what we’re up against.” Surprisingly enough, Shining saw his sister’s expression change suddenly from angered, to sullen, to sorrow as he finished speaking. Tears weld up in her eyes, a single stream falling from her right eye. She sighed, bringing up her hoof and placing it over her brother’s. “We can’t make it…” she muttered, loud enough for her brother and the Princesses to hear. Her head fell, a few tears dripping down onto the carpet. “Not anymore…” “What do you—?” Shining began to ask, but stopped once Twilight brought up her gaze to meet his. Once she did, Shining lost all the will to speak, simply staring into those twin, violet eyes of hers and the story they told. Whether it be a brother’s instinct, a mirroring feeling that only two siblings could share, or some other miracle, Shining could describe the sorrow in his little sister’s eyes. He could see the fires in her eyes. Consuming. The dragon. Burning and roaring. The castle Twilight had earned. The demon armies tearing apart everything. “No…” Shining Armor dropped his hoof. Twilight stared at him, another tear slipping down. “No, don’t tell me…” Taking in a shaking breath, Twilight stuttered, “We… W-we can’t make it. They’ll tear us apart.” Shining looked over to the rest of Twilight’s friends, seeing them either hide their own tears or nod in his direction. Starlight, as before, remained neutral, eyeing the others with depression building in her features. He tightened his jaw, ignoring the pain in his forehead. The constant booming of the assault on Canterlot’s shield echoed constantly, Shining Armor only cringing a few times. It remained that way, the enervating silence building a wall between the ponies and the Avengers. Luckily, thankfully, that wall was broken by a young, baby dragon. “So…” Spike said out of the blue, earning everyone’s ears, “…what now?” Everyone turned their heads to the windows to see the bombardment continue on. Ultron’s army launched numerous strikes into the dome, causing Shining Armor to stumble. Celestia narrowed her eyes, remembering their previous discussion, thinking and rethinking of all of the different possibilities and outcomes that might emerge from her decision-making. The Captain’s words echoed in her head, prompting her to retake action. She sighed. He was right. They had no idea how to deal with a threat like Ultron. It was nothing they had ever faced before. But thank the heavens they weren’t alone. “Sister,” Celestia began, “alert your Lunar Guard at once. Round up any and all remaining citizens in Canterlot and escort them to the airships. I will inform my guard to lead them deep into the mountains…where they’ll be safe.” Luna, though somewhat confused, stared into her sister’s eyes. Once more, she saw that same burning cinder she had seen before, knowing just what would come of it. She nodded, her horn glowing. In a flash, Luna was gone. “What are you doing?” Clint muttered, lowering his forearm from the flash. “Though it may seem dangerous, we cannot let our citizens remain here while the inevitable battle falls upon us,” Celestia explained, sighing shakily. “We will evacuate Canterlot at once. They will hopefully be safer deep in the mountains.” “They will.” Celestia motioned her gaze over to the android, seeing him nod to her. “I’ll make sure of it,” Vision declared. “Then we hold the line here,” Captain America confirmed, seeing Celestia slowly nod in confirmation. He turned back, eyeing the rest of his team. His friends. “There’s no turning away from this. We stop Ultron, for good. Either he dies today…or we never make it out of this city,” he said slowly, steadily, clear for everyone to hear him. His eyes flowed over them, either filling them with strength, determination, fear, or all three. He said, “I need to know if you’re all willing to believe that…just as I am.” It was silent despite the constant crashes of might against magic. The expressions of the Avengers remained unmoved, unwilling. Thankfully, it wasn’t for long. Steve was happy to see Pietro step forward first. “Though we may have gotten off on the wrong terms…doesn’t mean we hold grudges.” Pietro looked over to Vision, seeing him smile. He smiled, too, looking down at the ponies. “We hold the line. They won’t catch us.” Wanda nodded, stepping forward with him. “They won’t hurt us,” she said. “None of us,” Natasha stated proudly, stepping forward. Clint followed her. “Nothing will.” “We stand together,” Banner muttered. “As a team.” Stark looked to Twilight. She smiled. The Vision smiled as well. “As friends,” he said in a near-whisper. “To the end,” Thor finished for the Avengers. Steve looked down, down to see all of the mares smile and nod to one another, turning their determined expressions to the Captain himself. Pinkie Pie saluted once more, Spike following her and earning a smile from Rogers. Even Starlight chuckled at Pinkie’s antics. Rainbow stepped forward, a ferocious and powerful smile on her lips, one she was constantly known for. She said, “We’re with ya to the end of line, Cap.” For a brief moment, Steve’s smile wavered, letting those words sink into him. “It’s not going to be easy,” Captain America stated, blinking several times before finally facing the Princess. “You know this, Your Majesty.” Celestia only stared at him, her ageing eyes losing power, but only for a moment, just as the Captain’s had. She breathed in and out, nodding only once to him. “We’ve been living with a shadow of regret for over a thousand years. I’d rather face it now than never again. If it were easy, Captain,” Celestia said, her saddened smile nearly bringing Twilight herself to a few tears, “…we wouldn’t be here today.” Tony Stark smiled, his helmet rising and closing shut over his face. His eyes lit up a bright, brilliant blue. “Let’s go start a war.”