Rainbow Dash sat down. Hard.
Chest heaving in and out, body shaking like a dying tree in the dead of winter, Rainbow Dash wiped her eyes with a foreleg. She knew why they kept burning, she just didn’t want to think about it. But there it was constantly, lying in front of her in a crimson mess, a constant reminder to her failure.
Of how she wasn’t fast enough. Because of her, he was gone.
Not even the strenuous push through Canterlot hurt her as much as the realization constantly plaguing her. As if the crimson mess—that’s all she really could see at that point—wasn’t horrible enough, the throbbing pain in her bones and muscles also provided a helpful reminder. Her teeth, as well, ached from biting down on the young man’s collar.
She dragged his body through the torn and burning streets. She needed to show the others what happened, tell them the absolute truth. It was the least she could do.
Rainbow took what little moment of clarity she had to eye the skies above her. Dark, swirling vortexes of black and red infected the clouds, still blocking out the sun and cutting off all natural sunlight from entering. Towers of smoke rose higher than the tallest buildings in Canterlot, a disheartening darkness still remaining in the city.
Surprisingly enough, nothing changed.
Except…
Rainbow squinted. “Huh?” she muttered, though weakly. She shivered absentmindedly at the sight above her. They looked like airships, but floated oddly, their exteriors covered in some kind of twisted, snake-like force of red. It reminded Dash of Wanda’s magic, the red streams rising even higher than the towers of smoke.
With each stream, they either shot out and struck Ultron’s forces in the sky, or they carried something. Something big, something that definitely wasn’t an airship. She counted ten, then twenty, then so much more. Soon enough, the entire sky was filled with torn bodies and chunks of the city. And surprisingly enough, something did change.
The dark magic suddenly halted. Then vanished. Then everything fell down.
“Oh, you gotta be kidding!” Rainbow huffed under her breath, eyes widening at the sight of the dead bodies and pieces of earth and building crashing back to the ground. A few chunks of street landed dangerously close to her left and right, prompting the Pegasus to get off her rump and act.
Biting down on his shirt collar once more, Rainbow Dash pulled with all of her might, a much-needed burst of adrenaline aiding her. Her wings flapped madly, helping the mare drag his body faster down the street. Each time she grunted, another object would crash, either in the street or in the buildings to her left and right. And each time Rainbow Dash flinched back, tripped over herself, then got back up.
She had no idea where she was going, all she knew was to get out of there as fast as possible. Part of her wanted to just leave the body. She told that part of her to stuff it where the sun didn’t shine.
Dash’s eyes shot open. She saw as a huge section of road and earth impacted the street merely ten feet ahead of her. Smaller pieces broke off and scattered upon the impact, spewing pebbles and smaller rocks onto the mare and the body she pulled. Rainbow flinched, a terrified sweat streaming from her forehead.
That was far too close. She looked up, saw so many more still falling.
So, she pushed on, dragging the young man’s body further and further down the road, but barely getting anywhere that could be qualified as “safe”. Even as she dragged her hooves across the gravel, her wings flapping as hard as they could, an unnatural pain filled her bones, halting her muscles. Rainbow forced whatever mental or physical pain that flooded her out of her system, focusing solely on getting to safety.
She wondered where her friends were, what kind of madness they could’ve gotten themselves into. Maybe Ultron went back for them, maybe the remainder of his army tore them apart, and maybe…just maybe…
Rainbow didn’t believe it for a second. These were her friends for pony’s sake! The mares could get out of any situation unscathed, and with the Avengers by their side it pretty much guaranteed their safety. Still, she couldn’t shake off the horrible feeling that something was amiss. Something never seemed to be right nowadays, and that magic that reminded her so much of Wanda’s spell must’ve had something to do with it.
Wanda…
Rainbow Dash stopped. Chunks of city and road impacted her surroundings, spewing slabs of rock across the street and impacting buildings. Slowly, Dash looked down—ignored the crimson hole beneath the chest—and stopped there. Rivers of red flowed from his chiseled jawbone to his chest, rising higher to meet the blank stare of young Pietro Maximoff.
Staring up at nothing. Never truly watching anything again.
Too far gone.
The infected skies of Wanda’s magic made sense now. Somehow they did, somehow she did. The bond the siblings had was stronger than Dash imagined…
And she had nopony to blame but herself. If she didn’t die in this madness, then Wanda will definitely kill her later.
Perhaps she didn’t have to worry about Wanda after all…
A horrible crash of stone, brick, and glass rained from above. Rainbow shot up her gaze, gasping in fright at the size of the destruction heading right for her. Both the tower and chunk of road crumbled as they collided, the aftermath tipping and casting its shadow over the Pegasus.
Dash instinctively flew out of the way, only to pause and realize what she had done. Quickly flying back, Rainbow snatched Pietro’s shirt collar with her teeth and began to yank backwards. Even though she managed to drag him quicker than usual, it was no use. The destruction was far too large to escape, the shadow growing darker as it fell closer to the street below.
Rainbow’s eyes shifted from Pietro, to the safety of the outside behind her, to the debris falling, and finally back to Pietro. She shut her eyes tight, collar between her teeth, cringing and waiting for the pain to come.
She felt glass hit her back, a few pebbles, but nothing more than that.
Nothing…?
No, it wasn’t nothing. The hot breath on the back of her neck and growl of anger behind her were more than noticeable.
Rainbow Dash opened one eye, the other slowly following. As expected, the dark shadow remained above her head, but only by a few feet. She looked up, astonished to see a portion of the rubble and the building slowly rise up, struggling grunts building behind her. Dash dropped Pietro’s collar, spinning around to see what she expected.
There was Bruce Banner, the Hulk, standing behind her. He roared and lifted the entire building above his head, Dash watching with the wildest expression on her face. He tossed it forward as if it was nothing, all of the rubble crashing into the street ahead of Rainbow into a cloud of dust.
Dash watched the dust cloud. She never was prepared for the swarm of hugs to tackle her.
“Oh, Rainbow! We thought we lost you!” Rarity cried, her hooves wrapped around the struggling Pegasus. The remainder of her friends; Twilight, Applejack, Pinkie, Fluttershy, and Spike all shared in the hug, offering their own testaments to the mare in their grasps.
“Don’t ever scare us like that again, Dashie! I mean it!” Pinkie screamed, Rainbow’s face scrunched between her pink, pudgy hooves.
“Yeah, guys, I missed you too, but—”
“We’re so glad you’re safe!” Fluttershy offered.
“Guys, you gotta—!”
“Mr. Stark!” Twilight called, eyes gleaming at the sight of Tony flying down with Rhodes, Vision, and Thor behind him. They landed feet behind the group of mares, Twilight approaching him. “We found Rainbow Dash. She’s safe. Now, we just need to locate and find the other Maximoff and we’ll be on…”
Tony didn’t even look at her, nor did he acknowledge her presence. He pushed past the Princess of Friendship like she didn’t exist.
“…our…”
Thor, Vision, and Colonel Rhodes followed him, ignoring Twilight. The remaining Avengers; Captain America, Natasha Romanoff, Hulk, Clint Barton, and Sam Wilson all followed without a word. Not one.
“…way.”
Twilight spun around, noticing the unnatural silence had spread not only to the Avengers but her friends, as well. She watched as they all circled a certain area near Rainbow Dash. Curious, though with a haunting shiver racing across her coat at the disheartening silence, Twilight slowly trotted forward, joining everyone.
She pushed through Barton’s legs. Clint set down Maria after she whispered words of assurance to him. She stumbled at first, Clint holding his hand out to her, but she managed to stand in silence.
Everyone seemed to do that now.
Twilight soon found out why. After quickly regrouping with her friends, she stood in-between Shining Armor and Rarity, the two frozen at what lied ahead of him. Eyes bugging, jaw falling, breathing lost. Twilight fell prey to the same fate at the brutal, bloody sight ahead of her. She caught her breath, hoof rising to cover her mouth, eyes burning in realization.
She knew now why Wanda Maximoff had nearly torn Canterlot in half.
She knew why she cried out with such pain in her voice.
She hadn’t noticed him before, but she knew why now.
The Avengers and ponies stared down at what remained. Twilight and her friends, Colonel Rhodes and Sam, all they saw was Pietro Maximoff. The Avengers…
They saw one of their own.
Clint knelt down while everyone else just stared in silence. He pressed his palms onto the young man’s filthy chest, his fingers reaching up to press down on the area just underneath his chin, on his neck. Intently, everyone stared, but not Rainbow. She looked away in shame, a heavy frown plastered to her face.
Barton searched for a pulse but found none.
He brought his bloody hands back, slowly looking up to the Captain. His expression was the hardest of them all, eyes a burning red. Clint’s expression said it all, told the tale, gave the news that no one wanted. He didn’t stop with the Captain just because he knew what happened. He turned to the others, to the mares, at their shell-shocked faces, and slowly stated…
“He’s gone.”
That’s all they needed. A chorus of gasps and cries echoed across the street and torn buildings, every last bit that had risen now fallen, leaving the skies empty. Twilight stood there, slowly looking to Pietro. Then to Rainbow Dash, as if the look in her eyes told her that she needed some sort of explanation. Dash wasn’t even looking at her.
Fluttershy let loose the tears, leaning onto Rainbow for comfort. Dash nuzzled her without even thinking about it, her gaze returning to the young man who had saved her life.
Without even thinking about it, she felt the tears slip down her cheek.
Stark’s expression was unknown behind the mask. That’s why he allowed it to slide backwards, revealing the dried blood on his lip, the bruises on his cheek and forehead, the unknown look in his eyes. Everyone else seemed to share his look, down to the blood and the bruises, all minus the Vision.
Instead, he slowly turned the hurt in his eyes to the heavens. They had cleared, only the darkness remaining. His gaze narrowed. Gently, Vision rose off the earth and abandoned those below him. He vanished into the skies without a word, his destination known only to him.
And the Avengers surrounded their own fallen. None of them said a word. No words were needed for what had happened. No words were needed for the hero. The Avenger.
Not now anyway.
7443465 I mean, this is a MARVEL based work, where characters "die" every other Tuesday and come back less than a week later. You CLEARLY have a hint that she had a way out. And I know, I shouldn't be taking this too seriously, but that trope has been done to death so many times, I can practically see its GHOST everyone it shows up.
7443468 Awesome.
Dead or alive. Never leave an Avenger behind.
7443916 So true.
Is there one body left?
You did what you could, Dashie.
Don't let it consume you Dashie. You couldn't have done anything. Wanda will get the platinum bastard for both of you.
Poor Rainbow, having to see that. At least he went out like a hero.
Starlight (assuming she actually is dead, which may or may not be the case), Pietro, and God only knows how many ponies, not to mention all the lives lost back on Earth. Ultron, you have a lot to answer for.
Damn, really pulling on the old heartstrings here!
Listen too me JDPrime22. You CAN NOT end this story without a funeral for Quicksilver. You also CAN NOT have a funeral for him WITHOUT having at least ONE person singing 'See You Again'!
7443916 Never.
7444473 There's thousands.
7444482 That's all we could have asked of you.
7444528 Definitely.
7444759 And he'll still deny it. He's lost.
7446655 I try my best!
7448698 Well...one of those things are gonna happen in one way or another.
The struggles is realz.
I wish I could be a part of that.
Honestly not much you could have done Dash. He could have honestly taken anyone of you except for the Hulk and Thor. You just happened to be the unlucky one.
As all of Ultron's efforts falls part and there is that sense of doubt in what he wanted (Which I didn't reference in the last chapter, but I didn't forget), all our heroes are torn at the sight of a fallen Avenger. Only now do they understand why Wanda's magic went ballistic, only now do they understand why she was hurting so badly. That even if they hadn't met this young man for long, to lose a friend in the heat of combat is all too difficult and it's not something any pony is used to seeing. But none are more heartbroken than Rainbow Dash, who blames herself for Quicksilver's fall. In the beginning, she felt confident that they can take down Ultron oblivious to the true nature of what this battle will lead into. But to see death before her very eyes and the sacrifice Pietro made to prevent the same fate from happening to her... I'd blame myself too if someone sacrificed themselves for me. There's going to be a ton of PTSD involved after everything that's happened.
Poor Rainbow Dash. Getting kidnapped by Ultron was a lot harder on her then it seemed at first, especially because of Quicksilver’s death. Now everyone else knows about his passing too. They can mourn him later, but first they need to finish Ultron while they have the chance.