Chapter 12 - One Month Later
One Month Later
Upstate New York
New Avengers Facility, Hallways
3:15 p.m.
He couldn’t believe it had already been a month since Lagos. It felt like only yesterday he had stepped out of the Avengers Quinjet and saw them battered, bruised, shaken to the core, but well alive. All alive. In victory, and with Twilight in the hooves of her best friends. All safe.
Then he saw the burning building, the grim expressions from everypony, everyone, Starlight and Wanda especially. He hadn’t known what had happened, at least not yet. After the rundown from Rogers, he could understand, and couldn’t believe half of it. How Starlight, such a talented, strong, and powerful unicorn had experienced such horrors, and whether or not it was her fault.
Stark couldn’t fathom what Wanda must have been going through.
But they were safe. Through the storm, they found their calming waves. Twilight’s system was cleaned of the drugs, she was given time to recover with friends, relaxation, and long, long days trying to ignore the press and focus on personal matters. In just a couple weeks, Twilight Sparkle everyone had known and loved was feeling as right as rain. Every now and then Stark would see that smile grace her features, the same smile he had grown accustom to.
Things really began to calm down after that. Threats from any other terrorist were nonexistent. Every news station in America was filled to the brim with material, what with the attack in Washington, the devastation at Lagos, and what the Avengers planned to respond with. The Avengers hardly did. Once Stark had left, Steve had said that everything would be figured out soon. He prayed, at least. Stark wished he still could.
It had been roughly a week since he’d spoken with them, any of them. His trip to MIT a couple weeks back hadn’t ended as well as he had wished. He had left that university a little more broken than he had arrived. He had tried to take his mind off the Avengers, off all the work he had done in the past, off everything. And yet he was still reminded again and again.
Sokovia. The men, women, and children who’d lost their lives. Pepper.
All because of him.
But then again, those times were behind them. Those were the calming waves. It wouldn’t be long before the remainder of that storm followed through. And it did. Their special guest for the evening, the Secretary of State, wished to speak with them concerning the events of Lagos.
Concerning everything.
Another headache began to form in his skull the moment Stark had reached the guest room where Twilight was. Nopony else were in any of their respective rooms, and they weren’t present in the conference room where they were meeting, or any of the other conference rooms for that matter. It all narrowed down to the last room he hadn’t checked. The hushed whispers from within were also a defining indicator.
He knocked twice, heard a faint “come in”, then opened the door.
There they were. Twilight and Starlight rested on the bed, Applejack, Rarity, Pinkie, Fluttershy, and Spike surrounding them on the carpet. Rainbow Dash, naturally, hovered above all of her friends, her eyes turning to the man entering the room.
It may have been a week or two since he had seen them, and they hadn’t changed much. Same defining qualities, stressed Twilight with comforting friends assuring her of the easement they’d face as long as they were together. All that jazz.
Tony sighed, pointing behind him. “It’s been a long day, girls, for all of this. Let’s get whatever we’ve got to do over with. The sooner we do… the sooner he leaves.”
He couldn’t have made it any more hopeful for them. As if they had been sent to their death, each of their mares offered their own goodbye to the disgruntled princess and her equally worried student. They turned around, and in an orderly fashion, exited the guest room. Leading them was Applejack, followed by Rainbow Dash, then Rarity, Pinkie, Fluttershy, and Spike.
Tony stuck his head back and watched them walk down the hall. “Find Rogers!” he called, some turning their heads back. “He’ll tell you where to go!”
He saw them nod and continue on their way. Not a word. He didn’t expect any.
Instead, Stark brought his attention back into the poorly-lit room, back to the two mares who had yet to make some form of movement. He didn’t blame them. Long, hard day, pressures from the media and the U.S. government, constant reminders of past mistakes, all coming down to what the Secretary of State had to say about it.
It sucked, it really did. Still, they had to do it.
Twilight laid her hoof gently on Starlight’s shoulder, the unicorn trying desperately to regulate her breathing. She had been dreading this day ever since Lagos, where her mistakes were finally going to come back and bite her. Oh, Celestia, she deserved it. She deserved every bit of it. So many innocent people dead because of her foolish decision-making. She wouldn’t blame the Secretary of State to warrant for her arrest the moment she stepped in that conference room.
Twilight’s hoof pressed harder onto her shoulder. Starlight closed her eyes.
“Come on…” Twilight whispered to her. Tony leaned against the doorframe, crossing his arms. Starlight didn’t move, her breathing increasing. Twilight pressed on. “We face it together,” she finished.
After a moment between the two, Starlight eventually gave in, nodding. She hopped off the bed and slowly made her way to the exit. Behind her, Twilight said, “I’ll meet you shortly, Starlight.”
Starlight nodded back to her, stopping just by the exit right where Stark stood. She glanced at him. Tony stared at Twilight, but asking Starlight, “You doing alright?”
No sass. No snarky attitude. Just a simple question. Starlight exhaled greatly, something she had learned from Twilight, and said, “I’m… I’m fine. I’m just… How am I going to go about this?” Tony looked at her. “Are they going to address what I did?”
“They’re gonna address a lot of things,” Tony answered.
Starlight looked away, blinking hard. “Do… Do I tell them that it was a mistake? I-I tried to hold it, I really did! If we didn’t get rid of the bomb it would’ve killed Steve, Rainbow, all of those civilians!” She sighed. “I guess it doesn’t matter. People would have died regardless of what happened… because of me.”
“Hey, look at me,” Tony sternly stated, stepping forward from the doorframe to stand closer to Starlight. The unicorn obeyed, a terrified quiver in her eyes, an uncertain expression etched in her face. Stark pointed at her, saying, “None of that was your fault. You had little to no control over what happened, you were thrust into a situation where you had to act on instinct, and you did what you did to protect your friends.”
“But… people still died—!”
“Do not put that guilt on you,” Tony growled, causing Starlight to back away. He relaxed, closed his eyes, and exhaled gently through his nose. Rough at first, then slow and steady. “You had no idea people were in that building, neither did Wanda. You’re gonna tell them that, apologize for everything that had happened, and tell them you were only looking out for the Captain and your friend. Okay?”
She absorbed his words carefully, staring at the floor. Eventually, she nodded, looking back to meet Stark’s gaze. He nodded too, holding his hand out to the hall. “Speaking of which, go on and find Cap. He’ll tell you where to go.”
“Alright.”
“We’ll meet you there, Star,” Tony called to the unicorn. She didn’t respond, nor did she look back. Stark stared at her a moment longer before he retreated into the guest room, right where Twilight still sat.
She seemed fine. Shaken, but still capable. Though her mane was a tad in shambles despite Rarity’s earlier attempts to fix her up, the Alicorn didn’t seem to mind. Stark didn’t either. He sat right next to her, clapping his hands once before letting them fall between his legs. Twilight didn’t move. She stared on ahead, barely breathing.
Barely doing much of anything.
“How you holding up?” Tony asked.
Small talk was good. Always good. Twilight shook her head. “I should’ve jumped off that stage.”
Tony leaned his neck back, fully facing the princess. She continued. “I should’ve found my friends before the tear gas swarmed the crowd. I should’ve stayed with them. I should’ve done a lot of things. So much could have been prevented if I just…”
She stopped talking after that. Stark nodded. “I should’ve stopped them from taking you,” he added, breaking the silence, “but I didn’t. I messed up. I didn’t react in time, and I paid for it.”
Twilight looked to her hooves, then back to the floor. She muttered, “It’s not Starlight’s fault. I try to keep telling her that.”
“I know.”
“It’s my fault.”
Tony blinked, kept his gaze locked on the Alicorn. “Twi—” he began.
“All those people dead… because of Rumlow and what he wanted,” Twilight interrupted, prompting Stark’s silence. She shook her head, then finally turned to face him. “Do you know what he wanted? He wanted me.”
She sighed, facing away again. She could feel Stark’s eyes peering into her. “I could remember waking up the first time. I could barely see in that dark warehouse, but I could hear. Clearly. Seeing them… those animals actually cheer and celebrate over what they did in Washington. I tried to fight back, I tried to do anything, really, but my body wouldn’t let me. The tranquilizer was still fresh in my system. Next thing I know they’re injecting me again, Cross... Rumlow actually saying everything was going to be alright.”
She actually exhaled, almost making it seem like a scoff. “For him, he said.”
“It’s not your fault.”
“Really?” Twilight asked, her voice cracking. She spun fully to face him head-on, now visibly crying. “He threatened the lives of so many innocent people—my friends being a few of them—he killed over a hundred, and all of it just to get to me. Washington, Lagos, and who knows how many other places he would’ve struck if he still had…”
Her hooves were pressed against her chest, right over her heart. They slowly fell to the bed, her eyes doing the same. Stark watched her, watched as she wept and mourned. He watched until he couldn’t any longer. He grabbed the bottom of her chin, gently but sternly, and brought her eyes back up to meet his.
He said, “You were a hostage, Twilight. I don’t know if you have hostage situations that much in Equestria, but here on Earth that crap happens every other day. And it is never… ever… the victim’s fault.”
Stark broke away after that, standing up off the bed. Twilight followed him with her eyes, her foreleg rising to wipe each one. Tony rubbed his face, mumbling something to himself. He turned to her and said, “Look… what happened in Washington or Lagos is something we can’t change. We’re gonna have to pay for it one way or another. This is life, Twi. It doesn’t matter if we’re on Earth, Equestria, Asgard, or some other godforsaken dimension.”
Twilight looked away, sniffing loudly, rubbing her nose. Tony shook his head. “We make mistakes, and they come back to bite us in the ass. And honestly… this affects the Avengers more than you or your friends.”
Whether that statement was meant to ease her worries or do something else, Twilight hadn’t acknowledged it well. After a short pause, she sighed, and said, “I just… I just hoped… Earth would be different.”
“I’d be lying if I said I hadn’t hoped for the same thing.” Twilight looked to him, saw him offer some kind of smile. She saw it crumble. “But there’s always evil, Twilight. No matter how many miles you’re away from home, no matter how much you believe you left it all behind. Humanity has done some pretty shitty things for as long as we’ve been alive, and yet we haven’t blown ourselves up. So, don’t lose hope… at least not yet.”
After breathing in the man’s words, Twilight stopped, then thought twice about what he said. “What do you mean by that?” Twilight asked.
Stark looked down, his hands falling into his pockets. He sighed. Kind of defeated, kind of worn. A little of both. He said, “While Lagos was mainly an Avengers mission… your friends were still involved. Let’s just say the Secretary of State, Thaddeus Ross, has been eager to speak with Steve, Wanda… and your student on what exactly happened.”
He stepped aside from the exit. Twilight sighed alongside him. Kind of defeated, mostly worn. She approached and exited her room. “That’s what I’ve been afraid of.”
Tony closed the door behind her. “You and me both.”
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And believe it. They are not going to like what he has to say.
And so it begins.
I sure like these friendship bonding moments, through hardship.
They will need each other's support. Sadly they won't stay together for long...
I can't wait to read the meeting with Mr "I wanted to make an army of Hulks" Ross.
Wonderful chapter again!
Well done
Definitely liked seeing Stark's soft side and if it makes you feel better this was different then what I thought would happen compared with the previous chapter.
Time to see how the mares react to the Avengers previous endeavors from the first Avenger movie to now and of course the Accords and how it starts to tear the Avengers apart and of course Stark's guilt concerning his little confrontation at MIT.
Can't wait!
Thunderbolt is an asswipe.
I have words from a whole family of deities and their boss from a dimension of reality pretty far from Equus and Earth that I'd like to relay on their behalf that it would somehow reach everyone in this dimension;
They certainly know what they're doing, and the boss sees every single future out there, even the almost-impossible unlikely ones. So it is pretty clear that despite the intentions of the world leaders, they're just asking for trouble, and asking for the Sokovian Accords to bite them in the @$$ HARD!!!
7858273 Agreed, I hope in the MCU the Sokovian Accords backfire so badly that they are lifted forever and no appeals are made for a 2.0 version to come, and if they do, it backfires as well, to a point where the world would be like; "Nope! Not worth it! Backfired once, shame on us. Backfired twice, we're not doing this again!"
Any agree on this?
I'm still pissed Rumlow is gone this early. Oh well, guess he got the last laugh after all.
Hail Hydra.
785820
Do you mean Stank?
This needs to be said a lot more.
Dear Ross: Enclosed, please go fuck yourself.
Here comes the fatal division that we all have been dreading. Time for everyone to take sides, ponies and all. I cant wait to see whats next!!!!
In all honesty, the Sokovia Accords hold less weight here then in the canon movie. Already, the terrorist organization has killed hundreds more people in bigger quantities then this incident as well they had captured an important figure in an alien country. The deaths of the civilians were terrible, but they don't have nearly as bad of an impact when you consider what the other side have done.
If they pin this on the Avengers, they can't be as severe.
If they try and blame the ponies, they would threaten a new peace between the nations. I think the world leaders would be smart enough not to press the ponies. I can see them trying the same to the Avengers, but not to a potential ally and a species they don't fully understand.
Linkara said it best, "Despite what Vision claimed in the movie version of the comic, the rise of superpowered beings did not mean the escalation of damage. The Chitauri were going to invade whether there were superhumans or not. Hydra would still've been a thing, etc. People like the Avengers are not trying to cause problems, their presence does not automatically mean there will be collateral damage. They're a response to the rising threats." Even with the elements of harmony now involved, it does not change this fact. No one can predict how much damage will be caused, but with out them, things would still be 100 times worse.
Ross is so gonna be an Asshole in the next page, as he always was when hunting Hulk
I have just realized something
I REALLY need to stop posting comments right after I have just woken up AND I need to start proofreading through them
Woah wait a minute. Are people going to start listening to Tony's PR skills and get through this like rational human beings and equines? Because that would not only save so much heartache but could be used in classrooms to teach what "AU" means.
So, General Ross is here. I imagine the Equestrians are not gonna like what they hear, especially with the Accords being brought up. I wonder what role they have as inter dimensional ambassadors in it.
Though someone should remind Ross of a certain abombination that was let loose in Harlem and he needed the Hulk stop him.
Oh and someone else should bring up the vigilantes in New York stopping large crime lords and superpowered mind-controllers and without them people like Kilgrave would've caused more damage.
7857851 No one's gonna like it.
7858099 Thank you!
7858230 Originality is NOT dead, I say!
Stay tuned!
7858339 Everything's gonna change after Infinity War. That includes the Accords in some way.
7858483 Ross be stealin' yo rights, be stealin' yo girl. He steals a lot.
7858558 It's gonna be a rough one! Stay tuned!
7858686 Then again, let's not forget about Sokovia, or any of the other previous incidents that occurred with the Avengers' involvement. Not that I blame the Avengers, but in the sake of reasoning for Ross and the government.
7860154 Yet, those are probably seen as street crimes, as it occurs in relatively small pockets of areas. It doesn't affect as much people as the Avengers do.
7860660 That's very true, but there's something the movie seemed to skip out on. Sokovia was Tony's fault. He was the one who went paranoid. Yes, that was pushed by Wanda, but it was he who did it. At least Banner owned up to the mistake. As well, Ross is lucky Banner wasn't there since Ross MADE HIM THE HULK! Nor should we forget that those nukes would have killed millions, which the Avengers saved. While the stuff the Avengers did cost lives, they saved more so. It's just that I felt that Ross did deserve someone to throw it in his face.
Again, I know the other leaders will have grievances but I think the US president would be lenient {especially since they saved him}.
7860743 Yeah, I guess that's true. Since this story is kinda following the same basic story as Civil War, it's gonna have the same basic conflict with a lot of new stuff I get to throw in (characters, interactions, conflicts, etc.).
But hey, I guess HISHE was right. They should have renamed it the "Tony Accords".
Well, after reading the first story and what you've posted so far for this one, I really like where this is going so far! The story before this one was REALLY good! You still told the story of Ultron going up against the Avengers, but with new content that made for a more deep and telling story. The inclusion of Twilight and her friends is certainly an interesting development in wondering how different would events from the movie occur.
I'm also not going to be liking Ross showing up and being an ass munch about everything. I didn't like him in the movie, and I'm sure as heck not going to like him here either. I'm interested in seeing the potential to maybe include other superheroes like Daredevil into the mix. Judging by your little inclusion/cameo at the beginning of the story, I'd say that it's highly likely.
Awesome work so far, you've gained yourself another follower of this cool story, and I look forward to the next update.
~ Super-Brony12
7862736 Thanks a ton! I hope you enjoy the story!
I'm saying it from my heart when I'm saying that it's so hard to find quality stuff like this. Everywhere is filled with the same damn human-in-equestria crap that brings nothing interesting to the table. Awesome to find some stories that brings you a smile when you remember it. Amazing work.
7864643
Human-to-Equestria is indeed overused, and too often coupled with self-insert and "I was disguised as Whoever in a cosplay when!"...
Equestrians-to-Earth (and/or other worlds) are too rare, yet we see excellent fanfics on that more original theme.
7864643 Awesome! I'm so glad you enjoyed it so far! Stay tuned!
7864691 - Yup. I honestly don't mind originality a lot as long as it isn't the same as every single other story out there and the writer knows where to put periods, capital letters and the difference between they, their and they're. Sadly faaar too many stories have these problems.
7864746
Then there are some pearls, like one where the human who wakes up on Ponyland happens to be called James Bond.
I enjoyed Tony's interactions with the ponies, specifically Starlight and Twilight.
Honestly Starlight and Wanda were in a lose-lose situation. If they did nothing people would still die. Heck, I would argue they caused less death doing what they did then if they did nothing. Unfortunately, the people of the world are not going to care about that.
I do like that Tony tried to help both Twilight and Starlight in this chapter.
I swear Ross better not be hard on Starlight for wtf happened. Imma wax dat bois eyebrows if he say shit.
It all goes to show that no matter where in the universe you go, every world we go will always have problems. If anything, the hostage situations in Equestria are pretty tame compared to Earth regardless what Rumlow's motives were to begin with. At least in Equestria, things eventually work out and almost nopony actually gets hurt but it's not the case on Earth. Even if it wasn't their fault and even if the situation was beyond their control despite their abilities, the ponies (Mostly Twilight and Starlight) have every reason to feel stressed if not visibly shaken by events that took place a month ago. All they can do is hope that the secretary is very understanding of their plight, but that'd be wishful thinking for everyone else.
Poor Starlight and Twilight. I feel really bad for Starlight since not only was suing partly involved with the accident, she was just starting to move on from her past as a villain, only to accidentally get innocent people killed. Twilight meanwhile feels responsible since she was kidnapped, and thus started the events that led to those people dying. Not the best first impression you want to make in First Contact.
I have a bad feeling Ross is going to be a total asshole.